Good People Working In Bad Places (IC 1)

[Jormengand]

The city of Ijzerpoort was not a great place to be. Nominally, it was the centre of the imperial army, and the majority of the empire's trade took place there. None who lived there could have believed, however, the blatant lies that everything was under the control of the empire. Would that that were so, it would not be the case that fully one fifth of the ships that entered and left port were officially never meant to have been there in the first place.

Nor would there be the Undercity, where the real ruling takes place. The imperials attempt to exert as much de jure control as they can over the city, but the de facto rulers of Ijzerpoort are murderers and thieves. The iron empire is fighting a losing battle, and knows it.

Five heroes sit in the Undercity, waiting. After several "Successful" missions - involving a lot of faking and dodging, and some imperials going into hiding and pretending to be dead - they have been told that they are going to be meeting with a fairly important person, though they currently know not whom. Of course, being as this person is a fairly important Undercitizen, they probably want to be making sure that their mission does not succeed.

Well, unless they really hate the imperials.

[Erik Vale]

Dra'versi has few illusions as he leans against a wall, waiting, such that sneaking up on him would be rather hard for all but the best sneak thieves, the sort that give birth to legends.
Of course, those of the under-city have born many legends.

"I just hope we don't need to go through this all again. I'd like to spend some time in a actual bed soon."

[Batpope Scott]

Trakan leans on is staff, seemingly focused on something in the distance as he looks into the wall. The sounds of the Undercity aren't comforting, but they've become the norm in this life.

"A comfortable place to sleep would be wonderful but, it would distract us from where we are destined to be, my friend."

[Bladehunter217]

"You don't need a bed brother, all you need is a decent lock on your door. Besides, a bed will just make you stale. Sadi chuckles to himself, ignoring the undercity around them. He adjusts his sleeves, gesturing his robes to a dull brown commoners attire. "I wouldn't want you becoming a gentleman on us.

[Erik Vale]

Dra'versi laughs.
"Should I ever become a soft distracted gentleman, make sure I don't wake one morning."
He shakes his head.
"I would just like a break from stone and dirt for a while. It's all well and good and I'll do it was long as is necessary, but it's been how many months now? Hell, we've even been convinced to come here of all places for a meeting instead of the surrounds."
Dra'versi gestures around the walls that make up the undercity.

[PsyBomb]

Bud stands by stretching. His style was not one that was conducive to standing still.

"Well, it could be worse. I don't know about you, but I am not precisely loved by all just yet. I'm just happy to not be decorating the end of a pike somewhere. Beds are for people who can afford to sleep easy. Maybe next month.

He reached for his scimitar, intending to continue his routine calisthenics, but thought better of it. Given his surroundings and the general lack if trust in the Undercity, drawing it for any reason might well be his last act... and he wasn't eager to see if reincarnation was a fact first hand.

[Bladehunter217]

Sadi raises his arm in a mock salute, outfit changing to a comical imitation of a military garb."Sir, it would be my honor, Sir." He drops his arm and his outfit returns to the bland look. "I think you would look wonderful on a pike brother, tongue rolling out. He waves a small cloth puppet of a head into existence, holding it up by his finger.

Prestidigitation to make a horrible craftsmanship head.

[PsyBomb]

Bud gives a bow. "Thank you for the stunning likeness and legendary acting prowess. You have convinced me that my original bit of thankfulness was correct, and I should continue to avoid it."

He looks around. The enclosure and impatience was wearing at him, just wondering when things would proceed. He started eyeing the doors, trying to estimate his chances at a rapid escape should it become necessary.

[Mokou-tan]

Komurasaki's circuitry lights up, only really noticeable on her face, hands and feet due to her clothing, as though coming out of some sort of idle state. "I have not slept in some time. It leaves me vulnerable to attack." She reaches into her clothes and pulls out a stun vial upon noticing Bud looking around. "This will facilitate a hasty escape. A ninja should never be without her tools." She then reaches into her pack and pulls out a bag of caltrops, placing them in the pockets in her clothes, just in case.

[Batpope Scott]

"I think you to be more than dangerous enough without the tools, dear girl. Let us hope you don't have reason to use them before the day's end."

Trakan shifts slightly, sighing at the growing impatience. "I have a bad feeling about this."

[Jormengand]

The room starts to clear, and you soon see why - two of the most famous Undercitizens in existence have just walked in. Old Spinner, the leader of the assassins, and Anna, one of their most competent members, walk towards you without any attempt at stealth, though you know that either could have jumped in, unnoticed.

Spinner walks up to you, while Anna hangs a few feet back.

"We have a new target for you," he says calmly, as though he had already greeted you and you him, and he had not in fact walked into your conversation. "Sergeant Jonah Cyrus of the 12th company. He can be found in room one hundred fifty seven of the iron keep. I'll send an extra along to make sure the job's done - no offense to you all, but I trust Anna, and this is important.

That aside, you should find yourselves in possession of one thousand gold pieces each, as well as anything you liberate from him and his guards. Feel free to kill any guards who get in your way - the empire will know it was us anyway; it's Jonah.

If you've no questions, I advise you to get started."

Anna just stands in place, her expression neutral.

Feel free to take any skill checks you think relevant - Spot, SM, K (L), or whatever.

[Bladehunter217]

I like ya brother, and little Bud agrees. Sadi turns his puppet to face him and whispers to it. When their employers arrive, he flicks his outfit to be a little more respective and listens closely. Well, I'm not much of a killer, no reason to dirty my own hands and all that. I think this will be a delightful party, I don't think I've ever influenced the death of a Sargent before. What about you love? Sadi bounces over to Komurasaki's side, leaning close. I can keep a secret.

[Jormengand]

Spinner shrugs. "I don't really mind who ends up killing him, so long as he ends up dead." He raises an eyebrow, and adds "Though, I should hope you don't intend to kill him with your puppetry skills."

[Batpope Scott]

Trakan didn't like the sound of this, though he probably shouldn't have let it slip his tongue. "And what if she slows us down? Will we be forced to babysit her if fate decides she has an accident?"

[PsyBomb]

Bud falls silent, contemplating things briefly. He doesn't much like the thought of random killing, no matter the cause or target, and this would be no exception.


[roll1]
[roll="Know Local"]1d20+5

Ok, no idea why it isn't letting the Local roll go through

[Batpope Scott]

Knowledge: Local [roll0]
Knowledge: History [roll1]

Trying to figure out what I know about the assassins, and another roll for the Sergeant.
Knowledge: Local [roll2]

[Mokou-tan]

Komurasaki thinks for a moment. "In the two years I have memory of, I do not believe I have slain a Sargent." She stares intently at Anna, trying to size up her ability.

[roll0]+relevant skill. Sense motive maybe?
Edit: Yeah, not happening. Should have taken 10.

[Bladehunter217]

Come now, I am a director, I don't kill people, just make it so they can die. With a quick bow, Sadi flicked his clothes into a more relaxed set of robes.

[Jormengand]

As far as you can tell, Spinner is telling the truth about Jonah, and seems to want him dead as a matter of business rather than any personal vendetta.Spinner isn't bothering to conceal a longsword, while you can't see any weapons on Anna.Anna is renowned as an assassin. Spinner leads the assassins.Anna is renowned as an assassin, though she'll do practically anything if the price is right, including selling her own body for the night. She is extremely talented in killing, however, and is often sent alone for what would normally be team jobs. She is one of the disciples apparent, who generate magical power through their skill with weapons. She would only be sent with an entire group of talented individuals for a difficult job.

Spinner leads the assassins, and while he no longer does any missions himself due to his age, in his time he was one of the best: probably the best, even. Indeed, his name comes from the spinning sound of his knives as they flew through the air - if you lived long enough to register the sound, it meant someone nearby was dead.The assassins are not really an organised group exactly - there is no initiation ceremony, no list of members; there are only those who kill people and those who pay them to.

The Undercity has existed for some time around four hundred years, and in that time it has changed shape drastically. To prevent being found by the imperial armies, entrances have been collapsed and re-located time and again, and as of yet only seventeen imperial soldiers have made it into the Undercity.

Spinner took control of the assassins twelve years ago, and hasn't left the undercity on a mission since. During this time, he has used Anna to kill practically everyone who he might have killed himself.Jonah Cyrus is nominally a sergeant, but in reality those far above his station gladly follow his commands. He wields a massive bow, and is an inspirational leader.

Jonah is one of the disciples apparent, those who have learned to channel a mysterious, almost magical force through their attacks. You do not know how far this ability extends, however.You believe Anna to be a fish. :smalltongue:

Anna sighs a moment, then wordlessly lashes out, her fist bursting into flame and ending an inch from Trakan's nose. She steps back, completely unburned. "Normally, I would do this without you tagging along with me, but as this is Jonah we're talking about here, I might need a few people to keep his guards busy while I take him down. So do me a favour and stay out of my way, all right?"

Spinner, meanwhile, looks over at Sadi. "Well, maybe you'll take over my place some day, eh? But today, I'd rather you be a doer, or at least a helper, than a director. Anyway, I think Anna's shown that you can count on her in a fight, and I imagine that she's at least as fast as any of you. We can organise the duel of honour later." He adds the last sentence sarcastically, then starts to walk away slowly.

[Mokou-tan]

Komurasaki steps up to Anna. "Do we have a map of the Iron Keep? Surprise is the best weapon one can have, knowing the layout would prove useful."

[Bladehunter217]

Sadi claps his hands and Anna's display. "That was adorable! Oh you know ne spinner, I'll do my duty. Wherever my future lies, I'm in no rush. Alright children, you heard Spin, we've work to do, whatever we think of said work. Sadi puts his hands behind his back and stands quietly.

[Jormengand]

Anna responds to the strange android. We would have a map, but you're not exactly going anywhere that I'm not, and I know the Iron Keep inside out - we only need to go to one room anyway." She than turns to Sadi. "Please, do keep your adoration private, unless you've the coin to pay for it - and that can wait until after our current venture, I should hope. In any case, can we be going? I'm eager not to be here."

[Batpope Scott]

Trakan takes a step back from the display and scoffs, saying "I didn't question your martial ability, Assassin, simply the possibility of misfortune on your own part and whether or not we should take steps to ensure you aren't harmed."

[Mokou-tan]

Komurasaki taps her ribbon, changing her appearance to that of one of the servants in the Iron Keep and back again after a moment. "Shame, frontal confrontations are inefficient. It'd be far easier to just walk in while he sleeps and slit his throat. Guards or not, servants tend to have work no matter the time of day."

[Erik Vale]

While Dra'versi prefers to ask lots of questions about his targets, he knows well how Spinner gets annoyed, and each one has been for a good reason...
Doesn't mean he likes working with him, just that he's slowly stopped his questions, especially since he's good at knocking out targets and forcing information from them later.


Take 10 Knowledge Local for 14, untrained for a max DC of 10.
If Profession Soldier can help: [roll0]

"Well, let us go. No point us wasting time when I can get back to being a walking distraction."
With a thought Dra'versi's clothes turn a dark blue, good for blending in with the darkness, and his face becomes covered with a crude mask.


That last line.

[Jormengand]

Anna is renowned as an assassin. Spinner leads the assassins.

Jonah Cyrus is nominally a sergeant, but in reality those far above his station gladly follow his commands.The Iron Keep is a large defensive structure, and while you've never been there you know it's hellishly hard to get into.

Anna scowls at Trakan. "I imagine Spinner wants me back in one piece, but I'll make sure of that. You just worry about your own little lives."

She turns to the ninja, who is also swiftly irritating her "This is Jonah we're talking about. This is the Iron Keep we're talking about, for the Maker's sake! There are two rules of the Iron Keep: One, if you're in the Iron Keep someone knows it, and Two, if someone in the Iron Keep knows it, everyone knows it. Jumping in and stabbing him in his sleep is not a thing which is going to happen."

She nods at Dra'versi's suggestion to get going, and gestures to follow her before heading out to the nearest Undercity exit. You know where to go.

[Bladehunter217]

Sadi claps his hands in amusement, squashing his illusionary puppet. "This is going to be a treat! So, little prodigy, any clever ideas?

[Erik Vale]

"Try not to die too fast."
Dra'versi picks himself off the wall, and with a quick thought cleas himself off, with a thought changing his mask to be a full faced one, the sort those rather scarred tend to wear, and he sets off after Anna.

[Bladehunter217]

"Clever D, very clever. Tge mask too, although, I prefer scarves over masks. Maybe a green one." He offered a fake bow, his robes turning to a form fitting set with a hood and scarf. He tossed the scarf over his mouth, muffling his voice slightly. "Alrighty then, any other acts of cleverness before the play begins?"

[Mokou-tan]

Komurasaki uses her ribbon to look like a human girl while following after Sadi. "This should do for this mission." The disguise was more to keep a lack of an identity than to blend in, since Anna insisted it was futile.

[Batpope Scott]

Trakan follows his allies, taking no effort to change his robed appearance, and states "I know you and Jonah are both Disciples Apparent, Anna. Do you know of any tricks he has that we should be aware of?"

[Jormengand]

You catch up to Anna, and she looks some mixture of surprised and impressed.

"Good question - for a change. The answer is that I don't know, but he might be able to shoot fire arrows, or even heal himself with his attacks - there are lots of different things he might be able to do. It's like saying you know someone's a sorcerer and asking what that means they can do - even a novice might be able to shoot fire out of their hands, ride around on a levitating disk and create an illusion, but if you find a random novice, chances are that he doesn't have all three of those spells.

Also, Disciples Apparent can re-train their powers. Because they're accomplished through martial skill rather than mystical cosmic whatever, it doesn't take long to learn a new one. If Jonah were to get away, you could bet your last gold piece that when we found him, he'd not be using the same abilities as last time.

Not that you're going to let him get away, or you'll have another angry Disciple Apparent to fight."

[Erik Vale]

"I'll try not to scare him off then... Do we know how many friends he'll be likely to have tagging along?"

[Batpope Scott]

Trakan sighs again and states. "And that boils down to: 'Expect the unexpected'. Hopefully this will be easier than I think; I do not wish to witness Spinner's flying knife trick first-hand."

He mumbles a curse before adjusting his cowl and assuming the look of a common worker in ragged clothing. He looks over his party and mumbles, "May fate deem us the victors at day's end."

[Bladehunter217]

"Delightful." Sadi steps into line, matching sarcastically for a minute before getting bored and walking normally.

[PsyBomb]

"It occurs to me that we are missing information. The tower seems nigh-impregnable the way you describe it. Full of soldiers, impossible to sneak into. The Sergeant would need to make himself vulnerable in some way, do you know of anything that may help here?"

In his deepest thoughts, though, Bud had no intention of carrying this out. At least, not as instructed.Unneeded death was abhorrent, and he specialized in letting people live when able. The trick was figuring out how.

[Jormengand]

Anna smiles, with a hint of sadism. "It's called a distraction, and it's why I brought you lovely people along. There are, nominally, more important people about than Jonah. You need to pretend to be attacking one of them. I'll prepare a way of you moving down a floor in a hurry and we end up in the same place. Abridged version, but I'll spare you the details until we actually get there."

[Batpope Scott]

"Let's get going, then. I can't wait to see what my next life will be like." The sarcasm is rich in Trakan's tone, though it's of the kind that comes with a resignation to doing his job.

[Bladehunter217]

"I do love a good distraction. I think I'll give them a wonderful performance, one they will never forget." Sadi waves away his makeshift mask, taking on a jester's garb.

[Erik Vale]

"Hmph. Well I'm good at making nice loud distractions at least."
Dra'versi sounds slightly happier at this. Whilst he understood the sergeants blood was still on his concious it wasn't on his hands... That and his best distractions left people wounded and withering in agony from well placed cuts or unconscious from the pain, not dead on the floor.

[Mokou-tan]

"Distraction? I have a better appearance for that then." Using her ribbon once again, Komurasaki takes on the looks of Anna. "You're a more notable enemy than I. It's a question of who's who now. They'll also be expecting your abilities from me, which I lack. I have a trick or two of my own though."

[Jormengand]

"You won't sound like me, either. But at very least, two Annas running about will confuse people more than a little until they do work it out. In any case, I don't plan to be visible for most of the time."

You follow Anna up to an exit from the Undercity - the only one you've ever seen. It's common knowledge that Undercity entrances are far too important to let just anyone know the existence of more than one. Following after her yields a small house, and the entrance is almost invisible when the door is closed.

"All right, here's the deal and the deal is this. There's a giant bridge up there," She points upwards and away through the house's front door. "Which you practically can't miss if you're looking for it. It's basically strapped onto the side of the Iron Keep, and is used to bring in deliveries from other parts of the Iron Empire. You're going onto that bridge.

What you might not see is that the other end is connected to a pretty large tower. It's also a pretty unguarded tower, and because it's not in the Iron Keep itself, you're not going to be setting off any alarms until you're actually on the other end of the bridge and breaking in their doors. That's when I move in at the lower end.

Two of our sorcerers have been working on an... interesting teleportation spell. It allows them to transport other people, but only between their two locations. I doubt the imperials are expecting teleportation from us - that's the kind of thing that people who shut themselves up in a room with nothing but food, water and a spellbook for a hundred years can do. That means that you're taking a sorcerer with you, and I'm taking one with me. Then, you five are all being dropped off next to me. Your sorcerer will get his own butt out of the Iron Keep or die trying, and we kill Jonah and get out, because all of the guards should be running about in a whole different part of the Keep.

Any questions?"

[Erik Vale]

"How much time are we expected to hold? A quick smash, run around the corner and then disappear, or buy you a couple of minutes and hope this wizard of yours doesn't get shot and leave some guards confused when some of us disappear like summons run out?"

Had Dra'versi brows they would be slightly furrowed as he thinks through the basic plan. Right now he was just going to assume the teleport would work, despite that it would likely be untested against the keeps defences, wishing he had been told this enough in advance to have prepared for this particularly, because he'd likely need most of what he had for this.

[PsyBomb]

Something about the plan made Bud uneasy... not the least of which was the presence of a dangerous watchdog.

"Any information about the locks? And when does this take place? I have some meditation to do"

[Jormengand]

Anna smiles. "Time isn't really the issue. When you're there, you go towards a certain general - nominally more important than Jonah - and literally everyone in the damn place will be after you. Just get any guards who are in the way, out of the way, and they'll think you're trying to kill that general. Then, you boop out over here, sorcerer finds his own way out or dies trying, we kill Jonah while everyone's still upstairs wondering where you are.

We're going to sort this all out tomorrow, because I predicted that you would need to rest, study spellbooks or whatever you do, and so forth. Anyway, I have some shopping I need to do. As for locks, there are some on the entrance I'm going to, but the delivery entrance doesn't have any. I think there's one on the tower that leads up to there, but the door is made of wood, and it's probably not even magic wood. I'm sure you can get through it.

Any more questions?"

[PsyBomb]

"None from me. Now, if I may, I'll be off."

LATER THAT EVENING

One did not survive long in this city without having a bolthole or three. One such place would be thoroughly occupied this night. For many, the word "meditation" implies quiet and still focus. For Bud... the focus part was there, but his methods of achieving mastery of himself did not often involve sitting cross-legged or thinking about the sound of one hand clapping. He danced, scimitar flashing in arcs of lethal steel, through his training katas.

"Never shall I fear, for that would require a reason to be afraid. I am Bud Singh Ha! I carry with me the soul of a tiger! The Dervish, Guru of the Vayist School! No barrier may stop me long if at all, neither lock nor wall of stone or steel or flesh. Never shall I fear..."

As he chanted his Identity, the energies he focused molded themselves into new forms of his choosing...