Who is around
- The basic W.A.R.D.S team.
Where are we
Tosca'lia
Recap We all reunited in the W.A.R.D.S House in Tosca'lia, and that was fun. Isaac wants to find some relics, and we also got 2 quests down at the docks, one of which was about this raptor named Galewind.
Proper recap
Elissa finally read the letter which Sai left for her, and Sai has been telling us about their uncle and we will now try to kill him. Before that, we went to stretch our adventuring muscles, and Elissa... Sai and Fang spoke to a knight, who is searching for his squire. Somehow, despite him having been gone only a couple of weeks, people have started forgetting about him having existed. We see a street brawl between a goliath and a reef-born (Barbarossa), and the reef-born winner invites us to go have a drink on him. Someone on Barbarossa's ship was real shady. There is a ship transporting 'exotic goods' from the Callopian Isles, and it turns out to be a bunch of raptors. We are gonna steal the biggest one, which is escaped, and we want to return the other ones to their homes. Khohros turned into a dog to track the raptor.
Onwards
Isaac jokes that Khohros is a ship dog they adopted, and Khohros pees on his leg. There are jokes that Khohros is always green when he's wildshaped, like Beast Boy.
Khohros is on Galewind's tracks, and we run through the harbour crowds with Elissa on Khohros' back. It takes us into an alley and around a corner, where he almost runs into a corpse.
Alley corpse Humanoid, broad shouldered, dressed in dark colours. The corpse has studded leather armour, destroyed beyond use. Sheath for a dagger, empty, face down in the dirt. Coated in the raptor scent. Seems to have been torn to shreds by claws. Very clearly drunk.
Isaac lets the nearest guard know that we found a dead body. The guard woman says that she will clean his body up, but that they won't notify his next of kin, showing an eye tattooed on his shoulder. Isaac doesn't remember it, but Sai recalls them having encountered some criminals with those tattoos. They stalked and met up with them (in Flythandra?). Isaac goes off on this long tangent, so Khohros piddles on his leg again.
Onwards with the hunt, they immediately hit a warehouse wall. Khohros dogs at it, and Isaac walks into it, assuming it to be illusory. We walk around, trying to find a way in. It is being guarded by two dwarven women in plate mail. They are scruffy, and wear no insignia.
Isaac asks to be let in because there is a dangerous beast inside. One of them starts stuffing a pipe and goes "fuck off."
Yalana asks Isaac not to be threatening the populace. We try to ask about their superiors, but the dwarves say that if we don't know, they won't tell. Khohros leaves wild shape to ritual cast Locate Animals or Plants.
Khohros points out that unless the dwarves are friends with the crew, the raptor is stolen and we should be justified in using force to get in. But we don't want to ruin our reputation by causing a ruckus, so we should look for guard backup.
The guards are dubious that we are indeed from the W.A.R.D.S, taking Khohros aback. Elissa backs him up, and I roll a fat 20 on my persuasion. The guard freaks out a little bit, and agrees to help us. He says he will go to the guards station to get a warrant, and Khohros says he will come with to see if he can speed the bureaucracy up. Elissa goes back to the party to make sure they know what is happening. Isaac sits on a barrel, and a goliath asks them to get off because they need the barrel to load up the ship.
Yalana leaves, implying that while she is away they can do anything illegal they want. Sai and Isaac mess around a while, and then Isaac Dimension Doors them and Elissa into the warehouse. Sai is left outside, but with his familiar bird he can see a hatch on the top of the warehouse, and Yalana taking a walk around the warehouse.
Status update as we split the party. Khohros and Fang - on their way to the guard station Sai - Outside the warehouse with Galewind Yalana - Taking a walk outside the warehouse Isaac and Elissa - Inside the warehouse.
Inside
Inside the dimly lit warehouse Isaac and Elissa freak out about the fact that they don't know what to do if they find the raptor. Elissa realises she can cast Polymorph on it, and Isaac casts Invisibility on the both of them.
They find a bundle of cloth, with rasping breaths and a knife in it's neck. They freak out about the mechanics of polymorph, and if turning it into a bunny to make it more easy to transport will also kill it since the knife is in it. They decide to just go for it, when a thud is heard behind them and a half-orc appears from inside a barrel. He stretches.
The goliath woman talks about some books, and directs her companions to split up and work through the warehouse. The goliath and woman head for Elissa, and they panickily try to Polymorph the raptor so they can run. Elissa manages to do it, the knife merging into it's neck. Isaac picks it up, and attempts to Dimension Doors back outside.
Outside
Yalana returns to the unfortunate sight of Isaac and Elissa being missing.
"This is the worst case scenario."
- Yalana
Isaac apologises for letting them get away, and Yalana says that this is not his fault.
They hang around outside, pondering what might be happening inside.
To the guard station
The guard bombards Khohros about the time in Vaprak, and whether it is true that they stole Khohros' boyfriends corpse?
Captain Elle Trollenheim She recognises us as she was the person who interviewed Khohros after he went on his Frogemoth-spree all that time ago. Guard in Tosca'lia.
Cpt. Elle Trollenheim is the person meeting us at the guard station, and Khohros explains the situation, and she says that she knows the warehouse and has been trying to get enough proof of shady business to get a warrant for a while now.
Khohros asks if there is anything else they can do to help, and basically gets a 'no, we'll get to the warehouse with a warrant in a couple of hours.'
Khohros and Fang head back towards the warehouse.
The Barrel People Orc - The orc is late 20s, tall but lean, completely shaved head except a wild tuft of hair. Leather armour. Dwarf - After him tumbles a dwarven lady, also scruffy in armour with two eyes tattooed Human - After, a tall man who is wearing unbuttoned armour, showing off his toned and hairy chest. Goliath - Lastly, a goliath woman, taller than any you've seen before.
In the split second before they teleport, the goliath & human round the corner and see Isaac before they vanish with the rabbit.
Isaac tells Sai and Yalana that they need to save Elissa, like yesterday. Inside, the goliath and human call out that there are intruders, to check they haven't stolen anything out of the boxes, but they have not spotted Elissa. A this point, Khohros and Fang return.
We want to let Elissa drop Polymorph, so Khohros brings out Indefin's Portable Stable in an alley and brings Isaac carrying bunny-Galewind inside. Sai and Yalana follow. Inside one of the boxes, Khohros asks Isaac to put the rabbit down, and Khohros speaks with Gale to calm him down. He understands and stops squirming. Sai pops outside the portal to send a message to Elissa, who drops the Polymorph and Galewind is reverted inside Khohros portable stable.
Galewind He is very large, with scales in red and orange, and yellow and black feathers. On his head is a mane where the feathers are white and black.
It turns to Khohros and tells him that Isaac smells like piss. Khohros agrees, and puts pressure on the knife wound, pulling the dagger while simultaneously casting Healing Word.
He explains the situation to Galewind, leaving him in the stable for the time being and heading outside. Elissa, inside the warehouse casts invisibility on herself and makes to jump out a window, sending a message to try make sure she's caught by someone. As she tries to jump someone throws dust on her, yelling 'there you are!' She yells back a 'no I'm not!!' and bursts out the window.
Yalana and Sai both attempt to catch her, colliding but somehow interlocking their hands and catching her. From inside the warehouse someone yells '-the intruder jumped out the window!'.
And so we haul ass, back to the house.
Back at the house, Galewind secured.
What to do with the raptors? We ponder if it is against the law to smuggle beasts like this, and if we could snitch on the ship and see if we can get the raptors sent back.
"I am asking you to roll an international transport law-check, thank you for asking!"
- Josie
We go back to the guard station, intending to snitch on the raptor-smugglers.
We show Galewind to the Captain, and she agrees to look into having the other raptors confiscated. Elissa promises that if they can't be sent back, she will personally ensure that they have happy and healthy lives.