Grand Theft Equine (IC)

The City is Padmar a small, walled port city in a temperate clime.
the peninsula of Longmont lies to the north, filled with squabbling Orc
tribes and Dwarf Clans, to the south an Empire calling itself Tauresci
fights with a breakaway province on its southern border.

The City is ruled by Prince Derkus - although he gives a sizeable 'gift'
to the Tauresci every year. The captain of the guard is a brutal, and
absolutely loyal man. The cities legal system is a labyrinth with the
prince judging some cases, the guilds and temples judging others. Trials
can take years, and accused parties frequently flee rather than wait for
the slow wheels of justice. One constant is not to annoy the nobility.
While nobles of the city are normally off limits, Merchants and
travelers are common targets of your craft. The merchants are reluctant
to pay protection money, and they tend to put money into guards, traps
and other defenses rather than paying off the thieves, of course taxes
are a high, and not always fair, so many hide what wealth they do have.

The elven weavers (silquani) and he woman Vordel are also offlimits. The
small wizards guild is a valid target, but no one has tried it recently
most are stopped by the first magically sealled door. Vordel is human
woman from south of Tauresci - and has dealings with the nobility and
shipping companies. She keeps a fantasic garden and is rarely seen
outside her compound.

Here's what I've been able to pick up from the Google cache. I think it's pretty much complete!

'Nock

Thravar nods, seemingly pleased with what he's hearing. His eyes move to
the bodyguard as he speaks, letting loose a breath laden with garlic and
suggestive of general poor dental hygiene.

"Th' 'old' manor house. We got maps?"
W

Ambrus's Avatar <


/"Miss Amber's the best there is at getting maps. We'll know more about
the place than the mark does. Right Amber?"/ Jacoby smiles at the raven
haired halfling before turning to the Guild Master. /"I get it. So is
Mister Fhel gonna be calling the shots again?"/
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Lord_Raven88's Avatar <


Quote:
Originally Posted by *Ambrus*
/"Miss Amber's the best there is at getting maps. We'll know more about
the place than the mark does. Right Amber?"/ Jacoby smiles at the raven
haired halfling before turning to the Guild Master. /"I get it. So is
Mister Fhel gonna be calling the shots again?"/


Inclining her cowled head slightly in agreement with Jacoby, Amber
whispers in her ragged voice "I can get the maps" turning to look around
the group her emerald eyes evaluates everyone while the candle light
vividly shows off the scar on the left side of her face "I should be
able to have the plans by tomorrow night, I suggest that we retire until
then and meet in a safe location, then we can formulate our plans and
begin our preparations, Fhel and I should also do some snooping into the
owner and the people who work there"

OOC: Knowledge (Local) check +9 to see what Amber knows about this Lord
and the history of the manor.

EH Only
[sblock]

Amber is going to do as much of the following before the meeting
tomorrow. The list is prioritised in order of importance.

* Get a map of the manor and the grounds, as well as the surrounding
area.
* Gather Info on the Lord of the manor.
* Gather Info to see if anyone was recently 'fired' from the manor.
* Gather Info to find out about the number of people who work there,
who the important staff are etc.
* Gather Info to find out about as much as possible as the important
staff especially if they have any nasty habits/vices, and who
their closest kin are (especially young children, wives etc).
* Check the surrounding buildings/cellars/inns etc to see if there
is anywhere close by to set up HQ.
* Check to see if any passes or ID is required to access that area
of the city.
* Check for possible escape routes, both for the group and for Amber.
[/sblock]

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Jostin listens intently to the high up's comments. For once his fingers
are still, and he sits motionless, in unconscious mimicry of
Fingersmith's own posture. He licks his lips at the description of the
haul, nods at Jacoby's question regarding the leadership, and smiles at
Amber's calm assurance.

"I'll check with my contacts to see what information I can come up with
about their defenses. After all, if they're new in town, with plenty of
goodies, they may well come looking for a few welcome mats. They haven't
come to me, so I'll ask around."

"How about Black Dog's for our next meeting? He's currently ... taking
the waters for his health ... and I'm sure he wouldn't mind us using his
kip - for a small fee."

Waiting only for further comments, he stands, nods to the others, and
makes his way to the door. As he opens it and steps out, a sparrow flies
down from the rafters and makes it way into the darkness.

OOC: Knowledge (Local) +8 to find out about any traps or locks the mark
may have purchased.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ferrix


Fhel remains impassive as the others speak for a moment, then his voice,
clear and almost disturbingly calming cracks his silence, "I will only
assume that the lot of you have your heads set on straight, I'm game for
no amusements or long tongued songbirds. Black Dog's, tomorrow night, a
candles spell* after dark." He rises, lest anyone else have anything to
say, a cursory nod only to the guildmaster, he departs.

*EvilHalfling*

Stuff to know (if a different check applies better to a given question
let me know):

* Knowledge (nobility & royalty) +8:
o regarding the new lord of Ardeth manor
o the old lords, ladies and tales of Ardeth manor (i.e. the
manor's history)
o any information on the ball happening on the sixthday as
well (who is attending, who is doing invites, etc.).
* Knowledge (architecture & engineering) +4;
o if he can get a hold of any maps, layouts, etc. of the manor
from his apprenticeship or for when he acquires them from
Amber on any tactical/structural details of
oddity/importance (secret passages, extra space where there
shouldn't be, etc.).
* Knowledge (local) +8:
o anything on the new lord and any gripes anyone may have with
him, etc. Also anything about that general area of town
(demographics, whatnot).
* Gather Info +12:
o on the lord of the manor (where he came from, what he has
done in the past, his general disposition, how he treats
servants, other nobility, family, likes, dislikes, vices,
virtues)
o how many servants, what families they are from, any
particular important staff that is of note and their history
(vices & virtues, weakness, family members)
o guard retinue (leader, shifts, watches, vices, payrate,
anything and everything), etc.
o anything on the great ball which doesn't fall under
Knowledge (nobility & royalty) (who's going, who's doing the
invite, who's running the show, who's running security, etc.)
* Once he's figured out some of the above I'll start making concrete
actions.



* refers to the length of time it takes for a candle to burn out (about
an hour)
------------------------------------------------------------------------


Whizbang Dustyboots's Avatar


Thravar grunts, bowing to the guildmaster, then eyes the remaining
rogues dubiously before strolling out, puffing on his cigar.
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Ambrus's Avatar

/"And I'll case the joint."/ The young urchin kicks his legs and lands
in front of his crate, completing the movement with a bow to the Guild
Master. /"Black dog. See y'all then."/ Jacoby waves goodbye to the other
footpads as he heads swiftly towards the warehouse door.
*EH*
Taking the direct approach, Jacoby will do what he said and head quickly
(Speed 50 ft.) and stealthily (Hide +16, Move Silently +15, taking 10)
towards the Ardeth Manor House immediately, hopefully in time to catch
the evening guard shift (assuming the place is in fact actively guarded
and has shift rotations). He'll start by finding a good vantage point to
observe the property from up high, perhaps from the top of a nearby
temple steeple, bell tower, clock tower or neighbouring building roof;
whatever is convenient (Up the Walls, Climb +16, Balance +14, taking 10).

From there Jacoby will watch (Spot +3) the property to see if there are
any guards or watchdogs around. He'll count their numbers, assuming
there are some, and visually follow their movements around the property
as they perform their rounds. He'll also keep an eye out for servants or
other residents' comings and goings. The scout will change location by
moving to other nearby roofs or tree tops a few times over the next
couple of hours. Jacoby wants to ensure that he's seen the entire
property along with any other buildings or features that may lie around
the manor such as a kennel, stables, a carriage-house, guest-houses,
sheds, gardens, statuary, fountains, etc; anything that may offer the
group cover or an escape route. After an hour or two when he's got a
better idea of how the place is laid out and where people are Jacoby
will move in closer. He'll enter the property itself by leaping or
running up and down any walls or fences while doing his very best to
remain undetected (Jump +24, Tumble +14, Hide +16, Move Silently +15,
taking 10). If possible, Jacoby will try to keep as far off the ground
itself as possible by keeping to the tops of walls, buildings or trees,
leaping from one to the next. He'll keep watch on the manor house from a
new vantage point, moving every so often to gain a new perspective.
Eventually, if things are going well he'll check out the house itself,
not by going inside but merely by spying through windows that he'll
reach by quickly and stealthily running up to and perching on sills or
gables and peeking and listening inside. He hopes to see how many people
are inside, what they're doing and where their quarters are located. He
also wants to note which windows if any are locked or seemingly trapped
(Search 0, taking 20).

If Jacoby ever suspects that he's been detected he'll carefully fall
back and leave the property. Come morning, the scout will return to his
original vantage point off property to observe the manor's morning
routine. He'll then go find himself a safe place to rest for a few hours.

Evilhalfling's Avatar

The rest of the night and the next day pass more eventfully for some
than others -
you only have about 10 hours good for gathering information, so some are
not able to finish finding all the details they were looking for.
You all arrive at Black Dogs ken.

INFORMATION LEARNED:

Amber
[sblock]

The new lord is a merchant ship captain from a distant northern isle,
named Elief Lavorkinson, he hadn?t done any trading in this city that
you were able to hear of so he isn?t well known. He has been in town six
weeks. The manor had some scandal ten years back when it was abandoned ?
a death or something.

The map is easy for you to get.

You hear of a former employee ?Ol' Willie? who is has been ragging on
the new owner.
?The new lord, is a stupid arrogant, jugemental, cruel, unforgiving,
bastard who wouldn?t know a good servant if he was served breakfast by
him.? one person remembers ol' willie saying that the new lord was
interested in raising spirit of the previous lord."
All this is second hand as you can?t find old willie himself.

The current servants include a butler, maid and house priest. These
three were all brought with him. There is also a local goose girl (Anna)
who sleeps in the barn. The butler has a cousin in the trades quarter,
and has visited him more than once.

As for access ? the first obstacle is the guarded entrances for High
quarter ? manned by city watch in chain shirts. While most of the guards
are human, some are elves, ½ orcs and dwarves, so sneaking past them is
normally more trouble than just walking through.
You can get a pass from the city admin building. If you have a sponsor.
If someone could get one you could forge others.

For surroundings - there is The Greensider, a guesthouse, a few hundred
feet away.
The Weztors stables are the closest cover, and an 18? granary building
that?s official city property. Since it?s the best part of town there
will be servants, lords and locked doors, not to mention occasional
patrols.

OOC: Knowledge (Local) (20), Gather info 20, 15, 25 (10 hrs total), kn
local (18) for surroundings and passes
[/sblock]


Fhel ?
[sblock]

The new lord is from a distant northern isle, he hadn?t done any trading
in this city that you were able to hear of so he isn?t well known. He
has been in town less than a month. His servants are a butler, a maid,
and a bodyguard. You hear that he is picky about new hires, but little
else.

Architecture ? by the time you get to the office it looks like the plans
are already gone, but you do find a work order for the removal earth ?
an expansion of a cellar for a new cold room. You also find a note
regarding some major repairs for the stable. (incomplete)

As for history you run into a old scandal monger who tells you: that the
last lord of the family was childless, and died before reaching
middle-age, apparently the man was suspected of blackmailing several
other houses, and about ten years earlier, hosted a well attended party,
but was so depressed afterward he had hung himself from the ballroom
balcony. Of course foul play was suspected, but nothing ever came to light.
The house would have fallen into disrepair since then, but for the
efforts of a single loyal retainer.

As for guards ? the first obstacle is the guarded entrances for High
quarter ? manned by city watch in chain. While most of the guards are
human, some are elves, ½ orcs and dwarves, so sneaking past them is
normally more trouble than just walking through.
You can get a pass from the city admin building (it wasn?t a problem the
one time you tried it. The pass is good unless revoked, but your old one
was. You actually had to abandon the identity, in a bit of bad luck a
few years back)

As for the ball - its not really your forte (unless I missed a role) It
seems to be and annual, scheduled event, hosted by the Dockery Family.

OCC: Gather Info +12: 4hrs, 5hrs,(totals 14, 17) then ran out of time
for further inquiries). Knowledge (nobility & royalty) +8: totals:
(11,21,14); Knowledge (architecture & engineering) +4; (20); Knowledge
(local) +8: (16)
[/sblock]

Thravar.
[sblock]

Are you doing anything? besides heading home and sharpening your
weapons, (if you know what I mean) oiling your best tool (If you know
what I mean), feeding the dogs (if you ? nah they are just hungry dogs)
and having a beer & smoke.

You know that ya need a pass to get into the Nobs section of the city,
and nobody offered ya one. Theres even some lousy dwarves, stink'n
halforcs and useless elves on the watch, so climbing the wall would be a
risky thing for you.
[/sblock]


Jositin
[sblock]

The lord apparently had both outer doors replaced, but with locks from
some foreign county ? the workman. ?I Ain?t seen the like, so much
twisted wire instead of honest tumblers, Izz asked ?im why, un he said
its ta pissoff the damn conjurers? You then remember Fingersmith saying
?Once you get past the doors it should be as easy?

OOC: Kn local 24 total
[/sblock]


Jacoby
[sblock]

You have to breach the wall into the high quarter, which you do as a
blur of shadow. You end up staring at the outside of a dark manor, it
has no large windows on the first floor, but the second has several, one
with a open shutter, one bricked up and the third dark. The side windows
are opened to catch the cooling night breeze.

Perched on the top of a 18? grain tower you can notice a goose hutch in
the inner courtyard,
They are worse than dogs for giving alarms. The garden, with its pool
and statue would make for good hiding and the stone arch would conceal
even a Berk. The stables might also be a temporary refuge?even the bird
hutch..nah. The back of the house has large 2nd floor glass windows that
open into a room with high ceilings. These windows are near the middle.
Through them you catch sight of an internal balcony over this great
room. There are smaller rectangular windows at the corners, but they are
shuttered: 3 types of windows total: rectangular (3x5); arrowslit like
openings; and the big ones, on the front shuttered, on the back glassed.

Your eyes aren?t that good, but you catch sight of a fat shadow in the
lighted corner room, and watching it you certain that that would be the
lords room at least he's sleeping there. After a bit of watching the
light is covered. There seems to be someone still awake, a light slowly
moving around the house pausing more often than not. It stays mostly
downstairs.

The manor has 30' of space between it and its neighbors on each side.
The far side of the house has a few trees, but is pretty open while the
side your on has this handy grain tower
(dc 15 to climb). The house backs up to a alley, bounded by a hedge with a horse stable
the nearest building.

Over the rear hedge:

In the deepest night, you slip up onto the roof of the barn, and see
that there is a stone gutter that leads all the way to the garden. As
your checking the window, you send a loose shingle crashing to the
courtyard. (OOC: Nat 1. MS) The geese notice you and all start honking ?
the internal light moves out of view. Fleeing you end up back in the
other side of the city.

Hesitant to cross the wall in the light, without another plan, your dawn
watch will have to wait for another day. [/sblock]
----------------------------------------------------------------
Whizbang Dustyboots's Avatar

Thravar stands outside Black Dog's residence, waiting for the others to
arrive and glowering as he watches the "honest folk" going about their
business. He's keeping a particular eye out for someone about his size
dressed, he'd guess, like a servant from the nobby part of town.

He thumps his sap into the palm of his hand beneath his beard, looking
for someone's clothes -- and pass -- to borrow for the evening.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ambrus's Avatar

As the sun sets, Jacoby moves from the streets up to the rooftops where
he's better able to move quickly and unseen. Running up wall and across
slopping rooves, leaping over streets and alleys and perching on
gargoyles waterspouts, the young urchin finally makes his way over to
Black Dog's house. A final running leap, a tuck and a short spin bring
him to a stop behind the building's brick chimney. Catching his breath
Jacoby looks down onto the street to see Thravar standing there looking
around. Not anxious to try speaking with the dwarf alone, Jacoby
straddles the peak of the roof and waits for the others to show.
*EvilHalfling*
[sblock]
Thanks for the info; nice post. FYI, unless you've house-ruled it, skill
checks don't automatically fail on a 1 or succeed on a 20 like attack
rolls do (PH, p. 63). Also, I mentioned that Jacoby was taking 10 on his
hide and move silently checks.
[/sblock]
Ferrix
*EH*[sblock]

About the ball, his personas of Fhel and Lament would intermix in high
society. Fhel as the occasional displaced noble from another country.
Lament as a courtesan of established men who have no wives and are
willing to pay to have an attractive woman on their arm at social events
(if you've seen Firefly, think of Inara but more wicked). Additionally,
as a courier he'd probably run packages of a discrete nature for nobles.

He wanted to find out particularly about the ball cause I've got some
plans regarding it and the new "lord".

One thing that I'll add to his lift of stuff to find out will be who
this one loyal retainer was that took care of the place.

[/sblock]
Walking casually down the street to Black Dog's kip, Fhel went over the
bits of information he had procured in the past few hours. He spied the
thug Thravar looking thuggish in front of the residence. His eyes
flitted over the rooftops for the little messenger Jacoby, there he was
perched on the roofpeak, always there and watching that one.

Fhel waved amusedly in the direction of the roof as he made the final
approach, "well met Thravar, lookin' a bit peevish tonight."

----------------------------------------------------------------

Boddynock's Avatar

Jostin moves through the town, following an apparently aimless course
along main thoroughfares and minor streets, winding closer to his
destination. Stopping to speak to business associates and clients alike,
he buys his dinner from one of the street stalls and nibbles on a skewer
of spiced meat as he goes. Now and then he pauses and flings a scrap to
one of the many sparrows around the city, smiling as the plucky little
bird hops determinedly to the morsel and snaps it up.

Eventually he arrives at the street in which Black Dog has his kip.
Stopping halfway along to rinse his fingers at a fountain, he notes
Thravar's presence, and Fhel's. He sees Thravar wave towards the roof
and assumes that Jacoby is up there. Moving on, he enters the building
and goes upstairs towards the apartment which Black Dog claims as his
own. Taking care to check for traps - since it's highly unlikely that
the Dog would leave his place unguarded - he enters the room and waits.

Fhel waved amusedly in the direction of the roof as he made the final
approach, "well met Thravar, lookin' a bit peevish tonight."

Click to expand...

Thravar takes his cigar out and spits a black wad of something onto the cobblestones.

"Mmmm, lookin' for a [Goblin for copulating] [Dwarf for one born out of wedlock] servant to one of the nobby [Goblin for someone who copulates] sos I can lift 'is [Dwarf for copulating] pass. Keep an eye out for one."

Entering the room Amber briefly nods to all in attendance, when everyone has arrived Amber pulls out a detailed map of the manor and spreads it out on the table before the group.

Speaking in her whispery voice "Our first hurdle in breaching the manors security is getting into the High Quarter we'll all need passes, I should be able to procure a pass and forge copies for anyone else who needs one, if someone already has a pass it will speed things up considerably."

"The Lord of the manor is a merchant ship captain from a distant northern isle, named Elief Lavorkinson, he arrived in town 6 weeks ago along with his butler, maid and house priest which all came with him."

"Elief also has a local goose girl called Anna working for him who sleeps in the barn, and I have discovered that there is a disgruntled former employee of his in town, whom I might be able to track down for further information, also the butler has a cousin he's close to, living in town"

With a cruel smile on her burnt face Amber gazes at her companions "The way I see it, we have a number of options that we can pursue, naturally I'll attempt trace down this disgruntled employee and pump him for information, we should also look into the options of applying pressure to the butler's cousin or the family of the goose girl, either one of these might gain us access to the manor without making a big racket"

"But before we start making any firm plans I suggest we hear what information everyone else has uncovered" with a dazzling smile Amber turns to the foul smelling dwarf "Thravar please enlighten us with what you've managed to discover since we last parted"

The Plans:

Jacoby interjects by confusedly asking: "You need passes to get into the High Quarter?!? I didn't know that! I was up at the manor last night and didn't have one..." The young urchin shrugs.

Breath like rotting onions wafts across the map, announcing that Thravar has come inside.

"I've discovered, Ember, that [Dwarvish for anus] servants travel in pairs 'round 'ere. Need one of you to risk breaking a [Goblin for copulating] nail and help me pick up a pair of passes."

He glances at the map and grunts approvingly before beckoning another rogue back toward the street with a jerk of his greasy head. He picks something from between his teeth with a fingernail.

"Find what we want 'round the Marksend Inn, I reckon."

Ignoring Thravar's invitation to violence, Jostin steps forward.

"The word in the trade is that the doors to the mansion are a wonder. Rather than the normal tumblers, the mechanism is made of twisted wire. Apparently this is done to 'piss off the conjurers'. Without a closer look at them, I don't know how this will affect our attempt at entry. Obviously it complicates matters. I'm looking forward to the challenge."

"Another thing. My informant indicated that both outer doors have been replaced. I had assumed he meant the main entrance. Now that I see this map, I wonder whether they have modified this door here." He points to the exterior door in the southeastern quadrant of the map. "There seems little point in upgrading the main entrance and leaving this one untouched - unless it leads to a completely different solution to the problem of unwanted visitors. It may be a way in ... but I would treat it with extreme caution."