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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Feb 7, 2023 15:32:56 GMT -5
Honestly, this might be one of the easier jobs Fish has taken since branching out from their original band of bandits. There was a high likelihood Fish knew the people stealing these potions. Stealing potions was one of the easier things to do, apothecaries generally didn't have a whole lot of security. It was a low-risk, low-reward situation that most thieves cut their teeth doing.
Once again, Fish has been paired up with the brawn of the Golden Consortium which would once more play to their strengths. From Fish's perspective, the search for the spike moss went great. Fish was unharmed and got what they needed, perfect mission, no notes. Gwen probably thought otherwise, but Fish didn't know that.
Given what Fish had gleaned from their last job, they did want to try and think up a different kind of communication method with her. Hand signs and writing didn't seem to be the most ideal, so maybe something sound based. When they meet for the job, Fish hands her a small pamphlet with instructions for a new communication technique. The kenku has developed a way to talk through taps and pauses, the pamphlet containing the cipher for this code.
"Does this work?"
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Post by Gwendolyn on Feb 9, 2023 3:21:45 GMT -5
You know, there was little she was sure to describe this Bird-Man as much as "Prepared". After their last job for the Consortium had gone slightly awry due to communication mishaps, The little guy had written a cipher for sound signals between them. Extremely endearing as it may be one of the more thoughtful things anyone has done to accommodate her poor vision. She smiled, giving him a thumbs up and a "Looks good." It was remarkably similar to a codex used by the lightkeeper in her families expansive estate. Through the thick fog, he could communicate with sentries using a code of turning the light on and off in sequence, so this didn't look to be hard to memorize. As for the job, stealing potions? She had thought the Consortium was a grand and noble organization, but so far she had only met a small demonic child, and a bird. Where were all the successful businessmen or scholars to sweep her off her feet? No matter. She was glad to once more have the bird at her side, he was capable in a pinch, as well as pretty fast if she recalled. Sleight of hand was far from her own strong suit, but confidence and a big hammer were usually all you needed to get your way in this world.
"Where is this place anyway?"
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Feb 9, 2023 16:32:50 GMT -5
"Market district, most crime flows through here....simple crimes. Petty theft and handoffs, Fish would do trades here often." The taps were slow, just to give Gwen time to hear and translate, but they were happy that this was working much better. It wasn't ideal, but honestly Fish was amazed they could create their own little cipher like this.
Fish will hop down the street and start to lead their partner through the market district proper. It didn't seem like there was a lot of criminal activity on the surface truth be told. There were your average stills seemingly selling average goods. But if you knew what to look for, you could easily spot where the under the table deals were happening. It also helped if you were only about as tall as most tables.
"Fish knows they stole some Delusional Poisons....mercury based, metallic smelling...that is what we are looking for." It wasn't going to be easy as potions are relatively easy to hide and pocket, but know what there were looking for was somewhat helpful.
They just had to hope that whoever was dumb enough to steal from the Consortium was also dumb enough to still be in town.
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Post by Gwendolyn on Feb 10, 2023 17:53:42 GMT -5
The clicks and taps were interesting to listen to. Gwendolyn paged through the little handbook as the bird, apparently actually named Fish instead of Fshh, spoke through their little encodex. Delusion poisons? An interesting little cocktail indeed. During her studies to enter the Consortium, she had read that it was quite the intoxicator, sending it's victims into rapid onset delirium and disequilibrium. Five solar words written by scholars who didn't want to say it made you wasted. Wait, did he say that he was involved in the crime trade here? Later, deal with that later.
The bird brought up an interesting point however, something overlooked in her studies. A metallic scent? That wouldn't be too hard. Mercury had a very specific evaporative essence that helped it stand out among the smells of the markets. She recalled many fond days spent with her father watching over a mercury boil in the forest to extract precious metals. Her father mostly stood back, obviously trusting her experience to handle things while he studied his books.
"Nice, give me a minute or two" She spoke in a low tone, before cautiously lifting her perfumed veil. The odors of the market that had been kept at bay hit her almost all at once. The various incenses burning around her person did little to stifle the sheer amount of different scents in the immediate surroundings. Cakes, dirt, sweat, coins, cloth, horse shit, the metal of her own armour. A different metal? Sweeter than steel, possibly mercury. No way to tell if it was in its pure form or if it was the target, but it was faint. She lowered her veil "The breeze seems to be coming from that alley northwards? I can smell a hint of mercurial further up ahead"
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Feb 10, 2023 23:19:45 GMT -5
The bird watches the veil be lifted, head tilting curious as to what is going on. At the first sniff it settles in, enhanced senses. Interesting. Smell was their least developed sense biologically speaking, so seeing someone able to use it to such an acute extent was fascinating on a scientific level.
They look towards the alleyway, made sense. "Fish goes high, Gwendolyn stays low." A taloned hand points in the direction that Gwen indicated, then up to the roofs where Fish was indicating they would go.
Fish slipped out of sight and up onto the roof to wait a moment for their partner to slip through. They would hop along the tiles of the rooftops, scanning around for anything to hint at their target.
"Boxes are comin, just keep the client busy."
"All right Nue, but we ain't got long, they don't seem the patient type."
Two hushed voices came around the corner, the same direction the scent seemed to be taking them. Fish would tuck themselves behind a chimney stack, peering around the corner to see what they could gather. One guard headed into the back of a warehouse, while the other posted up outside to likely wait for these boxes they were after.
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Post by Gwendolyn on Feb 11, 2023 17:04:43 GMT -5
She watched Fish scurry up to the roof as she began her entrance into the alley. She snuck low into the alley, a small child behind her curious as to what the sol she was doing. Hiding behind a nearby crate, she heard the last of what the man had said. "They don't seem the patient type" What did that mean? Had they been spotted? When noone advanced on her, she assumed not, but a moment later the shorter of the two guards exclaimed loudly,
"Augh! The hell is that smell?! Nue, you break somethin?" A voice replied from within, seemingly grabbing something
"Hell are you talking about Vox, smells like wood in here" "Ugh, it reeks." Was he talking about her incense? Dick, Ambergris Anise was a rare and complex scent, he obviously didn't have the palate to appreciate it. Unable to contain her disdain for the blatant disrespect, she stood up from the box on the corner, about 15 feet away from the man standing guard.
"Hey, maybe if you showered every once in a while, your sweat wouldn't fuck up your sense of smell.""Who the hells are you? And who opens up with a smell insult...kinda weak." He said, stepping forward away from the doorway. "Get outta here lady, this ain't no salon"
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Feb 11, 2023 21:00:44 GMT -5
It was immediately clear that Fish should have planned for this. They didn't fully know Gwen so being a bit quick to anger was not a known trait at the time. Fish does wait for this conversation to play out.
The guard she approached picked up a club laying beside him, throwing it at her with some force as it bounces back.[1] He catches it on the rebound and tries to strike at her shoulder, a bit more trained than you would expect from the typical guard on watch duty. This man knew what he was doing.
At the sounds of fighting a second guard starts to come out and see what the commotion outside is. He comes down the alleyway to see the fight, but before he can turn and run five bolts thud into his back in rapid succession.[2] The bandit falls to the ground with a dull thud, the one engaged with Gwen looking back.
"Shit, you arseholes!"
Fish could now be seen at the corner of the roof they had climbed on to, crossbow in hand. They look down to the fight below to see how Gwen is doing and if she might end up needing help.
1. Bandit - resounding rebound 2. Fish - Volley Shot
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Post by Gwendolyn on Feb 11, 2023 22:05:22 GMT -5
The club bonked her in the nose, bloodying it. As she recoiled in pain, and looked back up, the man charged forward to strike once more.
"Motherf-" he begins to shout before she catches the swing at the wrist. A headbutt sends him reeling backwards, he catches a glimpse of his fallen comrade. With the momentary distraction, Gwendolyn's hefty smoking maul impacts him in the side with a sickening crack. His arm bent in odd directions with an obvious dent in his chest, the man falls to the ground. A swift kick to the stomach confirms his incapacitation, she gives a wave to the bird. A quick spit of blood comes before cracking a Sight Salt. The sting of chemical burned at the fresh wound of the broken nose, but it's effect quickly took pace fast enough. He vision cleared up and improved as she drug the two bodies behind some nearby crates. Approaching the doorway, she back up towards the side of it, peeking in.
Several boxes lined the walls of the small area, hordes of stolen goods and contraband, thinly disguised as officially marked tradesgoods. A backdoor left cracked open shed a bit of light, and her enhanced vision caught the slightly moving shoelace of a final worker. Looking up, he caught her eye and bolted.
Gwendolyn whistled and clicked for Fish, knowing she could never catch up with a swift lanky man such as he. She imparted the quick notes of the man, and which direction he left.
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Feb 12, 2023 11:28:27 GMT -5
Fish spots the signal Gwendolyn gives and immediately takes off across the roof. They jump, letting their scarf magically carry them across the gap and get to the other side of the building. The bird levels their crossbow as they run across the tiles to track the man on the move.
Soft breath in....hold....fire. In the distance, Gwendolyn would hear a sharp yell of pain. The thief crashed into some of the refuse in the alley, bolt stuck right in the back of his knee. He whimpered in pain as he tried to pull it out, but couldn't. Fish glides down with their scarf once again to hop towards the thief.
"Ginma's fuzzy horse ass...you prick, I'm gon-....Fish? Since when the hell are you stopping us?" Labored breaths broke up every few words as beads of sweat pooled on the man's forehead.
Fish tilted their head, not recognizing the face, but they did recognize the insignia on his bracer. Fish's old thieves guild. The one they somewhat broke from after the job at Zarius' went south. Fish decided to simply work on their own from that point.
"Well don't just start at me you little bastard, say something!" Someone didn't seem to know Fish's muteness.
Fish instead just picks their crossbow up again ready to finish the job unless stopped.
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Post by Gwendolyn on Feb 13, 2023 16:16:40 GMT -5
A sharp yelp signaled that the loose end had been taken care of, with that she entered the warehouse. It was a veritable fortune worth of goods all stored only like....two? blocks away from the districts guard house. Whoever these guys were, they were ballsy at least. Parsing through, it seemed to be mostly magic associated contraband. Gecko feet, vials of what looked like Bull Strength and Smoke Flasks, A weird brain shaped helmet. Only after about a minute of perusing as Fish and his prey chatted outside, did she discover it.
Hidden amongst boxes with an inconspicuous look, was a very small crate with a hinged lid and leather straps holding it shut. With a quick flit of her dagger, Gwendolyn opened it to reveal a couple of mercurial potions sat in a velvet cushion. Obviously lifted from some high-end Alchemists shop. She gathered the quarry, and headed out the back door to see what those two were up too.
Walking up upon Fish with the crossbow levelled, she was mostly confused than anything. With a quick click,
"Cmon" And switching back to normal tongue because she wasnt quite sure how to say actual sentences yet "You gonna stop playing with your food or what? Finish it, didn't they say they were waiting on someone?" The very last thing they needed was their description getting out to some random criminal organization, and all of the sudden needing to walk around Sol City with a look over their shoulders.
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Feb 13, 2023 18:43:41 GMT -5
Fish does quickly pull the trigger and silence the would-be loose end. They holster the crossbow back before turning on a little hop to face Gwendolyn once more. The consideration about looking over their shoulder didn't occur to Fish since they already do that anyways.
"We should search the whole facility, they may details on where the shipments were going to go." The kenku assumed their partner had already looked for the potions that sent them on this mission. They hop past Gwen and back into the warehouse to start digging through files.
Lists and ledgers are tossed aside, no use, nothing....garbage....actual garbage they think as a crumpled bit of napkin is tossed aside. Fish finally perks up as they find a locked drawer, that's always a dead giveaway. They flick out a lock pick and quickly pop open the door.
Fish has to lean over into the drawer to get into it, little legs kicking in the air, but they come out with a binder full of information. "Fish has found the information....It will take time to read. Should we take this back to the consortium?" They look back to the woman knowing time was of the essence.
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Post by Gwendolyn on Feb 15, 2023 9:57:59 GMT -5
"Yeah, lets get out of here." She said, moments before an exclamation from the other side of the warehouse was made. "Garfield, Nue! What the hells happened here. Youse two, search the warehouse, they can't have gotten far." Could be heard through the cracked back entrance of the facility. It was indeed time to skedaddle. "Meet you back at the uh...place?" She said, giving a quick shrug and nod before casting a pair of spells that erupted smoke and mist from her maul. The area quickly became nearly impossible to navigate, though another Sight Salt bought her an escape. She clicked a few directions with her tounge to help out the bird, but once they had gotten clear from the plume, it was smooth sailing. The bird could take care of himself and the information, but this box was slightly conspicuous wandering the streets with it. An awkward glance meeting the eyes of a guardsman at the station was the only hiccup. All things considered, job well done! High standards of excellence seen few and far between. Though, she did wonder what information Fish had conjured up from that scroll.
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Feb 15, 2023 19:02:38 GMT -5
Fish had half a mind to light up the warehouse, no need for potential threats to Fish's business. Plus if it was people who might know Fish's past, even more reason to do so.....Perhaps next time. They hop behind Gwen having an easy enough time tracking her through the mist thanks to their training, but the thought is appreciated.
On the way out Fish does palm a vial and starts to leave a trail behind them after popping off the cork. It was a subtle trail, but enough that it would lead a guard right to the illegal outpost. Let legitimate sources take care of it this time.
"Well done, Fish will turn in the notes to the Consortium. Gwendolyn's help is appreciated." They nod and offer Gwen a handshake before the two wrap up the job.
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