CH. 15 - Before the Dawn

[HorizonsDream]

Kendra was silent for a few moments before she looks to Tulbas. "You are the one that knows this woman," she says. "Does she have family in Haven?" she asks.

[TristenC]

Grubnick chuckles a bit at the term, Delharn likely would have enjoyed the name... His name was Delharn. And yes. It was a scroll that summoned the elemental, though... a gift from Sirrion himself. I was there too. The explosion in the crowd of Baaz that took out 9 or so of them... that was me. I was in the process of... neutralizing the redhead fighter but she finished off the elemental too fast.... much too fast. he muttered absently. I tried to free him when they captured him, but i had not time to prepare and ultimately failed... and.... the numbness settles over him again, sorrow filling his eyes as he stares into nothingness. And they all paid for my failure... i fled to the tavern to hide... i thought, among other goblins they'd have difficulty spotting me... he shakes his head in rueful disgust, they didn't even bother... had me in their sight and still... rather than chase me, they burned the whole place to ash... His fist tightens again, dirty nails digging into his palms enough to draw a trickle of blood.

Slowly he unclenches his fist, i heard how he was captured... i hadn't known he planned that attack with the fire snakes and i did everything in my power to be sure innocents weren't hurt when we attacked the soldiers the time before... but there is always a cost to do what needs doing... and while I am more than ready to pay it, i'm not going to knowingly do anything to risk innocents recklessly...

Ignoring the blood on his hands, he brings them together in a bowl-shaped arrangement on his lap; fingertips barely touching the way he ofren did when thinking through a difficult move in Khas. Now... what's the plan? he says, an almost devious grin curling up one side of his badly scarred face.

[Haahque]

All this talk about the streams of time is a little baffling. Like, could this guy go back in time and stop the invasion or something? Why isn’t that the #1 goal instead of trying to head them off once they’ve already got control of the city. Back then there were the highseekers and the cultists and all sorts of groups that could be used to fight against the dragons. Now there really doesn’t seem to be much. Only Haahqae’s seemed to be able to thwart them at all, and that’s been no easy task, to say the least.

And if Coroccoco is willing to talk so openly about a deity who’s not a giant dragon, it must be safe to speak a little of one’s mind here, right?

The talk of it being part of history is less confusing. “Exciting isn’t exactly the word I would have used no. Annoying at best, disheartening or possibly a little soul crushing. Do you have any idea how hard it’s been to live in this city while you were off gallivanting with your tree-friend?”

“No way to gain resources to get anything done, dwindling resources to start with while greed and betrayal seem to have become the norm. The army strikes at people with no reason or rhyme to their pattern. False accusations are carried out without trial and hard is rewarded with barely enough to buy food to eat.”

“Any fool can see the city is crumbling under their rule, and what have you and Zivilyn been doing? Swimming around in rivers and polymorphing yourselves into plants? There are real people in this city with real needs!”

Aggravating as it might be, arguing with some hobgoblin isn’t going to get the old gods to help. They seem rather useless, which is why Haahqae is needed for any chance of a victory here. So, as an effort to relieve his frustration a little, he climbs down the ladder.

“So what have you got to show me?”

[JadedDM]

Haahqae (Abandoned Building?)
Coroccoco merely chuckles at Haahqae's rant. "A fish that lives in a river only knows the river. It does not know of the world beyond it, of the river's beginning and end, of the wide ocean beyond, or the stars in the sky. When you can see the whole picture, things make far more sense. And Zivilyn sees every angle, every direction, at all times."

The two descend into the sewers. It reeks to high heaven, as expected. The trap door above is closed, and they are left in total darkness. However, both have infravision and after waiting a few seconds for it to kick in, she gestures for him to follow her. "This way."

She heads east, then south across a bridge over a river of sewer water. In the distance, Haahqae can hear the squeaks of nearby rats and the occasional thumping or dripping of overhead pipes.

'I know this place,' Miracle says. 'This was my home, before we met.'

Kendra and Tulbas (High Hand Inn, Kitchen)
"All of my family are dead. The dragonarmy wiped out my entire village," the old plainswoman states. "That is why I fled to this city."

Gobax (Masked Dragon Inn)
The woman stands up in surprise. "The destruction of the Happee Ohgr..that was because of you?"

"All that death...and yet they still failed to actually kill the one goblin they were aiming for," the man notes. He shakes his head. "In any case, just so it's understood ahead of time, our aim is to avoid innocent causalities. If you're okay with that, then we can direct you to our hideout." He gives Gobax some directions to a residence in the Harbor District. "Head there, and knock twice, then once. The password is Kingfisher. It will be safer to talk more there."

[HorizonsDream]

Kendra steps back towards Magus and whispers to him. "She says she doesn't know anything, so I need to know if she is telling the truth or not. It would be pointless to torture an old woman that doesn't know anything. It would be a waste of time," she explains. "So that spell you mentioned would be useful right about now. I'll direct the...conversation in that direction," she says. She backs away from Magus, and turns to face the old woman again. "Your family was killed by the dragon army, and yet you don't know anything about rebels in this city?" she asks. "That provides you with motivation to join a rebel group," she points out. "Matter of fact, you even serve the dragon army that you seem to detest so much. I saw some of our soldiers in your inn when I stepped inside. Either you are a hypocrite or you allow these men to come into your establishment so that you may gleam information from them, because drunk soldiers talk, and then you pass that information on to the rebel group hiding within the city."

[TristenC]

I never would have gone in there... He said hollowly, if I had thought for a moment they'd burn the entire place down to find me... I know she is ruthless, but... I thought they would just search for me, maybe rough up a few people if they couldn't find me... I would have left a sign where I'd gone so they didn't bother the others but... it happened so fast...

Grubnick nods, I'll be there. But first, he says as he stands and nods farewell to the pair, I need a bath! I smell almost as bad as a Baaz he chuckles, before making his way out. Once out of the room, Grubnick makes his way back down and arranges for a bath. He will soak a bit and ponder to himself. Once done, he'll return to the High Hand to meet up with Shima

[BishGada]

Tulbas adds, "You might even know where they hide, or have a room to give them sanctuary if they pass by running from pursuit." He looks carefully at her eyes to see if they move towards the rooms as he mentions the hiding place in the inn.

=====================================================
(OOC: JadedDM, Horizon, Chris, I think it is more or less a good point to introduce "Shima" to the group. He is shady... he stays in the inn so he might help in the interrogation and he might get bored soon . On the other hand it might risk him and TristenC. What do you think?

*edit*
Tulbas using a Cantrip to improve his sense to detect lies (as far as any humanoid has) when he looks at the woman's expressions.
)

[JadedDM]

Kendra and Tulbas (High Hand Inn, Kitchen)
Magnus chants out a spell, but there seems to be no visible effect.

"Your family was killed by the dragon army, and yet you don't know anything about rebels in this city? That provides you with motivation to join a rebel group."

The old woman sneers. "By that logic, most of the city is aligned with the rebels." She points to Tulbas. "Silvanesti, isn't he? Wasn't your entire kingdom destroyed by them? Perhaps he is the rebel you are looking for."

"Either you are a hypocrite or you allow these men to come into your establishment so that you may gleam information from them, because drunk soldiers talk, and then you pass that information on to the rebel group hiding within the city."

At this, the old woman gives a laugh of derision. "You think I have a choice? I can't turn them away, and they refuse to pay their tabs. In fact, none of the soldiers pay for anything. They just take and take. I am powerless to stop them. Otherwise, I would eject your whole group right now."

He looks carefully at her eyes to see if they move towards the rooms as he mentions the hiding place in the inn.

The old woman doesn't look anywhere in particular, aside from Kendra and Tulbas.

(OOC: Shima seems to have his own plans going on at the moment. In any case, he's angered both the church and the resistance, which is why he wasn't invited by either of them.

Also, cantrips cannot do that. They cannot mimic any spell of level 1 or higher, and Detect Lie is a 4th level spell. Here is a list of what cantrips can do.)

Gobax (High Hand Inn)
"Don't dally then, and don't tell anyone of this meeting," the man warns.

Gobax heads downstairs and asks for a bath. After one is drawn for him, he pays for it and cleans up. He then leaves the Masked Dragon and heads back to the High Hand.

It's almost lunchtime, but oddly the place is fairly empty. Shima sits alone, nursing a drink. A group of baaz soldiers sit quietly, whispering to themselves instead of laughing and carousing loudly like normal. The bartender is nowhere to be found, but a woman wearing the black robes of Takhisis stands guard at the kitchen door. She looks straight at Gobax when he enters from under her cowl.

(Gobax pays 3 CP for a bath.)

[Chris1234]

Did Shima notice when the baaz became quiet instead of laughing and carousing? How many of them are there?

Assuming that he notices Gobaz and the black robed woman he sits there giving no indication that he knows 'the newcomer'.

[HorizonsDream]

The old woman sneers. "By that logic, most of the city is aligned with the rebels." She points to Tulbas. "Silvanesti, isn't he? Wasn't your entire kingdom destroyed by them? Perhaps he is the rebel you are looking for."

Kendra motions to the black robes Tulbas is wearing. "Unlikely," she says.

At this, the old woman gives a laugh of derision. "You think I have a choice? I can't turn them away, and they refuse to pay their tabs. In fact, none of the soldiers pay for anything. They just take and take. I am powerless to stop them. Otherwise, I would eject your whole group right now."

"You are a bold woman, I give you that," Kendra admits. "You are full of righteous anger towards the army. That makes it even harder to believe you don't have any connection to the rebels," she points out. She glances over her shoulder to Magus at this point as she doesn't know if this is enough for his spell or not.

[TristenC]

When it comes to something like this, you can count on me. The goblin replies before he leaves.

Once he returns to the High hand, he glances around. Seeing Shima give no sign he recognizes him, Grubnick moves towards the bar. Seeing that Greentears isn't around, he notes the robed person standing watch. Where's the bartender? It's almost lunch time...

[BishGada]

"Bold... yes, but please be wise. You are mistaken thinking we want to kill or torture the people of the city for no reason. Look at the streets, crime is down and people are managing better than before the occupation. Once the attempt on the prefect was solved the Trade Guild members were released. The rebels attacks inflicted damage and endangered the life of innocent people. Why cause more troubles? Once we find the rebels, the others will be safer for once, and for second we might reason with the rebels themselves. Find solutions that satisfied all." he gives her a moment to get the facts right. "So, again, be wise and help your friends. Do you host rebels in here? Do you know of their activities? Can you direct us to them?" Tulbas starts his sentences trying to soften the woman determination, and then asks direct questions following Kendra's lead to make it easier for Magnus to detect her lies.

[Haahque]

Oh, are they friendly? If you want to catch up with family members or whatnot I guess that would be okay. As long as you can find me again after.

"Oh wow, I had no idea Haven had such an extensive sewer system. I mean I had suspicions that you could probably get from point A to point B, but this is huge. A bridge and everything. Does the army know this is here?"

[JadedDM]

Haahqae (Sewers)
"The sewers were built long ago," Coroccoco replies. "Back when the city itself was built. They have since largely fallen into disrepair. Although we have fixed them up a bit. The army knows of them, of course, but they are fairly labyrinthine. There are many dead-ends, cave-ins, and of course, monsters. But we managed to clear out a section of it to use as our base. It gives us access to some parts of the city." When they reach the other end of the bridge, they come to what seems to be an empty room. However, the hobgoblin walks up to it and presses down on a small panel behind a pipe, and a secret door opens up.

Kendra and Tulbas (High Hand Inn, Kitchen)
Magnus, who has been watching the woman this whole time, nods. "We have what we need. Kill her, and let's be done with it."

Burzan steps up, reaching for the woman's neck. She tries to scream, but is cut off when his beefy hand wraps around her neck and her mouth and starts to squeeze.

Gobax and Shima (High Hand Inn)
Shima noticed that the baaz starting speaking quietly when they noticed he was trying to eavesdrop on them. There are six of them, huddled around the same table.

Gobax enters and approaches the bar. Looking to the black-hooded woman standing by the kitchen door, he asks where the innkeeper is. The woman replies, "She is occupied."

There is a brief, cut-off scream from the kitchen that is almost immediately muffled.

[TristenC]

Occupi-- He cuts off as the strangled scream breaks out. Hey!! What the hell is going on in there?! He barkd abruptly, without thinking