Tavern Brawls S04W04

Raelyn and Aeric had spent most of the past week gambling on the Tavern Brawls.  They made a nice profit on the continued hot streaks by the Wild Bunch. However, while awaiting their next assignment from the Syndicate, they also tried to dig up some dirt on the deceased Daredevil Dragovar. Unfortunately, this investigation revealed a frustratingly incomplete story.  

Damiro Dragovar was a Warrior known for ruthless tactics, and his business dealing were similarly vicious.  His clan was frequently hired by the local Thieves’ Guild and the Silent Syndicate that employed Raelyn and Aeric.   Beyond simple henchmen, they were commonly involved in the uglier side of the Thandarian underworld: extortion, assassination, kidnapping, and torture. However, they operated in a grey zone and were rarely confronted by Thandarian law enforcement, as many of their ranks were recruited from ex-military.

His death was portrayed as a heroic sacrifice, as his family proclaimed that he died rescuing a local girl from a group of Orc brigand kidnappers.  At one point six years ago, on the anniversary of Dragovar’s death, a bronze statue was erected outside the Tipsy Turtle Inn in honor of Dragovar’s sacrifice. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for vandals to deface the statue. Finally, after several rounds of vandalism, the stone Dragovar was moved to his family’s compound.

Raelyn and Aeric didn’t believe the official tale of Dragovar the “Hero.” However, considering his history, and the fact that he descended from a long line of terrible humans, they were both certain there was much more to the story of Damiro Dragovar’s death in the tunnels under the Tipsy Turtle. They would certainly need to uncover these loose ends. 

As the two criminals sat in a back corner of the Turtle, Raelyn asked her friend, “So which way do we go?  We need more clues. We must get close to the current Decepticons team, led by a dangerous wizard known only as Shockwave.  Or we could try and snoop around the Syndicate and see what sort of contracts have been issued to the Dragovar Clan over the past few years.  But whatever we do, we need to guarantee it doesn’t find its way back to our bosses.  If it does, we might join Damiro Dragovar in the ranks of the Lost.”

Aeric pursed her lips and held her forehead in frustration. Then, after an awkward silence, she finally answered Raelyn’s query, “The information is out there for sure; we just need to make certain that whatever we do doesn’t get discovered by the Syndicate.  Remember, we weren’t supposed even to see the map, and thanks to you, now we have a near-perfect copy of the smuggling route.”

Raelyn half-smiled, “So what are you proposing if you don’t want to risk our being discovered?”

Aeric answered quickly, as a plan was being formulated inside her great mystical brain, “Do you know Hoood the Ranger, one of the best Brawlers we have seen this season of Tavern Brawls?”  After Raelyn nodded, her companion continued her pitch with the skill of a carnival barker. “I was drinking with Hoood the other day and asked  how she honed her tracking skills.  I was shocked when she told me her secret is that everything is one big choreographed series of motions. I asked who her training coach was, and she confided that she is battle-trained by one of her sisters, an expert mapmaker in the Old City District in Thandar.  If we can trust Hoood and her sister, we need to set up a meeting and let the mapmaker help us decode the origins of this map.  And if we think there is a slim chance that they could betray us, then we need to be prepared to neutralize Hoood.  It’s a big risk,  but if we want to unlock this “map to nowhere,” we must do that before the Royal Gold is smuggled through the tunnels.  So what do you think?”

Raelyn took a deep breath, then answered her companion,  “I think we need to see the mapmaker before we run out of time to solve this mystery. So let’s do this!”