Buy a pair of waterproof sacks, and set out, looking for a location near this cove to get into the water. If it is inside the Guards' zone, wait until midnight.
[2] The coast near the cove is steep and jagged, full of sheer cliffs rather than shale or sand. You are forced to venture closer to the cove, [3] and find a narrow beach of grey sand just inside the cove proper. You could probably enter the water from here. You conceal yourself behind some rocks and take a look at the ship itself; a single-masted cog, built in an unfamiliar design. It looks more like a fishing boat than a sailing ship, but you suppose it must be seaworthy. You can see [3] about half a dozen guards on the prow of the ship, armed with [3] clubs and knives, but they look like sailors rather than soldiers. They are unarmoured. [5] The gangplank to the ship is down, it is moored by rope to a pair of posts driven deep into the sand, and you can see the rope where the anchor has been dropped on the far side. [5] The cog looks cramped, and there appear to be a number of large crates on the deck. To your great surprise, you hear the muffled whinny of a horse, probably below-decks. [1] It is a clear moonlit midnight, and there are plenty of torches on deck.
How will you proceed?
get onto the beach, and swim around to the back, where Ban Yi Soong is sure to stay. open a window from there, and enter to kill him
You stick your crossbow and bolts in the oilskin sack and slip into the water, [1+1] but get buffeted back onto the bank with an unexpectedly strong wave. Your splashing as you grab hold of one of the rocks is heard, [5+1] so you dive straight under the water and hold your breath. You emerge right next to the hull of the ship, and in the distance you can see a torch where a lone crewman is taking a look at the bit of beach where you were just hiding. [6+1] You ram a couple of pitons into the hull and scale your way up the side, looking for the captain's quarters. When you find a thick pair of wooden window boards you pull them open [1] to find rows of hammocks and a dozen sailors, some of whom are playing a card game. One of them turn to see the opening window, [5+1] so you slide back down the hull and grip onto the pitons for dear life. Years of training pay out as the sailor sticks his head out of the gap and looks around for a good thirty seconds, but you keep your grip.
"Could've sworn I latched that properly," he murmurs, then shuts the window boards again.
[4] Your arms aching from the effort of holding you up, you clamber around the hull of the ship until you come to a relatively concealed part of the deck and drop down behind some crates. You massage your forearms for a moment and remove your crossbow from the sack, securing it on your back. [1] You lie in wait for a few minutes, hoping to get some clue from the conversation of the sailors on deck as to Ban Yi Soong's location, but the only two guards talking are complaining about women. Just as you are about to give up, one of them walks over to where you are hiding to check some stock. [2+1] Seeing no other hiding place, you try one of the crates and by sheer luck it is unsealed. You slip inside it just as the sailor comes around. [3] The sailor spends a small eternity checking nearby crates. When you peer through a crack in the wood you can actually see him leaning against the side, smoking a pipe.
[6] There is a loud crack as your rapier goes through the wood, spearing the sailor through the chest. Loud enough that his comrades start calling after him about the fuss. [1] "H-help me..." he croaks before he falls backward off the ship and lands with a loud splash. [3+1] You shove the lid of the crate open and hurl yourself across behind some other luggage as the sailors come searching. By the time they shout an alarm you are already pulling open the trapdoor to belowdecks and shimmying down the ladder.
[2] You are a capable athlete, but stealth is not in itself your forte. A sailor responding to the alarm comes around the corner just as you reach the bottom of the ladder. [3+1] You ram him into the wall with your hand around his mouth and stab him upward through the ribcage with a dagger. He tries to scream, but you muffle it. [4] You spot an unoccupied hammock nearby, so you shove him in and douse the oil lamp nearby to make the body less obvious.
[6] You actually have no idea where you are going, so you pick a random direction in the cramped corridors and follow it, sticking to places where the oil lamps have not yet been lit. All around you, you hear shouts of alarm and men waking up and searching, made worse by the lack of light. You conceal yourself behind a rack of miscellaneous objects in what looks like a store-room in the darkness and listen to the shouting. Amidst the cacophony one phrase sticks in your ear; "Head to the aft, tell him! Soong is not going to be happy about this!"
You unhook your crossbow and prepare to leave just as [5] someone steps into the doorway and reaches to turn on the oil lamp - which is also when you realise where you are. The miscellaneous objects on the rack in front of you are weapons - and you just picked the armoury as your hiding spot. [4+1] There is a sharp
click-clack as you load and discharge the crossbow, followed by a strangled cry and a heavy thump as the bolt makes contact. You break the oil lamp with the butte of the bow and steal back out into the corridors, heading aftwards.
[3] After a few near-encounters with sailors you make your way aft until you reach a barred iron door with a large keyhole and lock, behind which you can see a rich bed, a fine walnut desk and a wide-bottomed wine cabinet designed for use on ships. You are mildly impressed by the paranoia of a man who would switch out the captain's quarters for the windowless brig because he expected assassination. The room is extremely well lit, with few hiding places.
[2] Soong is nowhere to be seen. [2] You try the door and find it locked as expected, [3-1] and you are no locksmith either. [4] You hear approaching voices and duck into a nearby store-room full of bolts of cloth. One voice stands out in particular, screeching in a harsh Selenid falsetto.
"What the fuck, shitlord? What do you mean you can't find him, you arse-wiping piss-biscuit? Why the horse-fucking donkey balls aren't you back up there searching with the rest? No, don't fuck off you seed-brained fuckwit, I need you in case he comes here! Why are you all so fucking incompetent, you shit-faced arse-bandits?"
You suspect this may be your man.
[1] Your vantage point from the store room is terrible. You don't realise how terrible until a wiry Selenid with an expensive silk robe and a bad moustache walks past the door and looks right at you. It strikes you that the light illuminating him must be shining right onto you. He screams like a little girl and starts running down the corridor, giving you little choice but to follow.
[2] There is only one guard waiting for you when you emerge from the storeroom, but he is big and unlike the sailors actually looks like a real mercenary, complete with leather armour and mace. [3+1 vs 5] He clotheslines you with the mace as you run out of the room, winding you and knocking you to the ground. [3+1 vs 1] You smack him hard in the nuts with the head of the crossbow, [6+1 vs 1] then discharge it. The bolt lodges somewhere in his throat, after travelling through most of his torso in the process.
[6+1 vs 2] Ban Yi Soong runs as fast as his short legs can carry him, which turns out to not be very fast. You reload your crossbow as you run, turn a corner and fire, [2+2 vs 5], but the Selenid veers to the side and the bolt flies past him. He heads for the main mess room and you give chase, [2] running into a trio of sailors with weapons and a lamp. [3+2 vs 1] A crossbow bolt takes out the first as they see you and you draw your rapier, [4+2 vs 5] running through the second. You try and punch the third, [2+2 vs 5] but he slashes you across the belly with a long knife, forcing you to leap back. [3+2 vs 4] You withdraw your rapier and piston it right back into the knife-fighter, who squeals and falls away. Blood is now streaming from your side, but you keep up the chase.
Ban Yi Soong runs into the mess room, [5] which is of course deserted because of the shipwide search. You cock the crossbow, aim as the Selenid tries to flee for the safety of another corridor, [6+2 vs 2] then shoot him through the back of the skull.
You quickly rifle through the dead man's belongings, [4] finding a money pouch with
5 crowns in solid gold coinage along with a thick iron key. You take both, [6] and make it back to the brig without being harassed. When you arrive, you see why, [4] as a pair of sailors are waiting for you with swords from the armoury. [4+2 vs 2, 6+2 vs 6] They actually seem surprisingly competent for their position in life, with one of them feinting as the other tries to go for your side, but after your last duel with an expert your standards have risen somewhat. You impale the feinter instantly, piston your arm back, then run the other through as well. They both fall screaming, so you silence them with a second stab each.
The key unlocks the brig door as expected, [3] but beyond a rather fine bottle of brandy (which you take a swig of) the only object of real importance in Soong's desk is a thick manuscript. You flip through the pages to confirm your prize and find that the ledger consists of long tables with dates, times, names and quantities and prices of such exotic items as 'bricks', 'iron', 'timber' and 'stone'. [6] Something strikes you as very off about the quantities and prices, but before you can think about it further you hear men approaching and shove the ledger in one of the oilskin sacks.
[1] You rush straight for the door and are confronted by four more armed sailors, [3+2 vs 1] who you greet in the traditional fashion of a bolt to the face. [6+2 vs 6, 3+2 vs 6, 6+2 vs 3] The remaining three encircle you as you try and fight them off. You impale two of them off the bat, but a third rams a trident through your ribs. Cold floods your body and you stagger away from him. He gives chase, [4 vs 1] but even in your weakened state you are a better runner. You stagger up to the deck, throwing crates and objects behind you to delay your pursuer, then hurl yourself into the water and swim for your life. [4 vs 6] In the escape you feel a sharp pain as something hooks into your leg; a harpoon. You grow faint and soon darkness consumes you.
[2,1] You awake at high noon, on a grey shale beach. There is a broken harpoon head lodged in your leg and the wound screams from salt water. Your oil sacks have vanished, along with the pouch of coin you retrieved from Soong, but at least the damn merchant is dead. You lie there for a few minutes, summoning up the strength to remove the harpoon, [6] which you do a little too easily. Blood starts streaming freely from the leg wound, [2] and binding it with cloth does little to really stem the bleeding. [6] You force yourself to crawl from the beach and struggle for half an hour before seeing a campfire and bivouack nearby. You reach it, exhausted, and slump down by the fire. A familiar face emerges from the bivouack.
"Well, now. Look who just washed up at my doorstep..."When you regain consciousness the wound has been properly bandaged and dressed and you have been given a crutch, but you do wake up in the middle of a clearing. This time you still have your sword and armour, but are missing [5] half of your stash of jewellery from Ulfric's hoard. Payment for saving your life, you suppose.
You hike back to Northwatch on your crutch to find that it has been three days since you set out; you were unconscious for some time. A man in unremarkable brown peasant's robes stops you on the road as you enter and presses a pouch into your hands, then walks off without a word. Inside the pouch are
10 crowns in gold coins and a note.
Congratulations.
If you have the ledger, place it under the hollowed stump behind the inn at Northwatch tonight and your money will be there in the morning. When you are ready for your next job, ask the barman at the Iron Hound for 'Mr Wainwright's box'. Be sure to pay him a drake for his troubles.
You have successfully slain Ban Yi Soong!
You have retained 5 crowns from Ulfric's hoard and been paid 10 crowns for killing Soong.
Alas, Soong's ledger and money is lost to the sea.
Meanwhile, in de Arborvent castle...Grunhilde glanced at the paper in her hands, marked with a blue seal. She memorised the words, then burned it in a fire, making sure to scatter the ashes thoroughly.
Tomorrow, she would stop leaving seeds in the high tower. The fog, she supposed, would clear with Liodyna's will.
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Topic: You are King III: Spring 938 AAL (Read 133548 times)