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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Seravin" data-source="post: 1954353" data-attributes="member: 6783">Den of ThievesThe Blue Diamond happens to be the name of a very expensive restaurant in the heart of Kalta, the Imperial capital city.  Over three centuries old the restaurant is known to have some of the best cooking in all the empire.  Moreover, the restaurant has proudly hosted at least one meal for every heir to the throne since its opening.  The name itself has gained enough fame that almost every major city of the empire has its own Blue Diamond; some owned by the original owners in Kaltta, others by complete unknowns.The Blue Diamond in Corlean is a long way from her namesake in Kalta, both in distance and spirit.  According to the Imperial building and tax records The Blue Diamond is a small tavern and inn that rents space out of a privately owned building; a small carvan outfit and two shops also share space within the large building.  The actual owner of the building is a small merchant house that moved its operations to Jeralin some three decades ago.  Rent is collected every quarter and sent south to Jeralin via the caravan office.  The actual owner of The Blue Diamond is currently unknown.One of the first things that Kestral noticed upon arriving at The Blue Diamond was that it was across the street from the Holtson warehouse where she ran her jobs as Beth; just as importantly it was across a narrow alleyway from the warehouse that she and Ashimar had broken into two nights previous.The building itself is a long two story affair with a small stub jutting out of one long side, forming almost a ‘T’.  Contrary to Lieutenant Brand’s report the front of the building is the long flat side, while the back side where the stub comes out is where he actually entered to get into the gambling room.Looking at the front of the building at the rightmost side there is the shop called ‘The Emporium’ which sells anything and everything a traveler might want; from good luck charms to warm blankets to traveling cookpans.  The owner also rents out the space immediately above his shop as well as a small basement just below.Immediately next to The Emporium on the left is the Blue Diamond tavern operation.  Behind the bar is the kitchen and meeting room.  Directly behind the tavern, leading into the part of the building that juts out the back is the caravan office, though there is no obvious direct connection between the caravan office and the tavern rooms.  Oddly enough there is also no obvious way to the second floor immediately above the tavern; though the caravan outfit rents the space immediately above their offices as well.  Next over to the left of the tavern are the entrances to the private rooms and bunks that the Blue Diamond rents out.  At the back of a long hallway, past a door, there is the gambling room though the room itself has a private entrance from the back of the building.  The gambling that goes on in the gaming room is mostly small time and the room is more valued if only because the people who frequent the place keep to themselves.Finally, on the far left of the building is a Mertaf’s Pawn Shop whose entrance is at the rear of the building.  Mertaf has a reputation of buying anything, no questions asked.  The front of building is rented out by The Blue Diamond as well as the whole of the upstairs.When Lieutenant Brand arrived with Kellron and friends they went to the back of the building and straight to the entrance of the gaming room.  Having been there just hours before Kestral was able to gain immediate entrance with the Lieutenant; it didn’t take long for the Lieutenant to verify that the house was getting a piece of the action.Gambling in and of itself is not illegal in Corlean, but Duke Hilmaron  wants to make sure that it is fair and that the city gets its fair share; as such all establishments that host games of chance must declare itself on the city tax rolls.  For various reasons, most involving greed, The Blue Diamond chose not to do so.  Given that no trouble happened on the nearby streets and that its clientele was unlikely to go to the watch, the risk should have been minimal.When the Lieutenant tried to enter a second time, this time in his official capacity with his men in tow, the door guard panicked and slammed the door shut and called out the alarm.  This was the first mistake. The second mistake was made by the on-site guards the owners happen to employ to deal with ‘problems’ that sometimes came up within or about the tavern; problems aren’t tolerated near The Blue Diamond.  The four guards on duty this night responded to the ruckus at the back of the building by pouring out of their little guardpost right into Kellron and Ashimar’s waiting blades.  The fight didn’t last long and is only worth mention in passing.  The door the guards came out of (which wasn’t as concealed as Lieutenant Brand’s report indicated) led through a little guardroom into a private meeting room and the Diamond’s kitchen.  This led to the main tavern which people were trying to escape from.   In the ensuing chaos the group saw not only a person trying to use a secret door that led between the tavern and the gaming room, but another secret door that led into a concealed hallway that led to stairs leading down.That’s when things got interesting.</blockquote>

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