Chapter 57
Consequences
Rest day, Erros and Eliza bury Diesel's body. Fabian stays away from the camp but gives Pieron a letter to deliver to the others, essentially we finish Vallaki then I'm out.
Eliza and Erros go about their plan that night. They sneak to the wall and use the jump ring to get over, sneak undiscovered through the town past guard patrols and normal looking citizens, then make it to the blue water inn. They make contact with Urwin, comical subtrefuge takes them in the kitchen to thank them for helping his family, then directs them to that attic to meet with Danika.
She gives a cold reception, the atmosphere is broody as she sends correspondence with ravens in the rafters. She looks tired, and is surprised to see them back. She throws their offer of assistance back in their face, saying they're a tool for explosive needs, and Vallaki needs a steady hand. Fair enough, but Danika does think there may be something for their style, and asks them to meet at the abandoned manor on the edge of town early the next morning. They sneak back out.
The party rides around the city to the manor, Fabian meets up with them but says nothing, cold reception. At Von Holtz manor Danika is waiting for them in the entrance hall, where a bunch of ravens fly down and transform into people in a massive grand display. She hopes to awe them for some respect, then they move to a dining room to talk. Danika, Rictavio, and father Lucian are running the order lately. They debrief the group, the group debriefs them. Lucian explains the dominionists, Rictavio explains the machines, weapons, guards, and the masked man, and Danika explains Fiona's power, reputation, propaganda, and their hunt for Lovegrove. This matter is where she wants assistance, as one of their agents following weapons to find Lovegrove was captured and is mia.
They agree to help find Lovegrove, and she tells them of the 3 locations where parts are regularly moved to for weapons. The following night Rictavio will monitor one, Eliza another, and Erros a third. Danika and her agents can get sneak the party into the city once, now while they are not suspected, but Elsie opts to run a mission of her own, and walk through on her own to get a sense of the guards.
Elsie plays as Nicole, a traveler from Krezk, with a story about getting her sword repaired. Ulga meets her at the gate and she asks a surprising amount of questions, and asks to meet her that evening at the blue water to continue their chat. She goes to the smithy to ask about the weapons and parts being made, and learns a bit from the smith, then walks past the wachter home, is drawn to it for some reason. She walks to the cellar door to find it barred with welded metal, but she senses nothing more and returns to the inn.
Danika sets them up with a safehouse, then when the sun goes down they follow the deliveries. Rictavio finds no box, Eliza finds a house with a box of parts sitting there in storage, breaks in to confirm, then hears Fiona walking outside (nightly mingling with the people). She ducks low and watches, Fiona walks with skeletons, even makes a strongman display of controlling them, citizens are scared but thrilled. Eliza sees Blinksy nervously checking out his front door several times, and notes it before sneaking out. Erros finds 2 people waiting at his house, then before long a third brings a donkey and a cart up. The two load a box onto the cart, the third hops off and walks away, and the 2 get on without exchanging a word. Erros follows for a short while, then casts a spell to disturb the donkey…inadvertently killing it immediately. The 2 fall, panik, and stand guard, Erros after bungling his distraction just leaves, telling no one else.
They meet back at the safehouse, they decide that Fabian and Rictavio should go check out Blinksy, he must know something. Elsie will meet with Ulga, and Eliza and Ezmerelda will follow up a lead from Rictavio of a cannon he found, since they can sneak together and know the weapons well.
