Chapter 4: Running Down the Runners
The intrepid investigators go their separate ways, with Zelpuz and Vanyra returning to their respective abodes to ready themselves for the meeting with Vernus and the the Blood Runners. For good measure Zelpuz decides to investigate the functional properties of the nether devices Yuu Jin provided as collateral; through a little nether injection he was able to discover that one was an automated water sprinkler... luckily he clothes and the rest of his gear would dry in time, another projected a life-sized illusion of a scantily-clad Median girl gyrating in a provocative dance, and the third device Zelpuz decided to leave alone rather than push his luck.
After his guests leave Yuu Jin summons one of the servants to remove the pastries, but leave the tea so he could more carefully consider his next move. The only remaining investigative lead he had was Gol Drakkan, the Freelancer... unfortunately 'he' was confined to the family compound.
As the remaining hours of aftereve slipped away they were replaced by a creeping tension.
After a short break Vanyra and Zelpuz reconvene at a town square occupied by a fountain displaying various species of fish leaping about after spurts of water. It is a popular and therefore inconspicuous place to meet someone, though at this hour very few people are out. The late summer night is heavy in heat and humidity, against which the fountain provides little reprieve, nor does the thought of going to a crowded room of sailors. After a short greeting and confirmation that Zelpuz brought their prop goods the two set off to find the tavern Vernus had mentioned in the harbor district.
While the streets are dark and few people about at this hour it does make finding lively drinking establishments that much easier to find. After a bit of back tracking the duo find the Barnacle Bay Inn & Tavern; a popular place judging from the din of music and voices carrying out through the doorway and shuttered windows. Before entering the Mespah and Freyan pause once more to sort out their approach.
As they push open the heavy wooden door they are assaulted by a draft of humid, sweaty air choked with the smell of ale and fiery spices. The scene is largely what they had imagined; groups of men in various stages of inebriation and from various social castes crowded around sturdy tables to enjoy the company, booze and food, and to swap boisterous claims, A few serving girls lithely meander through the masses while delivering trays laden with belly fillings and thirst quenchers.
After a few moments to allow their eyes to adjust Zelpuz and Vanyra move in an begin to scan the crowd for Vernus. While their entrance brought upon them no more attention than a flea would to a dog, as the two shuffle further in they note more than a few double-takes; apparently they are not the typical clientele. But just as soon as they confirm what their eyes initially saw these onlookers turn back to their own business. You get the sense that people here have all learned to not see what was right in front of them.
With a subtle gesture Zelpuz grabs the attention of a serving girl, and while ordering himself a dark local IPA is pointed in the general direction of where Vernus is located. Despite the directions it still takes a few minutes to find and get to Vernus, who is tucked in a table against the rear, right wall. He is seated with a foreign-looking man, at least foreign for Ossylia, He is dressed like some well-to-do sailor; light and lively clothing.
Vernus spots the Mespah and Freyan quickly and signals them to sit down. "Hello friends, glad to see you made. Let me introduce my associate, Captain Darran Westling." The captain makes a slight bowing motion in response. Vernus continues, "... and this is Zelpuz and Vanyra."
Zelpuz sits down next to Vernus with Vanyra on his other side. He replies the greeting and stuffs his bag between his legs under the table. "Glad you made it too, Vernus. Captain Westling, good to see you, is your ship at the docks here?"
"I would be a poor captain if I were here without my ship," the Captain replies with a smirk.
Vernus interjects, "Captain Westling has sailed more ocean than most people have seen on a map. If you need something move from one port to another in... a business-like manner he is your man. Speed, efficiency, discretion."
"Aye, a right gentleman I am... so unlike the crowds we run with. So Mr. Zelpuz what do you need help with?" the Captain pries, followed by a long drink of his ale.
Zelpuz looks around, but nobody seems to pay any attention to their conversation, or at least they were very good at hiding it. "We have a few items we would like to transport to our associates. In fact, we mostly want to try out this new route, the majority of dealings will come back here." Zelpuz pretends to consider his words: "We would need some kind of storage in this town too though while we are still setting up operations here."
The two smugglers are silent for a bit, obviously pondering the situation to themselves. Finally Captain Westling speaks up, "Well transportation is 'relatively' easily arranged, but as for storage here that is another matter."
Vernus continues, "The climate here is getting rather uncomfortable for doing business. There is a lot of heat, and so putting things into storage... tends to lead to premature rot you could say."
"Aye. It'd be fair to say we may be taking a break from doing any business here for a bit, at least until cooler winds prevail. So you'd best get your ships in a line quickly. And just what sort of goods do you need moved, if you don't mind me asking?" the Captain asks.
Zelpuz looks around again, then taps his bag: "I have two prototypes here. We want to transport magic items, i prefer not to disclose the exact functions of them if you don't mind." He looks around again and takes a sip of his ale and thinks for a while. "So no storage capabilities here anymore, that is unfortunate." He takes another sip apparently in thoughts. "What kind of heat are you experiencing? Are you sure you can still handle our jobs? I am only the first envoy, so I have limited freedom to set up our facilities right now. Could you make an exception? And how long do you expect the 'heat' to last?"
The Captain smirks, "You should be keeping your ear to the ground more if you're getting into this business. The heat isn't on us... yet, it's everywhere. You'd best look after yourself similarly, especially with nether devices." He takes a long drink of his ale before continuing, "If all you want is to get your stuff out of here we may be able to help you, beyond that you're on your own for now."
Zelpuz looks irritated: "You can only offer a one time transport? What if we can get ourselves set up here, would you be able to do frequent transports then? If you can only offer a one time job, it really doesn't help us much. But, if you can offer more, maybe we can help and have some officials look the other way at some places. I am sure you have your contacts here, but maybe our approach would be ... " he pauses and (pretends to) not be able to suppress a smirk " ... more effective and subtle." He takes another sip of his drink. "Maybe we can help each other."
The Captain smirks back, "Heh, you think I just fell off the boat yesterday? If you knew the 'right officials' you would probably be trying to get out of here yourself, and not set up shop." He pauses for a moment and for the first time appears to take a good measure of his surroundings before continuing, "You have guts and ambition, I can appreciate that, and for that I'll give you a piece of information on the house; this place is a powder keg, and when it blows you do not want to be around."
Vernus pipes in after a few moments, "But once the fires settle there will be plenty of opportunity for everyone, including one such as yourself."
Zelpuz nods slowly. "Thank you for the information. As I said, we are only starting to set up operations here. We do have our own special ways to ... let's say talk to officials. Obviously we are still in the process of gathering information and finding the right contacts. We did hear some rumors about this place being a bit 'unstable'. Even more reason why our services will be in high demand now." He pauses. "Of course we don't want to be in the fire ..." Zelpuz scratches his chin and looks at Vanyra. "... we will have to think about that." He pauses again considering the next words. "Now there would be high demand, but we are not quite ready yet. We have to set up storage, find the right officials..." He trails off seemingly counting more items in his head. He pulls himself back to the conversation. "You guys seem honest and direct, I like that. I understand if you don't want to answer my next questions. But we seem to have come at a time of great opportunity. We want to get operations going quickly," He looks briefly around the room again, then at Vanyra again for confirmation and continues in a slightly lower voice "but we would need your help. We can offer a larger share and help in ways you might not have access to. But we would need more information to see if we can still pull things off in time. Can you tell us more about the big storm?"
Vernus answers quickly, "It is simply really, there are a lot of people running this place, and many of them do not like each other. So after a while they just get fed up and actually start to do something about it. Whether or not this leads to civil war I have no idea, all I care about is getting my head down and out of the line of fire."
Zelpuz scratches his chin, takes a long sip from his ale and looks at Vanyra. He looks around one more time, then focusses on Vernus and the Captain again. "Thank you for the information. It really sounds like we should wait until the waves are smoother again." He pauses, seemingly considering his next words: "We still would like to start our operations soon, however, because I feel like you are honest we would consider offering you a special deal. I believe our merchandise will be quite useful in the times to come. We could offer you exclusive trade. We'll only supply you." He pauses for a second to let his words sink in. "If what you say is true, it will give you an additional advantage. We will just sit back for now and count on you guys playing your cards right. And if, partially due to our help, you or the groups you are close with come out of this situation on top, we will ask for ... let's say privileged trading agreements." He looks at them sternly. "Think about this offer, you might need to consult with your leaders, we could meet here again if you are interested."
The captain frowns, "So let's put the cards on the table here, did you want something moved out of the city discretely or not? That's the business we are in, and the window is closing on that opportunity. And just so we're clear I will want to know what I am bringing on my ship before I set off."
"Sure, as I said, we would like to ship the items in this bag. They are harmless nether devices, well, harmless unless you know what to do with them. But no need to worry, they won't go off and I doubt anyone on your ship will be able to use them. What's your rate? And if you guys are interested in more, ask Vernus to contact me." He lifts up his bag and puts it on the table.
Zelpuz and the Captain haggle out a price and the critical details of the deal are exchanged. The story Zelpuz provides is convincing enough, providing just enough detail to seem credible but also being properly vague to avoid arousing suspicion. With business done the parties take their leave.
Zelpuz hands over the bag, buys another round of drinks and when they get ready to leave says: "Great to do business, I hope we can expand our operations when the times are more stable. Do ask your leaders if they would be interested in our merchandise, I will wait 5 days for your response, if I don't hear from you, we will look for other interested parties. I will show up at the place we met once every aftereve for that time, Vernus." He nods at them and they leave the bar.
Vanyra and Zelpuz walk down the hazy, torch-lit streets of the harbour district, heading seemingly back to their lodgings. After only a few minutes, having decided upon their course of action telepathically, the two fall into a dark alleyway. From there they quickly make their way back to the Barnacle Bay, to a stake-out position on a storehouse roof a couple of buildings down.
Time ticks by ever so slowly, as measured by the growing sheen of sweat from the muggy air blanketing them. An inkling of a concern begins to grow within, perhaps they missed their quarry or maybe they took their leave by another exit. Just before the two intrepid hunters were to change their game plan, Captain Westling and Vernus emerge.
Vanyra and Zelpuz slip down from their perch when their prey is a safe distance away and begin the shadowy pursuit. They would have lost them in the maze of harbour alleys if not for Vanyra's keen sense of hearing, who caught them discussing the ship's departure later the following day. No mention was made of Zelpuz's package.
Suddenly the two stop, exchange farewell's and go their separate ways, with the parting Captain Westling remarking at the last, "Tell our friend to keep his head down in all this; their are some wrongs best left un-righted if living is his thing."
Vanyra strips off her outer clothes and hands them to Zelpuz, leaving only her native garment. "I'm following Vernus as it seems knows where our quarry is," she thinks, "You're welcome to come, I might need you."
Zelpuz takes in Vanyra's stripper routine with equal parts confusion, excitement and bewilderment. If any doubt remained in his mind as to how attractive she was, it was gone in a flash. He eventually nods his approval to her suggestion and then the light of realization dawns in his mind as Vanyra's backside fades away into dark blur as she turns to follow Vernus.
Leaving the Bloodrunner Captain to return to his ship the intrepid duo shadow Vernus. His path is rather ordinary, striding straight down one of the main roads heading into the city proper. There are few pedestrians out at this hour, though they do come across a patrol of city guards that nearly causes them to lose Vernus as they hid behind cover. Luckily their quarry's path did not deviate.
The wall that separates the city proper from the harbor district slow looms into view beyond the roofs of numerous store houses and taverns, placed much like discarded books on a shelf. Finally Vernus deviates from the main road, striking off down a side street and then into and alleyway. His sudden change in direction give you pause; perhaps he noticed you?
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:20, Wed 12 June 2013.