Just another job Part 7 - Henchmen
Rem outright picked the very first item his eyes saw right after he opened the chest – it was a dark blue, lined with black runes hooded cloak. The thing was infused with Invisibility magic and could hide him completely, sustaining its shroud for half an hour at best. Even if he didn't use its magic, it was a good cloak and aid him since he was skilled in evading detection. It was best used under cover of darkness, although the spell could be activated anytime and worked perfectly even under the brightest of sunlight. The solver of problems quickly left the library and his trusty alchemist behind, of course, he pocketed Felk's special chest-opener – just in case if Rem needed to check the contents of this chest and break his contract. As a matter of fact, the countess was awfully specific about the contents of her special, reinforced box not being seen by anybody except her. Then again she was a Levoah. The countess could make his life in Krart really hard and with the Frost coming in a month (hopefully two), Rem had to return and assume his usual operations within the confines of the city proper. A special crew would come to his mansion and make the building uninhabitable, transport all of his valuables to his city base, “The Busty Elf”. He never spent more than a hundred gold and those boys were good craftsmen. They'd check the building for any structural damage, reinforce everything they could and then haul the luggage he'd chose to move here for the Warmth. As always, some stuff they secured in his mansion's basement.
He unlocked the door leading to his mansion's dungeon and picked the lantern which Val had come to leave here, next to the door. Just in case that her master got the sudden urge to visit his pet. The second he flipped the lantern's lighting switch a bright reddish globe of light surrounded Rem and illuminated him every step. Walking down the narrow staircase, he picked up the pace and even jumped the last five, well carved out of bluish stone, steps. His “dungeon” was very tiny, really, how much space would a solver of problems need? One small, well reinforced cell, its door wide open, was build in the far south corner of his basement. Just in case he had to kidnap somebody and keep them locked up for the ransom money – Rem was a mercenary, not a saint of Kan. Along the north wall, Val kept spare supplies; extra clothes, blankets and, of course, fuel. One never knew what would happen to Krart and when the chaotic hordes of the Pit came every two and a half Turns, it was good to have a fall back position. A well lit, warm position...
On the basement's east wall Rem ordered his “kennel” built. Originally he was planning on raising war dogs, training and then selling the canines but his plan was a bust. The noble who was his partner to be outright vanished one evening together with his family, servants, guards – everyone. As a matter of fact, the mansion he resided in was also gone and when the guard mages, desperately tried to locate the missing noble's abode, all of their spell were for naught. Nothing worked, neither Rem's impressive legwork, the many hours (and good coin) he devoted to looking for Count Mesto. Not a clue was discovered and after a month of wasting money and a lot of his very expensive time, Rem gave up. Now, those kennels weren't exactly useless – he found something in the forest and tamed it.
“Here Mushu, come here they!” - Rem whispered in the dark, slightly damp basement as he knelt. Something enthusiastically hopped at him and soon a dog sized mushroom was rolling all over the floor and his legs. Mushu was a Hop mushroom, native to the Ancient forest where his distant cousins grow up to ever larger sizes, but he and his less impressive brethren were now thriving both in the forest and sewers. Hop mushrooms were small sized and possessed the intelligence of a dog. Thousands of years living alongside sentient races led them to evolve into house pets and companions, but they can still be dangerous when provoked. Mushu was well trained and could, once per day use its spores and those who inhaled them would sleep for a hour at best. His pet was loyal and especially in the forest or some of the low dungeons of Krart, like the sewers, indispensable, almost invisible. For Mushu those two environments were ideal and best suited to his unique physiology. Hopping around him, the happy mushroom dropped some bones and Rem, kicked the human skull to the other side of the basement. Sometimes the traps caught intruders, fools who thought his mansion unprotected and easy to ransack. Since he had no special moats full of earthworms and Mushu had to eat something... Rem always thought that this arrangement was best and the Hop mushroom certainly loved him for feeding it well. He could take Mushu with him on the job – If that is Rem's choice, post 1 in the comments below.
After leaving the basement, Rem climbed up his observation “tower”. In actuality, that was his ceiling and he used the space few Turns ago to build a nest for one of the Ancient forest's large ravens. Letuchio was a raven the size of his glider, one which he had procured at a considerable cost from a Wizard of the Goryo House and just as good at flying stealthily. Especially at night, Letuchio was almost invisible since the Ancient ravens were also magical beasts, ex-monsters some called them. Just like his little pet Mushu, with the passage of time, people and other races turned some of the critters into pets, helpers, forming almost a symbiotic relationship with them. Rem hauled one freshly killed by his traps giant, cat sized rat and offered it to the still sleepy raven. They could fly during the day, yes, but when these large birds were the best was under the cover of darkness. They had excellent darkvission and could fly well even in bad weather. Letuchio's jet black, almost blue feathers made the red eyed bird especially beautiful to behold and if someone (except him, of course) tried to pet it, they'd lose more than an eye. His claws were the size of daggers and certainly were sharp as such. The beak was... viciously pointy. Letuchio was Rem's getaway bird. He had instructed the critter to circle above his head, high in the air, a short wooden beam clutched in his claws. On said beam, Rem tied one good piece of rope and, if the trouble was too much for him to handle, he'd order the trusty bird to swoop in and fly him away. Certainly, the Ranger's ring which came with Letuchio was also a thing most nifty and he could use it once per day to see through his raven's eyes – If that is Rem's choice, post 2 in the comments below.
Of course, Rem could also listen to his floating librarian and take him on the job. The lich truly was not as powerful he was before he had his entire body, yet still, his magics were polished. The holy undead was also a skilled alchemist and after recovering the property of his current employer, he could try and determine what it was that she trying to hide so hard. That and he was able to detect magical auras, traps and such, which Rem himself couldn't. – If that is Rem's choice, post 3 in the comments below.