Planning & Preparation

[Ebiris]

Asking around Azure district the following day, after leaving Maril behind with Myra in an oddly celebratory mood, Rudy happens to find that Brissa Santos was fairly well known.

"Oh, you're after Brissa?" an older woman asks Rudy, grinning toothily as she mends an old fishnet on the side of the street. "Not surprised, a strapping young lad like you would be... You know, I was quite a looker in my youth," she pats up her thinning steel grey hair and smiles in a manner that only accentuates the many wrinkles across her leathery face, "But young Brissa probably has me beat. Last I heard she was seeing some rich boy from the Merchant District, but there's more important things than money, aren't there?" Upon being prodded as to where Brissa lives, she leans closer, "Oh, I shouldn't be giving away a young girl's address to just anyone, but you seem like a nice boy," she pinches Rudy's cheek at that, "She's over on Wall Street, number twenty two."

Upon arriving at Wall Street, Rudy can find the address in question easily enough, a fairly nice and respectable two-storey house built against the city walls, and one that certainly doesn't deserve to share the same city with Trucy's deathtrap of a hovel. There's no answer to any knocking and a passerby sees Rudy's attempt and stops to say, "Brissa ain't in, lad. Think she's been outta town this last week or so." Further questioning doesn't seem to provide much more help than that, and he merely shrugs, "She never said anything before she left, anyway, so dunno where she might be. She's out of your league, besides."

[Carthrat]

Planning to get an advance from Lavinia so I can go repay that guy for losing his boat, and I'll tip him 10gp because I guess he lost a few days income and suffered some stress. Here's hoping I can find him...

[23:07] <Kallen> roll 1d20+9
[23:08] * +Hatbot --> "Kallen rolls 1d20+9 and gets 15." [1d20=6]

[Ebiris]

Lavinia gives Rudy the advance without complaint, considering it's so close to payday anyway, although she does wonder what he spent the 100gp she gave him for the Nixie affair on so quickly. It doesn't take much wandering about pier 5 before Rudy spots the boatman who loaned him the rowboat before... standing on the pier directly above his safely tethered rowboat. Further investigation reveals that he found it on the neighbouring pier the day after Rudy borrowed it, and never really thought much of it.

---

Meanwhile Henrietta and Trucy spend a few hours in the Cudgel District looking for Hermann Kiel, eventually finding him at the Shrine of Apollo. He's busy fixing some tiles on the roof, but upon hearing he has visitors he happily jumps right down to talk to the duo, looking to be a well muscled but rather short bald man with a small nose and chin and a large forehead. Upon being asked about Brissa Santos he nods and explains that she's a talented young painter who's yet to make her mark on the artistic world, and so works quite cheaply, which suits him because he's not rich, but his mother back in Ciyone insisted that he send her at least a painting because she hadn't seen him for so long. He doesn't know anything about Brissa's lovelife, although does admit that she's quite lovely to look at and so surely doesn't lack for it, and doesn't have a clue about any other 'jobs' she might have.

[Corwin]

I would like Trucy to look into people who returned to the harbor roughly after the time we got ambushed and locked in, with special focus on small rowboats.

Myself, I'd like to look into the Lotus (GI result 20) and into who had been frequenting the Taxidermist's Hall later (GI result 15).

[20:12] <Henrietta> roll 1d20+11 GI for Lotus
[20:12] * Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+11 GI for Lotus and gets 20." [1d20=9]
[20:12] <Henrietta> roll 1d20+11 GI for who visits the Taxidermist's Hall lately?
[20:12] * Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+11 GI for who visits the Taxidermist's Hall lately? and gets 15." [1d20=4]

[Ebiris]

Trucy obediently runs off to conduct her errand while Henrietta beats feet and greases palms across the Merchant District, searching for vital clues and leads!

"Hey, you're asking about the Lotus Dragons?" Shug the would-be smuggler asks, now seemingly working honestly in unloading a merchant vessel that recently docked. "Didn't you know that's who Vark got those animals and stuff from? Yeah - and remember that huge ass monster beetle thing? I hear they keep the nastiest stuff like that to themselves. Didn't seem so bad when it was in its cage, but wouldn't fancy running into one of those again," he holds his stomach with a queasy look. "Dunno how to contact them, though - Vark was pretty secretive. Never even told us who the buyer was."

Continuing along after that, Henrietta ends up at the Tanner's Guildhall, a strong scent of leather and oils permeating everything as she strikes up conversation with an overweight dwarf puffing on his pipe just outside the front steps. "Taxidermist's Hall, eh?" he peers up at Henrietta, tapping some ash out of his pipe before taking a long draw. "Yer not far off, I suppose. Animals start the same way when they come here, but we turn 'em into boots and belts, not preserve 'em as they are. I know where yer after, though. Just need to head over the bridge into Sunset, up at the corner of Water Street and Dead Dog Alley, ye'll find yer mark. Guy that runs it's a bit of a tightarse, though." To enquiries as to the comings and goings at the guildhall, he simply shrugs. "Sorry lass, yer probably better off asking someone who lives 'round there?"

Of course before that, Henrietta must make her scheduled meeting with Trucy as the sun begins to sink low, close to dinnertime. "A few people actually mentioned it, since the sea was pretty choppy and there was just one guy struggling to bring his rowboat in not long after sundown," she reports. "He didn't stick around long after mooring it, headed up North into the city. Nobody gave me much of a good description, but apparently he was wearing green and yellow under a dark cloak. That mean anything?"

[Corwin]

I would like to discuss things with Lavinia, though I'm not sure who else actually wants to talk to her as well, if at all. I also think Rat was intending to look up the collector for the Cobras?

And since Trucy's been cold and lonely lately, I could ask her to look into this gang.

[Carthrat]

I wanted to talk to Lavinia too.

I do also want to hook up with the collector, yes.

[Ebiris]

I'll toss up a post in the PbP thread later today for you two to talk to the boss.

Upon being asked to go investigate a gang in Shadowshore, Trucy suggests that some hazard pay wouldn't go amiss.

[Corwin]

How about a very nice 1gp hat of her very own?

[Ebiris]

Trucy sulkily replies that a cloth cap might make her look boyish enough to deter any potential rapists, but nonetheless hurries on to do Henrietta's bidding.

[Ebiris]

Rat, is your plan for the collector to wait two days for when Rabbani is scheduled to pay his protection and grab her coming or going?

[Corwin]

In light of recent events (that's such a nice, usefully ambiguous statement) I'm proposing the following:

Naturally, we all get together to exchange this new and exciting information, whereupon Henrietta wishes to suggest that we approach the Cobras openly and tell them that the Dragons will be moving in on their turf. From there, several outcomes are possible, and two she consider likely are those outlined by Trucy; they either decide to flee (which allows us to return to the Dragons with the poisoner's help secured, and gives us cred with them to find out more about Vanthus and their plans for the city) or they can choose to make a stand (where we could offer to work with them, and return to the Dragons). If the latter is chosen, we can try to convince the Dragons that we have discovered the hideout of the Cobras, and know when they would be weakened/inattentive/whichever. Ideally, we might even triangulate with Lavinia to have the authorities ready to move in as soon as the Dragons make their move.

All in all, I'm proposing a modular plan like this which would depend on which way the wind blows, and the first part of which is the aforementioned approach of the Cobras without delay (meaning, the same day Trucy talked to me). Does it sound like a plan people here like? If so, do people want to go as a group?

[Carthrat]

I can actually get behind this. With the conversation just now there doesn't seem much point to seducing their collections girl (who may or may not be a crippled magical loli- three things that are all major turnoffs for dating shenanigans) and getting her to spill their secrets.

If they do want to make a stand I'm not really into fighting for one gang or another- it's just a level of criminal involvement I don't wanna have. Sicking the guard on the whole lot would be my ideal plan of choice (though admittedly if Trucy isn't viewing them through rose-tinted glasses, the Cobras seem alright, I guess.)

I'd certainly like to go chat up the snakes, too.

[Yuthirin]

That's actually not a bad idea. Turning the whole thing into an ambush on the Dragons could work out fairly well, especially if their leadership is killed.

Or they could just kill a whole lot of each other. I'm all for either avenue.

[Carthrat]

Eb, can you post a description and/or map of the Lotus Dragon's lair, or at least the bits we've been in?