Second Darkness Postgame: Session 124

[15:42] <@Kjell> *****Second Darkness*****
[15:42] <@Kjell> ~~~Postgame~~~
[15:42] <@Kjell> -Session 124-
[15:44] <@Kjell> Kjell, Lil, and Kahree had managed to successfully enter Sedeq under the guise of jewellery merchants. At the same time, Kahree managed to steal some paperwork that, if duplicated with her information on it, would allow her to travel around the country safely. Kjell was just discussing with her about teleporting back to Samaritha so she could take care of it for them.
[15:47] * Kjell looks to Kahree. He then makes sure the door to their room is locked, then offers her his hand, "Shall we?"
[15:48] * Kahree holds out her hand and grabs Kjell's!
[15:49] * Kjell utters the word of magical power, transporting him and Kahree back to the camp. Samaritha jumps a bit when they appear.
[15:49] <@Kjell> Samaritha looks at the two of them, "Is everything alright? I didn't think you'd be back so soon."
[15:50] * Kahree smirks, holding out the papers to Samaritha.
[15:51] <@Kjell> Samaritha blinks, "Oh. That was quick." She takes the parchment and looks it over studiously.
[15:52] * Kjell nods, "Lil makes for an excellent distraction." He chuckles. "Her speechcraft carries some genuine magic."
[15:55] <@Kjell> Samaritha rolls her eyes and looks to Kahree, "Alright. I'll see if I can't make a convincing copy of this for you. Just make sure to stick around for a bit in case I need information from you. Lies are always more convincing when there's a touch of truth in them." She blushes a bit, "Not that I do this sort of thing often mind."
[15:56] * Kahree rolls her eyes. "Sure."
[16:01] <@Kjell> Samaritha nods and gets to work. Her penmanship is remarkable, and her forgery is nearly indistinguishable from the original. Once she has the information she needs from Kahree, she fills it in and then sets the parchment aside for the ink to dry. She seems satisfied with her work.
[16:03] <Kahree> Kahree nods. "Nice work," she says, looking it over. "Thanks."
[16:05] <@Kjell> Samaritha nods, "Just give it a minute to dry." She packs up her stationary kit while she waits.
[16:09] * Kjell gives Samaritha an appreciative hug. "This means a lot to her I'm sure. Hopefully, in the end, we'll be able to accomplish everything else we set out to. Quite frankly, this was the easy part."
[16:11] * Kahree nods. "And are we going to wait, or go try to find him once it dries?"
[16:13] * Kjell considers that, "We should probably make sure he is where you think he is first of all. From there, we can observe how well protected the place is, who else is with him, and when the guarding is at its weakest. As well, finding a few good places to set up diversions or maybe getting Lil to grease a few palms for information."
[16:14] * Kahree smiles. "Alright."
[16:17] <@Kjell> Samaritha speaks up after a few minutes, "It should be ready now. You should probably make sure to keep it on you at all times to be safe." She pulls out a scroll tube, rolls up the parchment, and slips it inside. "Should I keep the original, or dispose of it?"
[16:19] * Kahree nods, taking the copy. "Keep it in case we need it again."
[16:19] <@Kjell> Samaritha nods and slips it away. "Good luck."
[16:19] * Kjell smiles at Samaritha, giving her a peck on the cheek before holding his hand out to Kahree again
[16:20] <@Kjell> Samaritha blushes and waves the two of them off.
[16:20] * Kahree takes hold of Kjell's hand.
[16:21] * Kjell teleports them back to their room in the inn. "Let's go find this friend of yours. Once we can confirm where he is, we can have a chat with Lil about what to do next. She spent a lot more time in Riddleport, and probably knows better how to be clandestine."
[16:22] * Kahree nods, looking over her papers for a moment just to see what caste it placed her as.
[16:23] <@Kjell> Samaritha had her labelled as a Foreigner and a (legitimately) freed slave to minimize suspicion.
[16:25] * Kahree nods, placing it in her haversack. "Right. Ready to go if you are."
[16:25] * Kjell nods and stands up, opening the door, "Lead the way."
[16:27] * Kahree departs, heading out to look for the Efreeti statues she saw with her divination.
[16:30] <@Kjell> A few hours navigating the bustling streets of Sedeq, as well as the occasional direction from merchants, eventually leads Kahree and Kjell to the twin bronze Efreeti's, standing like vanguards in front of a palace like structure that apparently belonged to the local slave trade master. His position came from a combination of the wealth his slaves brought to the city, and apparently some of his own skill at binding Genies.
[16:33] * Kahree frowns as they come upon the building. She shakes her head and looks around... trying to find from where Viraj would have been looking in her divination.
[16:34] <@Kjell> Across the street from the Miniature Palace is what looks to be a converted stable and stockyard. Out in the yard, the pair of them can see numerous slaves, mostly human, being yelled at and threatened as part of the breaking process. Most are shackled, and all are clad only in the most rudimentary garbs. The actual Stable complex seems to be their housing.
[16:35] <Kahree> Hopeful, Kahree looks for any sign of Viraj.
[16:38] <@Kjell> The crack of a whip and the occasional yelp of pain cuts through the air, but no one else seems to pay it any mind, walking past with disinterest. Occasionally, a merchant will stop by and the slaves will be lined up in front of them for inspection. Viraj is presently not out in the yard. Although Kahree can see amongst those presently on display, an Undine who looks rather parched in the sun.
[16:39] * Kjell scowls and curses under his breath upon seeing this. He knew of slavery of course, but had never seen it so closely and openly before, at least outside of the depravity of the drow city.
[16:41] * Kahree shakes her head and frowns. "So, I sneak in to check, or what?"
[16:42] * Kjell looks around, "Perhaps there is an alley or other place out of sight you can slip into. If you find something, I'll stand guard."
[16:43] * Kahree nods, looking for an area to sneak around...
[16:45] <@Kjell> The stockyard and stable complex is only a single storey high at any point, but covers a two-block area overall. Eventually, Kahree passes by a barred window with a view of the statues off the the east side of the building, which she would recognize as the same one Viraj looked through. A small alley stands at the nearby corner, opposite a building that looks to be lodgings for the staff.
[16:45] <@Kjell> Kahree is more than capable of slipping into the narrow alley undetected.
[16:45] * Kjell stands nearby, trying to look non-chalant.
[16:46] * Kahree slips through, looking for a way in!
[16:47] <@Kjell> At the middle of the narrow alley, Kahree finds a cart positioned below a hatch. The cart is filled with excrement, and is likely the result of the stable complex being cleaned out. Next to it is a hatch that was presumably used for the disposal
[16:51] <Kahree> Kahree groans. "Fine," she huffs, leaning down to the hatch and opening it.
[16:52] <@Kjell> The hatch is just wide enough for Kahree to fit through, but is a bit slick, looking to have been recently rinsed out
[16:58] <@Kjell> Kahree is able to brace herself against the sides and make it up the gentle incline without trouble. Shen she emerges, she seems to be in a small back area. From where she is, she can see a tiny kitchen, and smell the unapetizing scent of gruel.
[16:59] * Kahree sticks to the wall as she continues towards the kitchen area, searching.
[17:03] <@Kjell> The kitchen area ends at a locked door with a barred window looking out into the Stable proper. A glance through the window would show Kahree, at a glance, over a hundred slaves in addition to those out in the yard. Viraj is near that same window from before, seated in quiet meditation. Most of the other slaves seem content to get what rest they can while those out in the yard are the focus of the whips and insults.
[17:05] * Kahree bites her lip, tempted to go speak with him, but... better if not. She instead turns from where she came, sneaking out to Kjell.
[17:06] * Kjell glances at Kahree as she returns, "Any luck?"
[17:08] * Kahree nods. "Yeah. He's in there."
[17:08] * Kjell gives a small smile, "How many others?"
[17:09] * Kahree frowns. "A hundred, at least..."
[17:09] * Kjell sighs, "Alright. Did you make contact, or just observe?"
[17:09] <Kahree> "Observe," she notes.
[17:11] * Kjell nods, "Well, now that we know he's there, getting in should be easy enough. The bigger problem is getting out. Which is what we'll really need to plan for."
[17:26] * Kahree nods. "Yeah... I'm not sure how-- there are so many... We'd only be able to get a few at a time if we went through the disposal."
[17:27] * Kjell shakes his head. "If we only take them in small groups, then we run the risk of security being tighter upon our return. Were there any sick or injured among them?"
[17:30] * Kahree shakes her head. "None that I saw, but given the conditions, I wouldn't doubt it..."
[17:31] * Kjell nods, "Then at the very least, we should evacuate those who are infirm by teleportation. After that, we may have to try something more risky if we wish to free all of those here."
[17:34] * Kahree nods. "You have a spell to turn invisible?"
[17:35] * Kjell nods, "I do. It's duration is at best, a quarter hour."
[17:35] * Kahree smirks. "Then that'll work. We can prepare that and your teleportation, then sneak in to rescue the sick."
[17:40] * Kjell nods, "That will be, relatively speaking, the easy part. For the rest, we'll need a more precise plan. As much as I would love to just go in there and start taking them out, it really wouldn't be fair unless we tried for all or nothing."
[17:42] * Kahree nods. "And... any ideas on that?"
[17:45] * Kjell nods, "A vague one, but we would have to take our time gathering some information to put and real chance of success to it. Basically, we would need to cause an uproar that would pull attention away from this slave complex, then we enter normally, evacuate the sick and injured, then return and bring the rest out by foot. It would not be an easy journey with all of them in tow, but it's really the only way I can think of to get the
[17:45] <@Kjell> -It would not be an easy journey with all of them in tow, but it's really the only way I can think of to get them all out. Any we manage to get away with in small numbers would likely only result in increased security and further difficulties for those that remain."
[17:46] * Kahree purses her lips. "And... how would we cause an uproar such as that?"
[17:46] * Kahree blinks. "Oh! Maybe we free one of the Efreeti! They would likely cause havok after."
[17:49] * Kjell considers that, "Freeing Genies would certainly get a lot of attention. Do you still have that deck of illusory monsters? Using a few of those might produce further confusion."
[17:52] * Kahree grins. "I do."
[17:55] * Kjell smirks, "Alright, so we have some ideas. We just need to get al ittle more structure for them. We should get some rest though; we've had a busy couple of days. Especially that poison nastiness."
[17:57] * Kahree nods, stretching a little. "Works for me."
[17:57] * Kjell nods, "Let's head back to the room. Maybe tomorrow we can talk with Lil, see if she knows where we can get some information."
[17:58] * Kahree nods and begins to walk for their inn.
[18:04] <@Kjell> Along the way back to the Inn, Kahree gets a fair share of unfriendly looks from local Keleshites.
[18:04] <Kahree> Kahree returns the looks.
[18:07] <@Kjell> Eventually, about a block away from the Inn, a Keleshite looking like a guard and armed wit ha Scimitar approaches the two of them. He looks Kahree and Kjell over for a moment. He looks to Kjell, "She belong to you?"
[18:07] * Kjell frowns, "No. She's been freed."
[18:08] <Kahree> Kahree scowls. "I don't belong to anyone." She rolls her eyes, taking out the papers. "And he's your proof, since you'd probably ask."
[18:09] <@Kjell> The guard snatches the paper and looks it over. He huffs a bit, then hands it back. "Fine, but stay out of trouble. Shifty looking demi-human like you, can't be too careful."
[18:10] * Kahree rolls her eyes and grabs the papers.
[18:12] * Kjell frowns and watches the guard as he walks away. "Guess we can say Samaritha's work paid off. Even if that guy was an ass."
[18:15] * Kahree shakes her head and sighs. "Yeah... lets just get back to the room."
[18:15] * Kjell pats Kahree on the shoulder, "You're better than these people are. Don't forget that." He then heads back to their room.
[18:16] * Kahree follows after Kjell.
[18:17] <@Kjell> Kjell and Kahree find Lil waiting for them outside their room. She's holding Kahree's chest of jewellery. "You wanting these back?" The outfit from the Rod of Splendor has worn off.
[18:19] * Kahree smiles a little and nods. "Yeah, thanks."
[18:21] <@Kjell> Lil nods, "Now that we're in, you might wanna take them back to the camp so they don't get stolen, but that's just what I'd do. I plan to spend the next few days milling around, seeing if I can't make a living for myself here. I'll keep using this room though, in case something comes up."
[18:24] * Kjell nods, "We might have a few odd jobs for you ourselves, depending on what we can and can't discover on our own."
[18:24] <Kahree> While Kjell and Lil talk, Kahree begins to put on her jewelry...
[18:25] <@Kjell> Lil glances at Kahree as she puts on her jewellery, shrugging. "Sounds fair enough. What kinda things did you have in mind?"
[18:25] * Kjell smirks, "Given your way with words, we thought you might be better at greasing palms and loosening tongues than we would be. At least, in manners that won't cause as much ruckus."
[18:25] <@Kjell> Lil chuckles, "I might be able to help you there."
[18:37] <@Kjell> -End Session-