Journal of Rollo Lavius 1

Entry #14 - Sasserine Skullduggery

(G14 27/06/08 OR)

Well, we went back upstairs and had a bit of a rethink. Some of us wanted to charging in, I will let you guess as to who that might have been, and some of us wanted to try diplomacy first.

Eventually we decided to wait in the guild rooms and see who turned up. They must have known we were there anyway, so it was just a waiting game.

We set some simple alarm traps (broken bottles, buckets etc) at the back door and the trap door and waited. While we waited I went and looked at the stuffed animals again, but it wasn't long before a rough looking chap appeared at the back door. Raz and myself tried to talk to him and his shadowy associate, but they listened, fired their crossbows and ran off. One of the bolts caught me a glancing blow on the leg. I returned the favour by feathering his back, but they both leapt down a well and no one had any great desire to follow them.

After a few more hours my stomach was rumbling so I suggested we send out for some food and drink from the Gull's Nest. Food, ale and two wenches turned up! Raz took one of the lasses to the bedroom and had his wicked way with her - I think he quiet startled Mr Badgerington who had been snoozing under the bed! I simply canoodled with the other one in the animal room - had to keep my mind on the job eh?

A little before midnight a note is slipped under the door with instructions to go to the Hungry Gorilla, an inn down the street, and we duly do so.

Two rough looking characters are there and we explain the situation to them. One of them is called Yal. Although I was saying nothing but the truth I had a feeling that the truth was not a coin that these fellows were used to dealing in. I could see the wheels at work in Yal's head as he tried to work out what our motives were. In the end I think he was still puzzled but he said he would pass on the information to his mistress, the Lady of the Lotus.

DAY 17

As we made our way back to the Taxidermist's Guild we noticed a commotion and then that the Guild was on fire! Those terrible rogues had torched the building!

All of us tried to kick down the front door, but it was Shifty that did in the end, although he was burnt in the process. I managed to save a couple of the stuffed animals, a civet and a cockatrice, but by then it was too late.

I summoned two water elementals, but they didn't do much. Nobby tried to help too, but is seemed that Shifty was the most use as he organised a bucket chain down to the nearby canal.

Raz, the useless lump, just wandered off, but came back with five crossbow bolts sticking out of him! He had been ambushed from the roof tops apparently.

Lest we were blamed for the blaze we skulked off back to the pie shop.

In the morning there was another note on the door, another warning. But it was going to take more than notes to stop us now.

All of us now had reasons for being mightily browned off with the Lotus Dragons. All we wanted to do was talk to Vanthus, but all they seem to want to do is kill us! This sort of unreasonableness I have no time for so over breakfast we planned our next step.

I was loathe to leave the pie shop undefended to I persuaded Raz and Shifty to wait while myself and Nobby rode into town on the one remaining horse (that idiot butcher had turned the other one into pies!!) and found Constable Padesh. He was his usual tepid self, I swear, the man is about as quick witted as Clarky, and he spends twenty-three hours of the day asleep!

Anyway, he seemed to eventually realise that we were fighting criminal elements of the city and would send along a couple of men to help us for our planned assault on the Lotus Dragon's lair.

We popped in past Lady V's and she gave us some more funds for hiring people. Myself and Nobby then returned to the house and Raz and Shifty went out with the money to hire some more blades.

I asked if they could also look for a down on their luck wizard or such like.

(Incidentally, Bullah informed me, that for reasons only known to himself Shifty had a fight with a cow while we were out.)

They did very well as they returned with a gnomish sorcerer called Eriss Jaree Lissa Tavartarr and two fighting sisters, one armed with cutlasses and the other with a trident. There names are Ayesha and Mashai.

The guards turned up too, names being Dek and Hulog.

We sat down and planned our next move.