The party meets at a tavern in HighCliffe as arranged and find the place packed with patrons arriving for the upcoming tournament. After acquiring a private room and disabling a listening charm on the chandelier, Remus thanks them all for coming and lays out the information he has obtained.
His contact in the thieves guild has given him the heads up on a client hot on the Lovage estate. The client is a member of the transporters guild who was hired to transport a dozen highly valuable urns from the eastern shore. The urns are roughly torso sized and incredibly valuable. Made by focusing the rays of the sun through polished quartz mirrors, teams of artisans spend weeks fusing together the grains of desert sand to create the fragile artwork. Transporting them is difficult and requires a slow pace in specialty wagons. Although they are able to be repaired with magical means, this drastically reduces their value as an art piece. Upon receiving the dozen urns in perfect condition, Balen Has claimed that the urns were broken during transport and refused payment to the courier. He has paid off a local magistrate to rule in his favour and has almost bankrupted the courier responsible.
The client is requesting a hit on the estate to recover the urns and has suggested that there is likely to be numerous other valuables that an enterprising crew might also take. He is offering 65gp for each urn the party retrieves, as well as 50gp for each of the small spice chests that were brought back in the same journey. Lastly, he has offered a bonus of 300gp for the house medallion that Balen wears around his neck (He is fixated on the way that Balen would stroke this amulet while sneering at him and refusing payment). Concerned that his chance to acquire his ancestral armour may be foiled if it is stolen during the hit, Remus intends to complete the contract and steal whatever else of value he can find to cover the theft of the armour and any potential ties to himself.
Constantine and the Professor arrange for the discreet rental of a padded wagon while the other three party members scope out the estate. Approaching the estate from the service alley, Digby observes two guards patrolling the outer grounds and spots a well maintained aviary full of messenger birds and exotic fowls. From the main thoroughfare, Remus and Z determine that at least one guard is roaming the interior and Z notices a peculiarity with the window sills (they seem uncommonly clean).
The party reassemble and hatch a hurried plan. Digby will assume the form of a rat and set loose the captive birds, causing a ruckus and distracting the exterior guards. The rest of the party will then access the grounds via the rear gate and bring the wagon to the kitchen entrance. The plan past this point is not addressed.
Upon arriving at the
estate under cover of night, the plan is initially successful. A man is a rat,
the birds are free, the guards are distracted, however, the party does not gain
access through the gate. After failing to pick the rear lock, Remus hurries to
the front of the house to attempt another avenue of access. Z breaks her
lockpicks in a follow-up attempt to open the gate, and a discussion breaks out
about a possible repair job and the ethics of using celestial power to
magically form a replacement key.
Digby, meanwhile, grows tired of waiting and begins to scout out the mansion
interior. Entering via the kitchen, he notices an old maid knitting in the
corner. Continuing, he comes across two of the urns in the central hall before
quickly darting through the drawing room and finding himself in a
well-appointed library that continues into the second story. Slipping under the
closed door, he finds himself in the main entry way facing two broad staircases
that lead to an upper level. Hearing a sudden sound at the front door, Digby
scurried swiftly to safety and observed a stuffy looking man with a shortsword
and bullyclub appear from the room opposite and stride swiftly towards the
front door. Outside, Remus is struck with a sudden flash of inspiration.
Frowning deeply, he conjures an image of the day he was cast out by his uncle
and muttering an incantation, he assumes the physical form of the man he most
despises.
Hardly a moment later, the door is flung open by the house guard, who recoils in surprise at finding his master unexpectedly at the doorstep. Dismissing the man to fetch a pot of tea, Remus stand in the foyer of his childhood home and slowly turns to examine the room. Noticing a rodent peering intently in his direction, he hesitantly inquires if it is Digby. United, the pair briefly examine Balens addition of two manticore statues to the lobby before making their way to the master bedroom. Inside they find nothing of note, apart from observing an odd, ornately carved wooden statue. Digby engages in what appears to be a thrilling dance performance before Remus realises that he is miming an elaborate change of plan. Shortly thereafter, they are interrupted by the houseman bringing the requested pot of tea and Remus orders the man to fetch his fellows and open the rear gate for an expected wagon, and then begin assisting with loading the urns.
At the rear gate,
Constantine is about the intervene and remove the offending lock with focused
might when a man approaches and produces a key. Unlocking the gate, he directs
them to lead the wagon up to the rear doors and runs to fetch the other guards.
Walking cautiously inside the mansion, Constantine spots the figure of an
older man in fine garb standing at the top of the landing. Recognisable as the
patriarch of the family from several of the portraits in the hall, he appears
to be conversing with a vermin perched upon his shoulder, lending further credibility to Remus' claims
that his uncle is indeed a vile man. Nevertheless, he and the Professor begin
loading the urns into the wagon with the assistance of the Lovage
Guardsmen.
On the second floor, Remus and Digby make their way past two more of the ornate
wooden statues in the hall and gain access to the Upper Display Room. Remus,
lost in memory, activates the display lighting and walks towards the centre of
the room. Flanked by two ornamental wooden statues, the Lovage Armoire is the
centerpiece of the feature wall. Reaching out with a shaking hand to caress the
emerald chestpiece, he does not notice the two statues suddenly straighten and
swing their hulking fists towards him. Digby narrowly avoids being flattened as Remus is battered backwards, and flees from the room. Z approached stealthily
from the upstairs landing as she appraised the artwork found on the walls of
the lobby.