"At your service, cutter," RZA says, still smiling. "Finding out about that wasn't hard - when I went to get paid for, well, you know, the Sarano job, the Lady didn't sound best pleased about something, I asked and we got to your name right quick. I reckoned I'd best go look for you and make sure you don't put my favorite client out of business. And you haven't, so that's good and proper, then. Now, do you still need a ninja or do you want to go at this alone? I don't want to get in the way of your notions, mate, but I figure, the two of us got favorable history - we're not exactly old chums, I'll admit that much, but we keep our deals square, don't we?"
Takao's reckoning places the two of them about three miles from the scene of the murder - certainly outside of Mura's daily routine, which would have probably kept him well outside the circle of suspects if Takao hadn't caught him nearby.
"I admit, having a ninja around would be useful", Takao says.
He points at Mura Trading Limited - though he did briefly wonder what was limited, for that company. "Know anything about those guys? Did the Lady fill you in on what I was doing? There was a fat guy I followed here on the roof so he wouldn't see me. He killed two people earlier today, to keep eyes off of a shipping route. He just went in there."
"What do you know about the local smugglers? The name Mura ever come up much?"
"The Lady didn't tell me anything - ongoing investigation, delicate situation and so on, all that rubbish," RZA says. "Now, I heard 'Mura' once or twice before. Not the name that comes to mind first when you say 'smugglers', but he's certainly dipped his toes into that little pond. Now riddle me this: What is he moving that's got him knocking off the old inconveniences? Smugglers smuggle, they transport and they bribe, but murder for a shipment? That's just not cricket, and there's no margin in it. Probably did a piss-poor job, too, if he's already got you on his tail. Bloody amateurs..."
"They may be amateurs, but that doesn't make them any less dangerous. So, Ishikawa is really not paying you to be around here? I don't have any money to put a ninja on my retinue. I could use your help, though, like I said."
"Think you could have a peek inside that warehouse tonight? I would like to know what Mura stores in there. This is the second time the name came up in three days. I'd also like to know what other warehouses he owns."
"Hey, do you mind watching this place to see if the fat guy comes out again? Big, with a long beard? That's who I followed here. I want to know where else he is going. That's ninja work, right there. I'm going back to the river. I need to see what's on the routes that the bloody amateurs kept unobserved last night with so much vigor."
Takao rises from his perch, waits for RZA's response, and then heads for the docks.
"No, the Lady isn't coughing up anything for me to sit here," RZA says. "I reckon she'll pay if we turn up something, though. Partners it is, then."
Takao's mention of what he wants RZA to do draws a chuckle from the ninja. "That sounds a mite sketchy to me, cutter. Are you sure that's not against the law, having a little peek and what?" He smiles and shakes his head. "No worries, mate. RZA's on the job, I'll get you what's inside, where he's going and if he drops trou in the loo I'll let you know the size of his bollocks, too. You just make sure this little, ah, joint venture ends with a bill for services rendered on the Lady's desk."
Takao rids himself of RZA once more and makes his way to the docks - specifically the docks where the exchange is supposed to take place. That requires a little Tactical Tourism Action to find his way around, though - sure, the clocktower's easy, the highest building in the city isn't hard to miss. Ten minutes across the rooftops later, Takao's there, and starts peeling his eyes for the Grand Hall - which turns out to be like a theater, but it's big and inside a building. (Whatever will those city folk think of next?) That just leaves the matter of the dock, which has Takao following a canal that runs through this quarter of the city, right past both buildings. In contrast to the sloped, grassy shores of the canals outside the city proper, this one runs through a narrow, depressed channel, though it's perhaps more accurate to say that the city is elevated above it. As buildings expanded to take up all available land, new sidewalks were added that are really more like wooden walkways braced on the stone walls of the canal. Just past a tailor's shop, the canal forks - the main arm continues, while the side canal passes under a bridge into a small pocket dock of sorts, with a broad wooden pier for unloading and several heavy-duty cranes for lifting cargo into any of the three adjacent small warehouses. From his bird's eye view, Takao can see a narrow road run behind those warehouses, allowing the cargo to be dispatched by horse carriage from here. The pier and its surroundings are currently clear - looks like everybody's to lunch right now.
Takao walks around to the narrow road and finds the entrance to the warehouse that he saw from the canal side. He looks around to see if is around while walking toward the door, and, not seeing anyone, he then knocks on the door.
No response from inside. Well, either it's empty, everyone inside has gone deaf or there's a ninja perched over the door ready to stab anyone who walks through it, but how likely is that?
Seeing no one come out of the wood work, Takao gets busy with looking around, for paperwork or potential contraband. He tries to keep an ear out for people coming back from lunch.
Takao only has a few precious moments, so there's no way he'll get to search the whole place. A brief scan of tables and shelves brings up nothing notable or even suspicious. A glint of metal inside a crate turns out to be a shipment of newly-made spade heads.
Several voices can be heard outside. They seem to be slowly getting closer - Takao figures he's got ten, maybe twenty seconds before they're at the door.
"I want my shipment. Why else do people come to a warehouse? Where's your boss? Will he be here today?"
Takao is obviously unconcerned about the worker ranks in front of him. He musters the workers, but doesn't expect any of them to be the ones described in Genji's letter. Still, he looks for a ring.
"It's not here yet, is it? How much longer will I have to wait?"
The man shakes his head in that "get a load of this jerk" way.
"I don't know where your shipment is and I don't care. You'll get it when it's here. You want to whine at someone, go bother Mura. Now get out of my warehouse before I call the policemen."
"Mura will hear about this. It should have been here days ago. It's probably even here somewhere in the warehouse, and you lot are just too lazy to get it ready and send it out to me. I can't believe that Mura employs you lot."
There's something in Takao's words, expression and gestures that seems irresistible to the warehouse workers' fists. With sneers on their faces, they stomp forward to teach this presumptuous little shit a lesson in customer service.
Takao lunges forward at guy number one, whose eyes widen in surprise as Takao wrestles him up and slams the two of them into a stack of crates! Both wood and the worker's ribs crack but don't fully break. The next worker grabs a loose board and swings for Takao, again and again, and Takao obligingly stumbles backward, giving a display of almost falling over himself while dodging blows and letting the man smack the shit out of the precarious towers of crates around them. And the last guy...well, he tries to jump on Takao's back, but as (bad) luck would have it, Takao ducks under a board strike from the other guy just then, and the grappler flies overhead, bumping up against the already loosened stack of crates on the other side. The top crate sways dangerously over the heads of the brawlers, but still remains in place - only just.
Takao's attempts to gain purchase on the board-wielding worker are greatly complicated by said board - Takao barely avoids a thwacking and finally has to let go lest he get clocked over the head.
Both workers start to just flail at Takao - that board doesn't feel so good against his ribs - and it's all he can do to keep up with the flurry of hands and wooden implements coming at him, but it's bleedingly obvious these guys don't know how to fight - one even tries to sweep Takao's leg, but all it does is get him pushed back against the stack of crates, momentarily stunned by the impact.
The crate on top sways and swings, almost ready to fall down...
Takao raises his arms to give the appearance of a desperate defense against the flailing blows of the duo, then fakes a stumble while giving ground to his attackers and slams against the crate stack.
(1d20+16 = 29 Athletics for a bullrush against the crates, add any applicable modifiers for doing so backwards and with less than full coordination. Anything falling yet?)
As the workers advance on them, Takao reaches for the crates to topple the remainder onto them.
Bumping Worker 2 against the stack nets both him and Takao 1d6+3 = 5 damage, reduced to zero by Takao's armor.
Worker 2's Damage Save vs DC 13: 1d20+4 = 18 RESISTED! Worker 2 is, however, sprawled.)
Takao's slam does it. There's only so many times you can bump an unsecured, slightly too high stack of wooden crates before it comes down, and this was one time too many. The entire stack collapses to the back as Takao almost falls over - and carries him just outside the splash zone of the topmost crate breaking over the head and shoulders of the worker with the board - spilling out dozens of arrows, some of which stick into the floor - and none, fortunately, perforate the worker. There is a brief moment where he looks at Takao with a "The fuck is this shit?" expression, then his face curls into rage and he resumes trying to smack Takao around with his board.
(Worker 2 repositions to lose to Sprawled condition, then tries to tire Takao.
Takao suffers 1d6 = 1 point of subdual damage. But hey, it ignores his armor and forces a new save.
Takao's Fort Save vs DC 12: 1d20+3 = 12 TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
Worker 3 tries to trip Takao...
Worker 3's Acrobatics: 1d20+6 = 26 CAN HE DO IT?
Takao's Acrobatics: 1d20+12 = 25 YES HE CAN!
Takao is sprawled!
Worker 3 kicks him while he's down.
Worker 3's Attack: 1d20+7 = 16 ALL ABOARD THE FAILBOAT)
The disoriented swinging of the Worker 2's board distracts Takao just enough for the other guy to get into his back and sweep him off his feet! Takao just about manages to roll out of the way of the follow-up kick, but that still leaves him on the floor with two pissed-off warehouse workers out for his blood. Maybe it's time to get dangerous?
Gatac
