Chapter 1: A Friend in Need

With a look at Xelia and Prince, Alastriona turns and heads for the stairs. She descends to investigate Stitches' call. Upon seeing the kenku dressed in the garb of their prisoner, she draws her falx and levels it in Stitches' direction. Her gaze takes in the kenku prisoner, then Stitches, and she finally looks at Vatra, confused.

Stitches finds that the only lookout into the yard is a peep hole between the bay door and blacked-out window. You are completely obscured from the yard from this position.

Vatra follows Stitches lead but grabs the prisoner and takes him back inside with him. Attempting hide, he holds a finger up to his lips to signal the prisoner to also remain quiet.

Hearing the warning Butler quickly moves to a position to cover the yard whilst trying to keep out of sight.

Not seeing Stitches, Alastriona observes Vatra pulling the kenku prisoner into the warehouse. Noting that Renaer is not present, she strides past Vatra and into the yard, her falx drawn and shield across her other arm.

Alastriona takes several steps until she stands in front of Renaer, facing the direction of the tromping boots. Her sword tip held low, arms at her sides, she stands stoically like the shore break against the tide.

"I like your style," Renaer says, "and there's nothing more I'd like than to knock out some of Xanathar's thugs' teeth in this very yard. But they want me alive, at least for a while longer. I'm not so sure about you. So, let's go join your friends."

If Alastriona will go, he walks back into the building finds a spot among the boxes. If Alastriona stays, he wipes the blood from his mouth and prepares to fight by her side.

Alastriona looks over her shield-shoulder at Renaer, her eyes watching the movement of his mouth as it forms his words. With a long studious pause, she raises her sword across her chest and points it at the young man, then points to the door. Looking back at Renaer with the expression a mother uses to silently demand compliance, she waits for the nobleman to return to the warehouse.

Should Renaer go, Alastriona follows until she is by the door and turns back around to face the new visitors, choosing to remain outside with her back against the building.

"Strange that this road has been marked. I wonder what one could find in that area. Hmm." She briefly looks around the room for anything that could resemble "the box", or perhaps a hidden location for such a container?

Prince comes away from the window and rejoins Xelia "I thought I heard Stitches call out a warning, but I don't see anything out there.What are we searching for?"

Renaer retreats inside, understanding Alastriona's intent. "If more people were as talkative as you, the world would be a better place!"

Meanwhile, Xelia doesn't find anything that looks like a box, but she knows a thing or two about the predilections of the rich and powerful and expects a high degree of subterfuge. The bells tip her off. They have no obvious function, and they are all rigged to some kind of mysterious pull cord that goes off into the wall at the same point? Bingo. The bells are almost certainly some kind of alarm system for alerting the office people whenever the "box" is opened. Unfortunately, the cords all run into the wall, so where they end up will require some additional searching.

Renaer and Alastriona duck into the warehouse and find positions inside. Stitches watches from the peephole as the sound of marching grow louder until ten armoured guards round the corner and begin entering the yard. These are the men and women of Waterdeep's famed City Watch, hailing from a wide variety of ancestries. They fan into the yard, some leveling crossbows at the various entrances of the warehouse, covering the advance of others with metal bucklers and heavy cudgels.

Upon seeing the Aasimar with weapon drawn and shield donned, the guards form ranks.

A final Watch member rounds the corner. Alastriona and Stitches recognize the Black Dragonborn from yesterday immediately.

"Down arms!" Civilar Shestendeliath commands deep voice that rumbles like distant thunder. His ten Blades prepare for a fight, weapons at the ready.

"Did you hear that? Out in the yard." Prince moves past Xelia and creeps partway down the stairs. "What's going on?" he mouths to Stitches and Vatra.

Whatever she may have been expecting, Alastriona still recognizes the uniform of the City Watch. Though she gives no apparent understanding of the barked order, she nonetheless lowers her weapon, perceiving the newcomers as protectors of the peace. Alastriona sheathes her blade and with her free hand, pounds the door of the warehouse.

"City Watch!" Vatra claps back, "I do believe the jig is up. If you are looking for something I'd make it quick! Otherwise I'm taking this outside." After passing the information up to Prince, Vatra grabs the prisoner by the scruff, "Come one you, better to the City Watch then the morgue eh?"

Waterdhavians are accustomed to diversity. Even so, Alastriona's celestial heritage seems to have taken even these veterans by surprise. Shestendeliath appears to recognize Alastriona from yesterday and approaches, weapons not drawn. He raises and then lowers a hand with the air of a person who is comfortable wielding authority. In response, his patrol lowers their weapons.

He speaks to her:

"There were reports of violence. What is going on here?"

In the background, Alastriona and much of the courtyard hears a muffled "What's going on?" coming from inside the thin walls of the warehouse.

To Vatra, the Kenku prisoner responds with a startled, panicked look.

He raises on hand and utters in the same Orcish accent from before "The access tunnel is down by the..." his voice trails off as he leaves out the crucial bit.

Then he raises another hand and sings in an elven woman's voice: "You will always be the one that I regret. How will I let you go?"

He crosses his hands to indicate the deal is still something he's offering. Then he makes the sound of a prison door slamming shut, and makes a deal of his hands been push violently away.