Back at the Dancing Gryffon [Dude, where's my daiklave?]

[Sherwood]

From their various stops across Great Forks, the members of the circle once more find themselves back at their meeting room at the Dancing Gryffon Inn. Here they are now able to pool their knowledge and make decisions on what to do next.

 

[Zoronos]

Mordant Xane


Mordant slumps back into a chair, not bothering to remove his coat. He rolls a coin along the knuckles of his left hand, while idly tapping his cane against his chair with his right.


"Slip and I hit gold, so to speak. Or close enough too it. I'll make a round through the market early tomorrow morning to pick up supplies, then I think we should be moving on. I don't like that anonymous letter we got earlier.


We got a general bearing on where to head next, and I'm now pretty darn sure that cache of Doctor Hax's is real. We have the general location; any luck convincing the good doctor to help out and provide specifics?"

 

[Blackadder]

Rowan leaned in immediately, upset but shaking his head. Quietly he explained, "Unfortunately, it took too much time to get the message across. No time for sticking around, anyway. THEY-" and there could no doubt from his tone who he was speaking of, "are here. Knaff spotted two of them, but we ducked away before they could notice us."

 

[Feantari]

Slip


Slip hops up and starts pacing. "Then we must get moving. I am not eager to wait the night out trying to sleep here. Lets get out before they have a chance to put up a net."


Slip looks to Hawkeye, "I think I should go take care of the good doctor. They will get much better access to him and I don't trust him to keep his mouth shut. You are welcome to come help."


"We can catch up to the rest of you outside of town or wait for you somewhere if you are going to try to get out in the morning crowd."

 

[Zoronos]

Mordant Xane


Mordant transfers the coin he was rolling along his left hand to his right, and resumes rolling it across the knuckles.


"It will be a matter of a few weeks to find this valley, unless luck is more with us than I'd like to gamble. We will need supplies, and even though I am a member of the guild, I don't think even I can compel shops to open in the dead of night and sell to us. Besides, it would look very odd taking a cart laden with provisions out of the city in at this hour."


Mordant pockets the coin, and looks to the pacing Lunar, "It will be much easier for us to slip out in the morning; nobody will look twice at a cart being driven by a merchant with a guild seal leaving town. I'll be lost in the teaming multitudes. As long as they don't find us tonight, we can be quite effectively gone. That said, if you are feeling extra paranoid Slip, we can move the wagon and sleep under the blankets, if that makes you feel better."

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Knaff is visibly nervous, his face twitching even as he speaks.


"I say we get all the paper trail from the doctor's house, finish him off, and make our escape. if we sleep outdoors I can help camouflage us. Besides, in the wilderness us Lunars can find us enough food, the same as we've done so far." Then again, they seem to have a bit more qualms to eating raw meat and vegetables.Oh well, they'll have to learn, we're on the run.

 

[Feantari]

Slip


"The paper trail should be taken care of, and I can visit the doctor tonight on the way out." Slip looks over at Mordant. "If you want to bring a wagon load of supplies we can meet you on the road tomorrow, but there's no telling how well they know your face or if they will even be letting travellers out. If you must I'll try to keep an eye on you, but Knaff is right about food. This land is bountiful enough for our needs."

 

[Zoronos]

Mordant Xane


Mordant pats the attache case which leans against his chair, "Way ahead of you. I have all the papers that the good doctor had about the cache, safe and secure. As to leaving in the night, I already said my piece about that not being a good idea."


Mordant waves a hand towards the Lunars, "You are more than welcome to leave tonight, and I and the others can catch up to you in the wagon tomorrow, if you'd like. It would look incredibly suspicious and invite many questions from the city guard if the rest of us left in the dead of night. Not all of us can shape change, you know."


Mordant makes a dismissive gesture, "The guards have no reason to suspect I have anything to do with the doctor, and a merchant bearing a guild symbol with a cart full of food is probably just about the least suspicious thing in the world. Besides, blockading the town over a death at a high-security prison? The guards will have their hands full interviewing all the known murderers that are in that prison already before they have reason to check innocent traveling merchants."

 

[Feantari]

Slip


"Ok, I'll be around then and keep an eye out, but I'm eager to get this first point of business over with."


With that Slip exits the window as an owl, headed for the prison.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Unwilling to let the Wyld Hunt find them easily, Knaff slips out, and makes his way to various bars, asking about all sorts of people. Bogus names he's made up, and real names he's overheard about. That should be interesting enough to maybe confuse those Dragon-Bloods for a bit. AFter that, he'll change into his crow form and slip away into the night.

 

[Arion Wind]

Jenai


"Wait, death at a prison? You didn't kill him did you?" Jenai is visibly disturbed at the thought as he walks in. The man paces in frustration as he lets his thoughts spill out as they come, "He worked in a manse in the middle of the city for years with none the wiser, the man's a genius. For all we know, he could have a dozen useful little secrets like that unconnected to the cache. And what if there's damage to some or all of the artifacts, do you think we can fix enough of it on our own before the Wyld Hunt catches up to us? Storm's cry, if nothing else, think of the people he's helped! Murderer or not, he's done good work." He looks around the room, his eyes pleading with those assembled, "There must be another way."

 

[Zoronos]

Mordant Xane


Mordant gives the pirate an appraising look, "We haven't killed him, yet. That is what the good Slip is on his way to do at this moment."


Mordant gave a smile, "I am afraid you are misinformed. The 'good doctor' was taking bribes to falsely classify people as insane, and illegally confine them within his asylum. He was for all intents and purposes a well paid and well regarded kidnapper. And quite deftly added murderer to the titles on his business card."


"As to your other concerns, the doctor was a mortal; his ability to activate first age technology, let alone repair it, is effectively nil."


Mordant patted his left hand against the attache case leaning against his chair, "And if he has any other little secret caches that he was aware of, we have his notes."


Mordant smirked slightly, "Though, I must say I am slightly surprised that a pirate, who murdered and stole for years, would suddenly object to the death of a kidnapper and convicted murderer."

 

[Blackadder]

"To be honest, I think that we can just let him rot in jail. Why it's necessary to kill him is beyond me, seeing as it is a waste of time and only adds to the risk if Slip gets caught. Besides, if you want to live comfortably, stay here until they find you Xane. I'm more interested in living. You can find me out in the outdoors tomorrow."


Rowan got up, face firm and burning with frustration, and went up with Tawny to collect what meager belongings he still had in the room together.

 

[Zoronos]

Mordant Xane


The merchant shrugs, "From what you said, he seemed quite eager to tell you where the cache was located in exchange for his freedom. What makes you think he would make any less generous an offer to the Wyld Hunt? I can't say that I trust a man who kidnapped and murdered for money to keep his silence. Besides, it will be dawn in a few hours, so perhaps we should get some little sleep while we can before the road calls again. If they have not found us already, the Wyld Hunt will not be doing so until morning anyway, and then we will all be on our way towards the cache."


The merchant shrugs once more at his companions reticence. What must be done, must be done.

 

[Sherwood]

Slip launches himself out the window and starts to gain some altitude on his way to the prison. Leaving just behind you is Knaff heading off to start laying down a false trail of clues for the Wyld Hunt to follow.


But it looks like it may be too late. Both Slip and Knaff both can see about a block up the street four figures, three of them in jade armor and the fourth wearing the robes of a monk of the Immaculate Order, all walking up the street towards the Dancing Gryffon. The four figures, two men and two women, are asking questions at a streetside cafe, then turn once more to head up the street.


If the group is caught by surprise by them, there could be quite a bloodbath of both your circle and innocnet mortals.

 

[Arion Wind]

Jenai Orlais


Jenai's eyes dance in his head as these revelations come to light. He sits down heavily, a little shocked. To hide so much from so many, the world may be well rid of the man. Still, he can't help but feel a small pang of loss at the death of so valuable a potential ally. As Mordant speaks he nods his head in acquiescence.


At Mordant's quip, Jenai's looks up, eyes flashing with amusement and an almost equal amount of anger, "I object because I am a criminal. I am guilty of nearly everything I have been accused of and more besides. And because of my 'crimes', an otherwise unremarkable village prospers while the merchants who would exploit them bleed from their wallets." His eyes grow sad, "I regret the necessity, but I do not doubt for a second that I am making Creation better by my efforts. Not all murderers deserve death for their crimes. Some of us deserve to live with what we've done and use it to drive us forward."

 

[Feantari]

Slip


The owl circles silently in the night air back to the room it left from. It lands on the sill and hoots to the occupants of the room hopping from one foot to the other.

Spoiler

can you update our clock sherwood? I was thinking it was like 1-4am ish, but if cafes are open.. /confused

 

[Blackadder]

"Oh Sol Invictus... they're here already?" Rowan snarled. He didn't interpret Slip's action for anything but that. "I'm going to pay the bill and figure out a distraction for them." Immediately, he moved downstairs, Tawny following him.

 

[Sherwood]

I was thinking it was early evening, closer to 7-8 pm. Somewhere along the way, we got a bit confused. I'll do better in making sure we are all on the same page from now on. Sorry.

 

[Zoronos]

Mordant Xane


The merchant smiles, "Well, I guess I was wrong. Not the first time, and certainly not the last. Wagon's out back Rowan, and if you don't make it, meet me beyond the east gate, just like we planned."


Mordant turns to the bird, "Thanks for the warning, and stick to the plan. We don't know if they've gotten to him yet or not, so best be safe and take care of the doctor. We'll meet you where we agreed."


Mordant grabbed his case of things and headed down the stairs, taking a moment to look over his shoulder as he did so, "C'mon pirate, we'll continue our ever-so-lively discussion later. Now it's time to move on to the next town. Meet me out back, and hop in the wagon." He walked briskly out the back, quite happy that he always traveled light, and began yoking the horses to the wagon. There was a small market near the east gate, he could grab some provisions quick and be at and out the east gate long before the hunters could catch up. There were a hundred or more guild wagons in the city, no way they'd pick him up before he met up with his friends again.


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Hey, no problem. Timing always gets confusing when the party splits up.


Normally I'd go back and re-edit the old posts since we weren't all on the same page time-wise, but no big deal at this point in the game.


Just pretend mordant wasn't a complete moron that thought the wyld hunt lost its powers at 5pm. :-P


(And instead was a moron that assumed people were asleep at 3am)

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Noticing the approaching Wyld Hunt, Knaff's first instinct is to flee, but he knows that he can't find the cache himself, and that if the Wyld Hunt surprises his circle mates, there would be lots of bodies, and if the Wyld Hunt survives, then more chance of them finding him. So he does the one thing he can do...


Slipping into the shadows before they can spot him, he makes his way to another inn close by, and as he exits that inn, makes sure to 'catch' the attention of the Wyld Hunt by accidentally bumping into a couple of people before getting his bearings. As soon as the Wyld Hunt spots him, he does his best to flee them, back into the inn he came out of, and up the stairs, yelling "The Wyld Hunt is here!", and out one of the windows on the back, before scrambling to his feet, and making them eat his dust.


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Will makes rolls if need be, but once he's got them chasing him, he'll turn on his Instinct-Driven Beast Movement charm.

 

[Feantari]

Slip


An owl wings back over the rooftops scanning the ground for prey its path meandering to say out of the occasional torch light below. And now the chase. Its wings flap on carrying it higher to the prison tower where its real prey resides.

 

[Arion Wind]

Jenai Orlais


Jenai nods curtly and follows mordant out, doing what he can to help ready for their departure. Differences of opinion aside, it's hard to convince a corpse how wrong it is and even harder to do so when you're dead yourself. Just one more thing to file away for later in his head.

 

[Sherwood]

Three chakram shatter a wooden beam inches from Knaff's head as he turns to run, scattering splinters everywhere. The Wyld Hunt is defenetly out for blood. Angry shouts and screams fill the air as the Dragon Blooded fight their way through the crowd after the fleeing Lunar, but your speed and head start is enough to get you away. Behind you, a flare of orange flame fills the street, a flairing anima banner sparking a glow that can be seen for miles. An unmistakeable signal that the Hunt is on, calling for the rest of the Dragon Blooded in town to converge on this location.


Turning our attention to Slip, you make your way to the Stone Fortress in your hunt for Dexter Hax. The problem you now have is that you don't know what section of the prison Hax is in, let alone what cell. Assuming that he has a cell with a window, you can take the time to look in each one and eventually you should find him, unless you can come up with a better idea of how to find him. You also see in the distance the anima flare of a fire aspect Dragon Blood sending up a signal across the city. No alarms are going off at the prison, but the guards on the wall have their heads up, wondering what is going on in the city.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Committed now to this ill-devised plan of his, Knaff flees before the Wyld Hunt as fast as his essence can carry him without betraying his location overmuch. he makes his way northbound, hoping to either lose the Wyld Hunt long enough to turn, or find a Wyld zone, and use it to befuddle them.