The next morning finds the city slowly beginning to pull itself back together. The ripts are slowly drawing to a close, leaving bodies in the street and rubble where buildings were torched or collapsed. There are fewer people out and about than usual.

The House of Roses is a small brothel tucked away not too far from the river. The awnings are silver and rich blue stripes. The building is made of wood, from the forests of Darkmoon Vale more than likely. A rose is emblazoned on the wall in crimson, and the windows are curtained.

Voh'ren grimaces as he passes the dead in the streets. Most were strangers, but some of the faces look familiar. Perhaps people he had guided to safety during the riots, or those preying on the scared and confused. It is hard for him to keep track of everything that transpired. He whispers a prayer to the Green to guide the fallen through the eternal cycle: life to death and death to life.

Upon arriving at the House of Roses, Voh'ren directs Kiru to hide. He doubts a brothel would allow a wolf into its premises.

"Stay out of sight, little one," he says, kneeling in front of the wolf pup. "We should not be long."

He stands back up, and looks over to Caleb.

"Lead the way."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:13, Mon 17 May 2021.

Like Voh'ren, Bristle grimaced as they passed all of the bodies. Albeit for a distinctly different reason. She hated the thought of all of them "going to waste" when she could have easily made use of the bodies. But alas, such things were frowned upon, and she had no justification for raising the dead here. Still, she kept them in mind if any emergency situations were to arise.

When they neared the brothel, however, Bristle brought her mind back to the task at hand. She addressed the group. "Remember, we don't yet know if we are looking for an item or a person. All we know is that there is some new information about defeating Whisper located within this structure. So keep your senses sharp." She looked to her group, and when everyone seemed ready, the changeling woman cast Guidance and Enhanced Diplomacy upon her self and knocked on the door.

Hester breathed upon her sleeve, giving her clothing the appearance of the clothes worn by a sailor on leave and looking for fun.  That would do for now but once they were inside, she had a better idea.

The door opens after a moment, revealing a gracefully-aging woman with understated jewelry and makeup of sufficient quality and quantity that it was hard to tell she was wearing any at all.

The madame smiles, practiced and meaningless. "Good day. How may we serve you today?"

"...so this is a Brothel?" She looked around, completely naïve and still at a loss as to why someone would want to come here.

Caleb had kept his crossbow up when they were in the streets, more as a deterrent than anything else. He paid little mind to most of the bodies, a skill born of years spent among such violent scenes. He did pause long enough to close the eyes of any younger bodies they came across though, his expression somber as he took in each of their faces.

As Bristle knocked and Voh'ren nudged him forwards, Caleb cleared his throat a bit to catch the madame's attention. "Don't mind her," he said, gesturing to Firea. "It's her first time at a place like this, and we wanted it to be special. Could you see if Robin is in today, and tell her that Caleb Miller and friends have a proposition for her?"

Seeing as how Caleb had the contact within the brothel's walls, and since he seemed to have the conversation under control, Bristle quietly slid out of the way so that Caleb and the Madame could speak more easily to each other. The cleric planned on scanning people for charms and magic eventually, but knew that right now would not be the appropriate time.

So Bristle waited patiently for the conversation to run its natural course.

The madame nods and smiles, clearly accustomed to requests of this nature. A handful of coins later, she is ushering the party inside, into a room luxuriously furnished with soft couches, rugs on the floors and tapestries on the walls. One of the girls lounging on the couches looks up at the madame's call, and bounces up to bring you further in, up the stairs, and to a wooden door halfway down the upstairs hall.

The girl who opens it is young - doesn't look as though she can be much over twenty, assuming she's human, which she does look. "Caleb! It's been a while, how's the family? Seen anything interesting recently?"

She seems perfectly at ease, cheerful and casual despite wearing nothing more than a few artfully positioned scraps of clothing and jewelry, and a touch of cosmetics. She gestures for you to come into the room, a decently-sized bedroom that smells of perfume and sex. She takes a seat on the king-size bed, gestures at a plush love seat in the corner. "And introduce me to your friends! I'm Robin, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

Caleb returned Robin's greeting with a smile, just a hint of genuine affection creeping into his tone. "They're alright, still hate my job, and water is still wet," he said as he walked inside.

Once everyone was inside, he closed the door and leaned against it. "These folks with me are Firea, Bristle, Hester, and Voh'ren," he said, pointing to each of his companions in turn. "And we have actually seen some interesting things lately, some of which pointed Bristle to this fine place. I know you don't mind just talking, but do you mind if she asks you some odd questions? And when I say odd, I mean things even you might find weird."

Hester's eyes are glued on Robin's as she watches the way the girl moves.  She smiles and breathes on her sleeve and suddenly seems to be dressed exactly the same as Robin.  She says nothing though, merely smiles.

"I suppose that's all right." Robin's voice is a bit confused, but she seems to be taking this in stride.

Firea's nose wrinkles when she enters the room. "...whats...that smell?" She whispered to Caleb, confused, and not wanting to offend this Robin. She couldn't help it with her sensitive nose.

Voh'ren nods as Caleb introduces him. He stays focused on the task at hand despite the setting and potential distractions.

"We're investigating the city's recent disturbances and hoping to put an end to them," he adds. As he speaks, he sizes up the woman, looking for any hint of undue influence. As a professional "entertainer," Voh'ren has no doubt this Robin is an expert at putting forth a facade for her clients' benefit...

OOC:

22:29, Today: Voh'ren Wildheart rolled 25 using 1d20+11.  Sense Motive-Robin.

Bristle nodded along to her companions' comments, but didn't speak up until it was clear Robin was ready. She even refrained from replying to Firea's delightfully naïve inquiry, as much as she might have wanted to reply with a sly remark of her own. But she didn't want to accidentally insult the person who might give them some useful information.

So when Robin was ready, Bristle asked her questions one at a time in a hushed tone. She started by asking if Robin was aware of anything (or anyone) within the building who had records from the time period that Whisper was last known to have been around. Or if anyone was familiar with Sir Elias Halson and his history. If Robin new any leads, Bristle would of course inquire further about them. Or at the very least, how to gain access to the information they sought.

---

I kept my questioning generalized so that we can maybe skip ahead to the more important bits of Robin's replies. Then we can ask more "specialized" lines of questioning from there.

Robin is polite, cooperative, open, and provides no information. There are no people here who are of any great knowledge about the time period. She has never heard Halson's name. She doesn't seem to know anything on the topic at all.

Hester continues to smile at Robin and asks, "Tell me, sister. How long ago did you leave Falcon's Hollow?"

Robin looks...concerned. "My family lived there when I was a child, but I barely remember it."

"You are from Falcon's Hollow?" Bristle asked, surprised. Apparently she had missed that tidbit of information. That opened the possibility for additional lines if inquiry.

"If you are from Falcon's Hollow, do you know anything about- Hold on. Let me cast a quick spell first." Bristle cast Detect Charm and aimed her vision at the woman as she asked, "Do you know anything about a girl named Annabelle? Or a demon lord Jezelda cult near the town - the lord of evil werewolves? Or an entity named..." Bristle hesitated, but pressed on. "Named Whisper?"

Now that Bristle thought about it, perhaps Jezelda had been one of the entities Whisper had betrayed, and had helped Halson seal Whisper away. It would help explain why the two shared that cave. But the theory would definitely need more investigation later.

---

Using Detect Charm to make sure Robin is unaffected. And to make sure no magic flares up when she mentions the name of their enemy. If anything would make Whisper "activate" one of her puppets, Bristle figures it would be mentioning her name.

"Annabelle Ravan? She's my cousin. Mother's sister's daughter. Jezelda...name isn't familiar."

And then Whisper's name is mentioned, and she recoils. "Whisper? My mother taught me to run from anyone who said that name. Because they'd want to kill me."

"Why would they want to kill you?" She asked, cocking her head to one side. "We want information, about her, any information..."

"Because that's what they did to Annabelle, didn't they, sister?" said Hester. "But it didn't work did it? Because there's a whole slew of girls like us that were bred for Whisper's convenience. Killing you would let her in.  Do you know anything more about her Robin? Anything at all?"

Bristle found it particularly interesting that Robin was a close relative of Annabelle's. Although with a town that small, she wasn't ready to rule it out as mere coincidence. It was still a detail to keep in mind though.

"I detect no charms," Bristle reported to the group plainly. Then to Robin, she explained, "We need to take precautions. For exactly the reason you mentioned. We've had a run-in or two with the one with the deadly name." She didn't want to agitate Robin further with continued use of Whisper's name.

The cleric decided to let Robin answer the questions that had already been asked before asking more of her own. She also kept her spell active, just in case any new targets presented themselves before its duration ran out. On a whim, she scanned her fellow party members too. More out of curiosity and an abundance of caution than out of any real concern.

"Not that. Not just that. See, we were made for her convenience, like you said. But you have to let her in or she can't."" Robin stands and paces, clearly agitated. "Some people would want me dead so I can't do that. Others...would hurt me until I did. Neither is a good thing."

The young woman grimaces. "I don't know much about her though. Just what my mother taught me. Stay away from anyone who knows who she is, and stay far away from a few places - Falcon's Hollow, Nogortha, Candlestone Caverns, and Mount Callahan. Those are her places. There's one other, but I don't know where it is, just the name - the Fangwood."

Voh'ren listens to the conversation in silence. All of this is new information to him, ranging from Hester's and Robin's secrets to the deceased girl's name, Annabelle. The mention of a "Fangwood" piques his curiosity, but the name does not bring anything immediately to mind.

"Thank you for trusting us with this," he says to Robin. "I can imagine that is no easy burden to live with."

Caleb had held his tongue during the questioning, trusting Bristle to know what to ask. He reeled at the new revelations, but quickly regained his composure. "That's... Wow. Thank you Robin, we knew about Mount Callahan but the others are news," he said, racking his brain for anything he might have heard about these caverns or this Nogortha.

"It's only right to warn you now, she's back. All these riots over Raskovel being killed, that was her. It'd probably be wise to get somewhere safe, out of the country if you can manage it."

ooc: 01:57, Today: Caleb Miller rolled 12 using 1d20+10.  K. Local, Candlestone Caverns.

01:56, Today: Caleb Miller rolled 30 using 1d20+10.  K. Local, Nogortha.

"Falcon's Hollow, Nogortha, Candlestone Caverns, Mount Callahan, Fangwood," Bristle muttered to herself, memorizing the locations. Her Divination had certainly been correct about there being new and useful information here...

"I think I will need to consult my ancestors about these places," Bristle said to the group. "Let's see what the hags and orcs of my lineage may know. But I must also ask, what do you mean when you say you were 'made for her convenience?'"

In the meantime, Bristle cast her spells and shared with the group what she knew of the places mentioned.

---

Knowledge rolls, all with +7 form Guidance and Ancestral Communion.
Knowledge: Religion for Nogortha = 34
Knowledge: Nature for Candlestone = 16
Knowledge: Religion for Mount Callahan = 27
Knowledge: Arcana for the Fangwood = 34

Rolls:
14:38, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 34 using 1d20+19.  Knowledge: Religion for Nogortha.
14:40, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 16 using 1d20+13.  Knowledge: Nature for Candlestone.
14:38, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 27 using 1d20+19.  Knowledge: Religion for Mount Callahan.
14:39, Today: Bristle Chonk rolled 34 using 1d20+19.  Knowledge: Arcana for the Fangwood.

Hester kept her expression completely neutral as she said, "There was something suspicious about what my grandmother said before she fled the continent and Robin just confirmed my theory.  I believe Whisper was originally either a distance ancestor of ours, of Robin, of Annabelle, of me, or she was an alchemist or some other kind of changer of flesh who operated on our ancestors.  We've been kept in ignorance it seems and apart from me, we've been brought up being afraid to find out anything about her because it might let her in.  I think there is knowledge to be found and used as a weapon, but I wonder whether it's something I know?"

21:40, Today: Hester Darkeye rolled 23 using 1d20+11.  knowledge arcana for whisper's children.
21:39, Today: Hester Darkeye rolled 15 using 1d20+10.  Knowledge (Local) for Fangwood.
21:39, Today: Hester Darkeye rolled 26 using 1d20+10.  Knowledge (Local) for Mt. Callahan.
21:38, Today: Hester Darkeye rolled 29 using 1d20+10.  Knowledge (Local) for Candlestone.
21:38, Today: Hester Darkeye rolled 25 using 1d20+10.  Knowledge Local for Nogortha.

Robin nods sadly. "Mhmm. I should probably go as soon as I can..." She musters a weak smile towards Caleb. "You want to have one more go first? For old time's sake."

Of all the things Caleb might have expected Robin to say next, that was not one of them. He stared at her in surprise for a few seconds before regaining his composure, clearly turning it over in his mind. He looked at her, not with lust but with an odd mixture of affection, confusion, and, could that be, regret?

Finally, he spoke. "Sure, one last time for the road, friend."

"Thank you for your time," Voh'ren replies to Robin. He turns around to leave the room.

"We should let them have some privacy," he says as he exits. "And I should ensure Kiru has not gotten himself into too much trouble..."

"Yeah, let's wait outside," Bristle agreed, leading the seemingly naïve Firea toward the exit. "I think we have learned what we came here for. See you outside in five, Caleb?" she added, poking fun at the man on their way out.

She thought about additional details about the locations they had learned of so that she would have more accurate information to share when the group was back together in a safe place.

---

Additional secret knowledge rolls while my spell is still active:

Hester follows the others outside, remaining silent if not pensive.

Firea followed Bristle out, considered what was said as she followed.

Later that evening, the group reconvenes at the inn room they rented to share information and plan next steps. The carpentry shop just down the road is a half-burned wreck, having caught fire in the day's riots. The innkeeper is clearly afraid, but does an admirable job of working through it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:46, Tue 25 May 2021.

Caleb's expression was somber when he returned, smelling of perfume and with fading bruises on his neck. He stopped off at the bar before heading on up, purchasing a bottle of whisky and some glasses.

when he joined the others at the table, he calmly poured everyone a drink and handed out the glasses before knocking back half of his own. "Robin's gone safely, if any of you were wondering. Saw her onto the boat myself," he said as he topped his drink off. "Now, to work. I know about this Nogortha place, it's basically a tomb for the natives from way back when this place was being conquered. More interestingly, there's a powerful undead out there that protects specific burial mounds. Rumor has it it's the general what did the conquering in the first place, but that's sketchy at best. There's something out there though, too many stories have too many consistent details across too long a timeframe for it to be anything but true."

He paused, sipping his drink, letting that sink in with the others before continuing on. "It's also nearby, relatively, to Mount Callahan. We could head out for the mountain and detour on the way, kill two birds with one bolt."
This message was last edited by the player at 07:37, Wed 26 May 2021.

Bristle downed the drink Caleb had poured by the time the man had finished describing what he knew of Nogortha. The drink burned a bit, but in a good way. "Yeah, a lot of people think the undead guardian you mentioned is a graveknight. Some even claim that if you entertain him, he'll point you to valuable burial mounds he doesn't care about. But it's not a graveknight. It's a Siabrae. A powerful druid-lich created by a self-damnation ritual. Only done in the most dire and desperate of circumstances so that the druid might protect the land against an otherwise insurmountable danger. From what I understand, they can move through the earth quite easily and have a strong connection to it, but they despise the living. Especially living druids." The tone of Bristle's voice suggested she might have a strong urge to meet one.

"I wouldn't mind making a pit stop there on the way to Mount Callahan. Which is an interesting place of its own. The mountain is known for being sacred and sacrosanct to the Sarenite faith, but is also the site where the Hyena of Light, Crocutiel, abandoned her duties and accepted darkness into her soul. As well as being the location of a portal to Abaddon, the outer plane of annihilation and the land of daemons." Again, Bristle sounded all too willing to visit such a place.

"Of the other unvisited places Robin mentioned, Candlestone Caverns and Fangwood, I really only know anything noteworthy about Fangwood. It's located in Lastwall, and the main thing I know about it is that it houses the lair of Zedoran. A very old and very powerful green dragon. Possibly even the oldest and strongest dragon on the planet. He's been there for at least 2,000 years, but nobody in living memory has managed to track him to his lair. Aside from being old and powerful, he is known for his fixation on fungal alchemy, and his belief that fungi are a form of undeath..."

After letting her information marinate for a moment, Bristle continued. "One thing I find curious about these locations is that at least four of them have a strong connection to a powerful being that was likely around the last time Whisper was alive. A corrupted undead druid in Nogortha, a fallen herald of Sarenrae in Mount Callahan, a super old and powerful dragon in Fangwood, and even Falcon's Hollow had a connection to demon lord Jezelda. Candlestone Caverns is the only place without one that I know of, but I wouldn't be surprised if we found one there too. After all, we know Whisper used to make a habit of making deals with powerful entities. And according to Robin, those locations are her places."

Bristle leaned back in her chair and swallowed a few stray drops from her empty whisky glass. "Something to mull around in my mind while I work on those Charm-sight Spectacles some more tonight. Should have them finished by tomorrow night by the way. So maybe we could leave town after that. In the meantime, maybe we should post some watches for the inn tonight, since we won't exactly be sleeping anyway. Don't want this place going the way of the carpentry shop down the street..."

---

After tonight, Bristle will have the Charm-sight Spectacles two-thirds complete.

Hester sits still and then says quietly, slowly gaining confidence as she spoke.  "I wonder if there's anything in my head above and beyond.  What I know is this:  Mount Callahan is a mountain not far northeast of Falcon's Hollow, in the Five Kings range. The dwarves avoid it, saying it's a place of bad omens. Rumor has it there's a portal to Hell on the summit. It's uncommonly dry, and tall, perhaps leading to this rumor - the peak is much less snowy than its neighbors, and this might be why there's a superstition about it being linked to the fiery depths.

Candlestone Caverns is a collection of caves in west-central Andoran, which is notable for containing a connection to the Darklands. Not only that, but it has a fey city built above a shaft down into the very bowels of the earth. The city, called the Court of Ether, is ruled by the corrupted nymph Frilogarma, who migrated to the place from the First World in antiquity.

Nogortha is a vast graveyard where many barbarians from the prehistoric days of the region are buried. The burial mounds have been disturbed in recent years by archaeologists and graverobbers, but local rumor has it that there's a powerful undead who haunts the barrows, protecting some of them for reasons unclear.

As for the connection between me, Robin and Annabelle ... it seems clear that there's a family connection at work. The fact that Robin, like me, has aberrant influences in her blood suggests as much clearly. Considering how strange and alien Whisper is now, it seems likely that her blood would carry an aberrant taint, as well as providing a blood connection which could be used for some magic. While she clearly doesn't need to have that relation to someone to move into them, it would certainly make it easier, and might be enough to leave someone vulnerable under the right circumstances, even without other vulnerabilities. So I guess I need to be careful.  Robin and my grandmother have both left the continent but I'll be f-  I'll be DAMNED if I'm going to run away from a monster just because it seems to have planned for me."

Hester grins a savage grin.  "Perhaps Frilogarma is the one who is angry with Whisper.  Just sayin'."

Voh'ren accepts the drink poured by Caleb. He takes a small drink as a gesture of camaraderie, although unwilling to fully dull his senses. With everything going on, he prefers to stay as alert as possible. He listens silently as the others speak, considering everything they mention.

"I do not know much about any of those topics or places," he admits, "although I can likely guide us in relative safety through the Fangwood---so long as it is indeed a forest.

"As for watches, I will be heading out again tonight," he says. "So long as the riots continue, I want to do what I can to limit the damage. However, I will stay near the inn tonight. Our host has been good to us, and should repay his kindness as best I can."

Caleb sipped his refilled drink as he listened to Bristle and Hester, waiting for them to finish before chiming in. "Remember what Wren said, about her having a habit of making and breaking deals, Hester? I'd put down money that Whisper's screwed over every single one of these creatures at some point or another. I bet at least one of them's pissed enough at her to help drag her down screaming if we managed to find them."

"The mountain's come up twice now though, from two very different sources. It's gotta be important, I'd say we head that way first as a priority, stopping off at Nogortha seeing as it's on the way. We should take tomorrow to prepare for the trip, supplies, something to amuse the... See-abrey? Maybe a tables board, deck of cards, some dice, I don't know what undead druid things like, do you?" Caleb said, rolling the unfamiliar word around in his mouth, not a hint of sarcasm in his question. "Speaking of, Bristle, what exactly does it take to kill a daemon? I know devils and such need to be hit with special metals to do useful damage."

His questions asked, he looked to Voh'ren. "I know it's a bit hypocritical of me, but it's probably not safe out there alone, between the riots and Whisper running amok. Mind if I join you tonight to watch your back? I've got a bit of experience in riot suppression and urban combat, Cheliax got nasty for a while before the Hellknights were on scene. This isn't even the worst it could get, honestly."

The evening passes in quiet tension. Firea's magic keeps the need for sleep at bay, but while the magic keeps fatigue from overwhelming you, it does nothing for the aching tension, doesn't provide the merciful relief of temporary oblivion that you're used to getting from sleep. Bristle continues to weave magic into crystal, refining and focusing the power in the lenses she's making. Voh'ren and Caleb are able to quell the worst of the nearby riots, which appear to finally be slowing somewhat.

Towards morning, they see a familiar face. The guard-captain whom you spoke with immediately after the murder that kicked off these riots is out on the street, shouting orders and shoving town guards into position while a final wave of rioters crashes against their line with thrown cobblestones and broken bottles.

The next morning comes early. It's a grey day, dreary and cool, with a light rain falling. The markets are open, though few merchants are present - you can easily purchase any mundane goods you feel the need to.


OOC: Okay, figure that's a good place for this thread to start wrapping up. You've got any mundane gear you need, Bristle finishes the lenses, and if Caleb and Voh'ren want to talk to Captain Bale before heading out, they can. I'll get the next thread started, since I fully expect you to be able to move out for Nogortha after a final day in town.

Voh'ren grins when Caleb mentions being alone.

"You're never alone when Nature is your ally," he replies. "This city is home for more than just the humans who walk the streets, and they are willing to lend a wing, a paw, or a claw to those who know how to ask.

"But if you are interested in helping us stave off the worst of these riots, then you are welcome to join us..."

---

Voh'ren grimaces when he sees the Captain Bale. Part of him smarts at the reminder of breaking his word to stay in the jail until the man returned. However, facing that shame is far easier than watching more innocent people fall while trying to maintain order.

"I'm going to help them," Voh'ren says to Caleb, deftly drawing his quarterstaff as he speaks. "You are free to stay behind, but I owe the Guard Captain a debt for breaking my word. I can at least help him hold this line.

"Come, Kiru," Voh'ren says to his wolf pup. The pair then head off toward the guards. They stick to the shadows, trying to stay out of sight for as long as possible. He calls out once he reaches earshot of Captain Bale.

"You look like you could use some help. Permission to join your ranks?"

She looked towards Vah'ren a moment. "Sometimes even in the middle of all that nature, you can feel alone. Trust me, I know. I have been there." Then she looked between them, then looked especially at Caleb. "Be safe."

Caleb shrugged in response to Voh'ren's declaration. "Like I said, I've done riot control before. It's usually just a matter of reminding people that it still hurts to get shot, no matter how angry they are," he said as he rose from his seat and took up his crossbow.

On his way to the door he stopped and looked to Firea. "Don't worry about me, I'm a tough bastard. If I can survive Chelish insurgents and devils hellbent on hacking me to bits to get to my employer's house, I can handle a couple angry mobs with rocks and bottles."

---

Caleb didn't talk much on the streets, focusing instead on breaking up groups of rioters with a few well placed shots and bashing looters with his crossbow's stock. In deference to Voh'ren, he kept himself to attacking to injure rather than kill. Broken jaws and shot legs were the order of his night.

When Voh'ren made for the line of guards, Caleb hesitated. He sat and observed for maybe half a minute, debating whether or not to just move on, before sighing and moving to catch up. "I said I'd watch your back, and that's what I aim to do. 'Lo there captain, I swear we were let out of our cell," he said as he joined Voh'ren.

"Let out of your cell." The guard captain sounds distinctly unamused, and stares hard at you for a long moment. "You know, 's funny. I've seen a lot of riots in my day. Andoran's not as bad as some places, it's no Cheliax, but we got our share of civil unrest. Never seen one like this, though. Never seen one so...inflamed. Like there's agitators in the crowd, but I don't know who they could be, it's too widespread for that." He narrows his eyes. "Don't suppose you'd know anything 'bout that. Seeing as you're so godawful lucky that some Good Mendevian would show up to just let you out of your cell and all."

Voh'ren grimaces at the mention of someone or something fanning the riots.

"It's possible," he answers. "The entity who set this is motion is likely among the rabble. She possessed one of your guards and let us out, and we've had the distinct displeasure of running into more of her puppets out and about in the fray.

"Speaking of puppets," he continues, "what of the banker's fate?"

Caleb shrugged, not having expected his little joke to have met with success. The captain wasn't ordering them clapped in irons though, so that was something.

"You don't have to tell me about Cheliax, this is a picnic compared to that hellhole," he said, smirking a bit at the reference before waving the captain in a bit closer. "You're almost right about the agitator thing though, but not about there being more than one. Can't tell you all about it on account of I don't know much, but I'm told it's some magical mind control bullshit. The thing that took over the Banker to kill Raskovel, it's also keeping this mess going. It's in your guards too, one of your own had it in her. Don't trust anyone, and if you find it don't talk to it, just kill the poor bastard it's taken over. Trust me, death is better than what it does to people."

Bale nods slowly. Then, without warning, he turns and drives his sword into the back of one of his guards. "Saw that," he grunts.

Before anyone can turn on him, a dagger rolls out of the dying guardsman's hand, the tip glistening with dark fluid.

"Right. Let's move. Banker's dead, by the by. Arel, Kassile, point. Jankos on six. Nonlethal where you can." He jerks his head in a nod, tacitly accepting the offered help.

Voh'ren nods in acknowledgment, bringing his quarterstaff to bear. The humble staff might not look as intimidating as his falchion, Voh'ren knows how to make each staff strike hurt.

"I was afraid of that with the Banker," he grumbles. "And my sympathies for your lost guard. I'm growing more and more tired of this troublesome witch...

"Let me know if you need cover from ranged attacks," he adds. "I've a few tricks up my sleeve."

Caleb grunted in assent, any sort of playfulness gone from his demeanor. He gave a quick stomp to the puppet-guard's head just in case it was faking death and moved to cover the right flank. "I'll try to keep this clean, but no promises," he said, readying himself for the next wave.