HLoM: The Firebird, Chapter 2

[Nathan of the FoS]

"It's a mile-- a bit more than a mile--east of here," Salbard mutters to Richard and Altan. "An abandoned tower. We are listening to them now, Freiherr Isfahani, to try to find out just how dangerous these particular brigands might be--if they are brigands at all."

Muffled conversation can be heard from the bronze "funnel" as he speaks.*

Then, very clearly, a woman's voice, an unusually musical and pleasant alto, with the distinctive Kartakan lilt. "So what you’re saying is, I should have asked for more money.”

The first voice: “An’ why not? Them as asks, gets. Or at least they might do.”

The woman again: “And who buys this stuff?”

“Oh, there’s more that wants it than can buy it, that’s certain. I saw as much as might fill a thimble sold in Ramulai for four matched bloodstones the size of my thumb.**”

* Perception check
** Appraise check ( or a Knowledge skill relevant to either gems or black market pricing, limit one check per customer).

[NeoTiamat]

Lena observed the interesting clairaudiance system with a cool eye, though she did nod once to Renhalt. Thank you. It was definitely an honor, though under the circumstances, one Lena would have gladly done without. Ushka, in the meantime, was also with her despite not having been invited. She scrabbled up onto Lena's shoulder and leaned over, trying to get her muzzle (and more importantly, her namesake ears) closer to the funnel. She and her mistress exchanged a glance.

"Five people speaking there. At least." Lena said crisply. "I believe the bloodstones under discussion are rubies, not heliotropes, in which case one could purchase a fair-sized estate in Dementlieu for that sum. Under the circumstances, I believe the purchaser would have been a Mulani of a Great House, though a Vaasi representative or some criminal kingpin is plausible."

"I don't suppose this is some new fashion for selling Daemonglass by the thimble?" Lena said after a pause. "Otherwise I can't think of any narcotic that sells for such amounts..."

[The Whistler]

Avram stroked his beard thoughtfully from the back of the group; as befitted a good servant, the old hetman could join up with a group very quietly indeed.

“I know of no such drug, Freyin von Zarovich. If they are there upon business alone, between themselves, then it can be hoped that they mean no immediate danger. Although, if they talk of such a sum…”

[Isabella]

"Something alchemical?" Richard suggested, pitching his voice low so as not to cover up the voices from the funnel. "There can't-there can't be much in the way of contraband that-that goes by the thimble."

[Revka et al]

Cattia is quiet throughout most of the journey, chatting good-naturedly with anyone who speaks to her, but rarely speaking otherwise except a few comments to her brother about how long it has been since they last traveled this road together. In particular, she observes the gift exchange between Richard, Vasili and Lena with some tenderness.

Though no one ever sees Vasili attend to her, Cattia never seems to get dirty on the road. Like the magicians in the party, she appears before Salbard neat and fresh as if she had just bathed and dressed, with just the same hint of lavender oil she had when the journey began. Nevertheless, she takes full advantage of the opportunity to wash up, and arrives (fashionably) late to dinner as a result.

Renhalt, in the meantime, was being quietly hypnotized by a fox.

"Hal," Cattia scolded her brother using her pet name for him. "Who has stolen your heart! Give her a morsel!"

Cattia chuckled at the fox's intensity, and teased her with a fresh piece of meat. Despite arriving late, Cattia had managed to acquire strips of uncooked lamb, and proceeded to train the fox to perform tricks in exchange for bites.

(As I read it, creating strips of meat is within the scope of a prestidigitation spell. If that's not the case, let me know, and I'll change it to feeding her from my plate. I'm guessing Lena would prefer it this way, as this way the food vanishes after eating, and Ushka never gets a tummyache. Or fat. Okay, now I'm jealous. )

Salbard hesitates*, then says, "Certainly, Baroness. Please, follow me."

Sense Motive DC 21.

Rolling to beat that: +12 to Sense Motive--or can I just take 10?
[dice]0[/dice]

The dutiful servant, Vasili turns to Cattia, "Freyif, if we are to help them perform their duties, should we not enlist our healer as well?" He nods toward the servant apartments where Avram is dining.

Cattia nods quickly. While they are both under the same false assumption that they are heading into combat, she matches his preparedness.

"It's a mile-- a bit more than a mile--east of here," Salbard mutters to Richard and Altan. "An abandoned tower."

"We could make the trip in less than twenty minutes by air," Cattia points out, clearly eager to do something more than listen. "I assume you have flight magic this high up? Or is there a direct road? A group of five should be easy enough to neutralize without killing anyone."

"I don't suppose this is some new fashion for selling Daemonglass by the thimble?" Lena said after a pause. "Otherwise I can't think of any narcotic that sells for such amounts..."

"Narcotics, poisons, alchemy, spell components--it could be anything from distilled Baron's Bane to the tears of a sphinx. When it comes to the rare and exotic, price can vary with every transaction, and we don't know how much this lout might be exaggerating. Many have claimed to 'see strange things at Ramulai' who have never set foot in the city. Perhaps if we narrowed down the purchaser, that might help figure out what they were after."

Knowledge (nobility) +5 to figure out who at Ramulai would purchase contraband using multiple matched rubies.
[dice]1[/dice]

[Nathan of the FoS]

"I'm afraid the intervening terrain is extremely difficult, Freyif," Salbard says deferentially. "There's no road and at least two sheer drops of a hundred feet or so, and a steep cliff to boot. Even during daylight hours it would be a significant undertaking. I could avail any two individuals of flying magic, but…"

He shrugs. "That only gets two there quickly."

"There are almost certainly more than five," Renhalt notes. "We're probably only hearing those who are inside the building, and we have to expect they'll keep a watch of at least two, given what we heard. I think six or eight are the most likely numbers, actually, so they can watch in pairs. And these obviously aren't a local band of ruffians. It sounds like somebody has paid or will pay them quite a bit for…whatever they're after. I'm not sure we're up to dealing with a crack team of eight as quickly and quietly as all that."

[NeoTiamat]

"I have a spell that lets one fall from some height without injury -- I imagine I could negate those drops for quite a sizable company, if it came to that. Though the question of whether we have blades enough I'll leave for the experts." Lena paused, absent-mindedly stroking Ushka under the chin. "That said, even if we don't try and attack this group... perhaps, Freiherr Salbard, you could take myself and my familiar to Kaber Tor? She's a rather stealthy creature, and I know a few spells to enhance that. If nothing else, we can get a much better account of what is happening and who is involved."

[Kaitou Kage]

Altan sighed and downed some more wine.

"If we're insisting on fighting these scoundrels," he murmured, "why don't we lay an ambush?"

[The Whistler]

"That said, even if we don't try and attack this group... perhaps, Freiherr Salbard, you could take myself and my familiar to Kaber Tor? She's a rather stealthy creature, and I know a few spells to enhance that. If nothing else, we can get a much better account of what is happening and who is involved."

"If I may..." Avram was still mulling this over. "...I feel it is a good idea, Freyin: if we must address this band, one way or another, it is a good thing to know more. Only -- and blame an old servant's caution -- to send only one, and a familiar? Even ones so capable? Stealth is to be wished for, yes, but if we do this, we must have an idea in place for if your journey does not go so well. More than one idea, perhaps."

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Flustered by all this talk when there is more information to be gained by eavesdropping, Vasili makes a sudden downward slash with his left hand, and a tiny ball of light appears in the air. "Listen to the voices coming through that funnel," he tells the creature, "and summarize them when I ask." The ball floats over to hover next to the funnel, and Vasili turns to Salbard.

"Beg pardon, Freiherr, but sending two--or even one--might be better than ten or twenty. Against an equal or greater force, they would undoubtedly muster all their might, and take every advantage of their location. One or two who appear harmless, unarmed and with no threats of violence, they might invite in to parley, thus giving up the advantage of fortified ground. Even if they enter as prisoners, I doubt that tower holds the means to properly contain some of the people you see in this room."

"There are almost certainly more than five,.... I'm not sure we're up to dealing with a crack team of eight as quickly and quietly as all that."

Vasili nods in agreement as Renhalt tries to estimate the numbers, but shrugs at the suggestion that the numbers are a problem. "There are many ways to leverage their numbers against them. Listen to them bicker--leadership is being challenged, information withheld. Sow the seeds of doubt, and let them spend the night at each other's throats. They may not kill each other, but I'd wager you could easily keep them from resting. Eight tired men with poor judgement questioning their leadership, faced in the morning with an opportunity to surrender or die? I like those odds."

Here he pauses and looks at the lantern archon. "And if you are really so fearful of their numbers, let me go as one of the two. I can summon more like this one--flying, resistant to damage, shoots heat beams--or elementals, demons, and much more. I can only do a few at a time, but I'll keep them coming until they are worn down to nothing. And then, I'll summon Leila."

"That said, even if we don't try and attack this group... perhaps, Freiherr Salbard, you could take myself and my familiar to Kaber Tor? She's a rather stealthy creature, and I know a few spells to enhance that. If nothing else, we can get a much better account of what is happening and who is involved."

"I agree that more information would be beneficial, Baroness, but I am not so convinced that you should go. Ushka's talents would serve us just as well in reconnaissance if someone else carried her, and if you stayed just inside the range of your empathic link, you would be able to share what she gained with the others if a rescue is necessary."

"If we're insisting on fighting these scoundrels, why don't we lay an ambush?"

Vasili grins fiercely at Altan. "Leila was impressed with your thinking. I can see why. Yes, we have to use stratagem. An ambush would mean they were out of the tower and on the move--do you think we should wait for them to leave the tower, or trick them into leaving early?"

"Stealth is to be wished for, yes, but if we do this, we must have an idea in place for if your journey does not go so well. More than one idea, perhaps."

"I would agree, partially. No plan survives contact with the enemy; ergo, planning for the plan to go wrong is impossible. We need the means to gather more information and form a new plan, in case things go poorly. That's why I like the idea of someone carrying Ushka during the flight. She would be a means of gathering such information, from which we could form a new plan as necessary. This scrying system is another such means, which we could take better advantage of with someone inside."

On that note, Vasili turns to his archon for a report, and asks Salbard for a map of the tower in question.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Diplomacy +10 to cover any rudeness in this monologue, especially toward Salbard . The guy is obviously not used to people coming in and trying to do his job, and I feel for him.
[dice]0[/dice]

[Isabella]

Richard rubbed the back of his head, with an expression slightly like he was wincing. "Par-pardon a foreigner to these lands, but we-we seem to be- is it- we aren't even quite sure what-what they are doing. Perhaps we are getting ahead of ourselves?" They were certainly trampling all over Salbard at the moment.

[Kaitou Kage]

"So we find out more."

Altan took a long pull of a flask. He muffled a burp, then stretched languidly.

"Send someone to pretend to be one of their number. I could do it. It can't be that hard."

He took another drink and sighed contentedly.

[Nathan of the FoS]

"Let's adjourn to somewhere where we won't interfere with our eavesdropping by our planning," Renhalt says, firmly motioning for those present to withdraw from the upper chamber. "Ushka, the fire-spirit, and no more than one more…not you, Salbard, we'll want your information about the terrain. Oh! Of course, your familiar, that will do very well."

Having gotten you down to the dining room again, Renhalt says, "Your point is well taken, Freiherr Blackwood. I'd say that this group must be after some kind of contraband, but it doesn't sound anything like common brigandage and it's not totally impossible that they're actually agents of the vraylock or someone else with legal authority. Getting more information is our first order of business--I think we can agree on that. I am absolutely against any plan that involves placing any one of us in the power of these folk. We have no idea of their capabilities and how desperate they may be. It would be a fine stroke to avail ourselves of a way of getting that much money, and useful to find out what they're doing and who they're doing it for, but those are the only things I see that makes this game worth the candle. We have more important business to attend to unless there's a great deal more here than meets the eye. Salbard, what would you do if you weren't with so many…enthusiastic guests?"

"Listen, Freiherr," Salbard replies promptly. "As you say. Get as much information as possible and lay a trap for them elsewhere if it seemed necessary." He seems about to continue*, then falls silent instead.

"So. We've had a few ideas about getting closer for more information already. Are there others?"

*Sense Motive DC 26. Sorry for those whom this leaves in the cold. He rolled really well.

[NeoTiamat]

"I think sending out our various familiars will do the trick admirably." Lena said, glancing about herself to see where Leila was. "Ushka can snoop around, and if she's spotted, well, they do have red foxes in Hazlan."

The small red fox looked at Renhalt, her expression downright haughty. They were discussing Ushka's skills and expertise, of course.

[Kaitou Kage]

"Well," Altan said, "I suppose that's good enough for me."

He took another pull of his flask, then stashed it away somewhere. Part of him felt disappointed. He was getting bored and needed something to do. Infiltrating the brigands camp sounded fun -- better than sitting around here.

On the other hand, their host had ample alcohol.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be returning to the dining hall."