Play by Post Thread

[Corwin]

"Lucie seems strong," Henrietta admits, looking away, "but, umm, I did not even know her last name until just now. If you are looking for an informed opinion, Lady Vanderboren, I would need some more time...."

[Ebiris]

Pursing her lips at the half-hearted endorsements and guilty silences coming from her existing employees, Lavinia deliberates for a moment before speaking, "Well, we can call this a trial run, then," she eventually decides. "If you can keep up with the rest, payment is 100gp, made on the first of the month. Your role will be that of both a bodyguard and troubleshooter, and you'll be expected to always behave and present yourself in a proper manner, as you will be representing me for as long as you draw a salary. Kora will provide you with a small stipend, and we'll see how the rest of the month goes, shall we?"

[Ebiris]

As everyone splits up after plotting the downfall of the Lotus Dragons, Lucie and Rudy embark on a circuit of the city to try and find Miranda, checking in with guard posts in every district. While Champion, Cudgel, and Merchant districts turn up empty, they get more of a response in the Azure district.

"And y'say she's been missing since last night, aye?" the young guardswoman asks, chewing her lip and giving the pair a nervously pained look that's at odds with her no nonsense tone and the wicked scar running down her left cheek. "Well, the description ain't far off, one a' the dredgers pulled a floater from the canal this morning. She did'na have any identification on her, but girls that young with grey hair? We might've found yer Miranda after all," she nods heavily.

[Sierra]

Lucie's tone is as level as ever as she speaks. "Yeah, well, can't know for sure 'til we've had a look for ourselves. So let's see her."

[Ebiris]

After session 23

In short order Lucie and Rudy are taken to a squat greystone building on the waterfront near where Trucy lives. After a few routine questions from the mortuary workers, they're led into a room with a body lying on a table and covered in a white but patchily bloodstained sheet. Your attendant casts a cantrip that masks the odour within before your noses can really get a proper whiff. "She'd been in the water for a few hours, so... well, be prepared is all," the middle-aged man suggests before pulling back the sheet. There you see a slim and deathly pale woman clad in tattered black rags that show off a good deal of flesh - the effect is nauseating rather than titillating, however, given the jaundiced bloating of her form and the blackened cuts visible from where she was obviously stabbed. Her hair is iron-grey and frames her face in filthy clumps, her eyes closed in eternal repose.

For those that knew her, there's no doubt this is the corpse of Miranda Altair.

[Carthrat]

Rudy recoils, something halfway between a scowl and a grimace etched across his face. "Craven, cretinous..." he mutters, slumping his shoulders. "Ain't standing for this. Ain't."

[Ebiris]

At Rudy's apparent confirmation the mortuary worker replaces the sheet over Miranda's shell. "I'm sorry for your loss," he says as if by rote, little feeling behind it. "There weren't anything on her but the clothes on her back. We can release her for the funeral if you care to arrange it yourselves, otherwise the city'll see to a cremation."

[Carthrat]

"Yes... a funeral," replies Rudy, shaking his head. "We have some important business to take care of, but we'll be back for her in a day or two. Will that be fine?"

[Ebiris]

That is indeed fine, the mortuary understanding that funerals can't be set up instantly, and thus freeing Rudy and Lucie up to handle their very important business...

[Corwin]

After session 27

"Terrible, terrible creatures," Henrietta laments, favoring her side. "You don't suppose they would be, well, like some sort of sea guard dogs?"

[Carthrat]

"I expect some sort of foul sorcery is responsible," replies Rudy, eyeing the waves. "Besides, if they really wanted to stop us, well, we'll never make it past the docks."

[Corwin]

"A really terrible, dark sorcery," Henrietta agrees, shivering. She follows Rudy's gaze, peering ahead out into the sea. "How long would it take us to get to the, umm, greasy smoke-filled shore?"

[Ebiris]

Griffin Reef lies near flat on the horizon to any who look South, wisps of smoke billowing up into the otherwise clear blue sky from it. According to Vanthus's chart, the North face of the island and its East side are dominated by nigh impassable cliffs, while the West has a low lying beach forming a scimitar-shaped bay to the South. Banks of high sand and coral reefs surround the island, fit to tear the bottom from any ship foolish enough to sail over them - the safe approach involves coming from the Northeast through a narrow channel to hug the Eastern cliff-faces and make a tight turn into the bay.

Given the Fisher Princess's speed, it's a fair assumption that it'll take most of the day to reach the island, probably some time around late afternoon.

[Sierra]

"Hard to say how many might be living on this island," Lucie says, eyeing the smoke on the horizon. "Might be there's a good number if we can see the smoke from out here, though. Unless Vanthus has already started torching their ships.

"If there's something like a town, well, that's good for us. Better chance we can blend in while looking around. Figure first thing we do is find out who Vanthus's partners are. Mentioned something about 'joining up with her' for striking a deal and betrayal in one of the letters, didn't he? So a ship's captain, probably. We find out who Vanthus has been talking to and get them this letter--assuming they can read, of course--before Vanthus finds out we're here and asks his 'friends' to take care of us. Might be tough to ask about him without him hearing, but I don't see another plan short of playing at bein' pirates ourselves. And I'm no actress.

"If the letter's enough for them to drop him overboard tied to a rock, great--we just need him dead, right? Doesn't have to be us that does it. But at the least we want folks thinking twice about him before he tries to turn the whole lot onto us. And those of you who are wounded, best put on a good show of not looking the part. Bet anyone senses weakness, they'll pounce fast."

[Corwin]

"So, well, we press on?" Henrietta half-asks, half-suggests, tilting her head slightly. Not enough to dislodge her hat, certainly. "And then, our plan is to improvise? I like it!"

Aside from planning taking her mind off the pain, it sounds just like what proper adventurers would do in their situation!