Frahke arrives, following Magnus.

Sir Jesmond the Giant, Puff, a dainty yellow-green canary, 2 Leary House Guards, Magnus arrive, following Arcadia.

Rysen drifts through the streets of the Upper Boroughs, with a gloomy expression on his face, coming to a stop in the area known as Courtiers Pride. He makes his way over to a shady wall outside the Crown Apartments, and rests his back against it, letting his black mantle fall over him, as he waits for any fellow investigators.

Vagari - Cinder Kitten arrives, delivering a message to Rysen before departing.

Onida, a boglands wolf-hound, Outi the Iron Hound, Gene Erique, Guardsman, 3 Iron Guardsmen, Tero the Iron Hound arrive, following Jyri.

Arcadia has come along after Rysen told her about this business. She has pulled along her new husband, because hey. Who wouldn't be a touch intimidated by a giant dressed in bones? She finds Rysen and moves to join him, "Is this where you caught the other man?"

Merek makes his way into the place, and looks for where Rysen is. He then moves to be with his friend while he shifts his cloak about his frame also, black-painted fingers lightly motioning a bit, "M'Lord," he says.

Yes, Magnus busted out the bone-adorned armor for this. A little too on the nose, perhaps, but the Prodigal count doesn't really care. He follows a step or two behind Arcadia- letting the young woman take the lead. Rysen is given a helmeted nod of acknowledgment when Arcadia greets him, as Magnus hefts his great ax to sling along his broad shoulders.

Mirella's here but she's not doing much to draw attention to her presence. She stands out of the way, idling by the side of a building with her arms wrapped around her waist. Her expression is an impassive, but then it always is. The only sign of unease can be seen in the little dent between her eyebrows, evidence of the lightest frown. She nods to Rysen in greeting, being somewhat nearby, and also dips her chin to too when she notes his arrival. For now, though, nothing is said. She's ready to proceed as directed.

Finn the youthful northern puppy arrives, following Thea.

Rysen straightens from the wall gives a brief respectful bow to Arcadia and Magnus. "No, but not too far," he replies to Arcadia. "This seems to be the best place to start the hunt for the butcher from what information we've gathered." Turning to Magnus, Rysen says, "It's a pleasure to meet you again, Count Magnus - and good to have your axe should things get ugly." He smiles, and his smile broadens when he sees Merek come to stand beside him. "Sir Merek," he says warmly. "Ready for another adventure?" he asks with a rueful grin. Rysen's grin turns to a sincere smile when he sees Mirella, and he nods to the young woman, and says softly, "Hope you've brought your knife again, Mirella."

Not terribly long ago, a man by the name of Charles Wylie was arrested for murder and selling people pies to those of the Upper Boroughs. Despite the best attempts of the Iron Guard, more than a few people have succeeded in vandalizing the storefront of Wylie's Pies. The store has been blocked off in an attempt to keep people out and from burning it to the ground. The Pieman said as he was being dragged off that he didn't know what the meat was, but that it was sold to him by a Butcher going by the name, Vonne. The shop is empty and dark, a pair of Iron Guard stationed in front of it, the windows broken in a few places by well thrown stones.

Thea comes striding in, back in her leathers. She's late but here as she promised to help in any way she could. Bowing her head, she greets everyone silently. Her gold flecked green eyes are more watchful than anything.

Jyri arrives with the sort of subtleness of a rolling boulder, his armor not really suitable for any sort of stealthy approach - not that he has that intention. Three large dogs, all in their own sets of fitted leather armor, arrive with him. He nods to the group gathered, and walks over to talk to the guards guarding the place to start with.

Mirella checked perception + stealth at difficulty 15, rolling 56 higher. Mirella rolled a critical!

Arcadia looks up and down the street. Chewing her lower lip, she asks obviously. "Which shop is the butchers?"

Merek nods a bit to Rysen, while he takes a moment to look around towards the store, then to some of the other nice places also. He crosses both his arms while he seems to think about it as well.

"Hopefully it won't come to it," Magnus rumbles from beneath his helmet, giving Rysen another polite nod of his head- as well as one the others just joining. For now, he's content to serve as muscle, letting others more suited toward investigating..uh.. investigate.

No seasilk for Mirella today, just plain linen in shades of grey -- a simple tunic, and leggings tucked into flat-heeled leather boots. Her smile is somewhat plain too, but it's not insincere as it quirks back in reply to Rysen's greeting. The Lycene taps her hip with one hand, the tips of her fingers landing on the hem of the tunic. The dagger is under the fabric, no doubt. "Of course not. I'll have more need for it now, since Stefano is... taking a break for a few days." Indeed, no Stefano. Poor guy. He needs some time off. Then with an upnod, Mirella looks down the street. Towards where the shop might be?

The guards at the front nod to Jyri and they step away from the door, giving their fellow guardsman a path into the shop, should he wish to enter.

Jyri looks back before entering and rumbles out in his usual no-nonsense commanding manner: "I'm going in to find some meat. Dogs will try and sniff the shop out. Meat smells." And inside he goes, to see if he finds some, but he keeps the dogs outside. Last thing he wants is the dogs finding... human meat and possibly eat some. Bad idea.

"He needs it," says Rysen to Mirella with a wink. Turning to Arcadia, Rysen says, "I'm not certain, but the pieman's shop is nearby, so hopefully we can find something there that can lead us to the butcher." He says frowning. Rysen nods to Jyri and will also pass inside and look around if the guards will allow him.

A messenger arrives, delivering a message to Rysen before departing.

Thea remains as is. Healing supplies in case things go south, blade in case again--south. Safe to say the young Malvici is prepared for anything at the moment.

Arcadia wonders, "Has anyone checked for bills or receipts? Checked any other food shops if they use a butcher called Vonne?"

Given he is with Jyri, Rysen is allowed to enter. The shop smells, a mix of pleasant and slowly growing more unpleasant scents. No one appears to have been coming in since the Guard took up post and with the Baker in the dungeon, there has been no one to take care of the pies and ingredients. Several of the pies are sitting in cases, having been left out for a few days in increasingly warm weather. The kitchen is located in the back, complete with a cold room under the floor.

One of the guards, overhearing Arcadia's question shakes his head, "We have not been able to get any answers about a butcher named Vonne, though one or two of the local merchants looked a little.. squirrely after we asked.

Merek makes his way to follow with Jyri and Rysen, though he's keeping to him self, while he nods a bit as well to the guards. He is with the Guard, which means he should probably be accepted into the place also.

Thea twitches her lips a bit as she dryly says,"What does that tell you about the man....,"as the Guard answers Arcadia."They must be scared of him or terrified theyd be put in the next line of pies.."

Arcadia checks with the guards, "Which ones? Maybe they might talk to me?" With a slight smile and head tilt.

"Or maybe they'll talk to me," Magnus points out, laughing softly as he glances around the exterior of the pie shop. "I can be very... charming."

Jyri isn't too concerned - it's not like the shop is being used or have much more of clues in it, likely, so he waves for anyone who wants to enter. "Smells like... well. Bad meat," he mutters and goes about looking for some piece of meat that might be useable. He nods to Rysen and looks at the pies somewhat dubiously. MAYBE he isn't actually too keen on this, but he sighs and moves closer. "Guessing none of you all got a good enough sense of smell to sniff out human meat, eh?" he calls. So not very subtle.

Rysen glances back to Thea and says, "Come take a look with us? Grab Commander Jyri if you notice anything that might give a clue to where to find the butcher." He makes his way into the shop, wrinkling his nose at the smell. He begins looking through the shop, looking for any sort of records, or even containers of meat that might indicate where those containers had originated.

|The guards point to a man selling grilled kebobs from a cart. He is gifting a bit of the old shifty eye in their direction.

Arcadia checked charm + manipulation at difficulty 25, rolling 11 higher.

Thea lifts her eyes to Magnus-up and up and up,"Yes--that must be it.."nodding to Rysen, she answers,"Of course.."stepping over to the shop.

Jyri's dogs whine a little, one bows his head and paws at his nose. Another moves back into the kitchen and gives a signal to Jyri when standing over the hatch that leads to the cold room. The dog barks three times and then lays on the hatch. Usually a signifier of a body detected.

Arcadia laughs briefly and glances at the giant axe at Magnus's waist, "Oh yes. Super charming. That won't scare them at all." With that, she saunters down to the man with the kebobs. She begins to not so subtly flirt and laugh with the man, trying to get bits of information off him.

"Fine. You be the carrot, I'll be the stick," Magnus says- and while he doesn't follow Cady over to the kebob man quite yet, he stands nearby, in case he needs to play bad-cop.

Jyri does try, so he gives some sort of half-smile to people out there and does an encouraging gesture. But it makes him mostly look like he's in some sort of pain and he drops it and focuses on the pies again. For a second or two, till the dogs draws his full attention. "Found something, you mutts," he says, but his voice is considerably softer when he talks with the animals. Figures. "Lord Rysen - dogs are marking human. Dead human," he explains matter of factly, crouching down to pull that hatch.

Mirella follows Rysen as well, though if the Iron Guards decide it's best for her to remain a distance away, she stops and waits by the side of the shop. Given half a chance, however, she pulls a silk scarf from her sleeve and uses it to cover her mouth and nose so as to ward away the smell of *meat*. Tying the scarf into a knot at the back of her head, she narrows her eyes and runs a surveying gaze around her surroundings, wherever those happen to be. Given free roam, she'll wander around the sides or the back of the shop, looking for anything that might catch her eye. She's not quite ready to head into the basement yet. That might turn her stomach a bit.

Thea checked perception + investigation at difficulty 25, rolling 13 lower.

The kebab seller looks to Cady as she approaches and his eyes widen a little and he looks more than a little nervous. His brown eyes look her over and then skitter back to the giant in the bone armor that is watching her and he stammers, "W-what I mean how -- how can I help you?"

Rysen frowns comes over to Jyri's side and kneels down to take a look at whatever might be in the cold room beneath the hatch.

Mirella checked perception + streetwise at difficulty 25, rolling 38 higher.

Merek nods a bit, while he pulls his hood up, following the others as well.

Thea looks around the shop, the smell is pretty overwhelming. She keeps Finn outside as he's still a puppy and pretty useless inside. Stepping around the room and behind the counter, she rummages through papers and some invoices. She takes one particular invoice,"I think I found something--here."pointing to the invoice in her hand.

Arcadia brushes the hair from her eyes and smiles at the merchant, ignoring his worry. Trying to keep his gaze on her. "Hi. I'm Cady. See, I know that the iron guard came around asking all sorts of questions about that pie shop and a butcher." Glancing over at the guards, she pauses a moment, before giving the merchant a reassuring smile, "I would worry talking to them too. But I'm not the guard, and right now it looks like we're flirting, and... " she pulls a coin from her pocket, "And buying your wares. Could you please tell me what you know? Please?"

When the hatch is opened, the steps leading down are visible. On the hay lined floor are several sections of what could only BE human meat. Skinless thighs, shoulders, fillets. No full bodies, all pieces and not seemingly from the same bodies. The dogs are all fairly aggitated.

Rysen checked stamina at difficulty 15, rolling 1 higher.

Jyri checked stamina at difficulty 15, rolling 3 higher.

Thea checked stamina at difficulty 15, rolling 6 lower.

Merek checked stamina at difficulty 15, rolling 27 higher. Merek rolled a critical!

Mirella checked intellect + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 5 lower.

Rysen coughs from the stench, and glances over the meat. "I don't think all of this could've come from the same body," he says softly to Jyri. Hearing Thea, Rysen stands back up and glances her direction. "What'd you find?" he asks, as he makes his way over to her side.

"Wasn't this asshole saying he didn't know he bought human flesh?" Jyri asks. He hasn't got the details clear here, obviously; he's staring down into the cellar, grimacing. "Sit. Stay," he tells the dogs commandingly, then goes to climb down there. "I'll just get... a finger or something." He starts making his way down there, hurrying a bit. No wish to stay much longer.

Jyri checked command + animal ken at difficulty 15, rolling 34 higher.

Merek makes his way into the place, and looks up from the scarf which covers his lower face, and he shifts his cloak a bit while he nods, looking like the scent does not affect him all that much, his gaze seeking anything that might be of use as well.

Magnus doesn't move closer to the vendor. Though he does stare at him from beneath his bone-adorned helmet.

Before she can help herself, Thea turns. The smell overbearing from whatever was opened and she vomits, everywhere! Unaware of who was standing where.

Merek checked luck at difficulty 10, rolling 12 higher.

Rysen checked luck at difficulty 10, rolling 7 higher.

Jyri checked luck at difficulty 10, rolling 13 higher.

Merek checked perception + investigation at difficulty 30, rolling 6 higher.

Rysen checked composure at difficulty 15, rolling 8 higher.

Having been lurking around the edges of the shop, out of sight, Mirella soon returns soundlessly to the front. Soundless, that is, until she turns to whoever in the investigation squad is nearest and relatively unoccupied for the moment. She pulls the scarf from her mouth caerefully and tilts her head in a nod towards whence she just came. "I found something back there. Under the eaves, shielded from the rain. A chalk marking. A symbol. Eye pierced with a hook. I think I've seen it somewhere before, but damned if I can remember where. From the South? I can show you where, if you want." Her voice is quiet, her arms folded after she replaces the scarf.

As Thea throws up, and a significant amount ends up on his greaves and boots, Rysen grins. "Yeah, the smell's pretty bad," he says softly to Thea. "Should we get some fresh air?"

Reigna GM Roll checked composure(2) at difficulty 15, rolling 8 lower.

Vagari - Cinder Kitten arrives, delivering a message to Rysen before departing.

Merek seems content to look for things personally. One might wonder if there's some reason he can manage all the scent. He then picks up the parchment which he finds, while he takes his time to protect it so he can take it from the place to examine it also.

Jyri has seen a lot of death in his days, but even he shudders at this grizly sight of humans being used for making meat pies. He avoids inhaling too much as he bends down to tear lose something easy, like a hand or a finger, or even a rib. A rib it is. He wraps it in a handkerchief and starts climbing back up quickly.

Thea covers her mouth, complete embarrassment briefly flashes across her face. She straightens however, masking her face and covering her nose with a rag shes pulled from her satchel,"No. I'm fine,"answering Rysen. She now shows the invoice to him,"This. V.C. Fishing Co. Theres directions there leading to the Lowers.."

There is a cough from the Kebab guy and he looks to Arcadia and blushes, "Uhm.... yea. I -- can you promise not to say anything to anyone? When I wouldn't buy from him, he said I better not say anything..."

The Guard Mirella talks to, listens to the description of the symbol and nods, slowly, "That does look familiar. I've seen that on some building on patrol in the Lowers."

Arcadia leans closer to the guard, and promises in a low voice. "I won't say."

Rysen nods to Thea. He and Thea have seen enough battles to know the body doesn't always react the way one might wish under varoius conditions. "V.C. Fishing Co, eh? The butcher's name was said to be 'Vonne.' Definitely sounds like we should take a look," says Rysen. He finds a rag in the shop, and does a quick pass over his lower body to wipe away the vomit. He turns turns to Merek and says, "Find something, Sir Merek?"

The dogs look at Jyri with rapt attention. Onida is barely sitting still, he wants to go hunt - he knows this is 'work'. But Jyri tells them to calm down and wait, moving over to the others, looking curious. "Whatcha got?" he asks. And just in case, cause well, some won't know him here: "Lord Jyri Whitehawk, Commander of the Iron Guard Rangers."

Arcadia gives a thankful look to the merchant and slides an extra few coins to him. "I appreciate it. Thank you so much." She then moves away, back to the group in front of the shop. She murmurs softly to those in front of her, "I have a name, and a location."

"Ya, a parchment, looks like it is managable enough to read with some work put into it," Merek says then to Rysen with a nod also.

Rysen nods to Merek. "After Eresport, I don't think there's anything you can't decipher by putting some work into it," he says with a grin.

Merek checked intellect + occult at difficulty 40, rolling 1 lower.

Merek checked wits + riddles at difficulty 25, rolling 5 lower.

Having pulled a thin stick of charcoal and some paper from one of the pouches on her belt, Mirella sketches out the symbol she found and also the details she passed on to the guards. As she approaches where Rysen and Merek stands, she hands over the paper and then nods to the one they found. "I could look at that, if you like?" She quirks up an eyebrow in question.

Merek nods a bit while he hands that to Mirella, he seems content and distracted by his thoughts for looking into things.

Jyri checked intellect + occult at difficulty 40, rolling 18 lower.

Mirella checked intellect + occult at difficulty 40, rolling 10 lower.

Thea checked intellect + occult at difficulty 40, rolling 23 lower.

Arcadia checked intellect + occult at difficulty 40, rolling 1 higher.

Magnus checked intellect + occult at difficulty 40, rolling 37 higher. Magnus rolled a critical!

Thea steps away from the vomit she um--we wont go there and goes to see what everyone else gas found.

Jyri leans over to look at the symbol and his completely blank expression makes it obvious he has no idea. He leaves them to puzzle over it, instead moving to tell the guards to send some more people over to recover the bodies in the basement. "Might be something on the bodies!" he calls back, just realising that. "If someone cares to look. I'm sending men over to bring them out."

Arcadia looks closer at the paper, she murmurs. "Elly once did an experiment like this... " Suddenly she dashes into the shop and comes back with a lemon. Thankfully she didn't have to go in far. "Here. Try squirting some of this on it."

Well, Magnus was about to share his own thoughts on the paper, but Arcadia more or less does it for him- and so he stays quiet.

Thea nods,"I can look...,"answering Jyri.

Meanwhile Mirella steps back lets the smart people do the smart people things. Nonetheless, she's still craning her neck to see what happens next with the paper. Why wouldn't she? It's intriguing!

Arcadia hands the lemon off to Magnus, since he has giant hands and even bigger muscles. "Here. You can squish it. What does it say?"

Arcadia then shares, as she forgot to say in the excitement of the note, "Oh. The butcher is called Vanna Promise and has either a boat or shop in the lowers. Giving some strong threats to those who aren't going along with him too..Wouodnvt be surprised if he has some lackies."

Jyri looks very, very thankful. "You would?" he asks and gives Thea a rather big smile. "We might have enough, but well. Anything can help." He calls the dogs over now, moving them closer to the exit so they'll be out of the worst of the smells, before he moves over to look at the lemon trick, looking faintly dubious. But Arcadia's other information has his eyebrows go up in interest, and then a groan. "A boat. Why does it have to be a boat. I hope it's not."

Rysen glances at Thea, and then to Jyri. "I'd like to take a look at that shop in the Lowers as soon as possible."

Magnus actually has some experience with this- he draws a small knife from his pouch, puncurting the head of the lemon so he can easily squeeze some of the juice on the paper, and then spread it around with one gauntleted finger. "We used to pass messages like this, between bastions on the border. In case our runners were caught by well... things."

Thea explains to Jyri,"I found an invoice. V.C. fishing CO. the directions lead down to lowers if you want it..."reaching in her pocket to retrieving it.

As the lemon is applied to the paper just like magic, ink begins to darken along the surface, turning into a spidery script. It reads:

I have eliminated your Sinclaire issue and I believe the meat will be especially sweet in this week's delivery. I expect a higher portion of your profits to reflect services rendered. I will be on the Cayenne, awaiting new customers. I expect you to provide me with some. -- Vonne

At the top of the page, there is a symbol, an eye pierced by a hook. Mirella recognizes it immediately.

"Don't know what we're waiting for, we should go now," Jyri nods at Rysen. "Seems we got enough to find the bastard." He reads the note and frowns in some thoughtfulness. "So, Vonne murders people on payment and also sells the meat? That's smart," he says with very dark humor.

Arcadia needlessly questions, "How would he sweeten the meat?"

Thea checked perception + medicine at difficulty 20, rolling 85 higher. Thea rolled a critical!

"I think it's a joke, love," Magnus says with a little bit of a smirk, "About the quality of the.. uh.. donor."

Mirella doesn't say anything. She just nods down to the symbol on the paper so that others might piece together the information she already gave them. At the mention of the meat she goes a little paler, but doesn't seem as horrified as she might be expected to. You know, given the fact she almost certainly chewed some of that stuff down a while back. At Arcadia's question, she pulls down the scarf a little to answer, but then Magnus gets there first. Scarf pulled back up, she nods.

Rysen nods to Jyri, his brow dark. "I can't say I'm surprised that bastard pieman was lying," he says, gritting his teeth. Rysen grins at Magnus and nods. Turning back to Jyri, Rysen says, "I'll follow you whenever you're ready to move out, Commander."

Merek shifts back the cloak into a longcoat while he frames that about him, then he looks to some of the others, while he nods a bit as well.

Arcadia scrunches her nose at Magnus's words "Oh." Her intelligence really does only come in short bursts.

Rysen checked perception + survival at difficulty 35, rolling 4 lower.

Mirella checked perception + survival at difficulty 35, rolling 21 lower.

Arcadia checked perception + survival at difficulty 35, rolling 5 higher.

Magnus checked perception + survival at difficulty 25, rolling 2 lower.

"I think you should all consider joining the Iron Guard," Jyri says, looking pointedly at everyone. "Could use a group of good investigators. I ain't one, but I can train you in surviving swimming across a near freezing lake. That's always handy." He doesn't seem to be joking. "Alright, let's make our way down to the Lowers. And, off he goes.

Thea checked perception + survival at difficulty 35, rolling 13 lower.

Jyri checked perception + survival at difficulty 35, rolling 20 higher.

Mirella checked perception + streetwise at difficulty 20, rolling 30 higher.

Merek checked perception + survival at difficulty 35, rolling 8 higher.

Rysen mutters, "Find anything interesting with the corpses?"

Arcadia walks along the lowers, noticing more of those symbols as she walks. As they go on, it seems like a map. Turning left and right here and there, she heads towards the dock. Looking at Jyri, she remarks dryly, "Yay. A boat."

Jyri finds the symbols too, to his great amazement. The closer the group gets to the docks, the more unhappy he looks. And there it is. The ship in the marina, on slip 19, a boat named Cayenne. "Well," he notes darkly. "It could be worse, it could be out THERE," he says and points out towards the bay itself. "It's probably safe to go on board it here near land."

"Indeed," Mirella replies as she walks beside Arcadia. "That is very much a boat." With the scarf drawn down around her neck, the Lycene pushes a windblown lock of hair behind her ear and starts to look around with sxrutinising glances here and there.

Thea walks with the others, lowly talking with Rysen,"His left hand is used mostly..."keeping intune with the others..

Rysen nods to Thea with a frown. "Probably means he's had a lot of practice," he says. "There were body parts in Shannon's house as well." As Jyri points out the boat, Rysen turns his gaze to the marina. "Let's take a look," he says, as he makes his way to the boat.

Arcadia tries for a cheery optimism, "At least if someone falls over the water will be warm." Glancing at the bay, she double-checks, "Sharks don't get this close? Do they? Though maybe they will if he regularly tips blood in the water."

Magnus doesn't see shit- but then, he isn't really looking- instead he's following along, humming softly to himself.

Reigna GM Roll checked dexterity(4) + stealth(3) at difficulty 15, rolling 44 higher.

Reigna GM Roll checked dexterity(4) + stealth(3) at difficulty 15, rolling 36 higher.

Mirella checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 15 higher.

Thea checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 11 higher.

Arcadia checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 49 higher.

Rysen checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 6 higher.

Jyri checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 31 higher.

Magnus checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 2 higher.

Jyri nods to Rysen and starts after him to the boat, pushing back his dislike for those big water-travelling vehicles, dogs now on leashes. With all the smells and sounds down here, he'd rather keep them close.

Merek checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 5 lower.

Jyri GM Roll checked perception(3) + survival(3) at difficulty 15, rolling 7 higher.

Rysen glances at Arcadia. "Too bad Lord Ian the Shark Slayer isn't with us," he says. "You should hear about the painting he's having commissioned by the way. You'd love it," he adds with a grin.

Mirella checked luck at difficulty 10, rolling 23 higher.

Magnus checked luck at difficulty 10, rolling 10 higher.

Thea checked luck at difficulty 10, rolling 10 higher.

Rysen checked luck at difficulty 10, rolling 2 higher.

Arcadia remarks amusedly to Rysen "Oh yes. The painting of Prince Galen on his shark is hung with pride in the Ebb and Flow." She jokes, "Maybe I should ask them for lessons on shark fighting."

Thea amusedly smirks as she listens about shark riding and fighting,"Remind me to pay closer attention next time I'm there..."

"Oh, I'm sure it's hung from what Lord Ian was describing," laughs Rysen. "You definitely should," he says to Arcadia. "Though his advice will be something like this," says, Rysen, giving his best dry-voiced Ian impression, "stab it in the eye." Rysen laughs, oblivious to whatever danger is lurking nearby.

Mirella mutters, "Not the sharks ... swim ... need ... ... about..."

As they approach the boat, Arcadia catches movement in the corner of her eye and is able to avoid any chance of falling into the trap. Magnus, Rysen, Merek and Thea are not so lucky. They are all covered in a weighted net, the momentum of the throw sends them all tumbling off the pier and into the water.

Merek looks as the others are placed in the water with the net. He shifts about his longcoat then he moves to try and assist in also getting them away from that mess as well.

Hopefully the water is not very deep- Magnus is wearing heavy armor.. and it can't swim.

Rysen checked dexterity at difficulty 10, rolling 23 higher.

Jyri checked dexterity at difficulty 10, rolling 8 higher.

Thea checked dexterity at difficulty 10, rolling 12 higher.

Mirella checked dexterity at difficulty 10, rolling 10 higher.

Merek then falls right into the net as well.

Merek checked dexterity at difficulty 10, rolling 22 higher.

Arcadia checked dexterity at difficulty 10, rolling 25 higher.

Magnus checked dexterity at difficulty 10, rolling 1 higher.

Reigna GM Roll checked dex(4) at difficulty 10, rolling 14 higher.

Arcadia has sprung out of the way just in time! Immediately she pulls her crossbow from her back and quickly searches for the next threat.

Reigna GM Roll checked dex(4) at difficulty 10, rolling 5 higher.

Reigna GM Roll checked dex(4) at difficulty 10, rolling 19 higher.

Mirella wields a slender Lycene-styled diamondplate dagger.

Arcadia wields sleek, detailed, wooden crossbow.

Jyri wields Red Fang, a huge rubicund spear.

Rysen wields a rubicund arming sword with a design of flickering flames.

Merek wields Torean Nightsong.

Thea wields Skystrike, the finely crafted diamondplate kopis.

"SEE?!" Jyri shouts, when people are netted and fall INTO the sea. "Boats are TROUBLE." The fact no boats were technically involved in this does not matter, there is a boat right THERE so that's all he needs to be sure they're cursed somehow. That huge spear is swung away from his back.

Mirella had evaded the webbed grasp of the net, yay! Too soon to celebrate, though. With a quick turn to left and right, she draws her Lycene blade from underneath the skirted hem of her tunic. Eyes sharp and watchful, she hunches over in a cautious, waiting stance, already sizing up the paths of exit and the shadowy places that might serve as an escape route. Not that she's planning to run away and leave everyone to their deaths and possible conversion into sandwich meat, but... it helps to prepared for any eventuality, yes? Yes.

Rysen is cast with others into the sea in the netting. He instantly draws his arming sword and sets the sharpest part of the blade to the rope of the net, slicing back and forth with the vigor of a man who knows that failure to get out quickly will result in drowning.

|So, what the hell is going on? As the group is led by Mirella, Jyri and the others through the Lowers and down into the Marina, everything is going well. The spotters are pointing out chalk drawn symbols that seem to be creating a path. As they step onto the pier, the wood sways underfoot with the motion of the water beneath it. They are approaching a medium sized boat with 'Cayenne' on the side. Only Arcadia and Jyri are able to see danger coming -- Jyri's instincts kicking in, but Cady is actually able to see the two massive brutes, big, bald and dressed in black, with oddly pale skin and even paler eyes that swing from the aft of the Cayenne, holding and throwing a net towards the group. The net wraps itself around Rysen, Magnus, Merek and Thea, Mirella miraculously escaping, and the force of it, carries them all off the pier and into the water. The shock of the water hits, cold, so very cold, and those wearing armor might feel a flutter of panic. The water here is about thirty to fifty feet deep, and given Magnus' size and armor, sinking fast.

Thea is trapped in a net. A damned net. She takes her sword carefully and avoids moving too much so not to get tangled in the webs and begins cutting. Shes inwardly panicking but trying not to display it to the others.

Arcadia checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 25, rolling 1 higher.

Rysen checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 20, rolling 16 higher.

Merek checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 20, rolling 30 higher.

With Jyri crying about boats and everyone sinking, Cady takes a running leap at the boat and lands with cat like grace. Hiding under an eve, she gets her crossbow ready.

Reigna GM Roll checked dexterity(4) + athletics(4) at difficulty 25, rolling 23 higher.

Merek lifts up the sword of his from the sheath, then he begins to clean his way into the net. It looks like it might take a bit to do as well.

One of the big, bald and peculiarly pale thugs, Vozze, completes his rope swing to land heavily on the deck of the ship and draw a large curved scimitar.

Reigna GM Roll checked dexterity(4) + athletics(3) at difficulty 25, rolling 53 higher.

Meanwhile, Venne, the other big, bald pale guy has an even more flashy landing from his rope swing, and lands on the other side of the boat, picking up a large tin bucket and tossing the bloody contents overboard.

Thea checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 15, rolling 14 higher.

Thea checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 20, rolling 31 higher.

Thea begins cutting through the net, making little progress. A few pieces of the rope come free, but not enough for her wriggle body through. She continues to cut away with her sword, steady and even strokes.

Mirella checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 25, rolling 25 higher.

Jyri checked dexterity + huge wpn at difficulty 30, rolling 27 higher.

Jyri checked strength + athletics at difficulty 20, rolling 7 higher.

Running away bravely (kidding, she's getting a run-up) Mirella dashes forward at the last moment and launches herself at the ship as fast as a flickering shadow. Landing solidly with a soft 'domph' of booted feet on the timbers, she remains in a crouched posture, ready to dash forward and intercept any attacks that might be made upon that total maniac, Arcadia Leary.

Reigna GM Roll checked intellect(4) + survival(5) at difficulty 30, rolling 19 higher.

Jyri takes one look at the situation and decides to leave the fighting to Arcadia and Mirella for now - instead he throws himself down on the dock as fast as he can, his armor clattering and his arms shooting out with the spear into the water; he hooks the net onto the hooks of his spear just before it sinks too far and he makes a grunting sound as he strains to hold on there. Least they're not sinking further - might save them some time, time to get OUT and not have to swim too far upwards to get that air back.

Magnus checked dexterity at difficulty 30, rolling 19 lower.

Damien Pierce - A Charming Assistant, 1 Redreef Warden, Vagari - Cinder Kitten, 1 Order of the Firebird, 4 Byrne Mountain Men arrive, following Mikani.

Damien Pierce - A Charming Assistant, 1 Redreef Warden, Vagari - Cinder Kitten, 1 Order of the Firebird, 4 Byrne Mountain Men leave, following Mikani.

Arcadia checked dexterity + archery at difficulty 20, rolling 64 higher.

Well. This isn't good. Magnus can't bring his big weapon to bear on the axe.. and for some reason the net is particulartly tangling.. so things have gone from bad to worse.

With absolutely no effort at all, Arcadia takes down the first man before he can get blink. She aims for his thigh. Painful, debilitating but will keep him alive for the guards to deal with.

The arrow flies true and sinks into the man's thigh. He roars, lip curling as he snarls, eyes narrowing.

Reigna GM Roll checked dexterity(4) + medium wpn(4) at difficulty 20, rolling 25 higher.

50 inflicted and Arcadia is harmed for moderate damage.

In retaliation, Vozze charges towards Arcadia, swinging his scimitar back and slices towards Arcadia the heavy blade striking her on the shoulder.

Venne, the other brute, picks up another bucket and flings more chum into the water, but he's keeping an eye on the Cady-Vozze fight.

Thea checked dexterity + medium wpn at difficulty 20, rolling 57 higher.

Thea checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 30, rolling 18 higher.

Mirella checked dexterity + small wpn at difficulty 20, rolling 13 higher.

Jyri checked command + animal ken at difficulty 15, rolling 37 higher.

Mirella dashes in just too late to stop Arcadia's blood from flowing, but soon enough that she might present a distraction before the Leary woman is dead in the water. Maybe literally! Pushing herself across the timbers in a quick dash, she thrusts her dagger inwards and then drags it up the lower part of the man's other thigh, peeling away leather armor and cutting through skin. Bloooood!

Jyri GM Roll checked dexterity(5) + brawl(3) at difficulty 15, rolling 33 higher.

Jyri GM Roll checked dexterity(3) + brawl(3) at difficulty 15, rolling 28 higher.

Jyri GM Roll checked dexterity(3) + brawl(2) at difficulty 15, rolling 19 higher.

Jyri checked strength + athletics at difficulty 20, rolling 32 higher.

"Bloody... bollocks...," Jyri pants, trying to pull the net up. He barks out a few sharp commands at the dogs, in his Crownlands shav dialect - the vicious beasts are immediately running, then leap on board and all three bowl down the man chumming the water, dragging him down and biting down hard.

With another heave, using both hands to pull hand over hand with his spear, the net is now almost at the surface.

But hey, he's totally avoiding going on board that boat. Clever guard.

Reigna GM Roll checked intellect(5) + riddles(3) at difficulty 40, rolling 6 lower.

There is a sharp sound from inside the main cabin and an peculiar green gas starts billowing through the cracks in the door. Coughing rings out from within.

Magnus checked dexterity at difficulty 15, rolling 4 lower.

Arcadia checked dexterity + brawl at difficulty 15, rolling 16 higher.

Arcadia grunts and drops her crossbow in surprise. Luckily, instinct from having stupid older brothers, her leg shoot backwards and Wham! Straight into the baby maker bits.

Reigna GM Roll checked willpower(2) + survival(4) at difficulty 45, rolling 12 lower.

Reigna GM Roll checked willpower(2) + survival(4) at difficulty 14, rolling 15 higher.

Vozze gulps and clutches his crotch and goes a bit crosseyed and falls over, groaning. His twin, Venne is struggling with the dogs. Each attempt to push one away results in a bite from another and he goes down again.

Thea checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 25, rolling 15 higher.

Thea, free from the net manages to climb up and cut the net and release giant count Magnus. A slight smile on her face,"There you go...I think youd have a fishy after taste anyway.."

Merek and Rysen manage to squirm their way out of the net, and both of them begin to paddle towards the pier, working to haul themselves up and onto the wood.

Mirella checked perception + alchemy at difficulty 25, rolling 35 higher.

Jyri checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 25, rolling 16 higher.

Though it's possible that Mirella could take another swing at the poor testicle-bestrickened fellow on the timbers, Mirella refrains from more stabbery from the moment. Instead her eyes turn to the inside of the ship, where green smoke surrounds a figure within. After a few moments of frowning scrutiny and the tiniest of sniffs she raises her voice, "Green smoke! Sleeping potion! Don't breathe it in!" Then she pulls her scarf to cover her nose and mouth again before turning back to the bleeding man.

Seeing that Magnus and Thea are up, Rysen and Merek are swimming and climbing up as well, Jyri leaps to his feet and runs with surprising lightness in that armor, leaping towards the boat; he grabs the edge and pulls himself over. The helmet is knocked back into place just when he hears Mirella's warning; he immediately stops and regrets his decision to leap on board, now holding his breath.

From within the captain's cabin there is a loud thunk, the sound of something heavy falling onto the floor.

Arcadia checked wits + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 6 lower.

Free of the net, and free of almost drowning, Magnus pulls himself up on the pier- it takes some effort, given his armor and water logged state- and he's in no condition to go rushing aboard the boat- instead he kneels, coughing up water.

Aiming a sneaky kick at Vozze's throat, just enough to take the breath out of him, Mirella stands and holds the scarf to her mouth should her boot meet its mark. Then she stands back, back and shoulders rising and falling from her hunching position. Others can deal with this now.

Arcadia is wounded and slower than normal. Having no protection to put over her mouth, she takes in some vapors and boom! down she goes in ungraceful mess.

And if directed, Mirella will also peek closer to the source of that thud!

Finally making her way up the ship, dripping wet, Thea crawls over the side. She sits and rests for just a moment, catching her breath.

Watching Arcadia go down, Jyri doesn't seem terribly sympathetic - he's not rushing to her aid. Instead, he keeps out of the green smoke as best as he can, waiting for the air to clear out enough. However? He does shout down to the people that were near drowning to run for medical help, and more Iron Guards. "I think whomever is in there, fell into their own trap," he muses to Mirella.

The greenish smoke is disapating from the deck slowly, though there are still patches of it here and there. Venne gets a snootful and goes slack, the dogs trotting back to Jyri's side.

Frahke leaves, following Magnus.

Frahke arrives, following Magnus.

A few more minutes of hacking up seawater and Magnus gets to his feet. He's a little shaky, but alive. Grunting, the big man unslings his axe and starts toward the ship- but when he sees that Arcadia is down and bleeding- he rushes to her side, opting to use the gangplank!

Mirella checked perception + investigation at difficulty 15, rolling 52 higher.

Thea checked perception + investigation at difficulty 15, rolling 8 higher.

Jyri gives the dogs some treats and some petting, while he waits for the smoke to dissipate. He nods at Thea and Magnus as they come up, squinting at them for a moment to see if they're alright. There's a little snort as Magnus rushes to Arcadia, and a shake of his head in some incredulity. He straightens up and starts slowly towards the door.

Thea stands after her moment and assure Jyri,"I'm a medic. I can tend to the Countess while you all---go and tend to whatever is going on there." She walks over to Arcadia, her boots making wet footprints as she goes.

With a nod to Jyri, Mirella straightens up again and follows him towards the door. On the way, she looks down at the dogs, and it's hard to tell because she still has a scarf around her mouth, but maybe she's smiling faintly. Just a little. Nonetheless, she waits if Jyri signals for her to do so, only entering carefully to search inside the cabin, and only then after looking around for any traps or tripwires or whatnot. She still holds her dagger loosely by her side, though she's ready to spring into action if needed.

Once the smoke is fully dispersed, the boat is much more easily examined. The door to the captain's cabin reveals a man who matches the description of Vonne. He was clearly working on alchemy traps and bungled the activation of one, dosing himself with the sleeping potion, which explains the noises, the gass and the thunks. He has several ledgers, potential customer leads, a few dark secrets for blackmailing, services rendered to various folk, a whole lot of bad news. Other books are journals. The later of which start to build on themes that indicate he'd recently entered into service with someone, though it never says who. There are stairs that lead down into the lower decks, which can only be described in horrific detail. Skulls, human skulls, decorate the floor in puddles of tacky blood. Most have had at least part of their skins removed, their skulls opened, and emptied of brains, but all of them, even the fully skinned ones, still have their eyes intact. There is a large table in the center of the room where all the butchery clearly takes place, and there is a large stone box, carved into the shape of a crocodile, with smaller crocs carved around it, into which parts are collected.

Arcadia just snores on the deck, otherwise unhurt except the nick in her shoulder.

Jyri does let Mirella check for traps - he isn't good with that, with his one eye and generally not that perceptive. He grunts a sound at her that is definitely thankful and appreciative, then throws that door open - and enters a veritable hellish place. A quick look around makes it obvious this isn't just your average murderer. "Right," he says grimly. "This looks a whole lot like Inquisition work," he says reluctantly. "We ain't touching ANY of this junk," he says warningly to anyone peeking in for a look.

Magnus sort of gives Thea a nod and lets her do her work, instead poking his head inside the door now. "Are we good then?" he calls out, having no real desire to explore the ship further than that.

Jyri is still not resisting that stone box however. He will definitely take a look at that. "Err. Mirella, wanna take a look for traps on this one?" he asks hopefully.

Jyri checked perception + survival at difficulty 25, rolling 20 higher. Jyri rolled a critical!

Seemingly satisfied that she and Jyri aren't in any trouble, Mirella flicks through one of the ledgers. Her voice is still slightly muffled by the scarf but she can be heard clearly enough. "Hm. Interesting. Leads." And then, placing it down, she steps closer to Jyri while idly mentioning, "Look. Eyes. Like the symbol. All these corpses still have their eyes." Spoken with a sort of blunt detachment from the carnage until she considers, "Gods. That meat... what did it have in it? Alchemist like that, could... Gods...." With eyes widening in sudden horror, she turns to Jyri and blinks as he asks a question of her. "I think I could--"

Thea finishes with Arcadia and nods to Magnus,"she will be just fine,"then steps over to the cabin. She rounds her eyes at the site,"shit!" A rare expression from the young Malvici."Think those ledgers will be useful too?"

"Don't touch anything!" Jyri warns again. Though he's a bit inconsistent - maybe he just likes to cover his ass if the Inquisition gets here - though he says; "Guess we can look at the ledgers. Just don't take any." He nods at Mirella and leaves room but he's already leaning in to peek at the box himself. "can't see anything, but you open it up by pressing those three teeth, pretty sure," he notes gruffly, pointing that out to Mirella. Still, he's quite happy to patiently wait for a second opinion. He's got patience in spades.

Sir Jesmond the Giant, Puff, a dainty yellow-green canary, 2 Leary House Guards leave, following Arcadia.

Mirella doesn't seem phased by the warning, but neither does she pick anything else up. Instead she just watches as Jyri somehow magically flicks the box open, and then squints at him as if to say 'traps, huh?' Then she stands back with a wave of one hand and shrugs. "Seems like you have it covered."