The whereabouts of suspicious wares

Posted on 30 Jul 2022 @ 3:21am by Mage Kalian Winter & Warrior Martin Josceran & Warrior Rhiannon Cadash

3,445 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Summerday La Fête
Location: Jader Waterfront
Timeline: Cloudreach 25th, night

OOC: Continued from post "Hoppy-ness is Never Overrated"

The three friends, Kalian, Rhiannon, and Martin, had left the boisterous noise and revelry of the Summerday Festival behind them. A gentle salt breeze blew in from the bay and the Jader docks were quieter than usual, just a few sailors going about the routine business of maintaining their ships and minimal guards patrolling the warehouses.

As they walked along with Rhiannon leading the way, Kalian's gaze was drawn to the mesmerizing sway of her hips and shapely backside. The romantic interlude he'd had planned for this evening would have to wait a little longer.

Martin glanced at Kalian. He'd expected to see the worry he felt mirrored in his friend's eyes but instead Kalian was staring at... Martin's eyebrows shot up. Best hope Rhiannon didn't notice - although she might enjoy the attention. Kalian was a handsome man, and that was the least of his qualities. Still, they had a job to do and needed to stay focused.

"Any idea whether the warehouse will be empty ?" he asked, returning to more practical matters. "And how many men this Acerbi fellow might have under his command ?"

The name Acerbi was unknown to Martin, which in and of itself was intriguing because he knew the names of most of the major players in the Jader streets. Either this was a newcomer, or an alias for a known criminal, or someone insignificant enough to not have come yet to the attention of the Guard.

Martin's question interrupted Kalian's ogling and he turned his attention to Martin and answered the question. "Acerbi claimed he was second to someone named Gerlach Robertson who wished to hire the Night's Kiss because she is known for speed and reliability." Kalian looked at Rhiannon, the name Robertson had meant something to Jessamir, and she might have some idea how many men Acerbi commanded. "I don't think the warehouse will be empty, probably at least a couple guards on hand. It looked like a completely legitimate warehouse, not that I'm an expert."

Rhi had been very clear when the group had been talking that neither her mother, her or her crew knew that the wine had been poisoned. They just picked it up and delivered it to the warehouse. When the talking was done she agreed with Kalian that the two of them and Martin should go and check out the warehouse.

As they walked, Rhi took point. It had not dawned on her till they had been walking for a bit that Kalian was quiet. A bit too quiet. This brought a smile to her face as she figured that Kalian was watching her walk. Figuring this she decided to give him a show. Each step gave a little more sway in her hips.

When Martin asked a few questions she heard Kalian answer. She slowed a little then spoke. "Acerbi has roughly 20 men at his disposal. As for Gerlach, he is a bit bigger fish. My mother has had dealings with him before. Though she has never trusted him." She paused for a moment then continued. "The warehouse should have it least two guards but more likely has four. There are a few ways to get into any warehouse. As for this one, I think the best way is to just walk in. If someone comes to talk with us then we deal with that when that time comes."

Gerlach Robertson ? Now there was a name Martin had heard before, and his expression hardened. Although they'd never manage to get anything tangible on him his name had come up more than once. There was no doubt he was making money from smuggling and fencing stolen goods but that was only the least of it - his name had also come up in relation to gambling and there were rumors he groomed street orphans to get them to steal and pickpocket for him, amongst other things. Unfortunately he was exceptionally good at covering his tracks.

But maybe his lieutenant wouldn't be.

"Are you sure just walking in is the best bet ?" Martin asked tightly. "Maybe we should try to sneak in. If Robertson is involved we don't want him to know we're onto him."

Kalian regarded the two warriors speculatively. Both were well suited – in ways that he personally found rather attractive – to wielding serious weapons and wearing armor, plus accustomed to meeting an enemy head-on. Definitely could pull off a surprise attack. But sneaking in undetected, that would be more difficult. Kalian knew he personally lacked any skill with moving around unseen... as a person.

"There is, uh, something I can do," said Kalian, throwing a somewhat sheepish grimace Martin's way. "I could go in and look, check how many guards are on duty and where they're stationed, and report back. I may be seen, but they won't, uh, notice me."

Rhi shrugged her shoulders at the comment about not wanting Roberts to know that they may be on to him. She was not one to back away from any kind of altercation. Though her interest was peeked when Kalian indicated that he might have a way to go in without being seen. "You have roused my curiosity darlin." Her tone said she was very curious.

Martin furrowed his brow. How many secrets did Kalian keep ? The thought that he trusted them enough to reveal it - while not under threat of death - was both worrisome and humbling. The tension in Kalian's shoulders suggested that this was important, though what could be more important than his apostasy, Martin couldn't fathom.

"I will have to show you." They had almost reached the warehouse, and Kalian motioned them into a dark alleyway. He took a deep breath. What he was about to reveal to Martin and Rhiannon was his greatest secret as an apostate. It was the ability that made him confident he could escape a Circle prison, although if templars knew about it, he had no doubt he'd be made tranquil so that he would never escape.

"Wait here. I'll be back in a few minutes." Kalian checked again to make sure they were unobserved, then reached for the fade. A moment later, where he had been standing, a raven was in his place. He spread his wings and burst into the air, a dark shadow that disappeared into the night.

Following Kalian into the dark alleyway, Rhi shifted so that she could see back the way they canme. After making sure that they were alone she turned to look up at Kalian. "Alright darlin, show us." Her tone was hushed.

When Kalian shifted to a Raven, Rhi was speechless. She had heard that some mages could shape shift, though she had never thought that she would ever witnesses it. When Kalian flew off she turned to Martin. "Did you know?"

Martin's breath stuck in his throat when he saw the bird. If he hadn't witnessed it he probably wouldn't have believed it. While shapeshifting wasn't unheard of in Circles, it was fairly rare, and those mages who could do it were watched closely. Especially a bird or other such animal, who could so easily leave the Circle without being spotted. Kalian would be hard to catch by Templars, even though they did have tactics for this kind of situations.

The look of utter astonishment he directed at Rhiannon probably answered her question before he put it in words.

"No. I didn't." He suspected no one did, outside of Kalian's direct family.

Rhi seen the look on Martin's face. Her obviously didn't know. She moved closer to him and gave him a playful shove.

About fifteen minutes after he took flight, the raven returned and landed on Rhiannon's shoulder. He rubbed his black-feathered head against the dwarf's cheek affectionately, then hopped to the ground. A moment later, Kalian was standing between Martin and Rhiannon.

Rhi watched as the raven that was Kalian fly down and land in her shoulder. The black feathered head felt so soft as he rubbed her cheek. Her eyes lit up and a warm smile crossed her face as she watched Kalian jumped down and shifted back.

"The inside of the warehouse is much the same as it was a week ago. There are no guards inside, not even the archer positions from last time, and Acerbi isn't there now either. But there are three guards at the main entrance, and two at the side door." Kalian looked from Martin to Rhiannon and back to Martin. "I'm thinking we create a distraction and sneak in."

"What kind of distraction ?" Martin asked. Being too obvious about this could - would - get them all killed.

Addressing Martin, Kalian said, "You could distract the two guards at the side entrance. Maybe say you're looking for a suspect that ran that way… engage them in conversation, threaten, flatter, whatever works. Meanwhile, I'll fly in and crack open the door from the inside and Rhi can sneak in." He looked to Rhiannon to see if she concurred.

Rhi gave Kalian a nod.

"And then how would I catch up with you ?" Martin asked. "I can't... do what you can." He didn't find it in him to say it out loud. "And if they see a guardsman, even if I make it look casual, they're going to be on their guard. We could do it the other way around. Distract them, say you're looking for the harbourmaster, or that you're running after a thief...? Do you think you could pull that off ?" Putting Kalian on the spotlight like this wasn't great but this situation was one where they'd all be in danger regardless.

Martin was right, and Kalian knew it. His own plan meant Martin would remain outside while he and Rhiannon searched inside. Whatever they found, especially if it was something incriminating, it'd be best if someone with the credibility and authority of a city guardsman was with them. "You're right. I'll be the distraction." He pauses to consider. "I have an idea about what to do. The two of you get into position, and I'll approach them from the other direction."

Martin reached out for Kalian's arm. "Be careful. I don't think these people would be worried about dumping one more body in the Waking sea."

Kalian may be a mage, but a knife between the ribs would kill a mage as surely as a guardsman.

Rhiannon looked to Kalian. Her eyes flared with a crimson light at the thought of someone throwing Kalian into the Waking Sea. "Yes darlin, be careful. Understand."

Kalian unbuttoned his tunic to the navel and approached the two guards with a slow, staggering gate. He was going for the old lost, drunk, and looking for companionship ruse. He recognized one of the two women as off-duty city guard. Both were armed with swords, and a loaded crossbow lay on the ground beside them. "Good eeev-nun." Kalian slurred his words. "Bee-yoo-tee-fol ladies such as yo-selves… what-ir-ya doin' alone out here? How-ja like some com-pan-ee?" Kalian made a couple suggestive hip movements and attempted a lewd grin.

The guardswoman regarded him suspiciously, but the other woman got close and grabbed his backside. Kalian started to reach for the woman but grabbed the coin purse on her belt instead, yanked it free, and took off running away towards the docks. A crossbow bolt whizzed past his head, accompanied by the shouting and swearing of both women. One of them yelled stop thief! He dropped the coinpurse near the harbormaster's office, and its owner stopped to recover it, but the guardswoman was still chasing him when he turned the corner into a blind alley. When she got there, Kalian was gone.

---

Kalian's impersonation of a leery drunkard was cringe-inducingly convincing. Clearly he'd seen more than a few of those at the Raven's Roost, and he'd probably been instrumental in kicking them out too.

His impersonation of a common cutpurse was disturbingly accurate, too, but Martin shelved that thought aside as soon as the guardswomen set off in pursuit. Damn, that crossbow shot had looked like a close call. Motioning for Rhiannon to follow, Martin hurried ahead to the door of the warehouse. The distraction had bought them a couple of minutes but he wouldn't rely on it.

The door didn't budge when he pushed it and he hesitated. He might be able to break the lock but the guardswomen were wont to notice, and it would make a lot of noise. Yeah, maybe they should have thought this through a little bit better.

Rhiannon gave Martin a mischievous grin as she moved in front of him. Pulling out a small rolled leather pouch, unlaced it and pulled out two strong but thin pieces of metal. One straight and the other with a small hook on the end. Putting the rest back in her pouch as she started her work. Her voice low, "Up, down, lock it then pop it." The tell tale sound of the lock popping from getting picked can be heard by Rhi and Martin, as she looks to him.

"Right," Martin said. He should have known. Rhiannon was not exactly the law-abiding type but it made it easier on him to pretend not to notice.

He unsheathed his sword and stood guard while she worked, just in case the guardswomen returned before Rhiannon was done. He could actually hear them, a couple of streets away, still chasing Kalian. The growing vulgarity of their invectives suggested the frustration of this endeavor.

A clicking sound and satisfied grunt made him turn, to find the door open and Rhiannon already inside. Martin followed suit and close the door behind them, squinting in the absolute, inky darkness of the warehouse.

"Better be careful," he said in a hushed whisper. "I'm not putting it past them to have set traps in there."

Rhiannon gives a slight nod as she heard Martin close the door. Letting her eyes adjust. She slowly made her way to the crates and desk, scanning the area for anything that looked out of the ordinary from the last time she was here.

A raven glided down to them from the rafters, and landed on the floor between Rhiannon and Martin. A moment later, Kalian stood next to them, panting and rebuttoning his tunic. In a hushed voice he said, "Well, that was, uh…" Scary? Dangerous? Close? He tried to be nonchalant. "Exhilarating. Martin, I recognized one of those women – she's a city guard."

"A city guard ?" Martin tensed. His mind went through a list of his female colleagues, wondering which one was selling them out. He wasn't on friendly terms with all of them, but that was still a far cry from expecting to be stabbed in the back. "Can you give me a quick description... no, never mind, we'll talk about this when we're out of there."

The group did a quick sweep of the warehouse, checking for traps and guards Kalian might have missed.

The three searched Carlos Acerbi's desk, where he held his meeting with Rhiannon, her mother, and Kalian a week ago. Inside the desk was a modest bag of coins and a ledger that, to Rhiannon's businesswoman's eyes, appeared to record perfectly legitimate warehouse transactions. The wine shipment handled by the Night's Kiss was not included. Otherwise they found nothing else of interest in the desk. The three were on the verge of giving up the search when Rhiannon's clever fingers found a trigger.

A secret door opened in the wall, revealing a small room beyond.

A secret door. How very theatrical. Martin ventured forward, one step at a time, eyes opened for traps, but there didn't seem to be any. Overconfidence maybe, or just a path well trodden where traps would seem more bother than they were worth.

The secret room was small, more a closet than a room really, lined with shelves. On the top shelf there was a thick wad of parchment. The middle shelf contained small leather pouches, apparently filled to bulging. Next to those were pieces of jewelry, some small and some of consequence, apparently made of silver and gold and set with various sorts of stones. All of them looked quite expensive. Martin took in the whole thing with a guard's eye ; it certainly looked like a stash, and one that would put many a fence to shame.

That was not all, far from it. Below the gold and jewelry, the next shelf contained a pile of weapons that looked crude but serviceable ; plain iron, leather-wrapped hilts, decent edge from what Martin could see. They looked like the sort of weapons that would be army standard issue, or similar quality. He wondered if they'd been stolen, or "diverted" from army stashes, or if they'd just been mass-produced by a reasonably skillful blacksmith.

Finally, on the bottom shelf, lay a ledger. It looked thick, leatherbound, made of yellowed parchment, and had clearly seen a great deal of use.

Martin ignored the weapons, gold and jewelry, and went straight for the letter on the top shelf. Tense, with the vague sensation that he wouldn't like what he was going to find out, he started reading.

Rhi stood looking at the shelves, well the ones that she could readily see. The pouches that were filled what she assumed was gold and silver and the jewelry. Her smile grew to a wicked mischievous grin. It was and automatic reflex as her arm raised as her hand reached out and stuffed two of the pouches in her satchel and put on three rings. She then looked down at the weapons on the next shelf, shook her head and then it the bottom shelf. Spotting the ledger, she grabbed it and handed it to Kalian. "Alright, we need to get out of here now. (looked up it Martin) No time to read it here. Lets go."

While Martin and Rhiannon searched the secret closet, Kalian went to the door and listened. The two guards had returned to their post, he could hear the two women complaining to each other about the would-be thief that got away. He returned to the secret closet just as Rhiannon was saying they had to go now. Kalian stared at the bags of coins for a moment. In normal circumstances, he would never think of taking coins that weren't his. In a whisper he mused, "Is it stealing if I steal from a criminal?" Then he pocketed three bags.

"The guards are back in position, so how about this," said Kalian. "You two hide by the door. I'll open the door, get their attention, then run back in. They will run in after me, probably, and I'll head for the stairs and do my disappearing act on the second floor. Meanwhile, you exit through the door. Head for the Raven's Roost, and I'll catch you up. Unless one of you has another idea…?"

Martin bit his lip. He really wanted to have a better idea ; he wasn't happy with Kalian continually putting himself in the line of fire just because of his... particular abilities. The idea was to not draw attention to the fact that an apostate was hiding in plain sight. If the whiff of a rumour came to the ears of the local Circle that would cause a very awkward, very dangerous and very complicated situation for all of them, starting with Kalian himself, who had the most to lose.

"How about we go to the first floor and look for a window ?" he suggested. "A one-story drop is feasible. They'll just think they left it open and forgot to lock it."

Rhi djd not like the idea of Kalian putting himself in many more danger but the idea of dropping one story was not on here lists of thigs to do. She looked to Martin, "For you it might not to bad." She looked down at her legs then back to Martin.

"Let's look for a window on the first floor, and then decide if it'll work," said Kalian.

Martin, Kalian, and Rhiannon did find a window on the first floor that was obscured from the outside by lumber debris - the likely entry-point for the elven wine-thieves. Martin and Kalian moved an empty crate under the window and helped Rhiannon climb up. Kalian slipped out first, then Martin lowered Rhiannon into Kalian's waiting arms, and Martin followed.

The three strolled back toward the Raven's Roost, careful not to attract attention from the warehouse guards.

-----

 

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