# The Council of Thieves - Game Thread



## Cardboard Tube Knight (Mar 31, 2010)

*Chapter One: The Bastards of Erebus*​
The inside of the Westcrown jailhouse was emptier than one would have expected. But the night was still young. There are others here in the jail, all locked in seperate cells and set to their own devices. The jail is quiet, and as of yet no one is speaking to anyone else. All are here of their own devices and all are unknown to one another. 

Some are pacing about, others sitting, in one of the cells a bard sits plucking a peculiar guitar and humming bars to herself. The torchlight that flickers through the room creates a sort of eerie golden light through the place, somewhere outside there's the sound of something in the streets moving about. It's unclear what it is but there's speculation to be had...

The bard looks up from her instrument, spurred by the sound outside, "I've got no lantern...even if they were to let us out now its dark outside," she said. "No one is going to leave here in the night with the Shadow Beasts roaming around."


*Spoiler*: _Information For Players_ 



The Shadow Beasts are well known for being loose in the streets of Westcrown at night and roaming about killing people who are out after dark. A city wide curfew is in effect at dark and people will sleep where ever they are when darkness falls.




_Your characters are all in cells separately but can hear and interact with each other from where they are..._


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## strongarm85 (Mar 31, 2010)

"Another night in a cell," Seltyiel the silver-haired half-elf complained, "I suppose there are worse places I could be in at the moment. But can anyone care to remind me how exactly we ended up here in the first place?"


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## Cardboard Tube Knight (Mar 31, 2010)

_*Red is my DM info voice. 

The Player characters were arrested in different areas of town for different things. You can pick but keep the things simple and remember that there's much corruption in the city at large so just being in the wrong place at the wrong time could get you plucked up and put in jail. 

*_The bard shifted in her seat against the wall of her cell, "You come here often then?" she laughed lightly, "Have to say I'd be shocked if most of the adult population of Westcrown didn't end up in this place at least once. Shame to see a place that used to be held in such high esteem turn into a rat hole like this."


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## Kuno (Mar 31, 2010)

“You do not know why you are here?  Yet you admit you probably did something….”  Seoni laughed as she paced the cell.  Her hands ran over the bars of the bars at her door.  “Our strumming friend is right though.  You need not have done something to be here.  For me I was walking down the street and some woman yelled ‘Stop thief!’”  Seoni sighed as she thought.  “I had no means of escape since I had no inkling that the accusation was pointed at me.”  Again she chuckled.  “My only crime was being looked at by her husband.  Your story is similar no?  An accusation you did not deserve?”  She continued to pace the small cell she was given.  “Though like she said, it is sad to see things such as they are…”


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## Cardboard Tube Knight (Mar 31, 2010)

Carefully the bard shifted in her spot and turned to the side slightly, she was just strumming away and grabbed the strings to stop the noise. "I happened to be at a noblehouse entertaining and I turned one of the men in the family down when he tried bed me...turned him down is a nice way of saying _I hit him over the head with this instrument_," she acknowledged the guitar that she strummed at.


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## Nicodemus (Mar 31, 2010)

"Ach, at least you got some satisfaction." Jax muttered, lounging in the next cell over. "I drew my sword in a riot. Apparently that's enough to land me in here, though I shouldn't be surprised."


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## Cardboard Tube Knight (Mar 31, 2010)

"Well hopefully you learned a valuable lesson," the bard leaned forward to talk, "Never pull it out unless you're ready to use it." She gave a devilish wink and went back to her strumming, humming something and playing as if she was trying out lyrics for a new song. When she'd paced herself her playing seemed to level out some and just just sand a few lines: 

_"So the air's getting colder
And the hearlds keep us scared. 
I still wrestle with summer in the bones of our tired and blistered hands
Cause tonight we got drinks with just a couple of friends
And the lass my brother fancies is finally talking to him,
And his chest is all swelled like he's proud and happy,
Like he's got a great idea,
Like he's making a memory..."_

She continued to play and just hummed and she didn't bother to pay any mind to what was going on around her anymore as she looked down at the guitar.


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## EvilMoogle (Mar 31, 2010)

"But then he did nothing wrong, no?  And you assaulted the poor man for it."  Gregory spoke up from his cell, his voice reflecting a young but well educated man.  "But that is, I suppose, besides the point."  He leaned back resting.

"Escaping is good, yes?  But even if we escape where would we go?  No place I know will let us in at night.  Even asking would raise uncomfortable answers."


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## Cardboard Tube Knight (Mar 31, 2010)

From the cell on the end of the row a woman rises to her feet and walks to the bars, "This city's corrupted to its core," she said, "I'm sure you've all seen it by now." She moved so that her face was close to the bars and you could see her in the dim light of the room. 



She looked from cell to cell, "Chances are most of you here have had some issues with this city and its day to day running under the House Thrune." 

Now she glanced around to see if anyone was coming and then said, "My name is Janiven, but I didn't come here because of a crime committed," she said.


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## EvilMoogle (Mar 31, 2010)

Gregory spit at the name, "do not speak of house Thrune to me.  Those sons-of-pigs have hounded me since the day I set foot in the city."  He paused to spit at the ground again, "such offenses cannot be tolerated!"

"I am Gregory, I am here because one of the pig-dogs took offense that I spoke to his woman."


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## Cardboard Tube Knight (Mar 31, 2010)

Janiven smirked, "I am sure that anyone here among us would rather this city picked up from the dumps but based on how Thrune governors from afar, they don't share our desires..."

"...what would you say if I told you I could have you out of this wretched cell at dawn's first light if you would just grace my employer with your presence at Vizio's Tavern...as I said I wasn't arrested but was helped in here by someone to find like minded individuals, people who want to do something to change this city."


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## strongarm85 (Mar 31, 2010)

"I suppose I can agree to that," the half-elf said. As he did so, he made sure he made sure his Holy Symbol was hidden from view. While his god was worshiped openly in this city, most rebel groups would not look to favorably on a worshiper of Asmodeus.


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## EvilMoogle (Mar 31, 2010)

"He would help me to strike back at those uncouth bastards?"  Gregory was amused.  He wasn't worried about getting out, iron bars alone do not a prison make, but the chance to strike back at those who offended him, "he sounds like a good man to know in this city then."


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## Kuno (Mar 31, 2010)

“Don’t see why not…”  Seoni said pausing in her pacing.  “It couldn’t be any worse in this place…”  She traced her finger across one of her tattoos then began to circle the small cage once again.  “But, how would you free us from such a prison?”  She was curious on the woman’s method or plan.


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## Cardboard Tube Knight (Apr 2, 2010)

The bard nodded along, "Can't say I want to stay in this place any longer than I have to and I'd like to hear this plan..." she said. 

Janiven sighed, "As I said, I was brought in here to this place for just such an occasion. All I have to do is pay your way and you're free. You can go home in the morning, but the day after that we're requesting that you come down to the Tavern around dinner time and just hear us out, okay?" she said. "Place should be emptying out since it will be getting dark around that time."  

There was a confidence and a kindness at the same time there was something scary in her voice. She walked back to the back of the cell and sat against the back wall with one knee pulled up against her chest and her arm propped up over it. 

*Soon after, *the guards of the jail return and call for lights out and silence. As they leave the area the prisoners settle in for the night. Out in the streets shadows move and creep and sounds can be heard of things stalking and moving about...the prisoners are safe in the jail...

*The next morning* before the party can even wake their cells are opened for them to leave. The woman, Janiven, is gone but she delivered on her promise. The guards rush the group to leave and when they are out in the early morning mist of the town, the bard sighs, "I guess she really did it, it looks like we lucked out."


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## EvilMoogle (Apr 2, 2010)

"Well, that was easy at least."  Gregory pursed his lips and considered the area.  "What now I suppose?  I certainly don't have any relatives here, at least none I'd like to visit."  It was far to early to go wenching at the tavern.  Far too early for anyone proper to be awake at all.  But no point in paying for an inn only to use it for a few hours -- not without the right company at least.

He looked at the bard, "You look like you've got a grasp for the city, want to show me around?  I'm afraid I didn't get much tiem to see the sights beofre I was arrested."  He smiled and gave his beard a slight stroke as he considered her reaction, mentally grumbling at the roughness from his night in jail.


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## Kuno (Apr 5, 2010)

Seoni took a deep breath of the fresher air.  “It’s nice to be out of that place.  Dirty…grimy…”  She looked down at her clothes a bit disgusted.  “I think I will go back to the inn I was staying at and have a nice hot bath…”  The words faded as she purred with pleasure at the thought.  “Were we suppose to meet them tonight or tomorrow?”  She asked trying to remember and wondering if part of that might have been a dream.


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## Nicodemus (Apr 5, 2010)

"Tomorrow morning." Jax said, yawning. "I can't help but wonder what would happen if we didn't show."


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## Kuno (Apr 5, 2010)

“Honestly…”  Seoni thought for a moment and shook her head.  “I don’t think I really want to find out.  First they were nice enough to get us out of there.  Second…”  She chuckled slightly.  “Do you really want to find out what they could do when pissed off?  I mean they got us out amongst all this corruption.  If they have that much money I don’t think I want to know…”  Seoni smiled then shrugged.  “Besides, it could be an interesting proposition.  We just have to listen anyway.”


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## Cardboard Tube Knight (Apr 5, 2010)

The bard rolled her eyes, "Actually, we're supposed to meet them in the evening, tomorrow," she said. "The city of Westcrown is a bit big, showing someone around might be a little tricky as well. Even with the day light freshly renewed to protect us there's other dangers in this city."

The entire city is painted a golden light from the sun's rays, "Though you're welcome to travel around with me if you want to try and figure our who this Janiven really is," she said speaking to Gregory more directly than the others.


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## EvilMoogle (Apr 5, 2010)

"A chance to annoy House Thrune is more than reason enough for me to meet with them.  I'd think a chance to say 'thank you' might occur to some of you as well."  Gregory's voice sounded somewhat condescending.  "But at the same time Finding out more about our beneficiary sounds like a good idea to me.  I don't intend to get dragged into a war in the streets or throw my life away."

"Any idea where to start?  Asking around with the nobles might tell us more, but it would probably be quick to spread rumors as well."


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## Cardboard Tube Knight (Apr 6, 2010)

With a smirk, the bard said, "Most of the city is considered nobles, we could just ask a bit in the bars--maybe they won't even mind it." 

_Moving around town through the bars and through other little establishments, its not hard to find traces of information Janiven, there's word that she has worked as a caravan guard and even a city guard but she has a more stand up reputation it seems as a body guard who is a bit brash. One man confesses that he saw her drag a nude charge out of a whore house when he refused to head back to a safer part of the city at sundown.

_The rest of the day passes quickly and at night, its not safe to roam town so the streets are empty and the curfew goes into effect. Much of the group is split up and hasn't bothered to spend their entire day together, while some have traveled around like the bard and  Gregory, looking to find out all they can. 

*When it comes time for the meeting, *the characters arrive one by one, (I'll let you writ your entry into the tavern)

Vizo's is empty already for the night, the last of the days light creeps in through a window on the side of the room casting golden rays over the hard wood floors. The smell of ale and food is in the air, it sticks to everything that it touches it seems and Janiven is moving around preparing things for the meeting at the last moment. She's set out a spread of foods, what appears to be roasted boar and other smaller things, on the table. 

Near where she works, a tall man dressed in noble's clothes drinks from a mug. He's a gruff looking individual with a bit of stubble under his chin and a bald head. At his side rests a massive sword, bigger than anyone should be carrying it seems. He's quiet but he looks at the others as they enter.


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## EvilMoogle (Apr 7, 2010)

Gregory arrived early.  While society would suggest arriving late to draw the biggest attention to the arrival, he didn't want to sacrifice the chance to watch the others arrive.  Plus this way he could be sure that everything that was said made it to his hearing.

He was dressed simply in traveling clothes but there was an air of sophistication and meticulous care about all this things.  He carried a decorative but sturdy cane, though it seems to be more for show than for utility as he puts no weight on it.  A few daggers adorn the left side of his belt and a light hunting crossbow is clipped to the right side.

He took a moment upon entering to absorb the people in the tavern, smiling politely but otherwise not engaging.  Once he had the measure of the place he found an empty table to sit where he would have a good view of the room.  Let them come to him, when they were ready.


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## Cardboard Tube Knight (Apr 11, 2010)

((is anyone going to post? Because I can just move on with what I have here))


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## Nicodemus (Apr 11, 2010)

Jax walked quietly into the bar, trying to attract as little attention as possible. He scanned the room for people he recognized from the night before and noticed Gregory sitting by himself. Keeping the man in the corner of his eye, Jax sat in the corner of the bar, waiting for their mysterious contact to show themselves.


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## Kuno (Apr 11, 2010)

Upon entering the inn, Seoni looks around and spots two of the others from the night in jail.  “My, my, my…”  She chuckled slightly shaking her head.  “It seems I am not the first to enter the establishment before the sun sets…”  Again she looked around before stepping further in and moving toward the woman that had released them.  “Nor am I the last?”  It came out as a question as she shrugged.  “I am here as requested.”  Seoni gave a curtsy then laughed.  “Shall I sit anywhere in particular?”


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