2021-03-07: The Fox's Many Tricks
- Log: The Fox's Many Tricks
- Cast: Necronomicon, Cyre H. Lorentz, Jacqueline Barber, Kaguya
- Where: Guild Galad - The Electric Air Voids
- Date: March 07, 2021
- Summary: After what happened in Kattelox, it's clear that Ming's machinations cannot be overlooked any longer. The time has come to take the investigation to the source: Ming's criminal enterprise, the Bronze Tigers. But how to locate her and her lot in Guild Galad's underworld? With some asking about, the affected Drifters are able to receive aid from a somewhat unprecedented source: the rivals of the Bronze Tigers, the Ebon Hand. A raid is staged on one of the Bronze Tigers' safehouses with their help -- the goal, to capture and shake down one of the Bronze Tigers' underbosses for information on Ming. ...And maybe cause a little well-deserved chaos on the side.
<Pose Tracker> Necronomicon has posed.
The Bronze Tigers' safehouse, the one that several of their underbosses are said to frequent, looks decidedly inconspicuous. Yes, there is the rather flashy electrical-light sign outfront advertising 'locksmithing' (the paper pasted up over the exterior gives some significant confusion on what their prices and indeed hours of operation are meant to be) but it could be just about any other shop in this particular row.
Out in front, the Ebon Hand are ready to cause the distraction you'll need.
But perhaps let's back up a moment and recap the situation--
Weeks ago, Ming, leader of the Bronze Tigers, had attempted an attack in Kattelox through some hired hands, apparently intending to finish off some of those present in the crowd, which might have been some of you! As has been previously determined, her hand is behind both the framing of several individuals investigating a mysterious Gear attack on Honeysday... which was also something initiated at her command.
The major question that remains is 'why'.
Since the Bronze Tigers operate out of Guild Galad, that's where you'd gone looking... and in the process of asking around, you'd come into contact with another criminal gang, the Ebon Hand. They're the rivals of the Bronze Tigers, and for reasons of their own -- probably not good ones, but enemy of my enemy and all that -- they've agreed to give you a hand with finding Ming.
Ming is of course a secretive crimeboss, though, and your best bet to find her is to find and ask some questions of one of her underbosses. They, at least, are easier to locate.
Finding the safehouse in question is easy. Getting into the place without alerting them that you're here is harder. But, with the Ebon Hand ready to raise a distraction near the backalley -- and any tricks of your own that you might have handy -- you should be able to find some way of getting inside.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
WHO RULES BARTERTOWN!?
Not this guy! But Cyre Lorentz is certainly hoping to soon be the only tiger of any stripe or color in Guild-Galad for the foreseeable future. He's not sure why it is that this Ming lady has such a beef with the Carakin* but whatever the case might be, her crimes stop today!!
And their crime... begins.
Finding the safehouse was easy. Some other members of the local underworld want to see the Bronze Tigers suffer, and that's a situation that is just waiting to be exploited. The trick is, of course, sneaking in without anyone noticing anything.
As it turns out, 'sailing to the rooftop under the cover of darkness like the world's most larcenous flying squirrel' is a pretty decent way of getting an 'in' that few would expect. If going in from above is what you need, then Cyre Lorentz is your catman!
The question will be whether there's a door that they can unlock up here... And whether said locks are vulnerable to Solais Emsu-powered laser drills.
(*Nah he knows exactly what her beef is. They ruined a killer payday and wrenched up a half-dozen plans! But the real question is why she's continuing to hold an unprofitable grudge.)
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline has been tracking Ming and her Bronze Tigers a while now. Jacqueline isn't usually the type to hold a grudge... but, if they hadn't been there to help, the people of Honeysday could have lost their homes and their livelihoods - if not their lives. Jacqueline wants to know why.
The fact that Ming then tried to silence her... well, she's more upset that she tried it in a crowded city, really.
And so, that leads her to the tenuous alliance with the Ebon Hand. She's not exactly thrilled to be working with criminals - and she hopes they intend to keep the violence to a minimum - but right now, she needs people who know who know their opponent.
At the moment she finds herself at the appointing waiting place, camping out near that supposed locksmithing shop acting as the Bronze Tiger's warehouse, sorting through her Crest Graphs as she waits for the signal.
"I should be able to give us the cover we need to get in unnoticed. We're close enough that we don't need too much darkness." Jacqueline murmurs, glancing toward Cyre. "...Though with any luck, the distraction should be more than enough."
It is indeed nice having a friend who can fly, it certainly makes things like this much easier.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
It's a safehouse. Of course it looks inconspicuous. Locksmithing isn't a terrible front, and Kaguya finds she doesn't entirely mind the neon and the cramped because this is perhaps the most like the ship she's found on Filgaia aside from... well, the ship. Oh, it's dirtier. It's bigger. But she's pretty sure she hasn't seen anything 'natural' in at least an hour at this point and that's kind of homey!
Kaguya wasn't present for the attack in Kattlelox. She was present for the original Gear attack on Honeysday, however. ...And now that she's heard more of what's going on, well...
She's helping. Helping the helpers.
"So assume they didn't totally betray us," Kaguya murmurs, "The distraction should be any minute now..." Pause. "I can't believe that trick worked."
She didn't hear Cyre crash horribly, so she assumes it did. She kind of invited herself along, and currently is stepping out to stand with Jay. As small as she is she doesn't stick out from around corners too much.
"I can take care of any obstacles. Though yes yes I remember, try to be nice about it."
<Pose Tracker> Necronomicon has posed.
It's probably not the best idea to go right in the front door -- even if it was unlocked (it is unlocked, right?) -- while the Ebon Hand performs its part of the bargain they'd struck. Judging from the shouting down there, someone is settling a grudge. Or three.
No, up on the rooftop seems to be the way to go. Up behind the railing, where the electrical signs sit on the rooftop (don't stand up too sharply now, or you're likely to bump a head on the partial underside of one of the buildings set higher into the Void than this row is) is...
The roof service access entrance.
A little lockpicking (or a little explosives, or percussive maintenance -- you know best of what you're capable of ruining) will see the trapdoor open. It squeaks a bit.
The noise coming from the street is getting louder, though. Maybe no one heard it.
This is... a bit plush. It's not exactly 'nightclub in the top-side' level of fancy, but it's likely not what anyone might have expected from the outside. What was Ming's gang dealing in again?
They seem to be living pretty comfortably, that's for sure.
Fortunately for everyone concerned, no one's in the hallway up here. There's a metal stairway leading downwards. There are a trio of doors up here. One of the doors -- on the far right -- is slightly ajar. The other rooms seem to have lights on inside judging from the light shining out from under them, but you can't tell immediately if they're occupied.
Downstairs, you hear some muffled shouting. Footsteps. Running, moving away from the center of the building. Someone else bangs a door somewhere. Indoors, from the sound of it. Whatever's going on outside is really heating up.
So. Time to make plans. The Ebon Hand said they don't know what it's like in here -- and really, if you're not in Ming's gang, nobody does. But it stands to reason that if the odds are even remotely on your side tonight, it might be in one of these rooms.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
Kaguya might not be Cyre's absolute most favorite person in the world, but he knows as well as anyone that there are few others nearly as reliable at busting down doors and taking names. "Pfft, you're just jealous I can fly," he whispers into the borrowed radio. The business down below is starting; it's time to make good on this break-in before anyone notices.
Guardian magic is useful for all kinds of things. Far more things than the ancient Baskar had ever intended, certainly. Like breaking-in-and-entering, for example. Who would have guessed that drilling through door locks with gentle laser-heating and wind-cutting were possible applications!? None of the elders, certainly.
Well.
No. Maybe at least one of the elders. Certain grannies you can never put anything past.
But in short order, they're in. Cyre wedges the door open and peers around inside. It's... swankier than he expected. How much seedy business goes down in this place on the regular? The shaman taps at his chin and makes for the center door and... leans a twitching kitty-ear towards the room within. Could it that what they're looking for is hidden behind door number one...?
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"I don't think they have a reason to. They're no fan of the Bronze Tigers either, even if their intentions are more... untoward." Jacqueline replies, glancing toward Kaguya. She smiles, though, as Kaguya reiterates the point of 'try to be nice'. "Thank you. ...And, for coming along, too. I appreciate it."
They all make it inside, up to the top level through the hatch up top. ...It does look nice in here. Jacqueline frowns. To afford a place like this... business seems good. But what that business is, well... maybe they'll find out.
Jacqueline makes a quick gesture with her left hand as she invokes a Crest Graph. A subtle current of air pulses out from her location, surrounding everyone. It settles over them to muffle the sound of their movement. Hopefully it'll be that much more difficult to hear them over the chaos down below. She makes a quick gesture to indicate silence before pointing to herself and the door ajar on the far right, indicating that she's going to check it out.
And check it she does - she slides over carefully, taking a quick peek through the slight crack to determine whether or not there's anything - or anyone - of interest in there.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
"I don't put it past people anymore to have reasons I didn't think about," Kaguya admits. "...But it wouldn't be in their self-interest, that's true." A beat, and then, "Heh. ...You're welcome. One of my people should be involved in this business," she grouses. Then--
"Ha!" Kaguya quietly murmurs back. But she doesn't actually deny Cy're assertion. Instead she steps inside with the others, managing to be fairly quiet in the process. She apparently skipped the bulkier bits of armor for this purpose, and hasn't pulled an ARM or a weapon yet.
Actually she looks a little worse than usual. Maybe that's just the ill lightning though. She glances around, notes how nice it is... and walks all the more quietly, thanks to Jay's spell. It helps that she's fairly light to begin with. Downstairs... shouting.
Kaguya nods to Jay and Cyre, and moves to the third door--not to open it, but to do some quick sabotage to the hinges and prevent whoever's in it from easily getting out. She could undo it without much trouble, but from inside is another matter.
She'll follow whichever of them finds something first.
<Pose Tracker> Necronomicon has posed.
Kaguya notices as she nears the door -- the one closest to the slender metal staircase leading down -- that someone is indeed at home in there. After all, she can hear snoring. It's punctuated by the occasional grunt. Do they... have a room for naps here? Or is someone using this as a place to live in? More questions, and probably not necessarily ones that require an answer, honestly.
It takes a few minutes of deft work for her to ensure that if they do wake up, they're not exiting this room easily. Not unless they happen to have some sort of battering ram in there, which they probably... don't?
More shouting, distantly. The disturbance doesn't seem to have drawn any of them back up here to tell anyone who might be at home about what's going on. Not yet, anyway.
Thanks to Jacqueline their movements through the upstairs are well-muffled. The only thing that could give them away now is if they start raising a ruckus: even the floorboards (wow, actual wood floorboards? In this part of Guild Galad?) don't squeak. The room that Jay peeks in is quiet and dark. If anyone is in here -- and there's no good reason to think there is -- they're very good at staying silent.
Cyre is the one who hits the jackpot, so to speak--
There is a man at a desk, his back to the door. He's writing something out in longhand.
Now's their chance--!
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
Jackpot...!
While Cyre is confident enough in his own catlike tread to get the job done, the fact is that Jacqueline's crest magic is probably all that's keeping their little infiltration team from being absolutely jacknifed by all these cutthroats and brigands. After all, they all have abundant experience in skullduggery- likely far more than any one of the drifters here.
Well, except, again, maybe Kaguya.
Still, there's no such thing as being too careful when lives are on the line. Again, Cyre calls upon Fengalon's arcana... But this time to do something a little more subtle. By tuning the concentration of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air immediately around the scribe's face, Cyre is able to subtly and silently drive the man to unconsciousness. Not all arcanum are made to lay his foes to waste, after all. Sometimes, more nuanced methods are needed.
From there, it's just a matter of absconding with a possible source, all relevant documents, and possibly all nearby valuables.
He motions to the others once the job is done. If they've got nothing spectacularly interesting on their ends, it seems he's going to be needing help in executing the rest of this heist.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Actual wood floorboards... if Jacqueline weren't currently preoccupied with the mission, she'd be stunned by the decadence. How much it must cost to get those installed down here in Guild Galad... she doesn't really have the time to do the necessary calculations in her head.
More importantly, inside her chosen door is...!
Darkness, and not much else. This is for the best, honestly - the more they can narrow things down, the easier things will be. She looks back to the others, making a quick gesture to indicate that there's nothing there.
Cyre, though, seems to have had a bit more luck...! At his signal, she makes her way for the center door, taking a peek into the room and spotting the unconscious man. She looks back toward Cyre sending him a brief, approving nod. She can definitely appreciate the talent, and his spell takes a lot less effort to apply than her sleeping potion.
With that taken care of she moves in carefully scanning the room. Her main interest is, of course, looking for anything that might help give them a lead - documents, ledgers to track transactions... anything that might give them more information to go on. Particularly, a quick peek over the unconscious man's shoulder to see what he was writing before his unfortunately-timed - for him - bout of unconsciousness courtesy of Cyre.
She leaves the valuables untouched, though.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
Kaguya is one of the only people who have snuck into a city to blow up its walls! That's a rare kind of skullduggery that just isn't seen these days! ...Nevermind the fact that it resulted in a dragon. She didn't expect the dragon.
Snoring, though... Definitely. Whatever the truth is, it doesn't matter so much; she messes up the door and that's good enough. Someone can fix it eventually.
Kaguya does not actually recognize what Cyre does precisely because she doesn't have an air scanner or anything currently out and active. She just sorta sees him focus and when she walks over bam there's an unconscious dude. "Handy," she says. "Doesn't even leave a mark! Usually I need to get a sock with Gella in it to avoid leaving marks."
She's kidding, probably.
"Man though they're making some good profit here."
Kaguya steps inside, too, though she stays alert, ready for anyone to walk in in the process. Kaguya absolutely helps with the valuables, but there's one very important thing she does first.
She takes his pen and writes gently on his forehead 'LOSER'.
Then she gets to popping open locked drawers with a pull.
<Pose Tracker> Necronomicon has posed.
In the middle room, Cyre conducts some deft-handed trickery and then...!
Well, it takes a few moments, but the man still succumbs swiftly, knocking over his inkpot as he slips down that final slope into unconsciousness. Alive but unmoving once Cyre finishes the enactment of that subtle application of wind arcana, the only sign that he's likely had anything other than an abrupt nap is the pool of ink spreading across his desk.
They move quickly once Cyre gives them all the go-ahead: the desk drawers are a veritable goldmine of documents. Was this poor sap doing Ming's paperwork or something? There are letters in the drawer, which Jacqueline's mercantile eye sights. If there was any doubt to what the gang was up to, this would quell it: it seems like the Bronze Tigers make a good deal of their money moving goods out of the sights of the powers that be in Guild Galad. This includes... less savory and legal items. Which, speaking of:
There's a very recently-dated letter atop the lot of them, pinned to what looks like a paperwork detailing the payment due for a particular job -- the letter is from an 'M' mentioning in fact that their 'special client' is offering double for the 'next attempt'. Hiring may be more expensive this time. An unfortunate thing.
The writer wants the clerical details sorted, and expects word returned to a particular shop in...
...Void 36.
Further searching will turn up some pretty laquerware boxes on the shelf near the desk, a coinpouch hidden in a secret spot towards the back of the drawer (hmm) and a nicely-carved soapstone tiger.
Jacqueline may need to turn a blind eye on any thievery that occurs...
All is quiet for now, save for perhaps the scrawl of the pen Kaguya holds.
And then there is a clatter on the staircase from the hall. Is someone coming upstairs?!
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
"I can be pretty useful when I put my mind to it," Cyre answers Kaguya with a mischevious smirk. "I mean, honestly, cutting people up and hitting them with pressure waves isn't the worst I could do. Embolism is not a pleasant experience." What did this drifter do before he fell in with the Carakin? He didn't have a bounty on his head at the time... Had all his crimes been practiced in a space and time where there would be nobody left who would be willing to report his misdeeds...?
Nah, he just got really good at sneaking around back when he used to escape from Nahual Training Camp and the lessons just kind of stuck with him.
Cyre takes the time to hog-tie their captive before he can wake up. It doesn't take him long-- certainly not long enough that he doesn't go through the man's desk to pilfer absolutely anything and everything. Most of this stuff was probably stolen anyway, and there's no harm in getting some nice new lacquerware from a bunch of people who literally tried to have them all killed for profit!!
Speaking of profit, that pouch full of gella sitting at the back of the desk is certainly interesting. "I wonder, was he putting money away for a rainy day... Or because he knew that he'd have to make a break from the tigers sooner rather than later.
Also, tiger statuette get. He's absolutely taking that thing for his Fengalon Shrine.
But, the sound of someone coming up the stairs rattles through the air. Cyre probably picks up on it faster than the others, thanks to his big ol' fluffy ears. They twitch attentively at the noise, and Cyre nods to his co-conspirators. "Come on. We need to go before they figure out we've been through. Kaguya, make it look like our accountant buddy decided to take everything he could before beating feet. I get the feeling he was planning to get out anyway, so we might as well take advantage of expectations."
...Cyre Lorentz...
...May in fact be a bit of a natural rogue, after all.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline frowns, her brow furrowing as she reads through the documents. She only has the time to skim them, since time is at a premium, but what she sees... doesn't seem pretty great. Still, this definitely gives them a solid lead. She can go over them more thoroughly at another time.
...But, it does at least mean she can intentionally distract herself from the sight of Blatant Thievery. She doesn't have to disapprove of it if she can't see them do it.
But then Cyre's ears start to twitch. She's been around him long enough to know what that means, and she looks toward him for confirmation. ...Yup, their time here is rapidly. She nods, rummaging through her bags for her Copy Sea Medium.
"When you're ready, give me the signal and get close to me. I'll try and Jump us out here." She moves carefully so that she can see the hatch they entered the building from - and, more importantly, the outside.
From there, she starts doing the mental math in her head - judging the heights angles involved and their current distance from her intended destination of the rooftop, and the empty space on top right next to the hatch. It'd be pretty bad if she just teleported them right in front of trouble, or into the floor of one of the buildings above them.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline frowns, her brow furrowing as she reads through the documents. She only has the time to skim them, since time is at a premium, but what she sees... doesn't seem pretty great. Still, this definitely gives them a solid lead. She can go over them more thoroughly at another time.
...But, it does at least mean she can intentionally distract herself from the sight of Blatant Thievery. She doesn't have to disapprove of it if she can't see them do it.
But then Cyre's ears start to twitch. She's been around him long enough to know what that means, and she looks toward him for confirmation. ...Yup, their time here is rapidly dwindling. She nods, rummaging through her bags for her Copy Sea Medium.
"When you're ready, give me the signal and get close to me. I'll try and Jump us out of here." She moves carefully so that she can see the hatch they entered the building from - and, more importantly, the outside.
From there, she starts doing the mental math in her head - judging the heights and angles involved and their current distance from her intended destination of the rooftop, and the empty space on top right next to the hatch. It'd be pretty bad if she just teleported them right in front of trouble, or into the floor of one of the buildings above them.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
"That's pretty rude," Kaguya says, but it doesn't sound like she thinks that's a bad thing. She of course knows what he's talking about, and that definitely gives her the context for how he put the guy under. Pretty pinpoint stuff...
"Nice."
Besides, stealing from thieves is totally fine.
"Hmmm, could be either," Kaguya comments of the man putting money away. And when Cyre's ears twitch, he mentions going, and Kaguya hmms a little as she considers how best to accomplish Cyre's request. After a moment, she reaches out and picks the guy up like a sack of potatoes, with about as much trouble. "Then we'll have to bring him along. I'll offer him a way out of the city, maybe a job," she explains to Jay, as if she figures otherwise the two might assume she was going to dump him off a cliff or something when she was done.
"...Not telling him about his face though. Heheheheh."
Kaguya lets Jay work on her calculations in the meantime, preparing a green-smoke grenade in case someone does get too close to give them a little cover.
She doesn't even complain about the Medium being used! Maybe she's gotten used to it. Maybe.
<Pose Tracker> Necronomicon has posed.
They have in the end moments to get out of there. It's a close shave -- there's a shout as the hatchway to the roof slams shut. But even if it had been more narrow an attempt than this, they have the proverbial ace up their sleeve:
To be specific, they have Jay's Medium. With that, they're able to soar over the rooftops, their new 'partner in crime' in tow. Who knows, maybe if he knows what's good for him, he'll sign on. It isn't as if he'll be able to show his face back in Guild Galad again after the dust settles.
Well, probably.
This part of Guild Galad is pretty if in an unreal way at night: all glowing lights in the dark, blurring together in as they cross the gap.
There's shouting in the distance. It might just be part of the nightlife. Certainly, someone's shouting from the roof below where they've landed.
Apparently the neighborhood kids here must get up to some nonsense by how incensed this guy is.
There's no sign of any pursuers. Now is a good time to fan out, regroup with the others perhaps... and make plans to head to Void 36.
Time's ticking, after all. Ming is likely to be at that location presently, but she's unlikely -- as crimebosses do -- to stay there forever.
Time to settle this.