[CLOSED] THE MINANTER JOB

[katabasis]

WHO: Yseult, Flint, Darras, Kostos, Adalia & Six
WHAT: A riverboat raid goes exactly as planned.
WHEN: (Backdated to) End of Justinian
WHERE: The Odovacar, a sprawling floating casino somewhere on the Minanter.
NOTES: Hijinks ensue.

"We've traced the source of the funding to the Odovacar, the personal boat of Cassir Odell, a Nevarran merchant growing in prominence. The Odovacar plies the Minanter - never more than two days from the border of Nevarran-Marches border, entertaining prominent guests around its gambling tables. I've twice heard mention of a Venatori sword being in Odell's employ. They must have some hand in managing the accounts, and may know something of the many ends toward which the coin travels."

The plan born of the report is simple enough. A small team of combatants will take a light craft along the Minanter, locate the merchant's yacht, then board and capture her under cover of night. The ship's hold shall be emptied of its funds, the Venatori "sword" sheathed and surrendered into the raiders' custody, and then they will all be on their way. With the right arrangement of fighters, it's easily and quietly done. It should take no more than six to capture the kind of boat used for day cruising by a merchant of middling reputation from a country currently arrested by the very real likelihood of a civil war.

Unfortunately, the Odovacar is not that boat.

'Boat' is, in fact, maybe a misnomer altogether. The craft that the team finds meandering down the Minanter is more sprawling floating island than it is any kind of ship. Its two visible stepped decks are festooned with live greenery and winding slate paths leading between the small village worth of brightly colored open air canopies under which gambling games of every assortment are being played by the light of great burning braziers and more delicate, intimate torches. There are no less than two full compliments of musicians flocking about, and every breed and variety of Thedas' wealthy and prominent meander between the tables. On the upper deck, a full score of men and women labor under the broad swath of canvas required to manage the boat as it creeps slowly along the Minanter; who knows what lies beneath the absurd monstrosity’s waterline.

So much for simple.

Comments

TEAM CATCH-A-VENATORI (DARRAS & ADALIA)

[katabasis]

Odell is a gregarious man in his fifties, dressed in silks and brocade and clearly enjoying his recent and significant success. The small, dark haired woman in his shadow is significantly less outspoken and swaggering, but seems perfectly content with her place in the man's prodigious shadow.

At some point within earshot of Darras and Adalia, Odell loudly calls for a new bottle of wine for a table, then pauses to ask his shadow, "Judex, my dear, would you care for something?"

The Venatori agent is Cassir Odell’s right hand woman. You can try to abduct her from the boat however you can, just don't kill her - the information she has is no good to anyone if it dies with her. You'll also need to lift the vault key from her person and pass it off to your associates on the way out.

Unfortunately, nothing is easy. In addition to funneling funds to the Venatori, Judex has also been skimming some spare change of the Carta's share of the Odovacar's profits into her own pocket. A member of the Carta has been sent to clean up the loose end and deliver a stern message Odell to mind his end of the business with more care. Don't let the Venatori agent get murdered.

[staysail]

Darras doesn't look around.

He's gone full Rivaini for this particular venture, leaned in to his country's stereotypes: long tunic, broad sash, soft trousers, all edged in gold. His jewelry is gold too, rings and necklaces and earrings that manage to catch the light, even half-hidden by the folds of the headwrap. It conceals how short his hair is now, a small mercy for personal vanity.

Whatever accent he might have had has normally been rumpled by all the other voices and languages he's been around for the more significant parts of his life, but accents are like a jacket. Put them on again, and they can change you. So here: he's Rivani again, even in his voice. Silk and and the smell of spice do the rest, the fine reddish powder he keeps in the big ring on his left hand is a particularly Rivani affectation, just one bejeweled token amid nearly twenty others that glimmer on his hands. They're distracting. He's distracting, but that's the way of it, and he leans back in his chair and strokes thoughtfully at his close-cropped beard, surveying the spread of the cards on the table before him.

Adalia is not at his table, but she's nearby. They'd entered the room separately, found each other, kept close but not too close, and arranged themselves with that same proximity to Odell and the slender agent they're here for. This seating is also the way of this particular venture. And Adalia will have heard that name, same as him, because they're both tuned toward it--and she'll have heard Judex's murmured response:

"Just some air, I think. The air here," and Darras is looking past the Venatori agent, picking at his teeth with the tip of his fingernail ring--the sort that fits over the first knuckle and covers the natural nail--so he catches her gesture, to the room at large and the blue haze of smoke that hangs, low, around the tables. "It has a thickness."

Odell chuckles, as if she has said something amusing, and waves off the servant, who makes for the bar. Judex pushes back her chair and makes pleasantries with the others.

Darras picks up the cards he'd set on the table and considers them. The hem of Judex's linen veil brushes against his shoulder as she slips past him. She continues on, away from the tables, weaving her way between their narrow avenues, and Darras begins to count backwards in his head, waiting for the right opportunity to stand and walk after her. Adalia is meant to follow Judex first. He doesn't dare risk a look around. She knows what she's here to do. She'll play her part.