02-09-2017, 04:45 PM
The very next day, exercising more caution, Carmelita continued to explore the camp. The windows of opportunity to speak to the hostages were limited, and so she focused her efforts on planning.
She approached the stone huts with care. Two slate roofs, covered in dead, sunlight-deprived moss slanted down, protecting what once must have been the mine overseer’s hut and toolshed. Carmelita wove her way across the sturdier patches of the mound of loose shale that had been built up behind the toolshed, lightly hopping from sturdy foothold to sturdy foothold and avoiding the wobbly rocks.
As she approached the stone wall, she heard the rustling of papers being stowed away, and caught sight of Scar himself closing the door behind him as he headed deeper into the mine. Carmelita crept forward and snuck into the hut.
Beyond the scent of singed air from her cloak, the whiff of smoke caught her attention in the pitch dark. There were no windows into the hut, and the door still swung closed on its hinges, preventing light from the torches outside illuminating her surroundings. Carmelita withdrew her shock pistol and charged up a single shot, using it as a light.
She found herself standing next to a small wooden writing desk, inkpot and quill perched neatly in an indent in the top corner. Besides it lay a small cabinet holding sheafs of paper, and on the shelf above sat a small lockbox.
Carmelita pulled open the cabinet and began laying out the sheets of paper on the table, using her eyepieces to record what was on each sheet. She didn’t give any one sheet more than a passing thought, since delaying would increase the risk of discovery. It was hard work, doing it with one hand, but in ten minutes she had finished going through them, and rapidly put them back in place.
Pulling out a bobbypin, Carmelita eyed up the lockbox speculatively. It was certainly possible to get it open, but there was no telling how long it might take, or whether its contents were anything besides money. A glint of blue caught her eye, and a closer inspection revealed blue runes around the lid. Deciding that tempting fate would be unwise, Carmelita carefully backed out of the door and snuck away under her cloak.
Carmelita walked across the open area to the second hut, avoiding the horses tied up on one side. Again, the hut was windowless, and the door was shut, but with a careful glance around to make sure she was unobserved Carmelita levered it open enough to slip inside.
She found herself in what appeared to be an armoury and storage area. Weapons racks on one wall, armour stands on the other and the shelves of items at the far end gave Carmelita plenty to examine, but she settled with taking pictures of everything. The biggest box that caught her eye was one labelled as ‘Signal Replacement Parts’, and something she took a moment to open and photograph the contents of. Inside lay a large number of brass and copper components, several etched with the same blue runes she had seen on the gate mechanism and the lockbox.
She stood there for a while, perusing the potions, gadgets, bolts and arrows, before the sound of someone approaching sent her ducking into the corner behind the door where she would be unlikely to get in the person’s way. Her cloak was excellent, but it didn’t stop physical contact.
In came one of the bandits, Teeth if she remembered correctly, carrying a small bag. The man was perusing the bowstrings when another bandit, a woman, joined him. The conversation between them was low, but after Carmelita heard the two discussing sources of leather and beeswax she decided that it was time to leave.
The day after her expedition was spent sorting through the documents she’d taken pictures of, and in it she made several notable discoveries.
The first was that the bandit camp had an emergency signal to activate if they came under attack. From the list of jobs and work shifts she had spotted that one of the bandits had been tasked with repairing it. Second was that there was someone in Camelot feeding information to the Silver Hand, whether voluntarily or forced she couldn’t tell. Carmelita thanked her decision to wait until she had scouted out the full extent of the camp before informing the Guard. Sadly, it looked like she would have to pull this off quietly, and without informing the Guard as to her intentions. Thirdly, it appeared that there was a weekly trip to the local markets made by a couple of bandits wearing magical disguises, as there was a list of who was assigned to leave when and when to pick up the bracelets from Four-Eyes. The final document was a list of the sleep and watch schedules for the next couple of months, one which Carmelita found most promising.
After finishing her reading, Carmelita spent the rest of the evening summoning basic vitamin supplements. She had the vague inklings of a plan coming together in her head, but she needed the sick and elderly well enough to walk. Perhaps Malon and Sera might have a way to feed the rest of the hostages the tablets...
She approached the stone huts with care. Two slate roofs, covered in dead, sunlight-deprived moss slanted down, protecting what once must have been the mine overseer’s hut and toolshed. Carmelita wove her way across the sturdier patches of the mound of loose shale that had been built up behind the toolshed, lightly hopping from sturdy foothold to sturdy foothold and avoiding the wobbly rocks.
As she approached the stone wall, she heard the rustling of papers being stowed away, and caught sight of Scar himself closing the door behind him as he headed deeper into the mine. Carmelita crept forward and snuck into the hut.
Beyond the scent of singed air from her cloak, the whiff of smoke caught her attention in the pitch dark. There were no windows into the hut, and the door still swung closed on its hinges, preventing light from the torches outside illuminating her surroundings. Carmelita withdrew her shock pistol and charged up a single shot, using it as a light.
She found herself standing next to a small wooden writing desk, inkpot and quill perched neatly in an indent in the top corner. Besides it lay a small cabinet holding sheafs of paper, and on the shelf above sat a small lockbox.
Carmelita pulled open the cabinet and began laying out the sheets of paper on the table, using her eyepieces to record what was on each sheet. She didn’t give any one sheet more than a passing thought, since delaying would increase the risk of discovery. It was hard work, doing it with one hand, but in ten minutes she had finished going through them, and rapidly put them back in place.
Pulling out a bobbypin, Carmelita eyed up the lockbox speculatively. It was certainly possible to get it open, but there was no telling how long it might take, or whether its contents were anything besides money. A glint of blue caught her eye, and a closer inspection revealed blue runes around the lid. Deciding that tempting fate would be unwise, Carmelita carefully backed out of the door and snuck away under her cloak.
Carmelita walked across the open area to the second hut, avoiding the horses tied up on one side. Again, the hut was windowless, and the door was shut, but with a careful glance around to make sure she was unobserved Carmelita levered it open enough to slip inside.
She found herself in what appeared to be an armoury and storage area. Weapons racks on one wall, armour stands on the other and the shelves of items at the far end gave Carmelita plenty to examine, but she settled with taking pictures of everything. The biggest box that caught her eye was one labelled as ‘Signal Replacement Parts’, and something she took a moment to open and photograph the contents of. Inside lay a large number of brass and copper components, several etched with the same blue runes she had seen on the gate mechanism and the lockbox.
She stood there for a while, perusing the potions, gadgets, bolts and arrows, before the sound of someone approaching sent her ducking into the corner behind the door where she would be unlikely to get in the person’s way. Her cloak was excellent, but it didn’t stop physical contact.
In came one of the bandits, Teeth if she remembered correctly, carrying a small bag. The man was perusing the bowstrings when another bandit, a woman, joined him. The conversation between them was low, but after Carmelita heard the two discussing sources of leather and beeswax she decided that it was time to leave.
The day after her expedition was spent sorting through the documents she’d taken pictures of, and in it she made several notable discoveries.
The first was that the bandit camp had an emergency signal to activate if they came under attack. From the list of jobs and work shifts she had spotted that one of the bandits had been tasked with repairing it. Second was that there was someone in Camelot feeding information to the Silver Hand, whether voluntarily or forced she couldn’t tell. Carmelita thanked her decision to wait until she had scouted out the full extent of the camp before informing the Guard. Sadly, it looked like she would have to pull this off quietly, and without informing the Guard as to her intentions. Thirdly, it appeared that there was a weekly trip to the local markets made by a couple of bandits wearing magical disguises, as there was a list of who was assigned to leave when and when to pick up the bracelets from Four-Eyes. The final document was a list of the sleep and watch schedules for the next couple of months, one which Carmelita found most promising.
After finishing her reading, Carmelita spent the rest of the evening summoning basic vitamin supplements. She had the vague inklings of a plan coming together in her head, but she needed the sick and elderly well enough to walk. Perhaps Malon and Sera might have a way to feed the rest of the hostages the tablets...