12 Seleszeni 10.076 Z.C., Afternoon

Mav and Splatz strolled into the Love & Mercy, satchels of evidence in tow. Lilla looked up with a scowl from her table in the rear, alone and with her back to the wall. Yarik popped his head out of the storage closet and waved to them.

“Welcome, friends,” he hailed. At the bar, Tozinok whistled a greeting and drafted two tankards of bumbat, motioning them up to the counter.

“You boys get what we needed?” she asked in a conspiratorial whisper when Mav and Splatz collected the drinks. “Blue over there is pretty tight-lipped.”

“That’s a surprise,” Splatz joked loud enough for everyone to hear. Mav rolled his eyes but nodded to Tozinok, and Splatz thanked her for the drinks before they joined Lilla.

“I’ll be with you in a moment, just have a couple more things to attend to in my office,” Yarik boomed from the storage closet. Mav shrugged.

Lilla cleared her throat with panache. “And where did you two run off to? Why didn’t you follow me like you were supposed to?” demanded Lilla before they could take seats. Mav regarded her for a long moment, measuring his tone when he responded.

“You’re not the leader here, and I was going to ask you the same thing.”

Lilla opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again, thinking better of her argument as she glanced between Mav and Splatz’ hard expressions. They sat down before she could fire off another round. Dirt still streaked her white hair, though only traces of soot remained around the edges of her face. She's probably only had a chance to wash her face in a sink.

Then, the edges of her nose fluttered. She leaned in, sniffing the air in front of Splatz’ face.

“Bastards! You even went drinking without me!” she exclaimed.

Mav tried to keep from smiling, but failed when Splatz laughed at Lilla’s obvious jealousy. Like a whip, her hand shot forth and snared the goblin’s tankard, bringing the mug to her mouth.

“Hey!” Splatz complained as she took a long drink. Her face twisted in disgust as she pulled away the cup and slammed it back on the worn wooden table in front of Splatz.

“Ugh! It tastes worse than yesterday, if that’s even possible!”

Silence descended on the table. Tozinok coughed once from the bar counter. In the closet, they heard a loud thump as something fell off a shelf and Yarik swore. After another long pause, Mav looked at Lilla again, demurred by guilt over her last comment.

“You have the holographer and those notes?”

She nodded, retrieving the items from her bag, handing him six holos of injured goblins, the holo capture device, the unused holo blanks, and notepad.

He flipped through the holos she'd taken, impressed by her ability to frame and highlight the injuries. "Nice shots," he commented without glancing up, turning to the notes next. She made sure to collect all the names and key details from the goblins’ stories - he guessed Lilla paid keen attention to their Legion training on writing incident reports.

The bell above the door chimed. Mav hesitated, half-expecting to find Brutus at the door flanked by a squad of wojeks. Even though he and Splatz doubled back to make sure they weren't followed from his apartment, his uncle possessed uncanny investigative skills and a knack for being in the right place at the wrong time. Well, the wrong time for Mav anyways.

Mav glanced over to the door, relieved when Rafiel walked in. He took a long swig of his tankard and wiped the foam from his mouth.

"Welcome," Mav called with a bit of cheer, motioning for the hybrid to join them and kicking out the last chair for him. But Raf just gazed around the bar like a solemn ghost.

"Nadine isn't here yet?" he asked, and Mav shook his head. Lilla’s brow furrowed and her cheeks dimpled as she bit her bottom lip in concern.

"She'll likely be debriefed for a few more hours. I'm surprised the ‘jeks let you go so soon."

"You let her get caught?!" Lilla accused, leaping to her feet and glaring at Mav.

Mav hadn’t done much drinking - much less during the day - since joining the Legion, and the hot whiskey and adrenaline in his blood fired up his passions. He slammed his tankard on the table, standing and glaring at her eye-to-eye, refusing to sit while she towered over him. He bristled his shoulders; at this range, he could land a dagger in her throat before she could say ‘firebolt.’ Her widening eyes confirmed she knew it, too.

"I let her get caught?" he menaced, voice low. "I was with you, dumbass, until you ran off ahead of us."

Lilla swallowed hard, but refused to sit. Mav pressed his advantage.

“Yeah, I talked to Nadine after you ran away like a shrimp. And she said things were fine, until Yarik blew their cover. That’s when Rigoleto started icing people, Nadine included. The clerics barely managed to get them out of the ice in time.” Lilla’s eyes ran over Rafiel, and then the door to the storage closet.

Rafiel cleared his throat. "I was watching across the street, like Nadine told me to. Then I saw Rigoleto wipe his mouth and pull out some blue wand. That’s the last thing I remember. I told the Boros I was minding my own business across the street when he attacked. They let me go, but said they might have more questions later."

Yarik emerged from the closet. “Anyone follow you?” he asked, looking at Rafiel, then Mav. Rafiel shrugged, Mav shook his head and Yarik sighed.

“No matter,” Yarik muttered, following Raf to the table, grabbing another chair for himself from another table on the way.

“No matter?!” Lilla almost screamed. This time she did loose a firebolt, blasting the chair out of Yarik’s hand. He winced at the mindless destruction of property. Mav turned back to Lilla, whose eyes and nostrils flared wide with a very un-vedalken rage.

“You almost got my best friend killed, and that’s all you have to say for yourself?! I would tell you to use your brain next time, but I don’t think you have the necessary equipment!” Splatz hooted a couple of quick laughs. Yarik held up his hands, trying to defend himself with candor.

“I lost my line of sight on them, I couldn’t just sit there in the dark. We all knew the risks when we signed on to this mission. It sounds like your friend, Nadine, is okay now. But Rigoleto and Jakobsmann might still come after us if they find out what we’ve done. The sooner we can bring them to justice the better - for all of us.”

Yarik’s cool, even tone conveyed total confidence, not even a speck of insecurity crept into his voice. Mav shrugged as he sat back down, he couldn’t help but agree with the proprietor’s points. Lilla scowled, snarling at Yarik, but also returned to her seat. He retrieved his scorched, but intact, chair from the ground, and sat by the others.

“So, what do we got?” Yarik asked, rubbing his hands together eagerly now that the tension passed.

Lilla’s temperamental passion from moments before sputtered out, as she frowned with her arms crossed. The silence dragged out, and all eyes soon turned to Mav.

“We got evidence. How did things go wrong with Rigoleto?” Mav checked, watching Yarik.

Nadine said you gave them all away, and yet you’re the only one at the scene who didn’t get iced? She could be dead because of you, you better start explaining.

The table’s attention shifted to Yarik, who frowned back. “Nadine volunteered to distract him by herself, asked Raf and I to wait and watch. She was doing that when I lost eyes on them. I moved to get a better look, and then Rigoleto started shooting. Raf here and Nadine were both taken out before I could do anything about it. I made sure the Legion got there to help.”

More like the Legion helped while you ran to save your own hide. The two men stared each other down across the table. Splatz cleared his throat, catching Yarik’s attention.

“What is it, little man?” he wondered aloud, pretending he hadn’t just lost the staredown.

“Sorry, just something in my throat,” Splatz lied with a chuckle at Yarik’s expense.

Whether Mav liked the man or not, Yarik hired them to do this job. He grabbed his bag and laid out the evidence, walking through what their team learned.

Raf and Yarik listened with rapt interest, examining the photos of the goblins’ injuries, skimming the short witness statements Lilla collected. They went through the business logs, Rafiel whistling at a few of the figures. Yarik took the briefing in stride; Mav got the feeling the big man expected them to find everything they learned.

The files from the safe also contained a log of workers and disciplinary actions taken, with records of a few ‘death penalties’ meted out, as well as lists of family members of workers and their last known abodes. No doubt Jakobsmann and his goons used this information to threaten workers into submission. Once the team flipped through those documents, Mav retrieved the briefcase.

Opening the latches one-at-a-time, he watched Yarik’s eyes light up with each successive click. Of course, this is what he was really after; I had a feeling but should have known.

Withdrawing the folders of blackmail Jakobsmann collected, Mav tossed them across the table to Yarik, who snatched them up and began examining the information. The files contained blackmail on five individuals in positions of power, which Jakobsmann used to keep his business interests protected and strong, including evidence of a Golgari advisor embezzling money from the trade routes he managed, holos of a local Boros sergeant with a mistress, and details of an illegal arms deal between a rival forgemaster and Quartermaster Lacon of Kamen Fortress.

Jakobsmann even found blackmail on the mob boss Krenko, explaining why he hadn’t interfered with Jakobsmann’s operation. Apparently, Krenko set up two of his own loyal lieutenants to take a fall when they started amassing too much power, in a preemptive strike that landed one of them in prison and the other dead.

Mav glanced at Splatz. They’d already gone through everything at his apartment. He withdrew the money from the briefcase, setting small stacks of platinum coins on the table, studying the dark gleam of greed in their Orzhov employer’s eyes. Yarik reached for the coins, which Mav covered with a hand.

“Not so fast. We found this money, not you. Giving you everything we found wasn’t part of the deal; we’ll split equal shares for everyone,” Mav declared. Nadine deserves a share of this, if not for almost dying than at least for distracting Rigoleto. Yarik frowned. “And while we’re on the subject, you owe us payment for our services.”

The Orzhovian’s frown deepened. He glanced around the table, met with a shrug from Raf and hard stares from everyone else. Muttering under his breath, he rose from the table and returned to the storage closet. Oh sorry, your ‘office.’

Mav measured out shares from the significant cache Jakobsmann stored in his getaway briefcase, and placed the two magic items from the briefcase onto the table as well. Rafiel picked up the spell scroll, turning it over with a curious hum before putting it back. Meanwhile, Lilla reached out to pet the downy material of the magic cloak.

Yarik returned, placing several small bags of coins on the table.

“Here’s your payment,” he offered, forcing a jovial tone.

“Alms? Really?” Splatz protested as he began counting it up, while Mav eyed Yarik.

“What about Rigoleto?” Mav requested.

“Don’ worry, I’ve got Rigoleto under control. He can’t hide from me.” Yarik’s words did not reassure Mav, the confident dismissal in the other man’s voice bordering on arrogance. Pride comes before a fall, Yarik. Something I know all too well. Still, Yarik’s problems were Yarik’s problems.

The table fell silent for several long moments as everyone regarded the stack of evidence they’d collected against the forge boss.

Breaking the silence, Mav eyed Yarik, leaning back in his seat. “What now?” Yarik shrugged.

“Now I take this information to the Azorius, and Jakobsmann will answer for his sins.”

Something about Yarik’s tone made him suspicious. He’s not going to turn this evidence in, probably never planned to. Sensing the same shiftiness in Yarik’s tone, Splatz looked up from counting his coin.

“The Azorius... Are you in two guilds? Thought you were Orzhov,” he commented, dark eyes narrowed.

Yarik cocked his head to the side and shrugged one shoulder. “Well, I am in the Syndicate, but I do some work for Senator Orric too, on the side.”

Mav considered Yarik. Affiliation with two guilds was uncommon. While not strictly forbidden or illegal, the guilds themselves frowned on it. Too often, the interests of any two guilds were at odds with each other, placing anyone trying to work for both in a very precarious, and often dangerous, position.

“Why don’t we take it to the Legion, let them sort out jurisdiction with the Azorius,” Mav suggested.

“Yeah,” agreed Lilla, and Splatz nodded tacit support, still counting the payment from Yarik.

“How you gonna explain to them that you stole this information?” Yarik challenged, squinting as he nodded to the pile on the table.

Mav shrugged. “Figured I’d deliver the documents along with the other messages I handle for the scouts. Anonymous tips come in all the time.”

Yarik checked all their faces, appearing to weigh his options. Finally, he sighed.

“Fine, take-,” Splatz burped loudly, interrupting Yarik. The large man hid his annoyance and started again. “Take the evidence to the Legion. I’ll keep the blackmail, though,” he countered. Mav shrugged.

Can’t say I like turning a blind eye to corruption in the Legion, but they’ll be taken down in time. Best we get Jakobsmann out of business now.

Mav piled the evidence and magic items back into his satchel, leaving Yarik the briefcase and blackmail. The large man put the folder into the case with a grimace and tucked it under the table. Raf and Lilla pocketed their portions of Jakobsmann’s getaway cash, and once the papers were stowed, Mav took his and Nadine’s.

“Thanks for the gig,” Mav told Yarik as they stood to go. Yarik muttered something under his breath, face twisted in momentary displeasure before smiling with the oily charm of a snake.

“Pleasure doing business with you, we’ll meet again, I’m sure.”

With a noncommittal nod, Mav walked to the door, Splatz, Lilla, and Raf on his heels.

Emerging from the small, cramped club into the afternoon sun, Mav took a deep breath, pleased to be in the open air again. Only a trickle of smoke rose into the clear blue sky from the direction of Stahl Donner, a sign the fire was under control. The scents of the Precinct rioted in his head, and as his empty stomach grumbled, he focused on the savory aroma of street food. Feeling the weight of his coin purse, he turned to Splatz to suggest they eat.

As he turned, Lilla linked her arm into his, tugging him forward, away from the Love & Mercy. He winced as she grabbed his spear wound, feeling the scab crack open beneath the tight bandage under his sleeve.

"Come on," she commanded. "We should check on Nadine, make sure she's okay and get the full story from her. Her house isn't far from here."

He could find food any which way in this sprawling city, so he followed, extracting his arm from her grip. As they walked along with Lilla, Mav and Splatz exchanged a look, and several hand signals. Her, Krenko, pay, follow. Splatz signaled his understanding; he would break off soon and hire someone to tail Lilla for a while.

Lilla led them down Tin Street, and Splatz excused himself as they neared the side alley where the porters loitered on break.

“I’ve got some things to do, goblin stuff,” he drawled. Lilla wrinkled her nose and turned to Mav to make sure he would still accompany her.

“Alright, see you later!” she bid as they parted ways. Splatz rolled his eyes at her cheerful tone.

Several blocks later they passed Imp’s Menagerie again, where they hid that morning to get onto the cart. An angry bray and the clamor of hooves alerted Mav to possible trouble. Spinning around, he spotted the store’s ornery old guard goat too late, the beast already charging him.