The Court of Miracles.
2nd of Ymiden, 720.
2nd of Ymiden, 720.
"Ta da!"
Tio spread his arms out wide with a flourish, eyes dancing with barely restrained joy. The others looked around at the scene before them. Cobra even gave a low, appreciative whistle.
“Not bad at all Assface. Where’d you get the money for this place?”
“I used to dabble in the odd bit of piracy. Come on, let me show you around.”
When Tio had led the crew of the Logging Consortium heist to a fairly shabby looking stable on the coast of Almund, gushing with enthusiasm about how he’d found the perfect hideout for their new organisation, it was fair to say none of them looked particularly impressed. While the stable itself was pretty solidly built, the wild strands of hay and piles of horse dropping littered about did not paint the picture of a well looked after place. Things only looked worse when Tio led them to a trap door hidden beneath a bale of hay and down into a dark tunnel that had a faint whiff of sewer about it. Yet Tio had only shot them a sly grin, and pushed open a door at the bottom to bring them into a large hall.
The whole room had a very solid feel to it. It was built mainly from solid stone bricks, reinforced with dark wooden beams and platforms that still held the scent of fresh cut timber about them. They had emerged onto a wide open floor with five tables dotted around it, all identical except for the central one, which was far longer and wider than the others and strewn with papers. A few steps away stood a message board, currently empty, but with the word “Jobs” carved into the top. Off to the side was a bar stocked with a range of drinks, and on the other side was a planform leading to a more private dining area. There was another small platform next to it, this one hidden behind a thick red curtain. A sign reading “Mage’s Study” hung above it.
Behind the job board was a flight of wooden stairs leading up to a second floor above the bar. From there one could look down all across the floor below, or back away into a storage cellar currently bare besides a single empty barrel. Tucked away in the far corner was a small booth also hidden behind a curtain, this one with a sign above it reading “Private.”
“Took quite a bit of nel to find a company who’d be able to both do this job well and stay discreet about it. I’ve got to say I’m happy with the results though.” Tio continued as he led them to the main table. “Turns out that finding a decorator who’d keep their mouth shut was impossible. I was thinking that when we find a few more members we’ll see if we can’t get them to snag some cool looking stuff on jobs. Give the place a well earned look, you know?”
“It’s certainly well hidden. Well equipped too.” Answered James gruffly, scratching his chin. “But this all means nothing without the members to fill it. What’s our plan for recruiting?”
Tio took a seat and gestured for them to join him. Morgana took a seat by his side and began pouring a bottle of wine that'd been left on the table, handing them out to Kyari, James and Cobra as they sat at the other end. Once everyone was seated Tio downed his glass in a single gulp. “Recruiting will become much easier, and more efficient, with a reputation. We need to pull off something big, showy and dramatic. Steal a prize that’ll capture the public’s attention rather than something of high material value. More importantly we need to do it in a flashy way. Once we have a name for ourselves on everyone’s tongue we ride that wave of fame while it lasts and recruit our first members; young hotshots looking to make something of themselves.”
“And you have a target in mind?” Kyari asked.
Tio grinned, the smile concealed behind his mask but visible in his eyes. He took a roll of paper from the table and spread it out before them. The effect was immediate: the moment they saw it everyone blanched.
“Oh hell…”
“Well shit…”
“Boss… no…”
“Boss yes!” Tio laughed.
On the paper before them was the blueprints of a particularly mean looking cannon. Seeing their unease, Tio pressed onwards. “This is a 32lb demi-cannon. Considered a medium weight cannon, it is currently the most popular model used on galleons due to its balance between ease of handling and firepower. The Water Troops use this model in their galleons. Galleons like this one.”
He unfurled another paper, revealing a sketch of a galleon. “This is the White Lady; a galleon owned by the Water Troops that patrols mid-way around all of Scalvoris’ water territory. It is capable of carrying up to one hundred demi-cannons at a time, making it more than a match for any light ships, and is often escorted by a small procession of Merquestian riders. We are going to steal as many of these demi-cannons as we can right off the deck of one of the Water Troop’s strongest ships.”
The others gaped at him as if he’d grown a second head, the silence unbroken until James coughed pointedly. “Listen boss. I get that you want to make a big impact, but isn’t this a bit too ambitious? Robbing a lumberjack company is one thing. Robbing a military warship is way too big of a step up.”
“I disagree. I’m not suggesting we try and raid the ship head on; I agree that that’d be suicide. As long as we stay stealthy and come up with a good enough plan, stick to our strengths, there’s no reason why this should be any different from The Consortium job.” Tio replied. “Besides this is our best chance to recruit new members. Scalvoris has a large population of pirates and ex-pirates who are too scared to be seen challenging The Elements directly. Not only will the cannons sell for a vast sum of money, but by making fools of The Elements while we’re at it we’ll garner a lot of support from that community. Once we create the impression that we’re strong enough to steal from even the military thieves will be falling over themselves to join us!”
The others didn’t look fully convinced, but Tio’s silver tongue was winning them over, he could see it in the way their shoulders started to relax. It would only take a little more pushing to convince them. “Besides this one shouldn’t require as much direct involvement in the heist itself. When sneaking onto a military vessel less people would reduce the chances of being spotted, so I’ll handle the actual heist part myself. What I need from you guys is help with the set up and other logistics. If it goes wrong none of you should be in as much danger.”
There was a visible shift from reluctance to resignation across their faces, and in that moment Tio knew he had them. Kyari tutted and ran a hand back through her hair. “I suppose I can’t argue with it so long as you’re the one shouldering all the risk. Alright I’m in. Cobra?”
“Yeah yeah, I’m in too.” Cobra grumbled.
“And me.” James finished. “So what’s the plan?”
“I have something in mind, but I’d rather keep it close to my chest until it’s something more concrete.” Tio replied. “For now we need to gather more information, organise logistics, and run some tests to make sure everything works as intended. Kyari I want you to find out more information on The White Lady: it’s exact patrol route, the captain, the number crew who’ll be on board, and it’s construction blueprints if you can. Cobra I want you to mingle with the crew and any family members they have on shore: see if there’s anyone we can turn over to our side. James I want you to organise a place to store the cannons once we’ve got them; somewhere far away from our guildhall, easy enough to take the cannons to, and safe from anyone stumbling across them by accident.”
“And what will you and Hecate be doing while we’re busting our asses on the grunt work?” Cobra asked.
Tio’s grin grew even more beatific; like a psychopath who’d been given a puppy and was about to eat it.
“We’re going to be playing with explosives.”
Morgana’s eyes shot up, pure horror sparking across her face. “You know-... Maybe I should help with the preparation instead…”
“Nonsense!” Tio chuckled, throwing an arm around her shoulder and drawing her into a half-hug that, conveniently, cut off her escape. “What sort of a guardian would I be if I didn’t teach my ward how to use high-yield explosives?”
“A sane one?”
Tio laughed heartily. And then kept laughing, long past the limit of what was socially acceptable, until the others shot nervous glances to each other.
“Help me!” Morgana mouthed.
