The House of Cards

This thread is where [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] will write up our events, and publish events which we are planning.  99% of this will be OOC as a lot of what we do is behind the scenes and in the shadows.   We'll try and keep the visibility of the organization high through this thread however.

As usual, if you want to contact us; to be a target, to hire us, to join us or to investigate us - please contact myself or Sage here or in game.

Sentinel Hill. The Evening of Tuesday, the 6th of December

An Account from the Heart

(If you just want the details, skip to the OOC section below!)

Two figures sit in the sky above Sentinel Hill, a heart and a spade, appearing as a mere blemish against the star specked darkness. Far below the people sleep as guards shift from their initial unease to the comfort of their posts. As usual, all is quiet. If everything goes as planned, it will remain that way.

The Queen peers from the back of the ebony coloured gryphon. From their height she can not make out a soul on the tower roof, but it is always better to err on the side of caution. She swivels around deftly to meet the questioning look of Three. They exchange a smile and a brief word before masks are donned. The Queen slides from the saddle and plummets towards the tower, her gaze on the watch for any signs of life. A mere two souls tonight. Sinewy leather catches the air, slowing the fall as she guides herself to land out of view of the sentinels.

The silence is broken by song. The guards turn slowly to seek the bearer of the voice but find only sleep to greet them. The Queen sighs as they slump to the floor, before whispering into a peculiar device pinched from her belt. She awaits patiently for the spade to join her, surveying the fortification below.

"A job for a spade or diamond, left to a heart", she whispers with a sighing laugh, as the gryphon takes its landing. Three steps from the bird before they hurriedly move to the stairwell. The Queen leads confidently, anticipating the movements of those in the tower as they close on their goal. It isn't long before it is found. An official looking sheet of paper. Three quickly draws a vial from her bag, lowering her mask as she downs the potion and gets to work.

Attentions turn as the door opens. The Queen flashes a smile at the guard, whispering under her breath as she walks towards him. His eyes lock onto her before relaxing, glazing over as they begin to sway with her hips. His expression becomes dull as he dimly grins at the Queen, her voice commanding his very mannerisms. She smiles before sending him on his way. The poor boy will remember none of this tomorrow. The last of his retreating steps signals the completion of Threes handiwork, slipped in to replace the sheet they came to retrieve. The vial is grabbed as they make haste to the roof where the gryphon rests.

The guards stir, hastily standing at the sound of incoming footsteps. They salute their commander as if nothing had happened, not wanting to be reprimanded for sleeping on the job. In the distance, two figures soar across the sky, their mission complete.

OOC:

Westfall and Elwynn Forest.  Evening of Wednesday 7th December

The House of Cards launched our first major venture last night.  It had come to our attention that Minister Blazesong was selling off a valuable artifact by auction.  The Jack of Diamonds had already contacted Miss Blazesong, in disguise, to learn the details and had discovered that there would be a viewing of this artifact in Westfall at her tower.  So the House of Cards put a plan in motion.

The goal was to find the location where the artifact was being stored prior to the actual auction, so we could set up a robbery of that storage location.

We met in an abandoned cellar in Moonbrook to discuss the final details of our plan and then headed out to the tower, separately.  The Jack of Diamonds was disguised as a guard, after the Queen of Hearts and Three of Spades had forged an update on the roster the night before.  The Queen went along to the viewing as herself, taking her consort with her and feigning an interest in the item from the point of view of the Illidari.  The Three came along on as aerial support, riding on gryphon back and also landing carefully on the roof of the tower and watching out from there.

Charlie spent some time discussing the attributes of the artifact and many questions were asked and answered by the Queen and her consort, whilst The Jack played out the role of guard.

Once the viewing was over The Jack escorted Minister Blazesong and her artifact away from the tower and to the location where it was being stored - which was the whole point of this phase of the operation.  The Three of Spades followed from high above, on gryphon-back.  Meanwhile, the Queen had set up alert beacons on the bridges leading out of Westfall so we could help track the package.

During the walk, the Minister hinted that this artifact (though expensive and dangerous) was by no means the most dangerous or valuable item she had in storage.  This greatly piqued the interest of the Jack.  It would appear that Miss Blazesong's storage location could make a very interesting mark.

Miss Bladesong let on our destination early in the journey - Goldshire - and the Jack used his personal comms unit to relay that information to the team.  With Jack on the ground escorting the package, and with Three providing aerial cover it was simple enough to reach the final destination with the package still tracked.   This appeared to be Miss Blazesong's own home.  She politely declined help in getting the artifact into the house itself and so the Jack failed to get inside for a sneaky reconnaissance at this time.  The team then went their separate ways, not risking meeting up for a debrief in person at this stage.

Overall, the operation went exceptionally well, and the group achieved their primary goal - that of determining the storage location of the artifact - and found out some extra and interesting information in addition.

The next stage:  Break into Charlie's House and steal the artifact...

OOC:

Outskirts of Goldshire.  Night of Saturday 10th December

A few members of the House of Cards performed an initial reconnaissance of the home of Minister Charlie Blazesong this evening.  The Queen of Hearts and Jack of Diamonds approached the outskirts of Goldshire, moving as only Illidari and trained scouts can.  Even the sheep were unaware of their passing.   Once in position in a hedgerow overlooking the house, the Queen set off for a quick circuit of the house.  Using her fel-sight she was able to confirm that there were no magical protections guarding the exterior - not on the doors or windows.

Next it was the turn of the Jack.  With great dexterity and skill, he easily scaled the walls of the building and up on to the roof.  From there he quickly examined each of the upper floor windows for traps and locks of the physical type.  The whole floor was absent of any traps but every window was locked.

Dropping easily to the floor he then performed the same sweep of the ground floor, again finding no traps and seeing only locks of a physical nature on all the windows.  Finally he made his way to the front door and checked it carefully for anything out of the ordinary.  Nothing there.

So, the owner was either not too worried about her security, or was extremely confident of the security of the inside of the house.  Or perhaps she was simply confident in her reputation as an extremely powerful mage and trusted that reputation to keep her possessions safe.

She would soon realize the House of Cards fear no reputation...


[Next action planned by the crime syndicate: Break into the house and steal the artifact!  And no, we're not telling you when  ]

Stormwind City.  Night of Wednesday 14th December

Drunken revelers in Bizmo's Brawl Pub may have noticed a table of shady characters last night as the Crime Syndicate known as the House of Cards met to put the final touches on the plan for their latest heist.

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Plans confirmed the group left the shady tavern one by one and headed out of the city.

Outskirts of Goldshire.  Night of Wednesday 14th December

A while later four masked figures gathered on a hilltop overlooking the sleepy village of Goldshire.   One, The Queen of Hearts, took one final check of the target property with her Fel-Sight, confirming that the place appeared to be unprotected from a magical angle.

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Unseen and unnoticed the four shades crept quietly into the village and scaled the walls of a large manse on the edge of town.  Here they huddled together and confirmed their entry tactics.  

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It appeared from all their reconnaissance that the front door was in fact the best route in.  So the group climbed swiftly down to the front door and the Ace of Diamonds soon had the door unlocked.  Slipping quietly as mice inside, the four figures closed the door shut behind them.  They were inside the house of Minister Bladesong.

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Taking great care not to disturb anything, the group set about searching the place, room by room.

They were surprised to find no traps inside the house, magical or otherwise.  Though it was noted that this was a person's home so perhaps excessive traps would be unusual.  The downstairs rooms offered nothing much of value, other than extensive wardrobes, many books and a large scattering of mana gems.   These would draw a fair value if fenced and the House of Cards had a few of them working in the syndicate.  But the main target the group had come for - the ancient troll artifact - had not yet been found.

Moving upstairs the group soon discovered the artifact, sitting in its protective glass case on a table.  This room contained more bookshelves, clothes and mana gems.  This all appeared too easy.  

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There was one final room - the Minister's bedroom - and the group carefully entered in.  Searching it, the Queen of Hearts discovered a locked strongbox under the bed.  At last!  Something interesting!   Pulling it out the Jack of Diamonds and Ace of Diamonds examined the locking mechanism.  It was complex.  Very complex.  But they figured they could beat it working in tandem.  The two set to work and did their magic on the locking mechanism.

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It took a few minutes of intense work and concentration but they soon had the box open.  Inside was a fantastic find.  Along with some very valuable jewellery there were many sheaths of paper.  A quick glance through them revealed that these papers appeared to be extremely incriminating documents about Minister Blazesong's past.  And in among them were some plans and blueprints.

These plans indicated that there was some sort of large hidden vault under the house.  And that the entrance way was reached by pulling a hidden lever in the fireplace.  Now it seemed to make sense.  This was why there was one artifact on display and relatively easy to find and steal.  It was a decoy.  The real valuables must be in the hidden vault.

The group headed downstairs to check out the accuracy of these plans.  The Three of Spades - the group's scribe and forger - took the plans and had soon located the hidden catch in the fire.

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Pulling the lever revealed a moving stone wall in the fireplace and behind that a solid iron door, with a complex puzzle lock.  A REALLY complex puzzle lock.  The Ace and Jack took some time to check it over but decided they could not get through it easily and quickly.  But Three said that it appeared there were clues in the plans which would help - but they could not be worked out quickly.  Some of the plans were in strange languages and some in code.  It would take some time to crack.

The group gathered around and discussed their options.  It was soon clear that all wished to hit the vault.  It was also clear that this heist would take time and planning - and that stealing anything at this time would alert Minister Bladesong and make her raise her security levels.   So a quick and cunning plan was hatched.

Using a few potions of haste which the Jack of Diamonds had previously stolen from the city apothecary, the Three of Spades set to copying all the incriminating documents and the plans.  Her forgery skills were excellent and with the help of the potions she was able to speed-forge a copy of all the documents in a relatively short time.

The group took a slow and steady sweep through the house, ensuring all was as it had been before they arrived.  They returned the original documents to their resting place in the lock box and put the plans back too.  They resisted the urge to steal even a single mana gem.

Leaving the house carefully by the front door, they gathered once again on the roof top.  Here they said their goodbyes and split up, agreeing to keep in touch via the street urchins as usual.  Three would go off and study the plans and documents and they would soon meet again to plan their next move.

As softly and silent as shadows the four headed off into the night in different directions.  Elwynn Forest was unaware of their passing and they left no trace of their existence.  But the House of Cards was one step closer to its first major heist, and had some very interesting documents about a Councillor of Stormwind in their possession.  

Things were about to get interesting...

Calling All Grunts!

Wednesday 21st December

The [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] is planning a trip to Northrend on Wednesday evening.  Exact start time to be confirmed but around 7pm server time (may well drift out to a bit later).

We are on the hunt for a certain goblin who is currently working in Northrend.   We need to recover something in his possession and our information leads us to believe he could be surrounded by goblins and protected by a particularly dangerous ogre bodyguard.

Our plan as to how to tackle this situation will depend on how much muscle we can hire.  Although the House of Cards is non-violent in terms of its crime organization, there are times when it is necessary and sensible to draw your dagger and stab a goblin in the back!

If you have an alt or a main who hires themselves out as muscle, and if you are happy to hook up with a bunch of rogues and ne'er-do-wells, then let us know.  You never know, you may be offered a permanent position in the House as one of our Clubs...

Northrend.  Wednesday 21st December

The Three of Spades had spent many hours pouring over the plans we had discovered of Minister Blazesong's vault.  In so doing she had learned that, though the Minister herself had designed the vault, goblins had built it.  The chief goblin engineer on the task had been Foreman Swindlegrin - and his scrawlings and code were all over the plans.  Unfortunately even Three could not decipher them without help. Now she knew that goblin engineers like this often keep records of their codes - codebooks if you will - and she determined that we would need to find his in order to decipher parts of the plans to the vault.

The Jack of Diamonds reached out to his network of spies and informants, and was able to discover that Foreman Swindlegrin was now employed by the goblin cartel, the Venture Company.  He had been deployed to Northrend to a small dig site at the base of the Suntouched Pillar in Sholozar Basin.  Spreading the word to the members of the House via their usual communication network, the Jack arranged for all to meet at Stormwind Harbour.  There they were to board the Javelin, where they would be greeted by Captain Reynard Ferrand.  The Jack had arranged for the House to be transported to Northrend and dropped off at a secluded bay on the west coast, not far from the Suntouched Pillar.

The group arrived in ones and twos and soon found themselves below decks with a long journey ahead of them.   Never before had the House of Cards spent this much time in close proximity together and inevitably they began to tell each other tales of their past exploits and to get to know one another better.  The beginnings of some deep relationships were forged on that voyage north.

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During the trip, the Queen of Hearts told us all of her recent conflict with a coven of warlocks up in the Plaguelands.  Though she had defeated them, she had been seriously cursed with some sort of disease.  She looked more than half dead and there was some concern as to whether she had the strength to make the trip - though she insisted she come along.

Upon reaching the southern edge of the Borean Tundra, Captain Reynard declared it necessary for the Javelin to stop in for supplies, and the group decided that they would take this opportunity to stretch their legs and grab some fresh air.  They quickly realised that to do this they would need to unmask, as there was no way they could walk into a civilized outpost all wearing hoods and masks.  Having spent time holed up in the ship discussing their past, it seemed a natural next step and all appeared comfortable revealing their true identities to each other.  This caused some amusement when it became clear that the Ace of Diamonds and Jack of Diamonds were old acquaintances from their shady pasts.

The group took the opportunity to drop into the local hostelry where it surprised them to discover that the Three of Spades was well known by the locals.

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Soon the ship was restocked and the group sailed on.  

The Javelin dropped anchor in a bay where an unusual geographical anomaly meant that a river flowed from the sea, cascading down over a waterfall into a basin below sea level.  The group rowed to shore, hid their boat and prepared to scale the cliff face down into the basin.  The Queen of Hearts tried to use her Illidari wings and float down but she was clearly badly suffering from her curse as she crash landed in a heap.   The others set up ropes and scaled the cliffs in a more traditional manner.

Crossing the jungle floor of this sub-sea-level basin the group headed for the yellow-orange glow in the near distance.  Soon a huge pillar of rock could be seen rising from the jungle floor.  This Suntouched Pillar was covered with glowing yellow crystals, and around its base was a goblin dig site.  The group had found their target.

Settling into some foliage overlooking the site, the group looked for signs of the foreman, and made a plan.

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It was agreed that the Ace and the Three would sneak into the camp.  The group could see a small location at the top of some scaffolding which looked like a makeshift office of sorts.  They figured this was where they would find the codebook.   Three would then switch the codebook for another book of general similar size and shape.  Three and Ace would then sneak out.  About the same time the Jack, disguised as a hooded and robed warlock, would rise from the bushes overlooking the dig site and would "summon" a demon.  At the stage the Queen would transform into a raging demon and rain fel-fire and destruction down on the dig site - with the express aim of making sure that the fake codebook was destroyed in the attack.  In this way, the attack would look like the random work of the Burning Legion, and no one would ever know that the codebook was stolen, or indeed that it was ever the target of the heist in the first place.

Plan agreed the group set to work.  Ace and Three moved silently as mice into the dig camp, skirting the exterior, using the sound of digging and the jungle foliage to cover their movement.  They snuck carefully up the scaffolding ramp, stealthily avoiding the huge orge bodyguard that stood guard there.  They reached the office of Foreman Swindlegrin and moved in.  Three quickly identified the codebook she was after, and replaced it with another nondescript book of a similar size.   They then snuck out the way they had come in.  But then with terrible timing, the Foreman arrived. Ace used a quick distraction, throwing a little smoke bomb off the side of the scaffold.  This was enough to distract the foreman and his bodyguard momentarily, but the two thieves had nowhere to go.

Suddenly a booming voice ripped out across the dig site.  A robed and hooded warlock (the Jack in disguise) had risen from the bushes on the far side of the site.  He called out in some infernal tongue, demanding the attention of some foul creature.  And then a demon was among them.  Toweringly tall, immolated in fel-fire and bellowing in rage, the demon (the Queen transformed) tore into the dig site.   Ripping goblin workers and ogre guards apart indiscriminately, it made its way unhindered across the crater.  Spewing fel-fire from its mouth and fanning the fel-flames with giant wings, the demon was unstoppable.  The goblin workers and soon, even the ogre guards all fled for their lives off into the jungle.  But most did not escape the destruction.  The demon did not stop until the carnage was complete and every last piece of scaffolding was destroyed.  No creature survived in the crater, but some goblins and ogres did escape into the trees.  The fate of Foreman Swindlegrin remains unknown, but his office was obliterated.

The Three and the Ace had used this rather big distraction to fade off into the bushes and slip silently away, secret codebook in hand.

Some time later the members of the House regrouped at the foot of the cliffs back up to where their rowing boat was hidden.  The Queen was still in the form of a demon, and was crackling with power.  In a single leap she cleared the cliffs and was at the top.   The others scurried quickly up the ropes.

Unfortunately, shortly after arriving back at the location where the row boat was hidden, the Queen's transformation ended.  The fel-power she had filled herself with dwindled away and she was left drained to exhaustion.  She collapsed unconscious on the floor and had to be carried to the boat and rowed back to the ship.

The journey home to Stormwind was long and worrying.  The Queen remained unconscious the whole way, though she was stabilized by the ship's healer.  But the others were able to celebrate a successful mission.  They had recovered the codebook and the Three was confident it would unlock more of the vault's secrets.

She then went on to tell us that the plans also had passages and phrases written in some rare tongues.  Some were in a form of Zandali, and others were in an ancient and obscure dialect of Thalassian.   She would need to do more research but she felt that she would need to get hold of some more examples of these rare texts to help translate the final words on the plans.

Returning home to Stormwind, the House of Cards were a step closer to entering the vault of Minister Blazesong.

Ghostlands.  Wednesday 11th January

The Three of Spades had another quest for us.  In order to translate some of the writings on the Vault Plans we would need an ancient and remote dialect of Zandalari.  Her research had led her to the name of the place we were most likely to find samples of such:  Zul'aman in the Ghostlands.   Four members of the House of Cards boarded the Javelin at Menethil harbour and set off for the north.  We arrived some days later and anchored in a deep water cove near the west coast.

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From here we decided to go by foot - stealth being more important than speed as we crossed the desolate lands to the south of Eversong Woods.  As we passed, quieter than mice, through the desolate woods, we came across some abandoned elven structures.  The Three of Spades told us that she was also searching for some specific Thalassian dialects too, so we dropped into those structures which appeared abandoned and searched them for samples.  Sadly we were unsuccessful in this.

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Moving deeper into the Ghostlands territory we came across some elven settlements and towers which were occupied.  It was decided that it would be too dangerous to try and infiltrate these so we avoided them and instead struck out for our main target - Zul'aman.  

Soon we could see the ancient marble tablets decreeing the entrance to the old troll site.

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We pushed on up the road, being as stealthy as we could and soon entered this foreboding place.  We quickly discovered signs that it was not deserted as we spotted bonfires, and soon, troll guards.

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We scouted out some options, and picked our way deeper into the ruins, avoiding as many of the trolls as we could.  We knew that if one raised the alarm, we would likely perish here.  Occasionally it was necessary to assassinate the odd lone troll scout, until we found ourselves deep into the ruin.  Then we faced a large number of trolls, but behind them were a great stash of tablets - surely enough for Three to gain the samples she needed to translate the Zandalari parts of the Vault Plans.  But how to get to them?

Then the Queen of Hearts, who had until this moment been uncharacteristically quiet and introvert, decided to take action.  Stepping out into the clearing she unleashed a furious magical onslaught upon the trolls which was both stunning and deadly.  The other members of the House of Cards exchanged worried glances.   She had indeed become powerful since her near-death experience a few weeks earlier!

Still, the trolls were all destroyed in fel-fire and the Three of Spades stepped up and examined the stash of tablets they had been guarding.   These tablets contained many samples of the dialect we had been looking for and Three declared herself happy that these would be enough.  She knelt down and painstakingly copied much of what was written there.  

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Then, with our mission complete, we headed home, leaving Zul'aman the way we had come and quickly moving through the Ghostlands back to the ship where it whisked us swiftly back into Alliance territory.

The mission had been a success.   Three now had the samples she needed to interpret the Zandalari runes on the Vault Plans.  All we now had to do was find a copy of the Thalassian dialect also on those plans and we could completely translate and read the plans to the Vault - meaning we could then strike out and rob it.  We were getting very close now.

One concern which troubled them all - what was going on with the Queen of Hearts...?

Stormwind.  Wednesday 18th January

Two members of the < House of Cards > performed a simple heist this night.  Flying over the tops of the Mage Quarter in Stormwind on gryphon-back, the Jack of Diamonds and Three of Spades slipped dextrously off the backs of their mounts and landed, soundlessly, onto the roof top of a building across the alley from Duncan's Textiles.  The birds flew off into the night air and no one in the city was aware of their passing.

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Three and the Jack moved stealthily across the roof tops, and soon arrived on the roof of their target - a rich merchant who sold cloths to the wealthy and rich of the city.  Moving carefully to an upstairs window the Jack did his magic and almost instantly the lock was popped.  He slipped in first with Three right on his heels.  They moved with stealth through the upper floor of the building and down the stairs into the shop floor.

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Moments later they were in the main shop.  Three kept guard - her Kaldorei senses tuned to everything going on around the pair, whilst the Jack nimbly got the cash register opened.  Some coins and a few gems were quickly pocketed, and the two thieves placed their calling cards into the register in their place.  The Jack then locked the box and left it looking as if no one had been there.

Next they moved into the storage area, the Jack swiftly popping the lock into this secure location.  Here they located reams of cloth: bolt after bolt of runecloth and mageweave - the textiles of the rich and famous.   Taking enough to make a big profit, whilst ensuring the business could still function - for what good is crippling a lucrative mark?  You need to leave it vibrant enough to recover so that it can be hit again in future - the two thieves quickly collected their stash.

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Then, quick and silent as a zephyr the two left by the route they had come in.  Certain to lock up and leave no sign they had been present other than the missing gear and their calling cards.  Once on the roof tops they split up and disappeared into the night in separate directions.

Another successful heist for the growing < House of Cards >.

Silvermoon City.  Wednesday 25th January

Two members of the < House of Cards > undertook a bold and daring raid deep into Horde territory last night.  Their target: Silvermoon City.

First things first they performed a really detailed reconnaissance of the city exterior.  The Three of Spades made detailed maps of the location as the two stealthily explored the region.

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Eventually on the outskirts of the city they came across an Arcanist who had a charm hung around her neck.  The Three identified this as one of the rare Spellbreaker charms which The Nine of Spades had determined was a reageant for a powerful anti-magic device which the Jack of Diamonds wanted to commission.  So, with the Three watching on as lookout, the Jack of Diamonds snuck carefully down into the outside market stall and crept up behind the Arcanist.  With deft fingers and amazing dexterity, the Jack was able to unfasten the charm and slip it off the unsuspecting neck of the blood elf.  

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Returning swiftly to where Three was hidden, she confirmed that the Jack had indeed managed to acquire the elusive Spellbreaker charm he had been seeking.

Next they had to find samples of the ancient Thalassian script which was on the plans to the Vault of Minister Blazesong.    A towering structure was surveyed and looked like it could be a potential target:

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But after a stealthy infiltration of said tower, sadly no samples were located.  So this left only one option - entering Silvermoon City itself!

The two made their way to the city, but Three, who it appears is allergic to magic, informed the Jack that the powerful magics pervading the whole city would simply make it impossible for her to enter.  So the Jack resigned himself to infiltrating the Blood Elf capital singlehanded.

Donning a simple, non-magical disguise, the Jack of Diamonds was able to make himself appear like a Blood Elf.  Three was impressed with how swiftly and completely the transformation occurred.  So, the Jack took it upon himself to simply walk right into the centre of Silvermoon City, brazenly.  The mad plan worked.

Minutes later the Jack had found his way to the Archaeologists, deep inside the city.

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Choosing to opt for stealth again, he broke into the shop via an upstairs window, unnoticed by the owner or her customers.  He quickly found what he was looking for: samples of old Thalassian.  Putting many scrolls into his bag he quickly left by the same way he came in, leaving only a pair of calling cards - the Jack of Diamonds and Three of Spades behind.  Clearly none of the Blood Elves would know the significance of these cards, but why not?

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On his was back through the city, the Jack found an old book shop.  Seeing this as an extra opportunity, the Jack swiftly broke in there and stole some more copies of Ancient Thalassian.  As he did not know what he was looking for exactly, he figured that the more copies and variety the better.

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Now it was time to leave.

Swift as the wind the Jack returned to the streets of the city, still deep in disguise and walked slowly but purposefully out through the main gates of the city and back to his compatriot.

Three declared herself delighted with the scrolls and samples Jack had acquired.   It seemed that she would soon have the ability to completely decipher the contents of the Vault plans...

Soon the House of Cards would be ready to hit the Treasure Vault of Minister Blazesong...

I Justin Twizzlit attended the Love is in the air party staring in the Blue Recluse.

To my horror when I went to purchase a ticket, the proceeds would go to the orphans, I found my coin purse empty of coin.

The only thing left was a card I have never seen before. A jack of Diamonds.

I suspect one of the people who attended the party. I have also reported the crime, and handed over the card to a guard captain.

Justin Twizzlet

Goldshire.  Evening of Wednesday 15th February

Last night the House of Cards conducted their most audacious and risky heist to date.  They robbed the secret treasure vault of Minister Blazesong.

The group assembled at their regular hidden meeting place somewhere on the outskirts of the city of Stormwind.  The Jack of Diamonds, Queen of Hearts, Three of Spades and Queen of Clubs were all in attendance.   Weapons were sharpened, vault plans were given a final check over and last minute details were attended to.  The Jack confirmed that their "insurance policy" was in place and the group set off.

Within minutes they had assembled on a hill top overlooking Minister Blazesong's residence.  The Jack's information was that the minister would not be home this evening but the group took no chances.  They scoped out the house and then quickly moved in.  The newly recruited Queen of Clubs, in his position as primary muscle for the organization, entered the property first.  It was quickly apparent that the house was indeed empty.

The Three of Spades returned to the fireplace where she had discovered the lever which opened the initial entry door and pulled it with a click.  This revealed an elevator which led down into the depths of the earth.

The group took a moment to check out a ventilation shaft which provided an alternate entry point but the huge, razor sharp, and fast spinning fan rather put a dent in any plans to use this as an entry way.  Instead they decided to enter the elevator and tackle the vault head-on.

The elevator opened out into a long corridor, exactly as described on the plans that Three had deciphered over the previous months.  The group set off into the depths of the vault, the Jack taking the lead, looking for signs of traps and trip wires, with the Queen of Hearts immediately behind him, seeking out signs of unusual or excessive magic which might concern the group.

Sensing nothing to worry them along the way the group soon arrived at a single door which filled the corridor.  It was inscribed with a symbol of a dragonhawk on it.  Nearby was a side room which contained three stone pillars.  These were inscribed with the symbols of a dragonhawk, a fire and a dragon respectively.  In front of them Three mentioned the plans talked about "easily-removable floor tiles".   The Jack quickly had the tiles up which revealed a series of coloured wires beneath the floor.   It was clear the group had to break the code and align the stone pillers in the right combination.

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This puzzle confounded and confused the group for some time, until finally the Three of Spades was able to work it out.  The Jack switched the stone columns around to the solution and sure enough there was a rumbling sound and the door opened.

Moving deeper into the Vault the group progressed.  Still there were no incidental traps to worry the group.   The next door was the same and had another side room next to it.  This side room had a lever across the far side and on the floor were a random collection of letters inscribed into the floor.  The Three told the Jack that the plans mentioned the word "Pyroblast" in them.  We assumed this meant that the correct route across the puzzle was to step on each letter in turn.  The Queen of Clubs tied a rope around the Jack's waist and the Jack took the role of jumping from letter to letter.  This proved to be a good solution and within minutes the Jack had reached and pulled the lever.  The group were rewarded with the sounds of the second door opening.

They pushed on in deeper still and came to a third door.  This was partially opened and had a message written on it which seemed to imply the door was on a time lock - and was currently open.  Considering this simple good fortune the group passed through the doorway safely and securely.  It seemed luck was on their side.

The fourth and final door soon loomed.  This door had no symbols on it and no signs.  There was a ubiquitous side room in place however and the group approached it slowly.  Inside they found an inert stone golem, standing guard in front of a simple lever.  A large button was spotted on the floor next to the golem and it was clear that the golem would stamp on the button should it "wake up" and that would probably alert Minister Blazesong.  A simple plan was forged and moments later the Jack of Diamonds and Queen of Clubs rushed forward to engage the arcane construct.  A curious battle ensued.  The golem was huge, lumbering and slow.  The fighters were nimble, fast and accurate.  But they were using steel against enchanted stone.  And all the golem had to do was stand on that button.  Fortunately between the two swordsmen they just managed to incapacitate the guardian before it pressed the button.  The Three of Spades pulled the lever and the fourth and final door opened.

The group pressed on, eager now to see what they could find.  They soon came to a final chamber.  This was piled high with gold, jewels and gems.  The group quickly got to filling their swag bags with the easily portable treasures.   Once this was complete they left their calling cards.

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Then they had a very significant discussion.  The Queen of Clubs wanted to take the sensible route and leave.  The Jack of Diamonds, not content with mere gold and gems, wanted to steal some of the stunning arcane artefacts that were also on display.  The Jack attempted to break into a display case.  He got it open successfully, and found a string which appeared to be an alarm of sorts.  Taking out his tools - and wishing his partner in crime, the Ace of Diamonds was there for a second opinion - he cut the string and gently lifted the priceless sceptre from it's position.

All Hell Broke Loose.

Alarm bells sounded, flashing lights whirled.  The group fled for their lives, rushing up the corridor back the way that had come in, taking their bags of swag - and the valuable sceptre - with them.

They managed to get all the way to the entrance lift without incident, only to find it was now in the "up" position - and their way out was blocked.  

They knew what was coming.  The Jack asked everyone to remain calm and let him do the talking.  Sure enough, moments later the elevator came down and Minister Blazesong was standing inside, a look on her face crossing annoyance and a measure of grudging respect.

The Jack explained to her that before she toasted everyone with a Pyroblast she should listen.  He explained the "insurance policy" that the group had acquired and why she should not attack them.  [OOC - not posting it here, as no reason for everyone to know what we have on Charlie ]  Minister Blazesong considered this and agreed that, indeed it would not be in her interest to burn the intruders to a crisp.

In fact what was finally agreed was that the House of Cards would hand over the sceptre, but would keep all the other, extremely valuable, gold and gems they had liberated.  In exchange Minister Blazesong would actually build the organization a new hidden base, and in addition would provide them with some future work, for which she would pay handsomely.

With the members of the House of Cards happy with this outcome the two groups went their separate ways.

OOC:

The House of Cards welcomed another recruit last night and an impromptu meeting of the organization expanded out into a fully fledged RP event.  The storyline is a bit under the radar for now, as it's quite sensitive and we'd rather not tip off any one even OOC of our interests in them yet (oooh cryptic), so I won't post a full write up at this time.   A quick screeny of the event is below though.

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The Great Bridge Robbery.

"There was a robbery!" - Anonymous panicked citizen sounding eerily like Willem Dafoe from Boondock Saints. Yes, that scene.

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As the bells struck seven, an unsavory trio of thieves gather at an undisclosed location, dark thoughts on their minds, an hour later, news will spread throughout the city of a crime most heinous!

(Ace of Diamonds to the right, Seven of Clubs to the left and in the center Three of Hearts.)

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Taking positions on the Mage District side of the bridge that spans between the aforementioned district and the Trade District, the thieves awaited their pray.

(Absent from the screenshot is Seven of Clubs under the bridge, and Three of Hearts lying in wait closer to the Stockades.)

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As their marks had passed them once, picked up the payload meant for the Blue Recluse's honest workers at the Stormwind Bank in the Trade District, and returned the same way, the thieves were waiting. The Blue Recluse personnel, possible taking in the brisk night air or pondering any of life's great mysteries, stopped for a minute on the bridge, and the thieves had to adapt! On the bridge, Three of Hearts is playing her role of the distraction, telling tall tales to the unsuspecting victims, Torvald Hammer and Ogrik Windhammer.

Ace of Diamonds dropped a belt specially prepared for the occasion, with two rows of six smoke bombs laced with chemicals, while completely harmless long term, would force anyone without the necessary equipment to cough uncontrollably for decent amount of time. Naturally the thieves had the necessary equipment at hand. In the confusion, some of the bags carried containing the payment were stolen, and the thieves threw them down under the bridge to Seven of Clubs who were waiting there. Then Ace of Diamonds made off towards the Mage District, while Three of Hearts made her way into the Trade District, both with a decoy sack, as the real ones now were in the care of Seven of Clubs under the bridge.

The innocent bystander was not harmed during this robbery, he's been offered a psychiatrist, a slice of apple pie, and is expected to make it to level 45 within the week.

(Apologies for my obviously horrible UI, in the heat of the moment I forgot to turn Alt-Z it, but I thought it'd be better to spice up the text with some kind of images, rather than nothing.)

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As the Ace of Diamonds made his escape route through the Mage District, Ogrik Windhammer hot on his trail, throwing a Lightning Bolt and hitting the fleeing thief in the back, they eventually reached the balcony overlooking the memorial to the fallen king Wrynn and the harbour. As the thief made his exit speech ("You will remember this day as the day you almost caught The Ace of Diamonds") the dwarf started casting a spell, which hit the thief again in is back, as he was flying towards the harbour on wings of goblin gliding ingenuity.

In the decoy bags left behind by the thieves, three cards could be found. Ace of Diamonds, Seven of Clubs, and Three of Hearts.

(Apologies again for my obviously horrible UI, in the heat of the moment I forgot to turn Alt-Z it)

OOC:
In closing we would like to thank Kelinn Everstride for collaborating with us, Torvald Hammer and Ogrik Windhammer for playing along nicely. 10/10, would rob them again.

The execution of the robbery wasn't exactly flawless, we wanted to play it fast and loose (as most robberies kind of are), but in hindsight we should've played it a bit slower and more methodical. There was some confusion as to how many bags of payment there were, and who were carrying them, so in the end we made a compromise and said that roughly half of the payment were stolen. Looking forward to trying to rob the Blue Recluse (and anyone else, we're not picky) again.

/ The Ace of Diamonds, representing the House of Cards.

Arathi Highlands.  Evening of Wednesday 8th March

Last night the House of Cards undertook a perilous mission deep into Horde held territory.  The target was the ship of a bunch of Forsaken pirates.  Why were they our target?  They'd done something to seriously annoy one of our members, and they had treasure to steal!

Meeting on the Javelin, at Menethil Harbour under cover of darkness the group collected together to go over the final details of our plan.  We were joined, unexpectedly and all a bit last minute by the Nine, Six and Eight of Spades.  This was to be a big outing with nine members of the House all raiding together.

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The ship set sail and later arrived on the shores of southern Arathi where we disembarked.   This raid was being led by our latest Joker (recruit) in the pack and was his test to see if he was considered good enough to join the full Deck of cards.  The Joker led us through the highlands to the site of the ship.  We crouched behind an outcrop and he told us of his plan.

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The Joker transformed into the shape of a bird and flew off to the ship.  There he distracted the Forsaken guards, giving the rest of us enough time to rush in and deal with the guards from surprise.   The House unit took out the guards quickly and quietly and moved deeper into the ship.  There the Queen and Seven of Clubs took on the brunt of the melee duties, as was the role of their suit, with other members of the House engaging the Forsaken pirates in their own ways.

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Soon all the Forsaken had been dealt with and it was time to look for treasure and loot.   In the captain's cabin was found a locked chest.  The chest was unremarkable and the lock, plain but of high quality.   The Nine of Spades confirmed that the chest was not magically protected and then the Ace and Jack of Diamonds did their thing.

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They soon had the chest opened.   Inside were some valuables and some papers written in some sort of code.  Clearly these would be handed over to the group's resident scribe, the Three of Spades.

The group collected back on the shore and the Three of Hearts launched a couple of carefully placed fireballs at the ship, knowing full well it was stocked with gunpowder and would quickly explode.

The group returned to the waiting Javelin and set sail back to Menethil.

The trip home was eventful.   The Joker's test was discussed and the members of the Trump Cards and the Deck voted on his entry into the Deck as a fully qualified member.  It was agreed that he should be admitted and congratulations were passed on.  He chose to become the Jack of Hearts - a suit which fits due to his druidical abilities and forte with distractions and unusual magic.

After this the Trump cards of the House had a long discussion with Six and Eight of Spades about the levels of their involvement and the future of the relationship.  The conversation was strained and confused and ended up with the two dwarves leaving the ship under a heavy pall.   Their future in the House remains uncertain, but it appears the two groups may have split up and gone their separate ways forever.   Time will tell.

Nice summaries, keep up the good work!

The White Rabbit

The House of Cards, hired for what seemed like a very lucrative "Search and Retrieve"-mission, by a not-so mysterious "Lord Ebonborn" (real identity Lord Everard Ebonhardt-Blackbourne), got more than what they bargained for tonight. The item to retrieve was a mysterious dark iron chest, which had been lost en route to Ironforge (or so claimed it's owner) from Lakeshire. They were under strict orders NOT to, under any circumstances open the chest (and you know what that means). At roughly nine bells, Ace of Diamonds, Jack of Diamonds, Three of Hearts, Queen of Clubs, and Jack of Hearts made their way to Lakeshire.

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They gathered outside Lakeshire, joined by Queen of Hearts. Three of Hearts went to gather information in Lakeshire, and came up with the following: the caravan guards weren't very talkative, and they were all wearing the same dark green and gray uniform, with an emblem of a mask with two daggers behind it, and had left Lakeshire by the north road towards Burning Steppes about a day earlier.

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The House of Cards started their search by following the road north. Before they reached the Burning Steppes however, they came upon what was obviously an ambush. The caravan had been ambushed, and around the spot lay a dozen dead orcs. In a pile, three of four dead mercenaries had been burned, presumably by their surviving comrades. But the caravan had survived this ambush, and moved on north, and the cards followed suit.

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After travelling for a while into the Burning Steppes, the cards came across another ambush spot. This time, the remaining caravan guards had been swarmed by at least two dozen, seemingly inferior fighters. Blood and signs of struggle were all over the place. Eight dead mercenaries lay here, with unfinished graves dug beside them, presumably dug by their killers. Strange. The tracks, covered with blood, presumably from the surviving assailants, lead back through to Redridge through a mountain path, and down through Duskwood.

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After a journey through most of Duskwood, past the Rotting Orchard, Yorgen Farmstead, and Addle's Stead, they finally arrived at what seemed like the chests final destination, a tower close to the river that separates Duskwood and Westfall. After scouting, they found that the ones who had ambushed the caravan weren't evil cultists or merciless thugs, rather a ragtag militia of druids and farmers, seemingly from Gilneas, as they had a rather large number of Worgen among them. And the majority of them were wounded or dead. Easily sneaking in to the tower, guarded by the only two guards in the camp (sap sap), the cards quickly made off with the chest, while Queen of Hearts made quite an impression with her demonic visage, scaring the shit out of the already frightened militia.

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The group made their way to Raven Hill, and before they could uncover the contents of the chest, Ace of Diamonds went to inform Lord Ebonborn about their success (something he'd soon regret). The group discussed back and forth what to do with the chest, with Queen of Hearts using her Spectral Sight to peer through the dark iron covering the contents, finally broke through. The chest, icy cold to the touch, contained several Ice Crystals, and the still living, albeit frozen, body of a roughly ten year old girl. Horrified by this discovery, the group debated whether it was a trapped demon, or if she were dead, but Queen of Hearts Spectral Sight confirmed the child was neither dead, nor had any demonic presence within her. Queen of Hearts started bashing the chest, much to Queen of Clubs displeasement, who left the scene, unwilling to let a demon or something like it lose.

Then came a druid knocking, who had apparently followed them from the tower in Westfall, to urge them not to give the chest over to Lord Ebonborn, and revealing the girls name: Alice. Before they could suss everything out, Lord Ebonborn's lackeys were outside, threatening to burn the house down. They were clearly out for blood, and had no intentions to let the cards leave there alive. Three of Heartsleft to find Queen of  Clubs, which she did, as well as to get the girl inside the chest, now opened by Jack of Diamonds, to safety, which she also did. A great fight ensued. Queen of Clubs, starting the combat from a concealed position, easily gutted the first thug, and thus the battle was under way. Jack of Hearts, going literally feral, ripped out the throats of two of the menacing looking "up-to-no-good"-thugs during the fights, Queen of Hearts melted the face of one thug with fel fire breath, and slashed another one to pieces. Jack of Diamonds went straight after the leader of the thugs, a assassin of seriously ill-repute named Caitano, and were soon joined by Queen of Clubs, who harbored personal hatred for the notorious assassin. Caitano, noticing his thugs were beginning to dwindle, drank a potion that made him fly, but the druid, who came to warn them about the Lord Ebonborn, caused roots to grip him back down, and the cards soon discovered Caitano was infused with some kind of dirty blood magic, as he though mortally wounded continued to fight, his wounds gushing with thick dark blood, clouting and covering his entire body, until Queen of Clubs, though feeling the effects of a poisoned knife, decapitated him. Though Caitanos body continued to writhe around on the ground, headlessly and heedlessly swinging his swords in all directions for a good minute, until he finally ceased, and boiled down to nothing more than a thick, dark pool of goo.

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That left only Ace of Diamonds left to be rescued, which they did, after finding out from the newly arrived druid that Caitano and his gang was fond of beheading people at the sawmill at the Eastvale Logging Camp. Without leadership, those thugs could be dealt with swiftly and decisively. Ace of Diamonds was drugged and badly beaten, but with the help of the druid, who claimed to know him by the scent, he at least gained consciousness for a long enough time to ask for, and drink, a mouthful or five of rum.

All in all, no casualties, but no gold earned, and a heap of trouble likely coming their way in the future. However will this end? Who the fuck is Alice? What is Lord Ebonborn up to? Will Ace of Diamonds get the girl and mend his broken heart? Is that the last we'll ever see of Caitano, the dirty-bloodied assassin from Goldshire? Is the House of Cards in too deep? Tune in next week (next week not guaranteed, changes may apply, ask your local House of Cards provider for the latest information), for another exciting adventure, when the cards go deep "Into the Rabbit Hole".

(Right, I might have missed something, or forgot something or just miss spelled something or whatever, let me know, and I'll add/change it.)

Thanks for tonight guys, hope you enjoyed it! I sure as hell enjoyed DMing it, but damn, it's hard to make a good coherent story line with no *cough* glaring holes in it *cough* and too much travelling and non-important stuff. But I think in the end, it all worked out pretty well.

/ Ace of Diamonds, reporting for the House of Cards.

""After a journey through most of Duskwood, past the Rotting Orchard, Yorgen Farmstead, and Addle's Stead, they finally arrived at what seemed like the chests final destination, a tower close to the river that separates Duskwood and Westfall. After scouting, they found that the ones who had ambushed the caravan weren't evil cultists or merciless thugs, rather a ragtag militia of druids and farmers, seemingly from Gilneas, as they had a rather large number of Worgen among them. And the majority of them were wounded or dead. Easily sneaking in to the tower, guarded by the only two guards in the camp (sap sap), the cards quickly made off with the chest, while Queen of Hearts made quite an impression with her demonic visage, scaring the shit out of the already frightened militia.""

I can say you stepped in a place where you should have not. If you are interested contact me in game, there may be some good RP about this.

Flemk wrote:I can say you stepped in a place where you should have not. If you are interested contact me in game, there may be some good RP about this.

Curious! Is there anything you are willing to tell us we might have spotted when in the area? Feel free to PM myself, Ace or any of the other members of the House of Cards if you'd rather keep it under the radar...

Well, a building in game can represent several different places, "in character" so to speak. If we, when we stole the chest from the top of the tower, would've been standing next to half a dozen three headed giant snake-demon abominations straight from the Serpent Hills, we should probably imagine we're talking about different buildings. But if it's a tower that bi-weekly is being used by a warlock coven to communicate with their master, then perhaps we could be talking about the same tower.

With that said, we're totally all for more RP, but it should be plausible.

/ Ace of Diamonds

At the market tonight 7th April 2017 A ninth recruit Selsi reported that a pair of magic socks were stolen from her person. A card the 8 of spades was left in their place.