I start idly pulling porcupine spines out of my face with my free hand.
“I will concede the point one killing him out-of-hand. Perhaps we should attempt to get some answers first? These authorities (said scornfully) may slay him instantly anyway. They have no love for those of us who transcend.”
Joseph looks up from where he’s peeking around the room for whatever the mage may have been after (and any other particularly valuable looking trinkets because hey, finders keepers).
“We can question him, I suppose,” he says, “but I’m not sure to what purpose. We’ve got no stake in it unless we’re being paid to have a stake in it.”
“The mage has power, friend Joseph, this is a purpose onto itself. And did we not just destroy many of his minions? He made decide we have a stake in it no matter what we wish. Bah! No matter, I said I would follow your course! Might we conclude this escapade, and some food would not be amiss!”
Well, whatever you guys wanna do or not do with the rodent, could we please if that’s not troubling you too much and no offense intended do it perhaps outside of the burning building ?
Harald leaves the room and tries to remember the way out of the building
Solsken arrives next to Aji, who is idly needling (or rather, de-needling) the porcupine. The Druid pronounces the quill-pig’s twitches to be a sign of life, not the nervous mis-firings of a dead animal. Aji wraps the mage up in a small rug from the floor and holds the corners tightly.
Zachary distributes potions to those who need it. Aji regains 6 hit points, and Harald 10. In glancing over the titles of the books of alchemy, Zachary notes little of interest; this is mostly the collection of a dilettante, not a master alchemist. However, one volume with a faded brown leather cover is a work Joseph’s never heard of by the Greek master alchemist Zosimos of Panopolis. Zosimos’s other works are among the most important texts in modern alchemy.
Joseph slips the Arabic correspondences into his case, and picks up the Hanseatic trader’s memoir. The other books on the floor vary wildly in authorship and topic, but they all relate to the Baltic Sea or the North Sea. The bookstand is of very light construction with fine, blond wood; there wouldn’t be any place for a secret compartment and it’s not fixed to the floor. It’s carved with scenes of Italian courts and courtiers.
Taye steps over to the histories of Crusades. One particular volume in fancy blue leather with silver gilt lettering on the cover catches his eye: An Account of the Travels of Dom Jose Eduardo Silva de Porto in Ghana and Mali in the Service of Master Paio Correia of the Order of Saint James of the Sword. A moment of rifling through the pages suggests that it is indeed the diary of a Portuguese knight in a military order who traveled on the west coast of Africa in the last decade. Taye doesn’t really speak Portuguese, though, so he can’t be sure of more than that. There aren’t any works on arcane magic in this library; it’s a conspicuous absence. Only Giacomo spots Taye slipping the book into his robes.
Giacomo collects the requested accounts of the Valente family, and looks around. There are probably very valuable books among this collection, but other than by the fanciness of the covers, Giacomo doesn’t really know how to evaluate them. The carpets and wall hangings are doubtless expensive, though they’d be difficult to carry discretely.
Hmm… well, that Zosimos text would bear further study, then. And yes, it would be a good idea to clear out!
Location of my spear please-precious family heirloom ya know…
You’ve recovered it unharmed.
<Suggest calling everyone into one group so we can plan what to do next-trying to coordinate this bunch if like trying to herd cats…>
Speaking of, I’m going to update tomorrow and march everyone out of the building. Act now if you’ve got other actions to take.
Well, the building is on fire, right? If we’ve scoured the room for anything of interest and got the books and records Valente wanted, let’s get out of here.
“If we bring the mage out alive, their may be a larger reward for it. Let’s let the authorities deal with him.”
Looking extremely nonchalant, Taye starts for the door. Whistling.
“Are we certain the mage is incapacitated? Perhaps he was able to cast a time-freeze spell? I feel as though I have been trying to reach the door for three days now.”
The party packs up their takings and moves out of the room. The haze of smoke is thickening, but there really aren’t any more obstacles. A few expensive wall hangings have taken light, and the support pillars from the roof have started to splinter. Joseph hustles the party out the front doors, and watches a roofbeam swing down in a crash of sparks before stepping out the front door himself. Aji’s bundle has started to struggle violently. Harald, looking back over his shoulder as he paces quickly over the paving stones of the Piazza, sees the familiar (to him) sight of thick black smoke curling up over a building.
On the far side of the Piazzi Ferrari, surrounded by a group of uniformed soldiers, stands Marco Valente. He’s occupied in quiet, terse conversation with his father, who sits on the corner of Zachary’s cart, being tended by a silent Capuchin monk who deftly washes and cleans the Doge’s wounds. One soldier and one plainly-dressed elderly Elf listen in to the conversation.
The party comes quickly up to the Doge. Which of the things that you took from the library are you displaying openly?
Taye is displaying nothing after making certain his loot is carefully concealed. He IS muttering just loudly enough to be sure he’s overheard about what smoke and ash have done to his expensive silk clothing. And his nigh-irreplaceable handcrafted crossbow.
Once the real discussion starts he’ll quiet down and listen courteously.
Looks like this whole town is going to light up like a tinder by nightfall… maybe we shouldn’t stick around ? Bound to be a few lingering resentments. And cudgels.
Joseph gives a little nod and beckon to Giacomo, then moves to the fore of the group with him and turns on the charm.
“Ah! My lords! We have recovered what was asked for, and perhaps something else of interest!”
While Giacomo (presumably) gets the accounts from wherever he’s been holding them, he sets his satchel down on the cart and pulls free the trader’s memoir.
“You’ll pardon me for indulging in a bit of investigating while my companions captured the would-be assassin-mage and slew his troll bodyguards. I wondered… why would he have gone to such trouble simply to secure access to your library? I believe this is what he was after.”
He briefly describes the clues he found that have led him to believe the mage was after something having to do with the North Sea or Baltic Sea.
“Oh, and the mage is waking up. You might want to do something about that.”
I’ll double-check the knots on the mage-bag (with either Survival or Profession:Sailor), just to be sure.
Taye steps closer to Joseph and asks very quietly
“You may also wish to ask about the lack of books on the arcane. It is very curious for such a thorough library. I had thought it an open secret that the noble houses had interests in such things.”