His mind clearly somewhere else, Joren duly goes about his duty as a good soldier, helping fix up the looted store. Focusing on things that require heavy lifting and other strength-based physical activities and taking direction as needed despite being preoccupied by his own thoughts.
Similarly, when it comes to deciding what to do next in this unfamiliar town, Joren takes a back seat at the moment, following his companions' leads. As in the past, he doesn't put much trust in what he feels are unnecessarily-complicated plans, but he holds his peace on that front for the moment.
When they arrive, Samir looks askance at the state of the old shop, just imagining how broken down and dirty it must be inside. Finding that his imagination wasn't that far removed from reality, he sighs and shakes his head before immediately moving to begin checking out the rest of the building, beginning with the back room. This seems a logical place for the previous owner to have stored things, perhaps tools or ingredients. Things that might prove to have some use to them.
Approaching the door to the back room, Samir sees that it has a sturdy lock on it. Scrapes and gauges around the key hole evidence hasty attempts to tamper with the lock and get the door open, though it would appear the attempts were unsuccessful. Clearly however many people had come through to loot the place, no one was interested in more than grabbing whatever was easy.
The shop starts to shape up rather quickly. The foundations are good, and the dust is only weeks deep. Within ten minutes or so, most of the debris is piled up in one corner, and the rest of the shop is tidy and dirt-free.
Vilus spends a moment after fixing the door and windows, tapping on a few walls, and then a few floorboards, obviously looking for something but failing at it, he watches Samir with the lock but doesn't offer to help, shifting back into his regular Goliath form and simply sitting down where he can be seen and heard by all.
"This city is my home, but it is also enemy territory." He sighs, "the organisation have supplied a cell which we can put to use, deadly, stealthy, and they have access unseen to even the most secure areas above ground, inside and outside buildings. I cannot tell you how they manage this, as giving you all that information could cause them to turn on us, and I don't think we can afford a fight on two sides right now... My proposal is that we use the councilman's promise to observe whether what he says will happen actually happens, this is only to gauge how much we should trust him, then after the fact we have the cell steal the documents, this can be done soon. I don't fully trust the councilman, I don't fully trust my organisation, gods knows one of them is trying to kill me at least, but I do trust you guys. But what do you think of the plan, it's good to have options and I think we'd be better prepared."
Viki's shifts uncomfortably before continuing.
"I learned some new information recently too, about myself, about how my path may effect me, and I need to tell you all, because I need you to do something for me. All my life I have been taught and trained in caution, betrayal, and manipulation. It is a cold and clinical way to live. I'm not sure if I mentioned it to any of you before, but the ritual which opened me up to whatever imbues me with power, is an old ritual, only used these days as a ceremony of tradition, no one knew that it would actually work...
Recently I learned from more aged members of my organisation that they knew the fate of those before me, the power drove them mad and it always started with paranoia, the paranoia led to self mutilation, and when that wasn't enough, their madness sealed their fates...
The last time I slept was two weeks before I met any of you at that fateful inn, and currently the lines between caution and paranoia are becoming blurred. Since meeting you all I have been unceremoniously knocked unconscious three times, and each time the relief of it washed over me, like a blissful release from always being conscious, always watching...
I need you all to ground me, to keep me in the now, and to stop me if I begin down a path that I know will kill me, I trust you all enough to do that, more than anyone else, I trust each and everyone of you, however much my senses scream against me to admit it...
So, can I count on you?" Breathing deep Vilus closes his eyes and awaits any response, he seems fearful of it, of opening up like this, and of making himself vulnerable..
"Never doubt yourself, I don't." Ashley responds to Joren when he talks to her about the greatsword.
"So a place of treasures or curiosities? Is that what our little shop is going to be selling here?" She smiles as she watches Malachi transform the sign a couple of times. She then closes her eyes and smells the salt in the air and enjoys the breeze. So very different from her home Talmouth was, and from what she could tell so far, in all the good ways.
As they head in, she starts looking at the items that were left behind, to see if anything was worth saving. She assists with her mage hand in doing some cleaning as well, whistling a lot as they went. She watches when Samir attempts the back door, hoping he can see what they have going on back there without having to break the door down.
Ashley listens intently as Vilus starts to speak, and jumps up and sits next to him when he says that he trusts them. She's quiet as she listens intently to his admission, trying to understand his words and what it all means.
"So.. what you're saying is we should knock you out every night? I mean, might not hurt?" she says this with a smile, but concern in her eyes. "I'm listening to your plan, but I feel we're gaining trust with the councilman, and I don't want to push back against that by testing him and him finding out we weren't where we said we were."
She looks over to Joren, "You were with him longest, what do you think?"
Joren relaxes and comes back into the moment as Ashley urges him to buck up. He nods to himself, then gives her a little smile.
Fiery lass is right as usual. Stop moping, make the best of it and move forward.
At her idea to knock Vilus out when it is time for a rest, and the goliath's own profession of relief at being unconscious, Joren touches the pommel of his greatsword and grins speculatively at the strange, sleepless giant-kin.
"I could bonk you on the head softer than Jon Shep maybe? Resulting in only a small bump to show for it. Or some non-lethal choking, if you allow." He raises his other hand in solidarity to show he is joking (he thinks?). "Not being able to sleep... it is sounding terrible." (He genuinely means this). "As for me, I am still not fully certain what you would be counting on me for, other than defending you, which I will of course. Grounding you? I will try."
At Ashley's request, he shares what he remembers of Jean-Lou. "Everything he was saying seemed to fit, including about my homeland and parents. I can generally be judging intentions from face, throat and body language, though not an expert by any means. I was detecting no deception in his demeanor, though if he is a mastermind, then I would never be knowing. But I am thinking he does not yet fully trust us, which is fair. We should not be trifling with him, however. If our plan calls for testing the councilman's good faith, then let us do so without burning bridges or breaking his trust in us."
(Joren leaves discussion of the shop to the others, having faith in Samir in particular to make the breakthrough he seems to be near, and in the others to take care of the shop business.)
Vilus chuckles at Ashley's suggestion, "no, no, I wouldn't ask that I be knocked out, though thank you for the offers, I feel like that would be indulging in an activity that has been taken from me for a reason, and there would likely be consequences. No I merely ask that if I get too paranoid, erratic or dangerous, that someone holds me back, keeps me safe, or if necessary, puts me down...
With the councilman's plan I only fear that if we take him up on his offer, we put ourselves in a potential trap, even with Mayor Berg's recommendation, this has all been oddly convenient. If we do this right we observe whether he was telling the truth and we still get the documents, he will be none the wiser as to how we did it and likely will assume he helped. If it is a trap we avoid that and can act accordingly knowing that we've been made... The Council woman already knows that I'm in the city, she likely already knows you all are too from that guy you met, Stenwick was it?
Right now we cannot afford to be arrested, or wanted by the city guard. Especially whilst an attempt is being made on the councilwoman... If the councilman is trustworthy and our caution burned a bridge with him then he truly does not understand the scale of what is at play here. No offence Joren, but if he would not be willing to understand our testing him, even in the slight chance that he figured out what we were doing, then I have doubts he would be of much use to us anyway, he has sway over the folk of this city, but to the other council members he is still and always will be a foreigner, from my experience that's just how they are.
That being said, if there's any other way we think his word can be tested, I'm listening."
Joren remains expressionless. There it is again. I was not noticing its absence until just now. The condescension.
In his memory, Bernard Kryn and his brethren would often say "no offense" as a precursor to their own expounding on the brilliance of their plans and others' lack of it. Who is of use and who isn't. And no one was in a position to question it. He remembered it well.
Of course if councilman Jean-Lou believed in good faith that the group was testing him, he would understand. But if instead, what his sources tell him is that strangers, who might well be Marigold's agents, took advantage of the window of opportunity Jean-Lou had created for us to themselves remove and presumably hide or destroy documents, then why would he ever trust us again? Hopefully, he will not be thinking that.
In truth, Joren does not know. Though he doubts Vilus does either. He strives to let it go.
"I am not having a better plan. Nor am I knowing anything about these other assassins you speak of. Perhaps going ourselves is indeed worse."
"I will meet with them tonight, I will test them, and question them too, I do not want to rely on them too much, as I said, the organisation itself however useful is compromised. Their leader has been made aware and it is an affront to the organisation as a whole, so I have no doubt it will be dealt with... But I promise you I'm being as cautious as possible." Vilus gives Joren a nod, in solidarity, he half expected Joren to naysay the proposed plan and come to a compromise, or have some other input. For now Vilus relaxes, the lack of sleep not letting him question things much.
The lock on the back door clicks open, and the door swings smoothly open. Samir sees a long room on the other side that appears to be an alchemist's workshop. Various tools for herbology and medicine lie scattered about on a long table running down the centre of the room, and books on anatomy and healing line shelves on the walls along with an assortment of small bottles filled with different liquids. At one end of the room is a stone hearth with a cauldron, and at the other end is some sort of shrine with a statue of a tree trunk from which emerges the upper body of a slight and graceful woman, reaching up as if to pluck an apple.
"Please take this with all due respect, Vilus, but you are being paranoid at this very moment." Samir is knelt down in front of the lock, maneuvering small pieces and tumblers with a pair of long implements that he has inserted into the lock itself. Though his attention seems to be focused on the lock, his words are loud enough for everyone to hear. In fact he sounds ever so slightly... annoyed? "We have negotiated in good faith and trust with the Councilman, and I see no reason to burn that bridge or do other than what we have said that we will. Utilizing some shady criminal organization to obtain the information we need, rather than doing the leg work ourselves strikes me as not only dishonest, but disrespectful to the Councilman. We have zero reason to believe that the man has any ill notions or plans towards us or the people of this city, to my knowledge. Yes, we know there are likely to be agents of the enemy here in the city that we do not know about, but if we persist in treating every single person that we meet as potentially just another enemy, then frankly..." The lock clicks open with a resounding sound of metal on metal in the small space, and swings open smoothly with but a small push. "We simply condemn ourselves to spinning in circles like a marble caught in the bottom of a bowl and no exit to be found. Less than effective, and doomed to accomplishing nothing." He stands, slipping his tools back into his bag and brushes his hands against the rough fabric of his pants without turning away from the room. "We are dealing with the gods here, Vilus. A little faith could go a long way." With those words he steps into the back room, and begins to examine its contents, cataloguing things in his mind as he moves slowly from one end to the other.
Vilus nods, "I know it seems that way Samir, and I'm not trying to stop us from progressing, but if we're gonna pull this thing off in less than three hours we need a plan now, waltzing in there and expecting to be able to pick up those documents and walk out without a hitch is madness.
I can get us out without being seen, but I don't want to rely on that method unless it's an emergency, like I said before, introducing you all to organisation secrets is a sure fire way to gain us a lot more enemies, and then your spinning ball metaphor becomes true, and we become hunted on two fronts, and they have the home territory advantage." Vilus looks around to the newly opened door with interest, "anything of use in there? Potions, scrolls, and such, Magda was a healer, there might be something for leg stump pain"
Ashley listens to Samir and Vilus, letting the words roll around in her head. "Samir might be right that you are on the edge of paranoia beyond what is typical. I don't have a watcher or know what you have dealt with, so maybe this level is normal for you, and not brought on by the sleep deprivation or the spell. Either way, it's something to consider as Samir says."
"You say that no one would be the wiser if we had your cell get the documents. What if Jean Lou is watching? What if he is testing us? What if, and to your words, part of this cell is compromised? All this is a bit hard for me to grasp, but what if we just send in, say Vilus, Mal and Samir to get the papers? Small enough to not make notice, Samir knows the lay of the land, Vilus you can disguise yourself and Mal is always good in any situation," she winks at him, "I'm not saying no to your proposition, Vilus, just you seem very adamant about it and as you are asking us to consider your solution, I need you to be open to others." She turns to face him intently, looking at his face as she says this last part.
Malachi inspects the back room, leafing through the books and papers as the others talk. He picks up a bottle half-filled with a bluish-green liquid, opens the lid and gives it a tentative sniff. He wrinkles his nose in disgust as he gets a whiff of a pungent odor and he quickly closes it and places it back on the shelf. His eyebrows raise slightly as Samir calls out Vilus’ paranoia. “I don’t know, Vilus. The Councilor gave us a window this afternoon, your friends in the cell will be too late for that. What reason has he to double cross us? If he wanted us captured he could have easily done that in his office when we told our story. I will gladly leave Marigold to your organization. But I think we should gain the documents ourselves.” He gives Ashley a nod and small smile at her vote of confidence in him, even though it is likely misplaced. “But if we go, I think we should all go. We can play to all of our strengths.”
"right, no problem there, we go, we do this and we get out" Vilus gets up and starts rooting through his pack. "Does anyone have a disguise kit or something for the rest of you, also cloaks, something to obscure the form of you guys. Marion and Joren, you both stand out in your armours and make a lot of noise, I'm not saying leave them behind but is there anything you guys can do to blend in a little more? It's not exactly stealth as much as it is just having to act like we are supposed to be there, an air of confidence and superiority, right?" With that Vilus transforms into a stocky but severe looking elf, "another option, Minister Orelee here could be showing you round, a newly appointed lead for Marigold's proposed security updates, yes? Of course it's all bullshit but you'd be surprised with the amount of questioning people just aren't willing to do... Now normally I'd have looked over floor plans or at least staked out the place for a few days before hand but we make do right?" It becomes overwhelmingly apparent that vilus is quite stressed and rambling a little at the lack of preparation time the group has.
Joren looks at Vilus for a moment, then back at the rest of the group.
"Just let me know what you are wishing me to do or whom I should be pretending to be. Or if you are wanting me to come at all. If I am needing to leave my chain mail behind so be it, but if I am coming, I am bringing my greatsword. And my echo. I am having no disguise kit."
Ashley looks down at her reddish hued skin and takes a handful of her glowing hair, looks at it and sighs. "A way of disguising myself? I'm afraid I don't have one. And I stick out like a sore thumb."
She sighs again, the worry and sadness about it etched on her face. She looks up at her friends, "Are you sure you want me with you? If you're stubborn about it, I suppose I could go first, then distract whomever we do run into while you all keep going?"
“Nonsense, of course you should go.”Malachi responds to Ashley. He picks up another bottle, decides not to repeat his previous mistake and places it back on the shelf instead. He moves over to Vilus and attempts to reassure him “Relax, Vilus. Ashley, Samir and Marion already checked the place out and Jean Lou provided a map with guard routes and what to look for. We just need to get in and get out.”
Malachi appreciated the value of good planning in many of the job he did, but he also made up things as we went along more often than not. And they did have a good deal of information already. He looks over at Ashley and Samir “You can get us back there with no trouble, right? Maybe you forgot something on your last visit.”
Joren shakes his head, the sadness in the fire genasi's face weighing on him like a pit in his stomach. He swallows once and composes himself.
"One thing none of us should be feeling bad about, least of all Ashley, is our appearance. Vilus, I am seeing your concern, and I know you did not mean it in that way of course. I may not be knowing this town or all the hidden enemies that lurk unseen here, but it is seeming to me that all roads are risky. If we are sending others to do our job, they may be exposing us if apprehended, or arousing suspicion in one of the few allies we may have in Jean-Lou."
"If we go ourselves and are caught, disguising ourselves may not improve our situation much either. I say, if it is a trap, let us all go as Malachi says, keeping our eyes open and springing the trap willfully, hoping the trappers are underestimating us as the cultists have thus far. Better perhaps to think of the tales we will be telling if confronted, as you were doing Vilus with the elf who is showing us around as Marigold's new security."
"Nothing so far that stands out as exceptionally usable in its current state." Samir continues looking over the items in the back room as the discussion continues. He forces himself to stifle a smirk at Malachi's reaction to one of the materials. Rookie mistake, one never just goes straight for the sniffing of unknown chemicals. That was a lesson the artificer learned years ago.
"I feel as if there is only a limited amount of planning we can do, in all honesty. There isn't much that we can change now even if we wanted to. I would propose, on theo ther hand, that we avoid initial wariness on the part of the officials by simply not doing anything to warrant it. Malachi and I initially began our trips to the city in order to further some business goals. I feel like that could be a valid reason to get us in the door and perhaps in some places. Then we go from there and improvise as needed. There are times, particularly when dealing with new materials or theories, that you just have to make things up as you go and adapt."
Samir moves further back in the room as he speaks, stopping in front of the late owner's most interesting statue. Or idol, or whatever it may be. Even as he says his piece to the others, his eyes roam the unusual figure, searching for clues as to its provenance or meaning. Is it a religious piece? This seems likely, although it could perhaps be simply something artistic. But from Vilus had said about the woman being a healer, there were decided motifs present in the statue that spoke to him of a deific or sanctified figure in that vein.
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His mind clearly somewhere else, Joren duly goes about his duty as a good soldier, helping fix up the looted store. Focusing on things that require heavy lifting and other strength-based physical activities and taking direction as needed despite being preoccupied by his own thoughts.
Similarly, when it comes to deciding what to do next in this unfamiliar town, Joren takes a back seat at the moment, following his companions' leads. As in the past, he doesn't put much trust in what he feels are unnecessarily-complicated plans, but he holds his peace on that front for the moment.
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
When they arrive, Samir looks askance at the state of the old shop, just imagining how broken down and dirty it must be inside. Finding that his imagination wasn't that far removed from reality, he sighs and shakes his head before immediately moving to begin checking out the rest of the building, beginning with the back room. This seems a logical place for the previous owner to have stored things, perhaps tools or ingredients. Things that might prove to have some use to them.
Approaching the door to the back room, Samir sees that it has a sturdy lock on it. Scrapes and gauges around the key hole evidence hasty attempts to tamper with the lock and get the door open, though it would appear the attempts were unsuccessful. Clearly however many people had come through to loot the place, no one was interested in more than grabbing whatever was easy.
The shop starts to shape up rather quickly. The foundations are good, and the dust is only weeks deep. Within ten minutes or so, most of the debris is piled up in one corner, and the rest of the shop is tidy and dirt-free.
Vilus spends a moment after fixing the door and windows, tapping on a few walls, and then a few floorboards, obviously looking for something but failing at it, he watches Samir with the lock but doesn't offer to help, shifting back into his regular Goliath form and simply sitting down where he can be seen and heard by all.
"This city is my home, but it is also enemy territory." He sighs, "the organisation have supplied a cell which we can put to use, deadly, stealthy, and they have access unseen to even the most secure areas above ground, inside and outside buildings. I cannot tell you how they manage this, as giving you all that information could cause them to turn on us, and I don't think we can afford a fight on two sides right now... My proposal is that we use the councilman's promise to observe whether what he says will happen actually happens, this is only to gauge how much we should trust him, then after the fact we have the cell steal the documents, this can be done soon. I don't fully trust the councilman, I don't fully trust my organisation, gods knows one of them is trying to kill me at least, but I do trust you guys. But what do you think of the plan, it's good to have options and I think we'd be better prepared."
Viki's shifts uncomfortably before continuing.
"I learned some new information recently too, about myself, about how my path may effect me, and I need to tell you all, because I need you to do something for me. All my life I have been taught and trained in caution, betrayal, and manipulation. It is a cold and clinical way to live. I'm not sure if I mentioned it to any of you before, but the ritual which opened me up to whatever imbues me with power, is an old ritual, only used these days as a ceremony of tradition, no one knew that it would actually work...
Recently I learned from more aged members of my organisation that they knew the fate of those before me, the power drove them mad and it always started with paranoia, the paranoia led to self mutilation, and when that wasn't enough, their madness sealed their fates...
The last time I slept was two weeks before I met any of you at that fateful inn, and currently the lines between caution and paranoia are becoming blurred. Since meeting you all I have been unceremoniously knocked unconscious three times, and each time the relief of it washed over me, like a blissful release from always being conscious, always watching...
I need you all to ground me, to keep me in the now, and to stop me if I begin down a path that I know will kill me, I trust you all enough to do that, more than anyone else, I trust each and everyone of you, however much my senses scream against me to admit it...
So, can I count on you?" Breathing deep Vilus closes his eyes and awaits any response, he seems fearful of it, of opening up like this, and of making himself vulnerable..
"Never doubt yourself, I don't." Ashley responds to Joren when he talks to her about the greatsword.
"So a place of treasures or curiosities? Is that what our little shop is going to be selling here?" She smiles as she watches Malachi transform the sign a couple of times. She then closes her eyes and smells the salt in the air and enjoys the breeze. So very different from her home Talmouth was, and from what she could tell so far, in all the good ways.
As they head in, she starts looking at the items that were left behind, to see if anything was worth saving. She assists with her mage hand in doing some cleaning as well, whistling a lot as they went. She watches when Samir attempts the back door, hoping he can see what they have going on back there without having to break the door down.
Ashley listens intently as Vilus starts to speak, and jumps up and sits next to him when he says that he trusts them. She's quiet as she listens intently to his admission, trying to understand his words and what it all means.
"So.. what you're saying is we should knock you out every night? I mean, might not hurt?" she says this with a smile, but concern in her eyes. "I'm listening to your plan, but I feel we're gaining trust with the councilman, and I don't want to push back against that by testing him and him finding out we weren't where we said we were."
She looks over to Joren, "You were with him longest, what do you think?"
Joren relaxes and comes back into the moment as Ashley urges him to buck up. He nods to himself, then gives her a little smile.
Fiery lass is right as usual. Stop moping, make the best of it and move forward.
At her idea to knock Vilus out when it is time for a rest, and the goliath's own profession of relief at being unconscious, Joren touches the pommel of his greatsword and grins speculatively at the strange, sleepless giant-kin.
"I could bonk you on the head softer than Jon Shep maybe? Resulting in only a small bump to show for it. Or some non-lethal choking, if you allow." He raises his other hand in solidarity to show he is joking (he thinks?). "Not being able to sleep... it is sounding terrible." (He genuinely means this). "As for me, I am still not fully certain what you would be counting on me for, other than defending you, which I will of course. Grounding you? I will try."
At Ashley's request, he shares what he remembers of Jean-Lou. "Everything he was saying seemed to fit, including about my homeland and parents. I can generally be judging intentions from face, throat and body language, though not an expert by any means. I was detecting no deception in his demeanor, though if he is a mastermind, then I would never be knowing. But I am thinking he does not yet fully trust us, which is fair. We should not be trifling with him, however. If our plan calls for testing the councilman's good faith, then let us do so without burning bridges or breaking his trust in us."
(Joren leaves discussion of the shop to the others, having faith in Samir in particular to make the breakthrough he seems to be near, and in the others to take care of the shop business.)
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Vilus chuckles at Ashley's suggestion, "no, no, I wouldn't ask that I be knocked out, though thank you for the offers, I feel like that would be indulging in an activity that has been taken from me for a reason, and there would likely be consequences. No I merely ask that if I get too paranoid, erratic or dangerous, that someone holds me back, keeps me safe, or if necessary, puts me down...
With the councilman's plan I only fear that if we take him up on his offer, we put ourselves in a potential trap, even with Mayor Berg's recommendation, this has all been oddly convenient. If we do this right we observe whether he was telling the truth and we still get the documents, he will be none the wiser as to how we did it and likely will assume he helped. If it is a trap we avoid that and can act accordingly knowing that we've been made... The Council woman already knows that I'm in the city, she likely already knows you all are too from that guy you met, Stenwick was it?
Right now we cannot afford to be arrested, or wanted by the city guard. Especially whilst an attempt is being made on the councilwoman... If the councilman is trustworthy and our caution burned a bridge with him then he truly does not understand the scale of what is at play here. No offence Joren, but if he would not be willing to understand our testing him, even in the slight chance that he figured out what we were doing, then I have doubts he would be of much use to us anyway, he has sway over the folk of this city, but to the other council members he is still and always will be a foreigner, from my experience that's just how they are.
That being said, if there's any other way we think his word can be tested, I'm listening. "
Joren remains expressionless. There it is again. I was not noticing its absence until just now. The condescension.
In his memory, Bernard Kryn and his brethren would often say "no offense" as a precursor to their own expounding on the brilliance of their plans and others' lack of it. Who is of use and who isn't. And no one was in a position to question it. He remembered it well.
Of course if councilman Jean-Lou believed in good faith that the group was testing him, he would understand. But if instead, what his sources tell him is that strangers, who might well be Marigold's agents, took advantage of the window of opportunity Jean-Lou had created for us to themselves remove and presumably hide or destroy documents, then why would he ever trust us again? Hopefully, he will not be thinking that.
In truth, Joren does not know. Though he doubts Vilus does either. He strives to let it go.
"I am not having a better plan. Nor am I knowing anything about these other assassins you speak of. Perhaps going ourselves is indeed worse."
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
"I will meet with them tonight, I will test them, and question them too, I do not want to rely on them too much, as I said, the organisation itself however useful is compromised. Their leader has been made aware and it is an affront to the organisation as a whole, so I have no doubt it will be dealt with... But I promise you I'm being as cautious as possible." Vilus gives Joren a nod, in solidarity, he half expected Joren to naysay the proposed plan and come to a compromise, or have some other input. For now Vilus relaxes, the lack of sleep not letting him question things much.
The lock on the back door clicks open, and the door swings smoothly open. Samir sees a long room on the other side that appears to be an alchemist's workshop. Various tools for herbology and medicine lie scattered about on a long table running down the centre of the room, and books on anatomy and healing line shelves on the walls along with an assortment of small bottles filled with different liquids. At one end of the room is a stone hearth with a cauldron, and at the other end is some sort of shrine with a statue of a tree trunk from which emerges the upper body of a slight and graceful woman, reaching up as if to pluck an apple.
"Please take this with all due respect, Vilus, but you are being paranoid at this very moment." Samir is knelt down in front of the lock, maneuvering small pieces and tumblers with a pair of long implements that he has inserted into the lock itself. Though his attention seems to be focused on the lock, his words are loud enough for everyone to hear. In fact he sounds ever so slightly... annoyed? "We have negotiated in good faith and trust with the Councilman, and I see no reason to burn that bridge or do other than what we have said that we will. Utilizing some shady criminal organization to obtain the information we need, rather than doing the leg work ourselves strikes me as not only dishonest, but disrespectful to the Councilman. We have zero reason to believe that the man has any ill notions or plans towards us or the people of this city, to my knowledge. Yes, we know there are likely to be agents of the enemy here in the city that we do not know about, but if we persist in treating every single person that we meet as potentially just another enemy, then frankly..." The lock clicks open with a resounding sound of metal on metal in the small space, and swings open smoothly with but a small push. "We simply condemn ourselves to spinning in circles like a marble caught in the bottom of a bowl and no exit to be found. Less than effective, and doomed to accomplishing nothing." He stands, slipping his tools back into his bag and brushes his hands against the rough fabric of his pants without turning away from the room. "We are dealing with the gods here, Vilus. A little faith could go a long way." With those words he steps into the back room, and begins to examine its contents, cataloguing things in his mind as he moves slowly from one end to the other.
Vilus nods, "I know it seems that way Samir, and I'm not trying to stop us from progressing, but if we're gonna pull this thing off in less than three hours we need a plan now, waltzing in there and expecting to be able to pick up those documents and walk out without a hitch is madness.
I can get us out without being seen, but I don't want to rely on that method unless it's an emergency, like I said before, introducing you all to organisation secrets is a sure fire way to gain us a lot more enemies, and then your spinning ball metaphor becomes true, and we become hunted on two fronts, and they have the home territory advantage." Vilus looks around to the newly opened door with interest, "anything of use in there? Potions, scrolls, and such, Magda was a healer, there might be something for leg stump pain"
Ashley listens to Samir and Vilus, letting the words roll around in her head. "Samir might be right that you are on the edge of paranoia beyond what is typical. I don't have a watcher or know what you have dealt with, so maybe this level is normal for you, and not brought on by the sleep deprivation or the spell. Either way, it's something to consider as Samir says."
"You say that no one would be the wiser if we had your cell get the documents. What if Jean Lou is watching? What if he is testing us? What if, and to your words, part of this cell is compromised? All this is a bit hard for me to grasp, but what if we just send in, say Vilus, Mal and Samir to get the papers? Small enough to not make notice, Samir knows the lay of the land, Vilus you can disguise yourself and Mal is always good in any situation," she winks at him, "I'm not saying no to your proposition, Vilus, just you seem very adamant about it and as you are asking us to consider your solution, I need you to be open to others." She turns to face him intently, looking at his face as she says this last part.
Malachi inspects the back room, leafing through the books and papers as the others talk. He picks up a bottle half-filled with a bluish-green liquid, opens the lid and gives it a tentative sniff. He wrinkles his nose in disgust as he gets a whiff of a pungent odor and he quickly closes it and places it back on the shelf. His eyebrows raise slightly as Samir calls out Vilus’ paranoia. “I don’t know, Vilus. The Councilor gave us a window this afternoon, your friends in the cell will be too late for that. What reason has he to double cross us? If he wanted us captured he could have easily done that in his office when we told our story. I will gladly leave Marigold to your organization. But I think we should gain the documents ourselves.” He gives Ashley a nod and small smile at her vote of confidence in him, even though it is likely misplaced. “But if we go, I think we should all go. We can play to all of our strengths.”
"right, no problem there, we go, we do this and we get out" Vilus gets up and starts rooting through his pack. "Does anyone have a disguise kit or something for the rest of you, also cloaks, something to obscure the form of you guys. Marion and Joren, you both stand out in your armours and make a lot of noise, I'm not saying leave them behind but is there anything you guys can do to blend in a little more? It's not exactly stealth as much as it is just having to act like we are supposed to be there, an air of confidence and superiority, right?" With that Vilus transforms into a stocky but severe looking elf, "another option, Minister Orelee here could be showing you round, a newly appointed lead for Marigold's proposed security updates, yes? Of course it's all bullshit but you'd be surprised with the amount of questioning people just aren't willing to do... Now normally I'd have looked over floor plans or at least staked out the place for a few days before hand but we make do right?" It becomes overwhelmingly apparent that vilus is quite stressed and rambling a little at the lack of preparation time the group has.
Joren looks at Vilus for a moment, then back at the rest of the group.
"Just let me know what you are wishing me to do or whom I should be pretending to be. Or if you are wanting me to come at all. If I am needing to leave my chain mail behind so be it, but if I am coming, I am bringing my greatsword. And my echo. I am having no disguise kit."
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Ashley looks down at her reddish hued skin and takes a handful of her glowing hair, looks at it and sighs. "A way of disguising myself? I'm afraid I don't have one. And I stick out like a sore thumb."
She sighs again, the worry and sadness about it etched on her face. She looks up at her friends, "Are you sure you want me with you? If you're stubborn about it, I suppose I could go first, then distract whomever we do run into while you all keep going?"
“Nonsense, of course you should go.” Malachi responds to Ashley. He picks up another bottle, decides not to repeat his previous mistake and places it back on the shelf instead. He moves over to Vilus and attempts to reassure him “Relax, Vilus. Ashley, Samir and Marion already checked the place out and Jean Lou provided a map with guard routes and what to look for. We just need to get in and get out.”
Malachi appreciated the value of good planning in many of the job he did, but he also made up things as we went along more often than not. And they did have a good deal of information already. He looks over at Ashley and Samir “You can get us back there with no trouble, right? Maybe you forgot something on your last visit.”
Joren shakes his head, the sadness in the fire genasi's face weighing on him like a pit in his stomach. He swallows once and composes himself.
"One thing none of us should be feeling bad about, least of all Ashley, is our appearance. Vilus, I am seeing your concern, and I know you did not mean it in that way of course. I may not be knowing this town or all the hidden enemies that lurk unseen here, but it is seeming to me that all roads are risky. If we are sending others to do our job, they may be exposing us if apprehended, or arousing suspicion in one of the few allies we may have in Jean-Lou."
"If we go ourselves and are caught, disguising ourselves may not improve our situation much either. I say, if it is a trap, let us all go as Malachi says, keeping our eyes open and springing the trap willfully, hoping the trappers are underestimating us as the cultists have thus far. Better perhaps to think of the tales we will be telling if confronted, as you were doing Vilus with the elf who is showing us around as Marigold's new security."
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
"Nothing so far that stands out as exceptionally usable in its current state." Samir continues looking over the items in the back room as the discussion continues. He forces himself to stifle a smirk at Malachi's reaction to one of the materials. Rookie mistake, one never just goes straight for the sniffing of unknown chemicals. That was a lesson the artificer learned years ago.
"I feel as if there is only a limited amount of planning we can do, in all honesty. There isn't much that we can change now even if we wanted to. I would propose, on theo ther hand, that we avoid initial wariness on the part of the officials by simply not doing anything to warrant it. Malachi and I initially began our trips to the city in order to further some business goals. I feel like that could be a valid reason to get us in the door and perhaps in some places. Then we go from there and improvise as needed. There are times, particularly when dealing with new materials or theories, that you just have to make things up as you go and adapt."
Samir moves further back in the room as he speaks, stopping in front of the late owner's most interesting statue. Or idol, or whatever it may be. Even as he says his piece to the others, his eyes roam the unusual figure, searching for clues as to its provenance or meaning. Is it a religious piece? This seems likely, although it could perhaps be simply something artistic. But from Vilus had said about the woman being a healer, there were decided motifs present in the statue that spoke to him of a deific or sanctified figure in that vein.