A Needle in a Haystack (Sunrise, Jarek, Glen)

"It's quiet," she reports, a faraway expression on her face. "Window's covered. Honey, do you see a back exit?"

Honey does not; the apartment appears to have another apartment abutting it from behind. The entire place, it may be noted, is a death-trap waiting for a single careless fire-stick to ignite.

"Bad place to hide if you're expecting danger," Sunrise says quietly, "but possibly good for us. There's only one exit." She sighs. "So. We going up together? Just me? Me and Glen?"

Glen furrows his brow, trying to think tactically. "We want to be able to act quickly, but we also don't want to scare them if they're just hiding - that's a recipe for a disaster, and Rik likely won't be too pleased with us either."

He looks at Jarek, thinking about their competition in the hunt for Thorn. "Do either of you think that we might want to have Jarek standing just out of sight, beside the door when we knock? He might be expecting half-orcs from the Redfang family, and that could scare him as well. At the same time, if we open the door and swords or arrows come flying out, I would think Jarek would be the most ready to deal with such blows. I don't know. Tactically, I can't think of a best course of action. What do you all think?"

Sunrise frowns. "As long as they don't have reason to think we're with the Redfangs, attacking us sight unseen wouldn't really be in their best interest. It'd draw too much attention to them. Maybe have Jarek out of sight but nearby?" Smiling wryly, she adds, "Anyway, if arrows come flying at me I think I can scream piteously enough to convince them I'm not a threat."

Glen nods, chuckling. "You're fearless, Sunrise. You'll be running this city in no time." He puts a hand on each of their shoulders (having to reach up a bit to Jarek's). "I'll make sure we all come out of this okay. I've got you covered. Let's do this." He walks over and takes a position near the door, waiting for Jarek to stand just off to the side of the door frame, and for Sunrise to come knock.

"Here goes nothing," Sunrise mutters.

Knocking, she calls out gently, "Hello?"

There is no answer.

"See if it's locked?" Glen says, keeping his voice very quiet.

"Anyone home?" she calls out, knocking again. "A, uh. An old lady, she, um . She sold me a cat?" Chuckling ruefully, she continues. "She said she also gave you one. Said we should call on you."

There's a long pause, then the door unlocks. A young tiefling with soft green skin peers out with worried ruby eyes at Sunrise; delicate horns curl from their forehead and twirl back through kinky red hair. "I think you have the wrong address," the youth says in a soft, whispery voice.

"I don't think I do," she says quietly, holding out the letter.

The youth blinks at her, then takes the letter with a trembling hand. They close the door just a tiny bit more as they read, afraid of a trick. Their lips begin to tremble, then their hands, then tears prick their ruby eyes and stream down their cheeks. Swallowing hard, they fold the letter and press it into their clothes. "You... want to come in?" they ask, apprehensive.

"If that's okay," she says with a nod. "My friends too?"

Glen smiles, his eyes warm and kind. He nods in quiet greeting.

The youth nods and steps back from the door, cowed. It's almost an invitation.

Sunrise steps inside, taking a moment to let her eyes adjust and look around before saying anything.

Jarek's been thinking about the risk--or potential?--if he should be taken for a Redfang since the beginning, but he knows he's not the most subtle creature, and he worries that just standing out of sight might also be taken for 'lying in wait'.  No, if he's going to be non-threatening at a glance, there are more direct signals.

When the door opens, if the answerer should look to the side, under the window, they see Jarek lying on his back, shirt open to emphasise his unarmored vulnerability, his hands up to cradle a kitten that is unsteadily deciding whether to nap on his sternum.

It really is a tiefling.  Unexpected.  And green, likewise.  Illusions?  More secrets yet unexplained?  At the cautious invitation, Jarek palms the kitten securely, hops to his feet, and slips inside as quietly as he can.  He leads with the kitten, like a lantern to guide the way or a charm to ward off malevolent spirits, and stays close to the door.

Glen steps in softly as well, taking in the room as well and keeping an eye out for any irregularities.

Perception 15

The room is dark and smells very unwell. Their eyes are immediately drawn to the bed which takes up most of the room. It is stained with sweat, dried blood, and a yellow-green pus which seizes the visitors by the throats and threatens to choke them. An elvish man so dark he almost blends into the shadows lies on the bed, covered in a thin sheet. He is unconscious but stirs fitfully at the entrance of strangers into his space; sensing them, perhaps, but too weak to wake. His right arm is missing just under the shoulder, and the stump is bandaged but filthy.

In a far corner, there is the soft sound of a baby fussing as it sleeps. There is also, pawing at what seems to be a recently-lit candle and about to snuff the damn thing out, a cat.

Sunrise gasps and hurries to the man on the bed, looking him over. "Oh no. Is this - is this the paladin who was protecting you? Oh, we should have brought Ellowyn, I should have learned healing magic..."

She turns to face Thorn, compassion in her eyes. "Oh hon. Have you been taking care of him on your own all this time?"

Glen's face pales at the familiar sights and smells of the wounded. "You're Thorn, then?" He approaches the 'tiefling.' "I'm Glen. These are my friends, Sunrise and Jarek. First and foremost, are you alright?" He extends a hand, not knowing if Thorn will want to grasp it, whether in greeting or to keep steady - Glen is unsure when last Thorn ate.

Thorn's attention is pulled away from Jarek, who he has been studying with muted apprehension--not ideal, perhaps, but better than 'stark terror'. "Um. Yes, I'm... please don't use that name here," he tells Glen, frowning with worry. "It's not safe."

To Sunrise, he nods with a haggard sigh. "I've been tending him for days since the attack. He was able to heal some of it--enough to not bleed out--but he hasn't been conscious to heal the infection since it set in. He says the high priest of Nerull can fix his arm, but we've no way of getting him there safely."

Sunrise takes a deep breath. "I don't know how much Rik put in the letter," she says quietly, "but staying here isn't safe either. The messenger who knew where you are has disappeared; we have to assume the Redfangs are trying to get your location out of him. I know this is short notice, but we need to get you to safety quickly.."

Glen looks at Thorn, then at the man in the bed. He's seen men come back from similar injuries, but only if treated very quickly. "What shall we call you in the meantime?" He walks over, intending to check on the sleeping babies. "And Sunrise is right - we need to get you out of here, and get him to a healer." He looks down into where he assumes there are two babes.