Above & Below

"The group has a stronghold in the central dock district. Far enough away from the wealthier parts of town to go unnoticed by what little authority exists here, but close enough to everywhere else that they can spread their influence easily. They have been around for awhile, but mostly started out as petty thieves, occasionally smuggling in drugs from elsewhere. But a new leader emerged recently who has driven them to...higher aspirations. It is rumored they have infiltrated the town council, and have spread to other towns as well." 

"It's been tough to track all their movements, but the leader - who they only call Alpha - seems to be motivated by more than just a few gold pieces. His second-in-command, Buck, is mostly a thug but he is powerful in his own right. Wears a deer skull to show his rank. In addition to the dock location, they have a few individual houses on the western edge of town. Easy access to the main roads out, I suppose." Rastel thinks for a moment. "My research and travels had really only begun to uncover some interesting things. Powerful knowledge and items...but I had hardly begun to delve into their origins before they were taken."

Kurama, they both seem to be completely honest and forthcoming.

Kurama took a beat to process and absorb everything he had heard from the two monks before turning to Brask, Effort & Pip.  "I know that we need to find the last Sister as soon as we can, but I have a strong feeling that we need to lend our aid to Rasgo, Rastel and the town against this group.  And who knows, perhaps one of the items Rastel has been investigating could help us in our quest as well?"   

Effort sighs and leans back.  "To get involved in yet more gang wars... I suppose not even escaping to another plane can relieve me of my fate with the streets."  Nodding at Kurama, she stands up.  "Very well.  I would rather take action to sort things out than sit here and offer empty platitudes of comfort.  Though we should not delay overmuch here, lest we forget our goal.  There is more at stake here than simply the well-being of this village."

"Buck is usually down at their headquarters near the docks, overseeing operations," Rasgo begins drawing a rudimentary map for you. "We've never seen this Alpha down there, although there aren't a lot of reports of him nearer their houses either. I'm afraid I can't point you in one direction or another to begin. I do doubt that they would keep these things in a place with a lot of access, though."

Hey,  you wanna help the guy, let's do it, Brask the helpful team member says.  Right Pip?

Pip nods in agreement. "We haven't turned away from fighting bad people yet, right?"

And never will, Brask replies with a grin.

"So..." Pip looks around at you all. "Do we head down to their headquarters or start by searching the other buildings to the west?"

"Why don't we raid the houses to the west first?  They might have some supplies stored there that we could find useful.  I suspect we'll end up by the docks one way or the other eventually, seeing as how we want to actually get out to sea," Effort points out.  "We could work our way in.  Still, I am tied to no particular strategy here."

She turns her head a bit, seeking out her mental connection to Cadmael.  Can you fly around town, and try to find the one wearing the deer horns, whom we met earlier? she asks.

Sounds good to me.  Brask starts heading in the general direction of the houses to the west, letting himself be guiding be Effort/Cadmael as appropriate.  We could just go to the docks and call them out.  Or find a tavern, get drunk and start insulting them, their morals and their parentage.  There's lots of ways to draw scumbags out.  Take your pick.  Smelling a fight looming, Brask's in a good mood and chats as they walk, telling stories of bandits and gang members he's fought in the past.

Give me a perception check for Cadmael.

You all head out into town, with Cadmael taking wing and rising up to get a better vantage point of the surrounding districts. It doesn't take long to find the row of buildings the group seems to be using. It's on the far western edge of town, in a seemingly quiet area. Beyond the houses is a meadow, with the dense forest on the other side. 

Actually, everyone give me perception checks!

Brask's ever-reliable Perception: 11

Effort perception: 6 + guidance 3

Cadmael perception: 10

Kurama Perception: 8 (Nat 1!!!)

Brask's eagerness for a fight has him walking along with a cocky swagger, although it distracts him from actually looking for anything suspicious or helpful. Likewise, Kurama is distracted, although it's by the meaning of what his fellow monks were saying. What are they working on? How are the Sisters actually involved? They're both stopped short by Effort when she realizes they were about to waltz right up to the buildings.

Effort, you don't see a lot either. The houses are quiet. Completely quiet, actually. You wait a few minutes, and don't see anyone in or around them. Finally, on the first of the three, you see a swinging door off to the side. But nobody emerges. It just seems to have been left open.

Meanwhile, Cadmael hovers over the town and can see pretty well in all directions. He starts to drift away from you as you head west so he can get a better view of the docks. There's plenty of activity down there, and he sees a few of the group walking in and out of the warehouse wearing their signature bones on their arms and legs. Eventually Buck does show up and heads inside. He's not able to get any idea of what's on the interior of the building, though.

(Mobile)

"Does not seem like anyone is here.  This will probably be our best chance to investigate without being seen or noticed..."  Beginning to head towards the house with the swinging door, Kurama turned to Effort and said, "Can you have Cadamel tell us if anyone's approaching?"  He'll the carefully head towards the house, poke his head in to see if the coast is clear, and enter (assuming that it seems empty)

• Stealth: 21  

Effort shares Cadmael's vision with the others:  "It seems like all of the activity right now is concentrated at the docks.  If there truly is no-one here, it might do us well to raid their buildings and take what we can, as well as try to learn their purpose or the identity of their leader from what was left behind.  Yes, Brask... I know you are eager for a fight.  But being forewarned might give us an edge at the battle that will surely happen at the docks.  And we might need it, considering their numbers there."

If the others decide to rifle through the houses, she orders Cadmael to keep watch and let her know if anyone approaches the buildings from outside.

Brask is happy enough to join in raiding the houses.  Yeah, let's do it.  Hey, it just makes the fight easier, right?  What are we looking for?  Like, weapons and stuff?

Kurama leads the way into the house with the open door, sneaking successfully up to the entrance. He peers inside, and pauses. The rest of you see him stand up straight, now unconcerned with being seen. He just stands in the doorway for a moment before stepping inside. 

You join him to find a gruesome scene. Members of the Dark Forest are scattered throughout the room, bloodied and dead. One has his skull crushed in. Another looks as if all his limbs were broken. The back window is shattered with bits of drying blood marking the sharp edges. 

Also inside are a pair of woven trunks, a simple kitchen, and some chairs around a wooden table. The back rooms all have pairs of beds with what you're guessing were the personal belongings of these men. 

(Mobile)

"This is troubling..." Kurama began as he surveyed the dead bodies in front of them.  "Because it means that we likely have at least one other foe besides the Dark Forest that we now have to worry about in this town as well; one we know nothing about...  I think we should check this house and the others just to be sure but I suspect we'll find the same things there as well..."

• Investigation (to see if there's anything notable within the dead men's possessions: 19