No Hero's Welcome - IC

[mhd]

"G-g-gold, suh? I mean, sure, suh! But, erm, suh, I promised Miss Della that I took care of the sc..., erm, I mean, of, well, you. We real good in avoiding trouble, suh. We can get you there and back without trouble by the coppers or the new self-dee-fence leeks."

(He's scratching his head, which causes another strand to come off. A quick look over his shoulders to his compatriots, a quick chewing of his lower lip, and he continues)

"But suh, if youse all promise not to tell Miss Della and her father, ah think we can make a deal. It's not like its secret and all. Apart from that one tunnel. So, suh, you first head left after that spot down there where the dog is biting the rat. Bit the rat. Erm, bit whatever that was. Ewww... Then, when you come to the house with the funny mildew..."

He continues like this for a while. In the end, he's telling how to get to all three crime scenes, mostly along slightly unsavory paths, possibly involving trudging through quite a lot of sewage. Those of you who're a bit longer in the city know paths that are safer, quicker and noticeably less vermin-infested, but you'll have to agree with the boy that his way would indeed get you there unnoticed -- and without paying tolls or lifts.

OOC:
Anyway, the three places he shows you are:
1.) Thwayskops shop & warehouse, The Stores, Lower Wards
2.) Apartment III, Hope Resplendent Tower, Ivy Towers, Upper Wards
3.) Residence of Polter Horvile, Myshan Gardens, Lower Wards

You're currently in the southernmost part of High Walls, it's late afternoon. The warehouse is the most recent crime scene and reachable without too much travel along skyways and lifts, but it still will get dark until you're there. Both Myhan Gardens and Ivy Towers are different plateaus. If you want to spend some money for air traffic, travel to all three places takes about the same time.

So, just tell me where you want to go and how to get there. The urchin's way takes some extra time, but should circumvent unnecessary distractions -- as would renting a skycoach.

 

[Nazhkandrias]

Novhilion tries to stifle a deep shudder at the boy's descriptions of the "preferred" routes. "My gratitude for your help, young one. You... certainly know your way around." Novhilion turns to address the others. "The warehouse seems like the most logical choice. However, might it not be... preferable... to simply rent a transport to the location?" Novhilion shudders again, this time not even attempting to hide it, and whispers to his group. "I don't particularly enjoy sewage to a great degree."

 

[frostrune]

Baraka wrinkles up his nose and snorts, "I'd hate to see you get the hems of your dress all dirty but I'd suggest the low roads... the secret roads."

"Folks just don't disappear, they left unseen. Chances are that ain't by no fancy-shmancy skycoach. If these tunnels are as bad the squirt made 'um sound then the watch probably didn't look too hard there neither."

"Maybe we can find somethin'?"

 

[Necro_Kinder]

"I agree with the Shifter, we should take the back roads. I doubt the watch ever looked for anything information there." Oakheart says as he leans on his staff, his eyes shifting from person to person in the group, waiting for a reply.

 

[Ion]

__________________________________________________
Lieutenant Conrad Tensen of the Fifth Cyran Infantry
[SIZE=-2]Human Warrior 1 / Cleric 1 stats[/SIZE]

[imagel]http://homepage.usask.ca/~rad764/dnd/Tensen-avatar.jpg[/imagel]

"With luck we will see tomorrow in Cyre!"



__________________________________________________

Conrad hands over some coins to Stropford, and stands up. "Off with you lot now. If Miss Della gives you any trouble, you tell her to bring it up with me."

He turns to his compatriots, and nods his head towards the nearest set of stairs in the right direction. "Well lets get going, we've got a long night ahead of us."

 

[frostrune]

The shifter grunts, "I'll take point", as he bounds past the others and up the steps.

[sblock] Baraka will ply the shadows about 50' ahead of the group making liberal use of Hide +6, Spot +6, & Listen +6. Unfamiliar with the route, he will wait for the rest at intersections for further directions. As we get close to the actual crime scene he will stay nearer the group more actively looking for sign/tracks and preventing the others from acidentally obliterating the same. [/sblock]

 

[mhd]

OOC: This assumes you're using the "low road" to the last crime scene, the warehouse.


The shifter moves into the shadow of a nearby alleyway, starting you on your journey through the backside of Sharn. The way Stropford describes in indeed a dirty one, as one of your first stops is a shallow pool of sludge you hop into, a gateway to a narrow maintenance tunnel that was used during the construction of this part of the district. Baraka moves silently enough to leave a few rodents and insects for the rest of the group to scare off. As you leave the tunnel, you have to climb a few steps, gaining you access to an ledge overlooking a dimly lit street in Dragoneyes, certainly not the best red light district around here...
Just a few stops later, you're about to enter Black Arch. Knowing about the troops stationed in this garrison, you'll try to stick to the urchin-route als close as possible. After squeezing through a wrecked portal, you continue much faster on a flat, but winding road that is left for dung carts and less pleasant-smelling vehicles and creatures. You're in the open now, but solders and guards know what streets to avoid -- and this must be high on that list.
Leaving the vicinity of too many armed and armored people changing shifts, you sneak into the Fallen area, home to, well, not exactly the rich and famous. Straight across the district, using waterways, running up and down stairs that could use a few tons of mortar, running quickly through a desolate and abandoned theater... In this part, you have to leave the described path a few times, as the conditions seem to change rapidly, and what was a narrow alley yesterday is now buried under an avalanche of shingles and timber. Yet nobody wants to tangle with someone like your group, everybody does they best they can just to avoid looking at that odd band.

Finally -- the sun went down almost two hours ago -- you seem to get closer to your destination. The voices of crying children and drunken parents vanishes in the distance, accessways get wider, cranes appear out of every nook and cranny. A tast of brine is in the air. Baraka gives you a sign to stop and hold still, while he scouts around the corner...

Baraka:
[sblock]
Staying close to the walls, you enter the street where the warehouse and shop are to be found. You're sufficiently high and close to the sea so that a small patch of sky is visible above. Natural sharp senses honed by the military stint see severail details almost at once: In a small stable next to the shop, a halberd is leaning over a low door. Faint noises suggest that someone is having a mildly pleasant, yet illicit encounter in there. The stree ist empty, though a series of brightly-colored and faintly glowing ropes make access to the warehouse rather difficult. Yet in the end your eyes turn towards the top of the house. A facade is hiding the slope of the roof itself, and behind the wind-worn balustrades of these walls you can see something moving. Standing on a place where normally you'd expect a 15 foot drop to the roof itself, a furred shape is moving. It takes a while for you to get things together, but in the end it looks like a gnoll or very large shifter is balancing across a floating platform right behind the warehouses facade. Now the shape descends, causing the platform to move a few inches higher for a second. Small glittering sparks can be quickly seen, the enchanted part of a local skycoach. Both street and roof are empty now. Your troop is waiting a few steps behind you.
[/sblock]

Novhilion:
[sblock]
Moving through the theater you discovered the aura of an undead presence. Your group left the dangerously creaking house before you could investigate further.
[/sblock]

 

[frostrune]

For mhd

[sblock] Baraka strains his eyes and ears for a few extra seconds to see if he can learn anything more of the creature before turning back to the others. Do I see any way to approach the building away from the known guard? [/sblock]

Baraka turns back to face the group and pads silently closer, keeping a finger over his lips urging them to silence.

In a low voice he growls, "The place is just below us alright. The guard has it cordoned off with glowing ropes. It will be hard reaching it unseen. On the bright side, the guard who is supposed to be watching the place is having his way with a whore in the stables. We should be able to get past him easily enough. There is one problem however... someone else is here. A big shifter or maybe a gnoll, newly arrived by skycoach. He's by himself so I don't think it's another squad."

 

[mhd]

Baraka:
[sblock]
From your point of view only the front of the warehouse is visible. The stable is right between the shop and the warehouse. The shop and stable are about one story lower than the warehouse. With a little climbing, you could get onto the shop and via its roof reach the side of the warehouse.
Also, right across the house there are several cranes. One or two of them might be close enough to get across with a decent jump, but you have to climb at least 20 feet ('though the ropes and chains attached to the cranes make that pretty easy).
[/sblock]

OOC: I don't know whether you'll be doing anything at once or you'll talk this over first, so I'll post the description of the street as it appears now in these spoiler blocks. Just take a look at it once you reach that point.

For everyone:
[sblock]
Just like Baraka told you, the warehouse and the attached small shop lie directly in front of you. The street is about 20 feet wide and seems to be used to load and unload wares. Every building that's at least two stories high has one or more cranes, most of them only partially retracted. The shop is closed down, no sign is visible. It has a rather flat roof that goes slightly upward as it connects to the bigger warehouse, which is right where the stable is. Three doors can be seen, two of them barricaded with faintly glowing strands of rope, only the stable door seems to be untouched.
[/sblock]

For Ensign Harper:
[sblock]
One of the cranes is a rather decent model that uses magical force instead of the supporting beam and the rope. It's currently turned off, resting right against the recharging mechanic at the wall, about 30 feet above street level.
[/sblock]

For Ensign Harper and Novhilion:
[sblock]
The magical rope is standard guard issue. If cut without the proper knife, it will heat up, emiting some mildly poisonous smoke and finally melt into a tough crystalline structure, barring entry. By itself it doesn't issue an alarm or something similar. Usually there's an additional mechanism to alarm the guard, if there's a chance at all that they can hear this.
[/sblock]

 

[Nazhkandrias]

Novhilion wrings out the hem of his robe, attempting to remove the last of the filthy water from its hem. “Acknowledged, we arrived unnoticed, but we didn’t have to tramp through every meager puddle on our way…” Baraka returns, and reports what he has seen, including the new arrival. “I would recommend that you keep an eye on him. He may be simply going about his business, but, then again, he could be searching for trouble. Perhaps we should wait to see what his intentions are.”

He ceases fussing with his robes the moment he sees the glowing ropes. “Those thrice-damned ropes. Sadly, I don’t believe we’ll be getting into those buildings anytime soon, and it there is where we need to be. That rope will only be severed with the correct blade. A key, of sorts.” He addresses Baraka in a flat tone. “I would suggest against touching them without the key.” Novhilion pauses for a moment, evaluating the situation. “Still, somebody must have it, and the guard currently… ahem… WATCHING over this affair seems to be the most likely candidate.” Novhilion gives a wide, cunning grin. “IF the guard has the correct blade, and IF he is currently occupied with something, and IF the blade is unattended…” Novhilion looks to Caron. “I feel as though we may be able to obtain it without his knowing.” Caron flutters excitedly on his shoulder, with a faint gleam in his eyes. <I like where this is going.>

[sblock=For Everyone]What I intend to do, with approval from the rest of you guys, is to send Caron down to see if he can see the knife, use Move Silently and Hide to grab it while the guard is distracted, and fly it back to me. Pending approval from all of you, of course. Novhilion isn't one to spring into action without a plan between him and his comrades. Does this seem like a good course of action to the rest of you?[/sblock]