Quote from NemoCaptain >>

Before Kevin steps out completely, Elhanna turns to the rest of you all: "I actually reconsidered. I'm a follower of Ilmater too, and what's going on here affects me as well. I won't be too much help in convincing the Brand, but I can try and worked with Kevin to convince some inside the church to question their current leadership. I'll go with him and start to lay the groundwork for us."

 Ooc: actually, Elhanna is a follower of Mishkael, but the fact that such a big church has been infected by evil still shake her at her core and of resolute to help drive the evil out. 

“Kevin, will you need help at the church? Or do you think I will be in the way if I follow you? Maybe it is better if I follow my comrades while you gather information for us?” She looks at him. “We will be staying here until things have been resolved so if you find anything out you can send word to us.” 

She then turn to Si’Juul. “We might not always see eye to eye Si’Juul, but we won’t abandon you in a time of need. And I believe you wouldn’t either. Of course we’ll help you out. Right guys?”

Paren nods. "I already said I was going. Just tell me who to punch."

Si'Juul nods.

"Yes, and I am thankful for your help, despite everything. I had been thinking to go right now while it is dark and they may be at that warehouse. And hopefully it would not take long so we could have time to rest as well. Speaking of, I want you all to remember that, should we need to, we can head to that Gnome's workshop. He had offered his home to me when I was there earlier today. So we have a fallback point if this tavern gets compromised. I don't intend to fight them regardless what they say but.... it's on them how things go down. If they all are truly corrupt, then this will all be for nothing. But I suspect there's at least a chance there are still good people in the group, based on what the gnome told me. I just hope I am right."

Si'Juul glances towards Elhanna.

"I uh....I know I'm not the friendliest guy. Aarakocran, same as anyone else, can be very stubborn. And given my past........but I've been trying to change. And if this is all for nothing, then I will try to avoid them. Won't be easy with the price on my head though."

“Well then, let’s turn words in to action and move out. Just let me go and change.” Elhanna leave the room and return a few minutes later dressed in dark blue  cloak with her hair dressed in a bun which she covers with the cloaks hood. Underneath she wears a dark dress which makes her light grey eyes stand out. 

Paren nods and follows the others as they go.

Si'Juul leads the way towards the warehouse, but ducks into an alley a block or so away that may lead around to the back of the warehouse.

Si'Juul stops several yards away from it.

"Alright, my plan is to just knock on the door, let them see me, then slip to the side of the door against the wall and talk to them. Hopefully they see that by making my presence known so quickly they might see that I am not there to fight. Meanwhile maybe you guys hide someplace, just in case? Do as you like, but I am hoping to avoid a fight if I can. If anyone has any ideas to help make this go as smoothly as possible, then speak up."

”If you’d be okey with it, I’d like to stand next to you. That way I can try to guide you through the use of magic. It will help you choose the right words to say or to take the right action if need be, but for that I need to touch you.” 

“An other option would be for me to cast calm emotions. It could make them indifferent to you if they would otherwise be hostile, but it is much more taxing to influence someones feelings and I can only do it a few minutes before needing a long rest.” 

Si'Juul sighs.

"I'm not too keen on relying on magic....but if it help smooth things along, I can accept it. Just make sure to keep behind a wall or behind me. If they do start shooting I would much rather it be me taking the hit. I don't want all of us crowded around the door at once, though. That might look like we're about to storm in and provoke them. Alright, any more last minute preparations before I walk up to the door?"

Paren just tries to slip into the shadows on the street to hide. [Mask of the Wild]

Stealth: 26

(Paren cannot stealth apparently)

OOC: What is Poinki doing at the moment? And Paren, roll with advantage.

You approach the Warehouse carefully, trying not to seem threatening. The last couple of yards, Si'Juul crosses by himself. Knocking on the door and coming face to face with both his fear and his hopes for the organisation that once gave him purpose makes him tremble slightly, but he remains steadfast, with Elhanna nearby. After the third knock, a series of noises emanate from inside the warehouse, like shifting tables and moving crates, before the door is opened...

Staring staight into the barrel of a flintlock pistol, the one- eyed halfling says: "Si'Juul, the Blackwing. In the flesh.... No tricks now, hand me yer weapon and tell all the others to come out of hidi' and do the same. Look, it's not like we're gonna shoot ya as soon as we get the chance- this 'ere is me havin' a chance and not shootin' ya.  I figure you wouldn't pull such a move if it weren't important, so I'm curious, to say the least. You know, wantin' to know what you're about these days an' all that. But it'd be rude ta talk through this door, so come on in 'ere."

Elhanna, you're next to Si'Juul,and notice several more guns trained on the pair of you from further within. The man in front of you certainly seems uncouth, but he's right in as much as he'd had the perfect opportunity to shoot at you and didn't take it.

2nd chance Stealth: 16

(1 and a 2 with advantage. Stupid dice)

Si’Juul, remember to roll a d4 for guidance 

Si'Juul keeps his arms crossed, showing he is not reaching for any of his weapons.

"Blackwing? Is that what you call me now? Well, you're right that I'm not here to fight. You should also know that I would never hand over my gun. So how about this? You just open the door and we all have a little talk. Shouldn't take long."

Persuasion w/Elhanna's guidance: 18

"Fine, keep your gun. But you and yours need to come inside, if we are to talk. It's plenty dangerous to talk out here an' what with tempers bein' a tad high, no need to risk anything, eh?"
As he says this, he looks over to Paren, poorly concealed in the shadows.

Paren curses in elvish and steps forward. "Don't mind me, just reminding myself how the years have flown by."

"Step back, and we will come in just inside the door."

Si'Juul gives a glance to each member of his group, looking to see if they choose to follow or stay outside.

Once inside with anyone who joins him, he closes the door and remains standing near it. Si'Juul looks to the men behind their makeshift barricade.

"First, you can take that ramshackle barrier down and have a seat. Put your feet up. It wouldn't have helped you anyway if I were actually here to fight. And because you haven't fired on me, I take it you're not going to try to claim that bounty that was put on my head. Not that it went well for the last Brand members who tried. But I'm not here for any of that."

Si'Juul pauses to let all that sink in and gauge their reactions.

"You know me well enough that I like to get straight to the point, so here it is. I've heard that a large amount of the Brand aided in the safe rescue of dozens if not hundreds of people. And that sounds pretty good. It sounds like the Black Brand I used to be a part of. The Black Brand that I felt proud to be a part of. Not the Brand that I left, obsessed with senseless killing for ridiculous amounts of gold. So I can't help but wonder if there's maybe some members who are like me, fed up with the greed. And if so, I wonder which camp I am speaking to right now."

Si'Juul watches the Brand closely as he awaits their response.

(He will also Insight check their response, so I will roll that here in advance: 21)

 Paren joins him, silently watching and waiting. He stands with his hands to his side, no where near his sword.

OOC: I assume Elhanna and Poinki joined as well?

The halfling had lowered his flintlock. "True, we did. Ain't many of us like doin' the churches' dirty work, though the truth be a bit muddier 'an all that. It always is in war. Down south, the Riviera's been overrun by drow an' some o' the well-meanin' zealots of Ilmater started a holy crusade 'gainst the "forces o' darkness". Didn't take long for'em ta realise that doin' so was lucrative too an' that's when they started bringin' in the professionals. We weren't down there ta help escort these town folk, we were ta help John the Crusader secure some mines an' other holdin's used ta pay fer his war 'gainst the drow. As luck would have it, we was on a supply run, when the town was attacked, an' we stood as a rearguard, makin' sure the folks got away. T'was no more heroism than bein' at the right spot. Command didn't like it though, specially as we lost a few brothers there. Deemed me unfit fer command on the front lines an' sent us north, ta help garrison Arkos. Weren't till a few days ago when Blake's group answered the summons from Olyvander Septimus. Must'a thought ta try an' redeem 'isself by doin' whatever he planned on when 'e bumped into you. Truth is, the posters only went up after you gave 'im a good thrashing, command likely won't know for another day or so that yer even 'ere."

The halfling seems to play to the crowd a bit, but the essence of what he's saying appears truthful, particularly as far as defending the refugees is concerned.

(Poinki will follow along, not totally sure what's going on, so he will keep quiet.)

"Who is 'command'? When I left, there wasn't much of a leadership among the Brand. Was this some well-kept secret or did someone step up and noone had the balls to stop him? Is Olyvander Septimus you mentioned the one? I don't recognize the name."(I apologize if he was mentioned and I completely forgot)

"And what do you know about this 'Crusader'? We've heard talk of him taking charge of the fight against the drow, but nothing else."

"Last, do you know who it was that sent those contracts? The ones for senseless, petty revenge."

Si'Juul stopped himself to catch his breath and give a chance for them to respond, despite the number of questions still floating around in his mind.