Background

Visha had a shit life. Sure he was good as a box man, but no one ever gave him the time of day. He was new in town and an outsider with no real credit to his name. It made getting jobs difficult to say the least. In a tavern drinking down his last two bits he heard a drunken sot spinning yarns. The guy, Tirgis, a.k.a. the ‘Nighthawk of Karolak’ was ten years older than Visha, but he was a box man too. Also just like Visha he wasn’t from around here either. Some of the stories even Visha had heard of, who hadn’t heard of some of these heists, but the details this guy knew, he was there, he had to be. This guy was the genuine article, the real thing with fingers that could work their their way around a lock better than a whore’s tongue could… *ahem*.

Envious? Yeah, not really a seed either, for Visha it was a full grown tree ready to play the tripping root and low hanging branch. That’s when the idea struck Visha. He kissed up to the guy and wormed as many details of the few heists he could out of his sorry, drunken ass that night. Then he helped him to bed. Shame the guy was so drunken or so trusting.

The next morning the staff found him with a throat slit and a blood trail leading to an open window. Of course Visha left by the fornt door so no one really suspected him, but now he had a better purse, some real tools, and some stories to back up his new “reputation”.

Visha has intimate details of some notable heists for the last 5 years, but they’re all second hand. He uses these to pimp himself, selling him as the guy that did them, of course he’s had a turn of bad luck recently, which explains why he’s “slumming it”. Of course, he didn’t commit a one, and people who know solid details about them may suspect it; however, Visha’s knowledge of the crimes is intricate enough that he can get past surface investigations. After all, who else would know these details. Never mind that the Earl’s jeweled hat was stolen 5 years ago, clearly who ever you heard that from got it wrong, I know as I was there, let me tell you about it.

[GM] Intro to the Campaign

You did your deed in Karolak, and decided that things may be too weird
for you there for a while. You’ve done a few jobs here and there in
the towns as you traveled east, but mostly surviving off pick
pocketing and impersonating the guy you killed (“Tirgis the Nighthawk”).
You drifted south, into the Duchy of Dunstrand. Eventually you made
your way into Bivmaden, the capital of East River Run – one of 2
counties part of the Twin River Alliance in Dunstrand. Fortune has
smiled on you though, and while the reputation of Tirgis is strong
here, identity is not. Within weeks you were contacted by a man named
‘George’ who represents powers in Dunstrand. He wants you to
‘retreive’ something he claims was stoeln from its rightful possessor
– a Griffin figurine. A group of ‘mercenaries’ stole it from an
associate of your contact and he desires to have it return. The pay is
pretty crazy – 10,000 silvers – on delivery. He tells you that the
group that has it are called the Bloody Spikes but may go by other
names. It seems they operate out of the Riverdans – a sort of
hillbilly paradise by the way he describes it – obviously not a place
where his usual agents may got unnoticed by the sound of it either.
The group is said to be 5 strong, lead by a man named Spike and
including some ugly Grollen and a woman named Lady Blackwell. He
understands it may take time to locate them, and advances you 100
silvers. You ask if there is a deadline and how dangerous is the mark.

He says no real deadline per se. You take the deadline as the sooner the better.
When they say its no danger if you don’t have an magic aptitude there is a somewhat visible look of relief.
He smiles and laughs and tells you not to worry – but not to handle it much either.

You take the money and cross into Cerrans Grant – a sort of puppet
territory ruled by Twin Rivers, though really its supposed to be part
of the Riverdans. from Dallbrook Crossing, you randomly make your way
to Rumein, the capital of the region. You have no clue how you hope to
find these folk, but 10,000 is a strong reward to try. Watching the
southern approach for a few days, you gather intelligence on the
Riverdans. Old in culture, impoverished, set in their ways and strong
connections to the Wyld faith… few roads, and a bad reception
reserved for outsiders. Wondering how you ever figure this out, you
watch a large, armed band enter the city. They seem to cause quite the
ruckus, as the guards are very animated and seem to be celebrating
them. They seem very well off, and temptation gets the best of you as
you decide to follow them and pilfer a few choice items from such a
well-off group.

In Rumein, they take residence at Horchover’s Inn. Word gets out, and
you catch the name Green River Brigade mentioned. Apparently, they
performed well at some battle and have some reputation with the
authorities. Long into the night the group is celebrated, while a
messenger goes out to summon the Captain of the Guard, a man named
Glasion. Libations flow and apparently the group never collected their
reward from the last battle. Though diminished by the cost of
‘safekeeping’, it sounds considerable. You follow a few members here
and there, and over the course of the evening something seems amiss to
you. A few times they call each other by names other than the ones
they are known by. Once, one of them even mentions the Bloody Spikes.
A couple of them you observe do not drink overmuch, though most of
them imbibe heavily. There’s no woman traveling with the group – but there’s more in their numbers.
You weigh the odds and decide to stick with the group as it may be your mark nonetheless.

There’s a bit of stir as you follow them north, and at Dallbrook crossing they reveal themselves
as the Green River Brigade. Agents of your employer are easy to find here again, and your passage across the river is bought and paid for.
Shadowing them, you definitely confirm this is sthe group you are looking for and their ultimate destination is
the Merchant City of Karolak – where they intend to find out about some items… probablyincluding the one you are supposed to steal.
As they travel further on Feldis Way – heading NW, their guard gets let down more and more –
all of them seem to be celebrating having made it far out of danger. Everyone is now drinking and
things seem safe enough to think about the job at hand.

You decide to take a shot at their room, where
some of their gear is stored. While searching for their loot, two of
them come back to the room. You slip under one of the beds to hide and
overhear a strange conversation. Apparently the group is indeed the
Green River Brigade, but also The Bloody Spikes AND Gide’s Gallants –
the last you have never heard of. The group has grown by a couple
additional members, and by the conversation the woman is a magus. Not
good for your plans. Additionally you here the name Cage Northfort
mentioned a few times. In Karolak where you come from, the deeds of Cage were well known –
large man, 2 handed sword, a temper and a hatred for Orrish. Famous in
battle, terrifying – a real killer. This deal is sounding worse by the
moment. However, things perk up when you hear mention of some sort of
theft they plan – of an artifact! Right from the depths of some rich
mercantile family’s tomb.

Unfortunately, the rest of the group traps you in the room overnight.
Little else is said, though you do discover the real names of the
group – Cage, Gide, Taer, Geraldine, Eldric, Meldrin and Xar. Waiting
all night through multiple trips to the garderobe by full bladdered
adventurers, you try and slip out otwards morning. Just as you have
the door open and are backing out of the room, Cage Cage wakes and
angrily shouts whats going on. Thinking fast, you exclaim that you are
their ‘wake up call’ and ask if there’s a request for breakfast.
Hangover’s abound, but you manage to pull off the deception. Not
knowing what else to do, you wake the cook and put in the order.
Sitting and drinking kafe (on their tab of course) you ponder your
next move. Ten thousand is a lot, but a berserker, a magus, and from 5
to 7 members… the odds seems pretty stacked. On the other hand, they
seem to have a line on a big score and its hard to resist. You
decide to bluff and wait for them, using some of the knowledge that
you pulled from the conversation.

One thing everyone realizes at one point or another is that there is safety in numbers. These guys seem capable enough that it would be better to have them watching my back than stabbing it.

The Plan

On Christiana, if I don’t have details about her or can’t come by them, I would say that it was through an intermediary if asked. I have no clue who she is, but I’m assuming that if she hires a group to do a job then she’s got henchmen. If they figure out that I don’t work for her, then I will be happy to confess that she didn’t, but I did manage to learn about the heist anyhow and I’m always looking to work on my reputation, especially now that I’m so far from home, and you guys seemed like a capable enough crew to do it with. You wouldn’t have simply let me join you if I hadn’t lied, now would you?

As for the name? Why Tigris the Nighthawk of course! Though I do keep some other alias’s to keep the constables at bay. You know how reputations are. Where I like Klaus, Visha seems a better fit for the realm.

Character Concept

Archtype Kit: Rogue (though I may switch to Generalist as its easily comparable, and arguably better)

Primary Attribute: Muscle or Coordination (Undecided)

Primary Skill Group: Gadgetry

Visha is the iconic Boxman with a silver tongue. His goal is just
profit and the next big score to add another notch to his belt.

He talks good and he really knows his way around a lock, but he’s totally not a combat asset. Very slow on his reflexes and not always all there.
Seems to always be looking for a chance to show off or prove himself in terms of being a thief, not like he hasn’t dozens of times in the past. Otherwise he clearly prefers to talk is way into and out of situations. He doesn’t have the flareful smirk of roguish charm, but he’s definitely got charm.

He knows his shit, and he’s not afraid to talk about it or his past heists.
He’s smart enough to plan out heists and good enough to pull them off, but he is a slight bit addled in the head which leads to some odd choices now and then, even mistakes that only an amateur would make. Probably got hit on the head for is trouble too many times.

Focus on his boxman and persuasion skills and find (more) fame through such, looking for that one heist that will forever be remembered. But if all he gets is survival and a bit of fame on the side he’ll be fine.

visha 9/26/2009 .doc

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