Malachi puts his ink and parchment away and looks at Joren, considering the options. “It does make sense that not all of us should go to Jean Lou, less noticeable that way. If you do want a disguise, I can certainly pull something together, but what? You would not be out of place visiting him as you are, a former countryman finding themselves in Talmouth. Disguised as the poor, elderly or infirm people will ignore you most places, but you will stick out like a sore thumb visiting the Councilor that way.”
He looks up as Ashley returns and a smile breaks out on his face “Ashley, welcome back! Yes, Samir and Vilus managed to disable the runes and we have a copy for us and one for Jean Lou. We were just discussing how to get it to him while still meeting with Vilus’ cell. Any ideas?”
Samir finds himself immediately fascinated with the book that Vilus presents, and it is with a mixture of caution and excitement that he begins flipping through pages. His eager eyes play over lines of unfamiliar text and inscribed symbols in quick succession as he skims the pages. "Oh my yes, I feel this could be incredibly useful. Thank you, Vilus."
Samir glances up to the others, tearing his eyes away from the new prize. "Unfortunately, no, I don't have any kind of tricks to disguise you, sadly. It would make things, easier."
Vilus nods to Samir as the half orc engrosses himself in the book, "a bed? For me, I'm not sure I need one right now, they take up so much space, maybe a nice chair for me eh?" Vilus gives a wry smile to Ashley before listening to Joren "I... uh, I can only disguise myself I'm afraid Joren, well with magic anyway, let's see what we have here" Vilus starts collecting a few scraps together, charcoal from the fire place, an old candle, a beaten up cap, and for a moment he pops outside before coming back in with a stinging nettle. "Here got everything to make you look different enough to not be identified twice, that's the key with disguises, the only people you're disguising yourself against is those looking for you... The general masses aren't paying attention. Now do you want me to use this stuff?"
At a glance, Samir can tell that the book Vilus handed him could be a goldmine in terms of furthering his understanding of not just Razmus' Godtongue, but perhaps the other Godtongue he'd seen when magic was released on Tensmith as well.
"Oh that's fantastic! Did anyone recognize any names on the list? And how many were on it?" She smiles at Vilus's reply to her question. "Speaking of, has anyone checked upstairs?"
She starts heading that direction and overhears the disguise discussion for Joren, "Actually, I'm glad to hear you're going in disguise. I was followed for awhile by a figure in a hooded cloak, it wasn't Stenwick I could tell that much and it had a dagger that looked the same as the others we've found on the cultists on his hip. But I was able to lose him before coming back here."
She continues upstairs to check out the rest of the shop/home base area they have.
Malachi watches Vilus gather his supplies to aid in Joren’s disguise and makes a small tsk, tsk sound as he looks over the charcoal and nettles. “Crude, but effective. Here let me add to the effort.” Malachi pulls out his disguise kit and starts to go through the various powders, dyes, and accouterments. “Typically, I have seen disguises used to take on the role or guise of something you are not, but Vilus is right, to prevent someone from recognizing you it could be as simple as changing your hair color or skin tone, adding some padding to your shoulders or gut to make you appear larger. Perhaps you can walk with a limp or staff as well.” Malachi helps Vilus and Joren with the disguise.
Vilus laughs as Mal pulls out a disguise kit, the thought to ask the others never having crossed his mind, "well that'll be less painful, the nettles here were to redden the cheeks and round the face with a bit of inflammation... But this seems alot more professional" he picks up a few of the disguise tools and inspects them, "right we'll get to work and then I'm off for a bit"
Once Joren looks as 'not himself' as Mal and Vilus can make him, Vilus hands over his last remaining cloak to Joren, "I'm not too much bigger than you but this should cover the armour at least, don't want you out there feeling vulnerable" then Vilus dons his own disguise, transforming into one of the shadow creatures from the caves way back, but this time with an illusory cloak hiding his complete lack of features.
Joren brightens as Ashley returns, then listens to the recounting of her venture.
"Some furniture is sounding nice for this place, though my bedroll is serving well enough for me to sleep on. The ships in the harbor may be signifying something. Perhaps the cultists are having a purpose in winnowing out larger craft, or even warships, naturally. Good work, avoiding your follower, Ashley! I was on the verge of refusing to be disguised if it meant Vilus eagerly smashing nettles into my face. But perhaps disguising is best after all."
He gamely submits to Malachi and Vilus' efforts to disguise him, donning his chain mail at stowing his greatsword at the appropriate times. Nothing is going to keep him from venturing out without those. Taking the list and a deep breath, summons his echo.
Once outside, he moves his echo to the rooftops. Standing on top of sturdy looking buildings which are no more than 30' high, moving to the next rooftop as Joren passes. Not immediately in sight for anyone who is focused on Joren himself. (The echo, of course, is not disguised).
Proceeding towards Jean-Lou's home, Joren attempts to look preoccupied and downtrodden, all while keeping a sharp lookout.
"right I'm off... I know I asked if any would like to come with me, but it being the first time I'm meeting this cell I think it would be better if the only person they're expecting shows up, secret organisation and all that, I'll be back soon" the words Vilus speak obviously come from his mouth but eerily the shadow inside his hood does not betray the movement of any mouth, he slips out heading in a different direction to Joren.
"As for myself, I believe I will try and get somewhat comfortable while I look this over." Samir makes a vague gesture with the book in his hand before making his way into the back room, leaving the door open. Soon, he is seated with the book before him on a workbench, using whatever is available for a chair.
Joren makes his way through the streets doing his best to be subtle. He quickly realizes that keeping his head down actually makes it easier to keep track of the people around him. He doesn't have to worry about people seeing his eyes looking around, and he can see the feet of people behind him easier. On his way from the cramped and crowded Rows to the considerably more organized upper district, a walk he is starting to get somewhat familiar with, Joren on several instances spots suspicious individuals keeping an eye on the crowd. But each time he manages to evade notice, and by the time he nears Jean-Lou's residence, he is confident that no one is following him.
When he reaches Jean-Lou's home, he notices the large man sitting by a window inside, keeping his eye on the street, though he too does not seem to recognize Joren.
When Malachi gets an opportunity, he heads up the creaky wooden stairs. The door at the top is closed but not locked. He opens it up to find much the same situation as downstairs. The room has been picked mostly clean of belongings, though there is a single bed frame and a wardrobe. The most notable thing about the room is a bit of an unpleasant odor. Death nearby, his darkness tells him.
Joren slows down as he nears Jean-Lou's home, as if having trouble with his shoes, waiting for a moment when no one appears to be watching him.
At that moment, Joren sends his echo along his line of sight into the room with Jean-Lou, then swaps places with it. With the remaining 15' of his movement, he steps away out of view of the window (inside Jean-Lou's room) but still in view of the council member. The echo outside then winks out.
In the street, anyone watching would see the disguised Joren briefly replaced by an image of normal-looking Joren before disappearing. Inside his room, Jean-Lou would briefly glimpse an image of normal-looking Joren appear, before it is replaced by the real, disguised Joren stepping back and saluting.
Holding out the copied list, Joren drawls respectfully in his native tongue, saluting briefly and using words he hopes will clearly identify himself as who he really is and not an impostor. "High Commisioner Jean-Lou. I am here thanks to Thalvik Dorral and Jolien Kryn. If you go back far enough, anyway. I think you may be interested in this. My companions and I appreciate your assistance. I have a bit more information as well."
At the first sight of Joren, Jean-Lou jumps to his feet, dagger in hand, but then he composes himself quickly. "My apologies. I am tired at this late hour, and quick to startle," he replies in the same language. "Is that the document? A copy I presume? Good. Come, let us speak further in my study, so we might have some more privacy." With that, he leads Joren through his nice but sparsely decorated sitting room to a door revealing a set of stairs leading to the basement. He lights a candle and then heads down. The study itself is dimly lit by the glow of smoldering coals in a fireplace. Jean-Lou shuffles them about with a poker and then adds a log from a small pile beside. The darkness in the room gradually recedes as the embers give rise to flame. "More information, you say?"
At the first sight of Joren, Jean-Lou jumps to his feet, dagger in hand, but then he composes himself quickly. "My apologies. I am tired at this late hour, and quick to startle," he replies in the same language. "Is that the document? A copy I presume? Good. Come, let us speak further in my study, so we might have some more privacy." With that, he leads Joren through his nice but sparsely decorated sitting room to a door revealing a set of stairs leading to the basement. He lights a candle and then heads down. The study itself is dimly lit by the glow of smoldering coals in a fireplace. Jean-Lou shuffles them about with a poker and then adds a log from a small pile beside. The darkness in the room gradually recedes as the embers give rise to flame. "More information, you say?"
"Apologies for the abrupt sudden entrance, sir. I thought it better than knocking at your door, which might arouse suspicion with me looking as I do. As far as I know, however, I was not explicitly noticed or followed."
Joren has a brief moment wondering whether it is 100% safe to trust Jean-Lou with everything that they know, but given his own inability to notice any deceit or dissembling on the council member's part, and his natural affinity due to origin, Joren decides to trust.
"The points of information I have are these." Joren ticks them off on his hand. Speaking in their shared native tongue.
1. "The documents we took were warded magically. Others could describe it better. Some ribbon that might make the opener forget what they were doing. Perhaps other functions too. They also provided a clue to the Godtongue runes that the Razmus cultists use to inscribe magic, which one of our group is attempting to decipher. We experienced a rune of this type on the body of the first cultist we encountered, just down from the shield pass. One named Jon Shep was trapping exhausted travelers there and performing horrible experiments to splice them with large rodents to serve as slave labor to dig tunnels. When we captured him, he tried to goad us into killing him. When he was finally slain, his runes glowed and his body exploded. A dead man's switch."
2. "You likely know this, but the ships in the harbor appear to have had any vessel for transporting people winnowed from their ranks. We were not sure whether this is just typical of Talmouth's harbor, or might reflect intentional culling of ships by cultists. In particular, vessels which might transport troops to repel the inbound naval invasion. It would be interesting to know when ships capable of transporting many people last docked here."
3. "Again, you may know this, but rumors abound among guards of serial killings in the Rows. Victims are 'tough' characters who may have 'had it coming,' so the reaction of the guards has been more bemused than angry. Wound descriptions seem to match what we have seen from the wickedly sharp cultist daggers. This again could represent a culling by the cultists, only of good fighters rather than ships. We already know they 'collect' and 'drain' the magic from those they find with magic abilities. The aforementioned Jon Shep was excited at the prospect of capturing us for this reason."
4. "Lastly, no surprise, cultists are watching us and following us when they notice."
Malachi pushes open the door at the top of the ramshackle room and looks around carefully. Most items of value had already been picked over, similar to the main room downstairs, but he wrinkles his nose up at a foul odor and feels a sensation in the back of his mind. He checks under the bed and cautiously pulls open the door to the wardrobe and looks inside for the source of the smell.
Jean-Lou looks over the list while Joren talks, grimacing as he does so. "There are a couple family names on here that I recognize. I'll have some teams put together to raid some of these homes for evidence. We'll hit them hard and fast, coordinating our efforts so there is less time for a response. And of course we'll keep an eye out for runes, just to be safe. You're certain you weren't followed here?
As for the ships... It could be that they are trying to stem the flow of communication, or isolate us from the outside word. As you know, the port is pretty much the only way into the country. And we really don't know much about the supposed serial killings, but it seems likely to be connected. Now, if that is all, you should go home. Get some rest. Leave the next part to me."
Joren nods somberly at the talk of coordinated raids. Continuing in his native tongue, he growls, "do not underestimate them, Jean-Lou. We have made that mistake before. They are devious and utterly ruthless. They have also underestimated us, but those days are likely over now since Andra escaped."
"I watched closely and I do not think I was followed here, but I cannot be completely sure." He sighs and salutes. "Be well, High Comissioner Jean-Lou."
If the goliath has nothing more, Joren waits, peeking out the edge of the window until the way is clear of passers by. He echo swaps to an alley or gap between buildings on the far side of the street, then re-summons his echo to a rooftop. After a moment, the disguised Joren emerges as if having relieved himself and proceeds back, still moving his echo rooftop to rooftop as he had done on the way to Jean-Lou's home. Watching his surroundings closely.
It takes a few minutes of Ashley and Malachi poking around, but finally Malachi spots a reddish brown stain in the wooden floor in the corner. It's smells coppery. He looks up and sees a similar stain around a crack between the wooden boards of the ceiling. He can also make out the outline of a long trapdoor up there, with a small ring for opening. Malachi has seen this type of trapdoor before. There is normally a rod with a hook nearby with which one can snag the ring to pull the door down. But the rod is nowhere to be seen.
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Malachi puts his ink and parchment away and looks at Joren, considering the options. “It does make sense that not all of us should go to Jean Lou, less noticeable that way. If you do want a disguise, I can certainly pull something together, but what? You would not be out of place visiting him as you are, a former countryman finding themselves in Talmouth. Disguised as the poor, elderly or infirm people will ignore you most places, but you will stick out like a sore thumb visiting the Councilor that way.”
He looks up as Ashley returns and a smile breaks out on his face “Ashley, welcome back! Yes, Samir and Vilus managed to disable the runes and we have a copy for us and one for Jean Lou. We were just discussing how to get it to him while still meeting with Vilus’ cell. Any ideas?”
Samir finds himself immediately fascinated with the book that Vilus presents, and it is with a mixture of caution and excitement that he begins flipping through pages. His eager eyes play over lines of unfamiliar text and inscribed symbols in quick succession as he skims the pages. "Oh my yes, I feel this could be incredibly useful. Thank you, Vilus."
Samir glances up to the others, tearing his eyes away from the new prize. "Unfortunately, no, I don't have any kind of tricks to disguise you, sadly. It would make things, easier."
Vilus nods to Samir as the half orc engrosses himself in the book, "a bed? For me, I'm not sure I need one right now, they take up so much space, maybe a nice chair for me eh?" Vilus gives a wry smile to Ashley before listening to Joren "I... uh, I can only disguise myself I'm afraid Joren, well with magic anyway, let's see what we have here" Vilus starts collecting a few scraps together, charcoal from the fire place, an old candle, a beaten up cap, and for a moment he pops outside before coming back in with a stinging nettle. "Here got everything to make you look different enough to not be identified twice, that's the key with disguises, the only people you're disguising yourself against is those looking for you... The general masses aren't paying attention. Now do you want me to use this stuff?"
At a glance, Samir can tell that the book Vilus handed him could be a goldmine in terms of furthering his understanding of not just Razmus' Godtongue, but perhaps the other Godtongue he'd seen when magic was released on Tensmith as well.
"Oh that's fantastic! Did anyone recognize any names on the list? And how many were on it?" She smiles at Vilus's reply to her question. "Speaking of, has anyone checked upstairs?"
She starts heading that direction and overhears the disguise discussion for Joren, "Actually, I'm glad to hear you're going in disguise. I was followed for awhile by a figure in a hooded cloak, it wasn't Stenwick I could tell that much and it had a dagger that looked the same as the others we've found on the cultists on his hip. But I was able to lose him before coming back here."
She continues upstairs to check out the rest of the shop/home base area they have.
Malachi watches Vilus gather his supplies to aid in Joren’s disguise and makes a small tsk, tsk sound as he looks over the charcoal and nettles. “Crude, but effective. Here let me add to the effort.” Malachi pulls out his disguise kit and starts to go through the various powders, dyes, and accouterments. “Typically, I have seen disguises used to take on the role or guise of something you are not, but Vilus is right, to prevent someone from recognizing you it could be as simple as changing your hair color or skin tone, adding some padding to your shoulders or gut to make you appear larger. Perhaps you can walk with a limp or staff as well.” Malachi helps Vilus and Joren with the disguise.
Vilus laughs as Mal pulls out a disguise kit, the thought to ask the others never having crossed his mind, "well that'll be less painful, the nettles here were to redden the cheeks and round the face with a bit of inflammation... But this seems alot more professional" he picks up a few of the disguise tools and inspects them, "right we'll get to work and then I'm off for a bit"
Once Joren looks as 'not himself' as Mal and Vilus can make him, Vilus hands over his last remaining cloak to Joren, "I'm not too much bigger than you but this should cover the armour at least, don't want you out there feeling vulnerable" then Vilus dons his own disguise, transforming into one of the shadow creatures from the caves way back, but this time with an illusory cloak hiding his complete lack of features.
Joren brightens as Ashley returns, then listens to the recounting of her venture.
"Some furniture is sounding nice for this place, though my bedroll is serving well enough for me to sleep on. The ships in the harbor may be signifying something. Perhaps the cultists are having a purpose in winnowing out larger craft, or even warships, naturally. Good work, avoiding your follower, Ashley! I was on the verge of refusing to be disguised if it meant Vilus eagerly smashing nettles into my face. But perhaps disguising is best after all."
He gamely submits to Malachi and Vilus' efforts to disguise him, donning his chain mail at stowing his greatsword at the appropriate times. Nothing is going to keep him from venturing out without those. Taking the list and a deep breath, summons his echo.
Once outside, he moves his echo to the rooftops. Standing on top of sturdy looking buildings which are no more than 30' high, moving to the next rooftop as Joren passes. Not immediately in sight for anyone who is focused on Joren himself. (The echo, of course, is not disguised).
Proceeding towards Jean-Lou's home, Joren attempts to look preoccupied and downtrodden, all while keeping a sharp lookout.
Joren Perception: 22
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
"right I'm off... I know I asked if any would like to come with me, but it being the first time I'm meeting this cell I think it would be better if the only person they're expecting shows up, secret organisation and all that, I'll be back soon" the words Vilus speak obviously come from his mouth but eerily the shadow inside his hood does not betray the movement of any mouth, he slips out heading in a different direction to Joren.
"As for myself, I believe I will try and get somewhat comfortable while I look this over." Samir makes a vague gesture with the book in his hand before making his way into the back room, leaving the door open. Soon, he is seated with the book before him on a workbench, using whatever is available for a chair.
Joren makes his way through the streets doing his best to be subtle. He quickly realizes that keeping his head down actually makes it easier to keep track of the people around him. He doesn't have to worry about people seeing his eyes looking around, and he can see the feet of people behind him easier. On his way from the cramped and crowded Rows to the considerably more organized upper district, a walk he is starting to get somewhat familiar with, Joren on several instances spots suspicious individuals keeping an eye on the crowd. But each time he manages to evade notice, and by the time he nears Jean-Lou's residence, he is confident that no one is following him.
When he reaches Jean-Lou's home, he notices the large man sitting by a window inside, keeping his eye on the street, though he too does not seem to recognize Joren.
When Malachi gets an opportunity, he heads up the creaky wooden stairs. The door at the top is closed but not locked. He opens it up to find much the same situation as downstairs. The room has been picked mostly clean of belongings, though there is a single bed frame and a wardrobe. The most notable thing about the room is a bit of an unpleasant odor. Death nearby, his darkness tells him.
Joren slows down as he nears Jean-Lou's home, as if having trouble with his shoes, waiting for a moment when no one appears to be watching him.
At that moment, Joren sends his echo along his line of sight into the room with Jean-Lou, then swaps places with it. With the remaining 15' of his movement, he steps away out of view of the window (inside Jean-Lou's room) but still in view of the council member. The echo outside then winks out.
In the street, anyone watching would see the disguised Joren briefly replaced by an image of normal-looking Joren before disappearing. Inside his room, Jean-Lou would briefly glimpse an image of normal-looking Joren appear, before it is replaced by the real, disguised Joren stepping back and saluting.
Holding out the copied list, Joren drawls respectfully in his native tongue, saluting briefly and using words he hopes will clearly identify himself as who he really is and not an impostor. "High Commisioner Jean-Lou. I am here thanks to Thalvik Dorral and Jolien Kryn. If you go back far enough, anyway. I think you may be interested in this. My companions and I appreciate your assistance. I have a bit more information as well."
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
At the first sight of Joren, Jean-Lou jumps to his feet, dagger in hand, but then he composes himself quickly. "My apologies. I am tired at this late hour, and quick to startle," he replies in the same language. "Is that the document? A copy I presume? Good. Come, let us speak further in my study, so we might have some more privacy." With that, he leads Joren through his nice but sparsely decorated sitting room to a door revealing a set of stairs leading to the basement. He lights a candle and then heads down. The study itself is dimly lit by the glow of smoldering coals in a fireplace. Jean-Lou shuffles them about with a poker and then adds a log from a small pile beside. The darkness in the room gradually recedes as the embers give rise to flame. "More information, you say?"
"Apologies for the abrupt sudden entrance, sir. I thought it better than knocking at your door, which might arouse suspicion with me looking as I do. As far as I know, however, I was not explicitly noticed or followed."
Joren has a brief moment wondering whether it is 100% safe to trust Jean-Lou with everything that they know, but given his own inability to notice any deceit or dissembling on the council member's part, and his natural affinity due to origin, Joren decides to trust.
"The points of information I have are these." Joren ticks them off on his hand. Speaking in their shared native tongue.
1. "The documents we took were warded magically. Others could describe it better. Some ribbon that might make the opener forget what they were doing. Perhaps other functions too. They also provided a clue to the Godtongue runes that the Razmus cultists use to inscribe magic, which one of our group is attempting to decipher. We experienced a rune of this type on the body of the first cultist we encountered, just down from the shield pass. One named Jon Shep was trapping exhausted travelers there and performing horrible experiments to splice them with large rodents to serve as slave labor to dig tunnels. When we captured him, he tried to goad us into killing him. When he was finally slain, his runes glowed and his body exploded. A dead man's switch."
2. "You likely know this, but the ships in the harbor appear to have had any vessel for transporting people winnowed from their ranks. We were not sure whether this is just typical of Talmouth's harbor, or might reflect intentional culling of ships by cultists. In particular, vessels which might transport troops to repel the inbound naval invasion. It would be interesting to know when ships capable of transporting many people last docked here."
3. "Again, you may know this, but rumors abound among guards of serial killings in the Rows. Victims are 'tough' characters who may have 'had it coming,' so the reaction of the guards has been more bemused than angry. Wound descriptions seem to match what we have seen from the wickedly sharp cultist daggers. This again could represent a culling by the cultists, only of good fighters rather than ships. We already know they 'collect' and 'drain' the magic from those they find with magic abilities. The aforementioned Jon Shep was excited at the prospect of capturing us for this reason."
4. "Lastly, no surprise, cultists are watching us and following us when they notice."
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
Malachi pushes open the door at the top of the ramshackle room and looks around carefully. Most items of value had already been picked over, similar to the main room downstairs, but he wrinkles his nose up at a foul odor and feels a sensation in the back of his mind. He checks under the bed and cautiously pulls open the door to the wardrobe and looks inside for the source of the smell.
After being followed, Ashley wasn't as keen in going out on her own again that day, so she heads upstairs and assists Mal in cleaning up the upstairs.
(Mal and Ash, give me investigation checks)
Jean-Lou looks over the list while Joren talks, grimacing as he does so. "There are a couple family names on here that I recognize. I'll have some teams put together to raid some of these homes for evidence. We'll hit them hard and fast, coordinating our efforts so there is less time for a response. And of course we'll keep an eye out for runes, just to be safe. You're certain you weren't followed here?
As for the ships... It could be that they are trying to stem the flow of communication, or isolate us from the outside word. As you know, the port is pretty much the only way into the country. And we really don't know much about the supposed serial killings, but it seems likely to be connected. Now, if that is all, you should go home. Get some rest. Leave the next part to me."
Joren nods somberly at the talk of coordinated raids. Continuing in his native tongue, he growls, "do not underestimate them, Jean-Lou. We have made that mistake before. They are devious and utterly ruthless. They have also underestimated us, but those days are likely over now since Andra escaped."
"I watched closely and I do not think I was followed here, but I cannot be completely sure." He sighs and salutes. "Be well, High Comissioner Jean-Lou."
If the goliath has nothing more, Joren waits, peeking out the edge of the window until the way is clear of passers by. He echo swaps to an alley or gap between buildings on the far side of the street, then re-summons his echo to a rooftop. After a moment, the disguised Joren emerges as if having relieved himself and proceeds back, still moving his echo rooftop to rooftop as he had done on the way to Jean-Lou's home. Watching his surroundings closely.
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
It takes a few minutes of Ashley and Malachi poking around, but finally Malachi spots a reddish brown stain in the wooden floor in the corner. It's smells coppery. He looks up and sees a similar stain around a crack between the wooden boards of the ceiling. He can also make out the outline of a long trapdoor up there, with a small ring for opening. Malachi has seen this type of trapdoor before. There is normally a rod with a hook nearby with which one can snag the ring to pull the door down. But the rod is nowhere to be seen.