Trinsic:The Search For Symphony/Chapter 03
Chapter 3: More Fun Than a Barrel of Assassins?
We left Our Heroes having finished kicking some drunken assassin butt, while SIdent received some butt-kicking in return. There is a small fire currently smoldering behind the bar, trying to kick its butt.
"Ascii, treat the guy! We need info on the situation. I'll put out the fire." SIdent notices there is a convenient bucket with water in it right behind the counter, labeled "FIRE". It's just the right thing to put out this fire. He picks up the bucket and puts out the flames. PSSSSSsssssssssh. The flame is immediately extinguished.
Ascii takes stock of the now-wrecked bar. "Well, *that* was fun. Okay... I'll check for survivors. Vizz, strip anything of use from 'em."
OK, Ascii." Vizz searches through the bodies of the three dead men. There isn't much, but he comes away with three daggers, three darts, and forty-five gold pieces. "Ohhh." He finds nothing additional, beyond some pocket lint.
"Ascii, do you mind taking care of him?" SIdent follows after Vizz to make sure he had cleaned the corpses of their possessions. He manages to find a small vial left over on one of the dead bodies. It appears to be some sort of potion.
Ascii gathers up the booty from Vizz, pockets the gold, gives SIdent the darts, and lets Vizz find someplace to stick the daggers. He goes over and checks on the not-quite-dead fellow. The man is in bad shape, but seems to have stabilized for now.
SIdent searches the bar further and finds gallons of various types of ale, wine, and other liquors; various serving utensils, mugs, cups, and the like. He then goes and investigates the storeroom behind the bar and finds large barrels of liquor, some leaky, some not. A selection of better quality wines is in a rack at the back.
Ascii thinks aloud, "Okay... he's not dead, but he's no help to us like this. I can use my magic to revive him so we can interrogate him. Or, we can throw him in the dumpster out back and go down into the sewers to look for that guy the former bartender mentioned."
Vizz suggests, "Or we can tie him and wait."
"Frankly, I don't think an assassin would tell us much, anyway. I propose we start spelunking."
A man pokes his head into the bar and says, "Hash you fellash finished your busin... bushine... job yesh? I wanna anosher ale!" *HIC* The inebriated man then steps fully into the bar. "Cannya HEAR me? *HIC* I wanna ALE!"
Vizz works on intimidating the drunk out of the bar.
"Okay, okay! No needa get roughsh... I'll get shome shtuff down at the NESHT tavern."
Vizz pushes a grunt of satisfaction. The man careens off the doorway and wanders off, leaving the door standing wide open.
"Maybe a healer could take care of the man." Vizz then notices some activity from outside the open door. "The people outside do not like what we are doing here." He closes the door. "I don't like this, we must acts faster..."
SIdent gets two bottles randomly from the assortment in the storeroom, which he puts in his backpack. Clink, clink! He then goes back into the bar proper. "Any news, people?"
"The people outside are scared and running away," Vizz tells him.
"What's up then, Ascii?"
"Vizz, would you please hand me that vial? I want to take a look at it."
"What vial? SIdent has the vial."
SIdent gives Ascii the vial, getting impatient. "Why do we have to hurry? Did you hear anything, Ascii?"
"People are scared outside, SI. I suggest that we take the guy and bring him to a safe place to interrogate him."
"OK, I support Vizz's opinion. Ascii? What's on your mind? Don't forget to barricade the door."
"Vizz, would you carry this guy for us? And, please try not to hurt him. Er, any more."
"OK, Ascii." Vizz lifts the man on his shoulder and carries him into the bar's back office, where he then ties the very pliant and notably not-resisting man quite handily to a chair.
Ascii, meanwhile, squints at the vial of potion very, very tightly and reads off, "Cure Light Wounds". Either that, or "Mule Might Moon".
"Ascii, follow to the office and try to search it a bit while Vizz and the 'incompetent' pass through the window. I'll try to lock the door." SIdent finds that there is a standard-style wooden beam that fits across the doorway, blocking the door, and he puts the door beam into place. He then moves to the office.
"Where you want to question the guy?" Vizz asks SIdent.
"Better untie him and carry him like you were helping him."
"Or I could just move the chair."
"I think it would attract too much attention, but let's not interrogate him here."
Ascii joins the two of them in the office.
"Hey! Didn't you hear me?" SIdent protests. "We better decide something first."
"Decide what?" Ascii asks.
"That we take care of him away from here... or not. We can have better time to work him out away from here. What you guys think? The people might already have called the guards."
Vizz asks, "Are you sure?"
"Nope... but, better then get trapped by the guards with a bunch of corpses around." SIdent starts to search the desk. He initially finds three pencils, the delivery manifests for last week, and a moldy sandwich. Further poking turns up about nine gold coins, fifteen silver coins, thirty-six copper coins, a bank ledger, and a small writing pad. He gathers up everything.
Vizz examines some of the barrels in the storeroom. He finds an empty barrel that once held pretzels for the bar. It's about three feet tall, three feet wide, two yards long, and weighs fifteen pounds. He unties the man from the chair, stuffs him into the barrel, and seals it with a spare cover.
"Ascii, what if you and me go out and pull while Vizz pushes?" SIdent suggests.
As the debate rages, a knock is heard at the door. The knocking escalates to a pounding, then hammering. Someone begins to yell, in a loud, gravely voice, "CITY GUARDS! OPEN UP!"
Vizz takes the barrel and carries it back into the office. The pounding stops. Murmuring is heard. Then... WHAM!
"TIME TO LEAVE, GUYS!" Vizz tries to push the barrel outside through the back window. The barrel gets about halfway, and sticks. A little more muscle might just get it through...
"On three! One.... two.... THREE!" WHAM!
"Okay, everybody PUSH!" Ascii commands.
"One... two.... THREE!" WHAM! Shards of wood are heard smacking about the bar. "We're almost through, men!"
The barrel scrapes through, then thumps into the alleyway. SIdent and Vizz jump out, and Vizz grabs the barrel again.
"One... two... THREE!" WHAM! "One more shot should just do it, men! One... two... THREE!" WHAM! CRASH!
"ASCII!"
Ascii dives through the window at Vizz's yell, just in the nick of time, as the people battering on the door finally bust in.
"CITY GUARDS!"
"Did you see anyone?"
"Where'd they go?"
Meanwhile, looking around outside, Our Heroes find that it seems they have clear passage to both streets from this part of the alleyway.
"Okay. Vizz, pick up the barrel. Everyone, act natural. Whistle nonchalantly, if you can swing it," Ascii orders.
SIdent adds, "Vizz, get the fricking barrel, and LET'S GO!"
Vizz follows the guys with the barrel. "OK, let's move on."
A city guard blasts around the corner. He comes running towards them all, then skids to a halt right in front of Ascii. "Citizen! Did you see anyone come this way?"
Ascii replies, "He went that-a-way!" and points down the alley. The guard runs off in the indicated direction in a huge hurry.
