Light 'em up: Capture of Helias

Carmen, Kairos, Tim, and Timmy had returned from attempting the Pirates River pollution cleanup soaked to the skin, and with nothing interesting to show for it other than a tale of fighting plant ponies in a pond.  The more seasoned Freelancers pressed them about trying to convert them to mounts, but the 4 defended their decisions and pointed out the weather, which this morning was a steady rain.  

The conversation was uncomfortable for all.  After a while 5 broke off bemoaning the lack of taming exotic mounts and went up to Arnari's office to find out what was on deck for them to do.

Arnari's office felt more close, whether from the rain limiting visibility in the windows or the teetering towers of paperwork on her desk.  The Freelancers quickly chose seats.

The half-elf bard Aranel sat in the fanciest chair in the office, ankles together to the side.  She was wearing a very nice dress, and if one looked closely, the top of a chain shirt was visible under it.

The nekomata warlock Minji luxuriated on the large bearskin rug in front of Arnari's desk.  She was in a green dress and had what looked like a spellbook.

The human fighter Ka perched on the back of a sturdy chair, feet on the seat.  He had reddish skin and twin rapiers, except one of them was black.

The human druid Dominic was studying the maps.  He'd drawn one; he was studying the other, pulling on his greying moustache.

The Rock sagani barbarian Peb tried, experimentally, to sit in a plain chair.  They'd neglected to observe it was sized for a halfling, and it was comically small for his bulk, and the handle of the oversized shovel on his back bumped the floor.

Arnari set her harp aside, and pulled 5 pieces of paper from the stacks in front of her, including 3 dog-eared ones from the bottom.  As she pulled them out, she recited or read them to the waiting Freelancers, who listened and did not interrupt.  The 2st two, she recited as she set them aside.

• 100gp each for hippogryph eggs, 150gp each for gryphon eggs.  Extra for fancy eggs.
• Pollution cleanup – go to Pirates River, find something unnatural, make it not be a problem anymore.  100gp/each plus 1 uncommon potion each.
• Track down Helias, leader of the press gang who escaped the last time he was attempted capture.  Fortunately the prisoners were rescued; but the press gang leaders got away.  150gp for capture, 100gp if you just find them.
• Korfel Goltorrah wants someone to go check on the giant bees that were found.  Four days' south of Mantzur there was a giant tree with lots of bees, and animated armours with bees.

Arnari fell silent expectantly.  Dominic stopped studying the maps; he turned and studied Arnari.

Dominic:  want us to destroy the bee hive, or fix the bee problem?
Arnari:  he's not sure why they're here and why they're aggressive.
Dominic:  so, fix the bee problem.
Arnari:  if the cause of the aggression is removed, then he would probably be happy.  Oh!  This mission pays 100gp/person.
Peb:  not needing eggs.
Minji:  kind of want to go for press gang boss; I was there.
Aranel:  what are we supposed to do for this?
Arnari:  150gp to capture him and bring to Wymar.  100gp to find him.
Peb:  will go for eggs if someone wants a mount.
Dominic:  can use a mount, but <looked out window> not this time
Aranel:  what if we kill Helias?
Arnari:  100gp each; they want to question him
Dominic:  let's do that
Peb:  yeah
Aranel:  what about the other 2 people?
Arnari:  Wymar is interested in Helias.
Dominic:  no bonus for those?
Arnari:  no.
Aranel:  what if they have information?
Dominic:  we extract it ourselves.

The Freelancers filed out of the room, and with the rainy weather, Aranel changed out of her nice dress into traveller's clothes, although those were equally nice and also had skirts.  While she was doing that, Ka got his flying bear Ohenui out of the stables.

Dominic, Aranel, and Minji walked over to the place in Guildstrom where the raid on Helias had taken place, with Peb and Ka flying overhead on Bettula and Ohenui.  They found the cellar doors open to the wide steps down, and work crews bustling.  A pile of junk was next to the cellar doors; Minji, Aranel, and Dominic recognized in the pile the doors to the holding cells.

Dominic started down the stairs, and one of the work crew stopped him with a hand on his chest.  "Construction zone!  Please stay back!"  Dominic looked at the hand until the worker withdrew it, then told him, "Pretty sure I'll survive any thing down there anyone throws at me.  So tend to your business, and I'll tend to mine."

The worker opened his mouth to argue, but Peb landed next to them on Bettula and dismounted, interjecting, "We're Freelancers, looking for, uh,  info on illegal activity."  The worker was persuaded and let them continue down.

<Narrator voice:  so Aranel, Minji, and Dominic had been there, but what do they still remember, a full prime later?  They remembered 3 people ran away via the rooms, specifically, the innermost one.> 

The Freelancers could see the workers were following the directions of a nicer-dressed person, a Rain sagani, so Aranel went to talk to him.

Aranel:  what did you find out about the people running this operation?
Supervisor:  this was rented out; owners are horrified, want all this shit cleaned out.
Aranel:  but, did you find anything?
Supervisor:  we were just hired yesterday after a bout of legal stuff; the owner was Questioned by Wymar.  We've only been in this main room.
Aranel <nodded decisively>:  we'll be checking out these other rooms.
Worker from before:  don't steal anything!

Aranel gave the worker a look.  Then Dominic led the Freelancers into the side rooms.

Minji crawled around the first room, which was some sort of mess hall, and with Peb's help found a waterkeg and food stores.  Dominic looked in the room from which Helias and his two friends had escaped.  With Ka's help, he found a place in the wall where one could press a pebble, and a hidden door would swing open, revealing a 5' tall tunnel.

"How delightful!" Aranel exclaimed, and looked down the tunnel, as Peb and Minji came into the room.  The tunnel got slightly taller further down.

Peb pulled out a torch and lit it.  Minji looked at it, then asked disdainfully, "Where's your sense of adventure?"  Peb replied courteously, "Ah like the torch.  It tells of gas."

The tunnel was only wide enough for one person.  So Dominic went in first, looking for traps, with Peb behind him holding up the torch.  Minji, then Aranel were behind, followed by Ka who had lit a lantern.

The tunnel zig-zagged a bunch, presumably around basements and building foundations, and eventually dead-ended with a ladder leading upwards.  It did not seem to intersect with any sewers.

As they contemplated the ladder, Dominic motioned everyone to be quiet.  He listened but only heard vague city noises.  The torch showed the ladder led to a trap door, with a small amount of daylight leaking through the edges, and no water dripping.  It did not look trapped, so he said, "Peb, the trapdoor looks safe, do you wanna do the honors?"  Startled, Peb replied, "ah, um, Ah can."

Peb handed Dominic the torch and climbed the ladder, and encountered surprising difficulty.  "It's kinda heavy for a trap door," they started, then exclaimed, "Oh!  It's a barrel on the door!"  They shoved harder, and the barrel tilted off.  The Freelancers clambered out to find themselves in a small alley.  "Darn, it's not their secret hideout," Peb murmured, disappointed.

The barrel's contents was just random junk and rocks.  Three other barrels were in the alley along with random trash.  The surrounding buildings had no windows at street level, but there was a door 15' down.  Someone opened that door from the inside, saw the Freelancers standing there, and shut it quickly, barring it.

Peb:  should we ask around?
Aranel:  should we put the barrel back?
Dominic:  yes.

Dominic checked the barrel again, then checked for anyone watching, and seeing no one, put it back.

The alley was open at both ends, with people walking by on the street.  Aranel walked to the north end, looking around.  She saw some shops, normal midmorning foot traffic.  Some were for airship repair, some were "duty free".  She told the others as she walked to the other end of the alley, and Peb wanted to ask the shopkeepers.  Aranel looked around the street at the south end, in particular for a shop that would sell items in barrels.  All she saw was a couple bars.  She returned to the others, and uncharacteristically shrugged.

The Freelancers scattered, with Aranel and Minji heading out the south end of the alley.  We'll catch up with them later.

Peb went to one of the shops at the north end and asked a shopkeeper if he'd seen anything.  The shopkeeper was more interested in getting Peb to purchase his wares.  After a couple exchanges the shopkeeper told Peb it had been more than a prime ago, with Tumultuous Holiday in between.  Peb thanked him and bought something just to be polite.

While that was happening, Ka knocked on the barred door, making sure to rattle coins in his hand.

Ka:  we have questions!  Happy to compensate for good answers!
Female voice:  go away!  We know nothing!
Male voice:  they said money!  Compensate == money!
<The door was unbarred and opened 4", revealing the face of a ¼ elf.>
¼ elf:  how much?  What you got?
<Ka slid a copper piece through the door.>
Ka:  thanks for opening the door!  I'm curious if you saw unusual activity here just before Tumultuous Holiday.
¼ elf:  a copper?  I opened the door for a copper?  Do you even have gold
Ka:  of course I have gold.  I also have a good friend who's a flying bear.
¼ elf <eyes widened>:  how much gold can a flying bear carry.  <took a breath>  There hasn't been activity recently – I'm relying on you for flying bear gold – but there were shady people.  They are why there's these bars… <described Helias and his gang>
Female voice:   he's dreamy
¼ elf:  you did not want to open the door!  You are not getting the gold!  And shut up about that dude!  <to Ka>  I saw where he's gone, but I don't believe you about the bear.

As Ka was talking, Dominic was poking around the alley for clues.  Ka put his fingers in his mouth and whistled shrilly for Ohenui, then shoved his boot into the door opening.  The ¼ elf was unable to close the door and was then distracted by Ohenui landing next to Ka, who said, "Help me convince them to cooperate."  Ohenui roared in the ¼ elf's face, then Ka held up his hand, and Ohenui stopped.  Ka turned his hand, revealing a couple gold pieces.

Ka:  we really want this info.  Easy way, or hard way?
¼ elf <shaken>:  okay, flying bears exist.  Nobody has as much gold as he can carry.  2 gold is a good start!
<Both Ka and Ohenui hulked out intimidatingly.>
Female voice:  why the fuck you open the door
¼ elf:  talk.  Yes, talk.  About every other day they came through here with friends and sometimes a person.  Always leave with a person.  Once I trailed him to a tavern.  The Gilded Barrel, in western Trade District.  Please don't have your bear eat me
Ka:  thanks very much, that was very helpful.  Anything else you forgot to tell me?
¼ elf:  turned invisible last time.  They put the barrel, turned invisible, didn't see which way he went.
Ka:  thank you.  <pulled out a 3rd gold piece and handed them to the ¼ elf.>  bye <withdrew boot>
¼ elf:  thankyouverymuch

The door slammed shut and they heard the bars going in place.  Dominic gave up investigating the alley, since all that drama was too distracting.  Peb returned from the shopkeepers, and looked at Ka & Dominic.  "Y'all okay?"  They'd heard Ohenui roar.

Meanwhile, Aranel & Minji decided to check out those taverns.  The first one they tried was the First Landing.  Since it was morning, there was an airship crew in there, carousing; but it was not yet lunch rush.  A bard was setting up in a corner.  Aranel looked for non-airship crew patrons, but saw none.

Minji talked to the barkeep.  "Do you have bards in here often?  Do they play regularly?  …or here as customers?"  Aranel joined her and smiled sweetly.  The barkeep was happy to explain he had a regular lineup of bards for lunch or dinner.  He added, noticing the shamisen on Aranel's back, "Happy if you want to audition; you look like a good duet."  He looked at them expectantly, and Aranel allowed her face to fall ever so slightly.

Aranel:  actually we're trying to locate another bard.
Barkeep:  who
<Aranel described Helias in general terms, slightly wistfully.>
Barkeep <eye narrowed>:  your boyfriend skip out on you?
Aranel:  it's not really like that
Barkeep:  if it's not…
<Aranel re-described Helias physically, but did not mention his hot ass.>
Minji:  you left off a feature.
Barkeep:  what is it?
<Aranel visibly tried to act dignified.>
Minji:  can't miss it, all you ever talk about
Barkeep:  what is it
Aranel:  well, he has a really hot ass.
Barkeep <raised eyebrow>:  okay then
Minji:  from your description it's his defining feature!  <to barkeep> any bards who came for lunch, or only to play?
Barkeep:  not that I know of
Minji:  maybe not notice anyone?
Barkeep:  I would have noticed someone that attractive <pointedly looked at Aranel>
Minji:  okay then
<Minji bought two glasses of wine for 1sp each>
Minji:  well Aranel, we struck out again finding this one. <tips barkeep a silver> thanks for your sympathy to our cause.

They drank the wine leisurely, but not slowly, then left, and visited the other tavern, the Whetted Whistle.  It was similarly set up to First Landing, but had more dart boards.  Here again Minji talked to the barkeep, a human woman with the right side of her head shaved and hair braided back.

Barkeep:  what you wanna drink?
Minji:  what you got?
Barkeep:  beer, ale, shots of whisky
Minji:  ooo, 2 shots, me or my friend <indicated Aranel>  Aranel, you been looking so hard, drown with shots.
<Aranel shook her head.>
Barkeep:  wait, what's wrong
<Aranel explained she was looking for a missing bard, with Minji shaking her head or flattening her ears to empathize.>
Barkeep:  what's he look like?
<Aranel again described Helias physically, leaving off his hot ass.>
Minji:  you left off the important part
Barkeep:  nobody look like that
Aranel <leaned forward conspiratorially>: hot ass
Barkeep <laughed>:  I would remember!
Minji:  apparently is legendary; you'd remember!  There's no tails
Barkeep:  still no
Minji:  sorry Aranel
<Aranel is visibly crestfallen.>
Minji:  barkeeper, can you help me?  What makes a "hot ass"?

The barkeep explained, as only a barkeep who has listened to patrons disclose personal details can, the nekomata equivalent of the human / half-elf concept of a "hot ass".  As she did so, Aranel tried another shot, toasting "for Minji!"  By the time they left, Aranel was definitely tipsy, and Minji not at all.  <Narrator voice:  Wendy rolled a nat 20 con save.>

The Freelancers met back up, and Aranel, whose discretion was perhaps impaired by that many shots, openly checked out Ka's ass, which was actually very nice, and nicer than Helias's which she had only observed a prime ago.  She pointed this out to Minji and explained the salient features of Ka's hot ass.  Minji took notes and Ka was perhaps slightly redder than his normal complexion.

Minji:  what do we know?
Ka:  got the name of a bar.
Minji:  not the ones we just visited!
<Ka shook his head.>
Minji <to Aranel>:  up for more?
Aranel:  need a drink of water, first.

The Freelancers headed to the Gilded Barrel in western Trade District during which Ka relayed a more complete tale of information procured from the greedy ¼ elf.  They arrived, and contemplated the door.

Minji:  should we do this again?
Aranel:  no.
<Minji was surprised.>
Aranel:  he saw us
Minji:  ah
Aranel:  Ka or Peb.
Peb:  can Ah borrow your notes Minji?
Minji:  don't need my notes, just compare to Ka.
Peb:  got it, uh, got it.  Mr Ka, you lead the way.  Ah will make a detailed comparison.

Ka led Peb into the Gilded Barrel.  The others, unsure what to do, withdrew a little.  They didn't want to go into a shop and lose sight of the entrance.  Dominic pulled out a sketch pad.  "Character artist," he said, and started drawing a sketch of Aranel & Minji.

Peb and Ka looked around the tavern, and realized the lunch rush was starting.  In the corner to their left, a dwarf woman with a chinstrap beard was playing a lyre.  In the far right corner, which was poorly lit, they saw Helias and his two friends sitting at a table, checking out everyone entering the bar.

Ka patted his belt, then exclaimed, "can't believe I left my coin purse in my saddlebag!  Why don't you buy as a beer, I'll get the next round."  Peb nodded and grabbed a nearby table not too far from the door, doing his best to blend in and not stand out, and Ka exited again.

He stepped to the side of the door, then motioned to the other Freelancers and Ohenui.  Minji ventured, "I guess the coast is clear?"  Ka shook his head.  Aranel asked, "What do we want to accomplish, here?"

They wanted to capture Helias without trashing the bar, so came up with a plan:  Aranel would cast phantasmal force, perhaps of Siddiqui, to make Helias run out of the tavern.  Ka & Ohenui would be at the back door waiting, Dominic at the front door with a net, and Minji for crowd control.

Aranel had to go into the bar to do it, and even tipsy she still had the presence of mind to realize her shamisen would be a dead giveaway.  She handed it to Ka to hang onto, since he was going to be on Ohenui.  Then cool as a cucumber, she walked into the Gilded Barrel… and stopped in the entryway.

It turned out that Peb had done a great job at blending into the lunch rush, and tipsy Aranel was having trouble finding where he'd sat.  As she looked around from her position right in the doorway, Helias totally saw her.  She finally saw Peb, and called out, "Hey Peb!"  Peb replied, "Hello there, uh, Mary-Nell!"

Helias' eyes narrowed suspiciously.

<Narrator voice:  what a great narrative!  spectacular!  Also known as: Shari rolled a nat 1 on stealth.>

Unaware that they'd been made, Ka flew around to the back on Ohenui per the plan, ready to nab whoever came out.

• Helias studied Aranel, who really is as remarkable looking a half-elf as he is, and remembered who she was from the failed raid.  He looked suspiciously at Peb, who was offering her a beer, and stood up.
  • "Time to get out of here," he told his companions, and cast invisibility on himself.
• Helias' two companions rose and went to the back door, and the person in the brown cloak opened the door.
  • Ohenui dropped to the ground in front of the door, right in their face.
• Dominic had seen Aranel pause in the doorway, confused, and thought that pause heralded things going poorly.  He walked to the door, to see Helias' friends at the back door, and no Helias.
  • The druid immediately cast faerie fire on everyone near the back door.  Helias' two friends and most of the bar patrons in range lit up with purple glittery sparkles.
  • Aranel leaned back in her chair, looking over her shoulder, as one only thinks to do when tipsy.  "He saw me & popped invisible," she told him.  Dominic grimaced, but "Fair enough," is all he said to her.
  • Minji and Ka heard Aranel, who had not bothered to speak quietly in the crowded bar.
• Minji moved up next to Dominic, studied the bar layout a moment, then cast faerie fire where Helias had been seated.  Bar patrons lit up briefly with leafy green sparkles, but no extra bard person with a hot ass, so she let the faerie fire drop immediately.
• Peb had been looking at the back door situation, and was displeased their targets had tried to leave.  They burst into a rage, and grabbing their shovel, bull-rushed the brown-cloaked figure in the back doorway, knocking them down and out of the doorway.
  • Since Peb was now in the doorway, they whistled for Bettula, their owl gryphon.
• Aranel stood up, glanced over her shoulder at the dwarven bard, and moved 10' towards her.  She too cast faerie fire, about 10' in front of Dominic and blue twinkling sparkles lit up bar patrons.  Still no Helias.
  • "What the shit!" a bar patron exclaimed in annoyance.  "I was green, then blue!"
  • Aranel glanced at the bard again, and pulled out her shakuhachi.  She said to Dominic, "Looking forward to finishing that caricature drawing," granting him bardic inspiration.

Ka smacked the prone person in front of him with his rapiers, trying to knock him out, and succeeded.  Ohenui moved to block the door, but all he smelled was beer.

• Helias' other friend, in a blue cloak, saw Ohenui and Bettula, and raised up his hands.  "I dunno what your problem is," he said to Ka and Peb, "but I just wanted to leave.  Don't hit me, I don't want to be eaten by the bear."
• Dominic re-cast faerie fire, as forest green sparkles this time.  Two bar patrons were now lit up with blue and green sparkles.  The barkeep shook his head and scowled at the Freelancers.
• Minji also re-cast faerie fire, on the area where Aranel and the dwarven bard were.  The two of them were lit up by green sparkles as well.
• Peb grabbed someone's beer and tossed it on the floor, so Helias would have to track through it to go out the door.
  • They said to Helias' friend, "We're lookin' for your, uh, posterially-endowed friend, who seems to have disappeared.  Would you mind pointing us to where he is?"
  • The person whose beer they'd tossed objected to this turn of events loudly, as did the barkeep.
• Aranel cast dissonant whispers at Helias, whispering "I've been looking for you for a long time" with all the venom of a spurned paramour.
  • Helias avoided most of the effects and retained his invisibility, but perhaps got a bit of a headache.

Ka dismounted, preparing to send Ohenui into the Gilded Barrel if Peb removed themself from the doorway, and take over that space himself.

• Helias, seeing the bear and owl gryphon at the back door, and his friends in the custody of Peb and Ka, cast shatter on the window next to the front door.
  • Minji got pretty cut up by the glass splinters; Dominic not as much.
  • Helias jumped out the broken window and fled.
• Dominic smoothly stepped back out the front door and cast hold person on Helias, stopping him in his tracks.

By now the barkeep was wroth, with a scared bard, angry patrons, spilled beer, and a broken window.  As Ka took charge of Helias' friends, and Dominic strolled over to the held Helias, Aranel talked to the barkeep, apologizing for the excess of her friends in recovering her bard.  She explained they'd had a plan to get him to leave the Gilded Barrel, and she'd messed it up, and offered to pay for repairs.  Only partially mollified, the barkeep said 25gp would cover the damages, and Aranel sheepishly paid it.  Peb, meanwhile, replaced the beer he'd tossed on the ground, so that patron was immediately happy, since a partially-empty tankard was replaced with a full tankard.

Dominic walked around Helias, carefully examining him, and his arse.  The druid was disappointed with what he saw.  Then he relieved Helias of his gold (158gp!) and instruments (a flute and a shawm).  He applied manacles to the half-elf before dropping hold person.

Aranel walked up, head slightly tilted as she faced Helias in the street.  She put a hand on one hip.

Dominic:  how much to the bar for repairs?
Aranel:  25gp.
Dominic:  replace it from Bard.
<Aranel spared Dominic a glance then, and shook her head, a very tiny shake.>
Aranel:  you are so hard to find, we had to pursue your behind!  What a day it was, looking all over for you!

Minji joined them, and they started walking towards the docks, escorting Helias.  His friends shared a seat with Ka and Peb above, as the Freelancers brought them to Wymar, with Aranel acting as if it was an ex-boyfriend situation the entire way there, including a "what are these?" at his disappointing instruments.