City of Towers

The Weaved Web Tangles Tightly

By the time that the companions made it back to the districts, they had more questions than answers. And more problems than when they'd first started. Searching the corpse and questioning the remaining thug, they'd seen a picture forming. Or rather, pieces that would make a picture if they could only puzzle out what they meant. And their lives depended on figuring that out.

When this started, it had seemed like such a straightforward job. Shade wanted five magical artifacts. He didn't say what he wanted them for, and they didn't ask- the less they knew, the better in their estimation. But now, they needed to know more.

What facts had they gleaned?

First, the thug didn't know who they were hired by. He just followed orders. Under a little more stringent questioning, he remembered that he'd thought that whoever it was had to be important. It was just the way that the dead thug had talked about them. They had been given a map and a time- they'd been waiting for a few hours, so it wasn't exact- just that they had to retrieve all the possessions of whomever came out of that door. And that they needed to leave them there. He didn't say dead, but it was implied that no one should know that they disappeared. He didn't know any of the others- it was strange that he pulled together a crew that didn't know each other, but not unheard of.

Second, on the body of the other thug they found money. Questioning the live thug again, they found out that if the money was split according to what he was supposed to get, not including the dead thug, it would be exactly the right amount. There was also a slip of paper with an address.

Not much to go on. They had the artifact, and the information. What should they do with it?

“We were only supposed to return the artifact to Shade,” Daakon said, cleaning his blade after disposing of the thug in the manner that he'd meant for them. “What concern do we have with these lowlifes or what they wanted. Or even who hired them?” He stood up, starting to trace their way back topside.

Callendin held up a hand, forestalling his companion. “Let me think this through?”

Baratus spoke up from ahead where he was keeping watch. “We got lucky this time. No guarantee the same will happen again.” His voice was flat and matter-of-fact. “We need to figure this out for our own good. If someone else is after these artifacts, we have four more to find.” He jerked his hand towards where Daakon had disposed of the bodies. “That could be us, next time.”

“Not to mention the fact that I'm not sure we should keep this from Shade,” Callendin added.

Daakon grunted. “So what then? Day's coming in fast.”

“We don't have to have the artifact back until later,” Callendin said, thinking. “Why don't we follow up on this stuff, and call on Shade later. We can meet up before then, and hopefully have something for him then.”

“Sounds good,” Daakon responded. “I can hit up the inns in Clifftop – see if anyone's heard anything. I know a guy that keeps his ear to the ground. I can check with him too, and since the drop is there, I'll check to see if anyone shows up.”

(Investigation: Ridiculous Luck and Vigilance, and checking with Commoners and Outsiders. The GM Informs him that he can spend a point of vigilance to get a bit more information. He does so, and is able to use his skullduggery to get more information.)

“Thieves Guild might know something, especially about those thugs,” Baratus said, sticking to his usual terseness in speech.

(Investigation: City's Secrets and Skullduggery, and checking with Thieves Guild)

“And I'll head back home and hit up a few acquaintances, and let the family know I'm back in the city,” Callendin added.

(Investigation: Scurrilous Rumors and Nobility, checking with the Ancient Nobility)

Daakon sat in the agreed upon tavern, nursing a tankard of some foul concoction that was supposed to be ale, but was several times removed from those roots. However, this was neither his first establishment of the afternoon, nor his first drink, so the taste was lost on him, as he watched the crowd. He'd learned a lot, but nothing to make his mood any better. Indeed, it might have made it worse. The games that nobles played was not a good place for them to be caught in the middle of. He nodded to Callendin as he came in, noticing only at that moment that Baratus was already in the bar as he rose to join them.

“Did either of you find anything to make my mood any better?” he asked without preamble as they sat down.

“You could at least wait until we've ordered,” Callendin said.

“I wouldn't recommend it. The ale's bad and the food is worse,” he responded, turning up his tankard to find it sadly empty. “But I won't complain if you do.”

“We have to meet Shade soon anyway,” the sorcerer responded. “We can't put him off much longer without a damned good reason. Either of you have that?”

“I have information, but it won't make you any happier,” Baratus offered.

From their respective investigations, they find that there was a fixer for someone looking into hiring for a contract. They wanted disposable help, and had someone to lead the job. There was a possibility of follow on jobs. There are rumors of moves being made in House ir'Starn and House ir'Dain, regarding a conflict between minor houses in their aegis – House Mawstorm, House Wintersun, and House Greyheart. By luck and sharp eye, Daakon had happened to piece together that passerby on the street was actually looking for some sign at the drop point, and had followed him to a property owned by a scion of House Greyheart.

“Yeah, it's as I thought,” Daakon said, scowling at Callendin. “We're in the shit now.”

“I'll take the artifact to Shade, if it helps,” he offered. “Meet you later?”

The other two were more than happy to let him take the lead talking to their imposing patron, and they agreed to meet up after.