The voice pauses for a full 1... 2... 3 seconds before calling out, a little more loudly than necessary "Work?! Oh yes, plenty of work to be done here! Let's take a look at ye!"

There is the clanking of chains and grinding of bolts from the other side of the door, then it swings open. "Come on in, don't be shy!"

Entering cautiously your eyes adjust to the indoor light levels, and take in the large space in which you stand. Tall, tall shelves, some the full 3-storey height of the building, create a maze of crates, boxes, pallets and chests. Wooden stairs lead up the side of shelves here and there to walkways and platforms which span the aisles between shelves, and hold yet more boxes, crates and various items. 

The voice is indeed revealed to belong to a middle-aged halfling man, auburn of hair and pointed beard, small round glasses hanging on a chain around his neck. He bustles past you, still speaking quite loudly, "Plenty for ye to do I'm sure! We'll definitely be keeping ye busy!" as he locks the door again behind you. That done, his voice drops to a normal level.

"By the Mother, no need for all these blades waving about! We're all friends under the Cord here, am I right? Name's Mazeen Tensteps, and this is my own little empire." He gestures around the warehouse. "Ye be a little early. All good at the Axes?"

Annoura shrugged.  "Some imperial soldiers showed up while we there so they got us out in a hurry, sent us here.  We didn't hear any great commotion, so I think so, but...can't say for certain."

She looked around cautiously before continuing.  "We're supposed to be training here but, how will that work?"

Ebril turns about, taking in the room once the door is closed. "Quite the place here. And so... many... boxes."  He turns to look at the halfling. "Clearly you must be the finest purveyor of boxes around!"  He then turns to give Annoura a grin. "I know! They must intend for us to learn about... BOXing!"  

“Better safe than sorry.” Findall said leaning on his battleaxe. He nodded when Annoura mentioned the episode at the tavern. “We don’t ken what happened by the time we left.” The dwarf said hoping to change the subject. It was far too early to trust Mazeen with any information. Maybe Tensteps was the reason the imperials arrived by the Axe. “For everyone’s protection we won’t get into detail about what we were told or when we are moving, but Rummus said we have your roof for as long as necessary.”

That much was not a lie, although Bulkin also said how much time would be necessary. A detail better left unsaid, decided the barbarian. Hopefully his companions would think the same. Then Ebril spoke. That was a dad joke if he ever heard one.

“I swear we work better than we make jokes.” Finn said closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “Anyhow, where are we staying?”

The question made him feel, for the first time, that the game was on. They were moving against the Empire. Teaching it a good lesson and a moment too soon. I’ll tear you from the inside, sargh. I’ll tear you so you can never stand again. That was one of his few wishes and the only one he dared think about.

Notes: Do we make a Wisdom save or just take pyschic damage from Ebril's joke?

Annoura smiled politely at Ebril, but suspected nervousness more than humor informed the joke.  "Yes, where are we staying and when can we begin our work here. I am anxious to start."  The time to move cautiously against the Empire was at an end.  She had spent decades slowly gaining skill and ability.  She knew she still had much to learn she but she was well past the point she needed to worry about the Empire's soldiers, or at least any one of them.  Now, she was no longer alone, either.

She decided to humor Ebril. "Boxing is a valuable skill.  I've had to punch more than one person in a fight," she says with a smile.

ooc: I hope everyone's doing alright.

(I'm so sorry I haven't been very active here everyone, last week was particularly busy but I'm going to really get back into it this week. Thank you for your patience.)

Mazeen bursts out laughing. "Boxing! Ohoho yes, very good. But no no, I be the finest purveyor of fishing goods this side of the Queshi Forest! Of course, not all these crates have fishing stuff in them..." He gives a little wink.

"And as for where ye be staying while here, I wonder if ye can figure it out."

Annoura, I'll continue your previous perception check, and this will be the last thing I use it for - you notice that the overly complex layout of the warehouse is such that a space has been left in the centre of the building which is completely blocked off and hidden. You can't see through to it, and in your mind's eye you imagine a room walled with the backs of shelves, roofed with the planks of walkways. 

"Follow me, folks!" Tensteps says jovially, then starts leading you through the warehouse.

I won't ask for another roll for it, but I'll say that anyone looking around them during the walk will notice that every so often one of the boxes, crates and barrels you move past has been marked with a small daub of red paint.

"Well, we'll definitely have to keep you in mind when have a need for fishing gear!" Ebril says as he happily follows along after Mazeen. He tries to make note of the red marked items, but keeps his comments to himself until he sees where they are going. 

Annoura makes note of the items marked with red, trying to determine what might be in each container, or at least the types of goods.

"Mazeen, how long have you run this place?  Seems a fairly thriving business," she asks.

"Oho, thank ye, I do just fine!" says the little man as you walk. "In truth, this place just about breaks even. But I'm not here for the money, got plenty of that from my other places - I got stores and shops all along the Milk River, from Lapisport where I were born, right up to Demipek! Moved here about 15 year ago, after... after I saw for myself what help was needed."

He shakes off a memory, because continuing "A nice big place like this can hide all sorts of things besides poles and nets. A bit like... This!" You have stopped by a shelving unit roughly in the centre of the warehouse. Mazeen reaches past a box and activates some mechanism - the unit clunks and he swings it out, a disguised door. He leads the way inside.

There is indeed an entire hidden room here, as Annoura had guessed from her perception of the space. Boards have been attached to cover the gaps between shelf units, the backs of which form the walls. It's a little airless in here, and smoky from candles which sit on small wooden sconces, the only source of light in this room. It's surprisingly large (30x45ft). At one end a curtain, which cuts about 10ft off the length of the room, is half drawn back revealing some bunks against the far wall, a cluster of basic wooden chairs, and another smaller curtain, currently drawn closed.

To your right as you enter, a round straw target and a straw figure stand - ranged target practice.

On the far wall, a battered Imperial breastplate and helmet hang on an old mannequin - melee practice.

To your left, a large piece of parchment has been pinned to a table, a map of Quesada. Further pins with licks of red or black paint on the heads are scattered around the map.

Finally, in the far right corner as you enter, a ladder descends down a hole into the darkness under the earth. 

"There we go then!" enthuses Mazeen. "This is where you'll be staying until what's going to happen has happened. Course you don't have to stay in here the whole time! You're welcome to help out around the place, I'll pay you for your time like any of my other employees, wouldn't want you to think I were taking advantage! And I'll bring you food, so don't you worry about that."

"Egad! No private sleeping chambers?" Ebril jokes, but he quickly turns more serious. "No, this is much better than I could have expected. Thank you for providing this for us."

He starts to look about the place, his eyes drawn first to the large map on the wall. 

Findal rested his axe upon a shoulder before following the halfling. A gesture born in equal parts from not willing to waste time putting the weapon away and caution. Mazeen could be Leading them to a trap, after all.  Alas, that was not the case. Ebril was the first to speak when they arrived. His jokes seem to be improving, the dwarf had to admit. That was good. A sympathetic figure tended to inspire confidence and confidence would be useful on leading the prisoners out of the dungeons.

“I’ve never been one to shy from work, but our group attracts too much attention.” Ironborn said remembering how they almost crossed path with imperials.  “As far as I can tell no one was watching when we entered, but on our way here a Hand looked in our direction for a moment.” He admitted while looking at his “friends”.  “We take to helping you, someone see our faces and word is sure to get out about a new crew on and about, then, after we play our part, it will be just a matter of time for soldiers to appear by your doorstep.” Likely certain about who they were. “Best case scenario you disappear before they get to you and the activities here stop. Worst case scenario they find threads here leading to the Cord and considering how long you’ve been in the city, well, you don’t need me to tell you what would happen if they got to you.”

ooc: Has anyone heard from DragonHunters?

(Ooc:Sorry, been a bit busy)

Emel takes in the room, smiling slightly when she sees the straw target. Taking out her bow she aims for the target, loosing the arrow. It hits the target with a satisfying *thunk*. "This will do nicely"

"Don't ye worry about my people," Mazeen responds to Findal. "They're used to folk coming and going, and I trust em all. If ye want to help, I won't keep ye trapped in here."

His face becomes solemn for a moment. "And I'm used to the risk. Just bein' in this city is a risk. All living here are in danger every day of their lives, even them who won't admit it, even them who believe in the Empire. Ain't that why we're here, doing this?"

He perks up again at the thanks and compliments. "Glad ye like it! It's simple but it'll keep ye safe. Right, there's business to be done. And I'll be back soon with your lunch."

At that he gives a nod and backs out of the room, closing the hidden door behind him. 

You are free to train with the targets or each other, rest, play dice or cards which you find on a small table by the beds, or anything else until Tensteps comes back with food.

"Guess it's up to us to decide what we need to do?  Not sure we need fancy plans. But be nice to get to know you all."  Ebril peers about the room. "No bottles of wine, but guess that'd be lunch." 

He starts to pace about a bit,  making his way to the small table eventually. "Ah, cards! We could play a bit to while away some time. Not the most practical, but certainly entertaining.  And we can still chat."

Annoura declines with a smile. "No thanks.  I need to work out.  Maybe later."  Setting her things by one of the cots, she begins a series of calisthenics.  The elven paladin continues those for about 20 minutes, finishing with 5 minutes of sprints from one side of the enclosure to other and back again.  She pauses to drink some water, then takes out her sword and begins basic swordsmanship exercises combined with footwork drills.  She then proceeds to the mannequin and starts sparring with it.  Her movements are precise, yet fluid, the sword flowing from position to position.  After 20 minutes of that, she lays aside the sword and does essentially the same drills with her dagger.  Finally, covered with sweat, she pulls out her bow and spends 20 minutes shooting arrows into the target.

Finally, she cools down by walking around the room for 5 minutes, before sitting at the table and drinking more water.  "The Empire won't go down easy.  I need to be ready," she says to no one in particular.  She watches the door and the hole in the ground while she sits.

“In this case count me in when you need to deal with heavier cargo.” Findal said even thought he didn’t trust Mazeen yet. Everything pointed to the halfling being a good man. A warrior fighting on the right side, the best he could. Yet the dwarf could not risk being caught off guard. It was a good idea to keep eyes outside of the room. “Thank you for the care.”

Ebril was the first to speak after the host left. As the cleric examined their lair the barbarian sat watching the door they came through and the entrance of the tunnel they would travel in. The weapons rested by his side. Wight literally lifted from his body, but still close enough should he need to reach for any of them.

“If you ask me the first thing we need to do is to keep watch to the entrances. Chances are it will be an unnecessary precaution, but what happened in the tavern showed that interference can come from where we least expect and when we least expected.” Finn said keeping alert. “It would be good to have one or two always up even during the night.” Just like in the wilds. “I’ll pass on the game, but we can certainly talk. Anything you want to ken in particular?”

Emel continued her archery practice, with Mep retrieving her arrows as she does. Their motions seem fluid, their familiarity letting them move to the same rhythm. "I don't mind doing some work. Extra coin is always welcome, and we're used to far rougher working conditions. For now though, I agree with Annoura. Keeping ourselves prepared for what's to come ought to be our priorty. Plenty of time for cards later."