Time: 10:00 AM
Day: Tuesday
Weather: snowing (small flakes at a constant pace). cold.
Those Involved:
@Wiggin @slifer @Elvario @Ur Degaton @Skyhunter @TheEccentric @CaptainLiterally @EldridSmith @Nero Kunivas @Valkan @The Last Curse
TooLongDidn'tRead: Kaz and Nyxus are chilling with the gang, Thorne, kyrian, and Naeva found a church, and the rest are enjoying Eldritch Knight hospitality.
Note From The Author: (those who post in scene get served their lemonade from lemons they squeezed)((everyone with the exception of Thorne and Kaz, who healed only to half health, full healed over the night)
Post Listening:
Gattas's Offer
It was early the next morning when Gattas was dragged from his cell, plucked from sleeping or freshly roused family, and plopped onto the wooden chair one one side of the interrogation room. It was quickly determined is stature was lacking, so a block of wood was scrounged up and placed under him so he could sit more comfortably at the table. The room smelled considerably better than the cell and was warmer than the cell. Away from the breeze and snowflakes that crept into the cell, he might have wished his kids could be here instead. He was not waiting long before another knight came into the room. Unlike the standard issue, this knight was more comfortably dressed in leathers and wool. Clearly a knight more accustomed to a bureaucratic role in the city.
"Mr.Windle, I apologize on behalf of my colleagues for any perceived mistreatment to you or your family. It is truly a most unfortunate time. However, I'll be frank with you. You being of goblin heritage and operating the prime location for the gathering of many a scum and villian has already put you on the list of those hoping to pin guilt and punishment so this matter may be resolved quicker. What's worse, the Yeothal gang was actually arrested on premises presumably conducting business with potential Knight sympathizers. Truly a regrettable and scandalous situation. I should also apologize that your establishment was burnt to the ground during the sting operation."
The man spoke matter-of-factly but there did appear to be sincerity in his words. Obviously, this man was more accustomed dealing with citizens than the other knights.
"Unfortunately, Mr.Windle, the bad news for you continues. The knights intend to press you until you acknowledge guilt in associating with criminals and facilitating and harboring illegal operations. They intend to hold you and your family in that cold, dirty prison until you do something rash or you give in for the sake of your family.
However,
Mr. Windle, I'm here with another option. Looking over the testimonies provided, I believe in your innocence and believe your current and ongoing treatment may be entitled to some degree of compensation."
The man then pulled out a document and unfurled it for Gattas, his dark, flawless skin showing he never knew a hard day's manual labor in his life. A true bureaucrat. The document had documented a few different articles of note, which the man speaking with Gattas went over.
"Before you is a contract that will grant you the temporary status of Honorary Knight. With this status, you will be allowed to work with the investigative team currently trying to apprehend the Yeothal gang. You will be utilized as an undercover operative and be given certain legal immunities during the course of the investigation and future operations. While you work with the law to bring in those responsible for your family's misfortune, your family will be moved to the Eldritch Knight dormitory where they will be provided for and made comfortable.
At the end of your service, assuming a conclusion is reached in the Yeothal gang and you perform satisfactory, you will be given a lump sum which willl allow you to restore your tavern, but make it better than before. It may even reach a quality that will attract the sort of clientele that bring more money with them than problems. Alternatively, you may seek full acknowledgement and become an Eldritch Knight in service to Ray City.
All you have to do is sign and we can release your family immediately"
The deal seemed too good to be true and the man's sales pitch was dripping sweet like honey, but Gattas's children were waiting, shivering in a freezing cell and the document said precisely what the man said. The ink and quill to sign placed ever so conveniently by Gattas's good arm. The bit the man did not state out loud was the bottom clause, which Gattas read,
"..in the event Gattas Windle fails to perform satisfactorily in his role as knight operative, all privileges and statuses will be immediately revoked, he will be returned to jail where he will await trial for all accrued criminality and his family will be relocated to the streets and made subject to vagrancy laws and penalties..."
Solomon's Offer
Solomon was placed roughly at the wooden table in the interrogation room. The momentary solace was actually comfortable compared to the overcrowded cell with fellow knights that had nothing to say. Their maintained silence seemed more implicative of guilt than innocence, so one more reason not to spend anymore time with them than necessary.
A well dressed bureaucrat knight entered the room. His pleasant smile that early morning was too cheery and it made the manacles on his wrists feel like they were chafing more. Didn't help that there was little restful sleep to have in this cells.
"Good morning, Knight Aquila. One Lazaran Kilgore spoke with officers and was able to vouche for you and back up your alibi for various activities yesterday. Quite daring of you to change your appearance to slip into the slums and infiltrate the gang. Typically knights that enter there on official business don't make it out alive."
The man seemed like a fan in his enthusiasm but quickly caught himself and got back to the point of their meeting.
"Knight Aquila, you are to be released immediately after our meeting, however, I have one matter of business to discuss with you before that. While your actions were perceivably gallant and justified, they broke protocol. After the museum assault was passed to the squad of knights that arrived on scene to process the case and crime, your role should have ended. Some sticklers may even suggest you should have made a separate report for HQ so it could be processed in addition to those actually tasked with the handling of the Yeothal gang to verify the evidence from multiple perspectives. However, that is an aside to the main issue of independent action that led to the assumption you turned rogue and/or may have been working in tandem with the Yeothal gang."
Solomon's handler let all that sink it for processing. Despite being a fan, the conversation held a certain weight to it. Solomon didn't recognize this man as anyone who could issue punishment, but he gave off a human resources vibe that made the whole situation feel like a coaching session and that his words were actually those of a superior officer.
"To make amends you are being reassigned as official guardian to Knight Verity. It's a temporary post, but admittedly its a handful. As internal affairs, she does not have many friends among her colleagues and she has more than enough enemies. Her guilt and involvement has also not been cleared as it pertains to the Yeothal Gang. Her abilities make it difficult to trust and verify. Additionally, her own testimony and choice of actions leaves much to be desired. The only reason she will not remain behind bars, frankly, is her work , her REAL work, demands her attention, and you are conveniently available, so you have been assigned as babysitter to ensure she keeps her nose in just the cases that do concern her and her talents. You can deny the position, but you will likely be demoted and have certain magical research archive privileges revoked. If you accept, you'll be given a promotion that makes you Verity's superior. In addition to pay increase, you'll be given more funding and resources for your own personal magic research."
A contract on a firm stock of paper was placed in front of Solomon with ink and quill. The document detailed his increased benefits and rank and the extra responsibilities taken on to earn them.
City Slums
Nyxus and Kaz along with the rest of the escaping men followed Yeothal and his gang out of the sewers. Narrowly outpacing the rats and sneaking by knight patrols, the gang reach street level and crept through the city to the slums. It was there that the red head leader led them into an abandoned building out of the snow and cold. It was drafty, but far less smelly than the sewer and the building warmed up quickly with the mass of men hanging out within its walls. A few barrel fires were lit and soon the place was as cozy as any other. If you had no better home, at least. The following mid-morning,
"As I was saying in the sewer, you men are now part of the Yeothal gang. It's up to you if you stay, but just know you have a place among our number so long as this city and its laws view and hold you unfavorably. To those of you who stick around, I restate my promise that we will have our justice. As a parting tip to those who wish to leave: steer clear of the general population. Where the 'good' folk are, that's where you'll find the knights. While we are in this cesspit called the slums we are practically untouchable. Our defense strategy is quite simple: No knights come to the slums. If they did, they don't make it out of the slums. If they come in a large enough number to acctually accomplish something, we'll know of their coming a mile out and be gone before they arrive. It's as simple as that."
Yeothal had hopped up on a table and was fairly charismatic and convincing as he spoke to the crowd of fugitives. His words clearly resonated with many of the men who nodded their heads in agreement. Bob, the man Kaz had spoke with early was near Yeothal with his back to him, acting like a body guard of sorts to ensure the leader had space to speak to the men without getting crowded in the building. A heavy club was in his hands. Where bob got the club from was obvious, but it was apparent that Yeothal's gang were different cut from the average riff raff. They were Mercantile. Resourceful and cunning with at least one good talent that put them a cut above. For many of Yeothal's gang that were members prior to the escape, you could tell in the way many of them held themselves that they would be reliable in a scuffle even if the only thing you could count on was they wouldn't run away when things got too hot.
House of Kazm
Kyrian and Naeva made it safely to Kyrian's church and out of the snow. There were afew candles lit and a small fire being tended to by a single shivering priest. The funds for the house of worship were never great, but they seemed especially scarce during the winter months since additional funding needed to go to heating. It was a vicious cycle also. A cold cathedral meant fewer worshippers would brave the elements to freeze when they could worship and stay warm at home just fine. However, the mostly vacated House of Kazm had the advantage of many empty rooms for guests and few around to ask questions.
Naeva may have been surprised by the sizeable building dedicated to a lesser known 'deity' like Kazm, but the lesser known fact was the cathedral used to be dedicated to the main diety of Ray City until it was passed off to lesser gods and their worshippers in exchange for getting a bigger and more prestigious cathedral built closer to central Ray City. As such, the cathedral was severely lacking in many areas of maintenance and upkeep. The saving grace for the faith was that Kazm attracted the sort of worshippers that didn't much care how run down and decrepit the building was so long as it kept Knights and proper folk away... Just then, a random hobo skittered past Kyrian without pants. It was Taz. Taz was a regular who swore Kazm told him once that pants were for the godless and that true believers were liberated. Liberated from their pants and as consequence liberated in mind and heart as well...or at least that's what he claimed.
The morning after would bring with it a few baked potatoes for breakfast, a cackling mad man from somewhere in the building (likely without pants again), and Thorne. Believing he eluded the ninjas, he found the House of Kazm and deemed it a sufficient place to hide for the night. However, The church was begin watched. Thorne was in need of magical healing still to fix his cracked bones. He also needed to sort out what to do next in relation to those who hounded him.