It had begun to snow. One of the last bits of snow before the new spring arrived. Neil would have loved it if he and Emmaline were holed up in their tower, but as it were, they were now a few blocks away from the docks, waiting out in the cold for Neil's contact to arrive. He never actually thought he would need to hail Stedder as a 'contact' rather than an drinking buddy and partial acquaintence, but here he was... 

Luckily they were prepared for the cold, Neil sporting his jacket and Emmaline wrapped in a fur coat, one of the few things she had kept from her tenure as the Lady Marguritte von Vissenbach. Still, it only made the chill bearable, not comfortable. Neil saw her squirming within to get warm and he pulled her close to him, hearing her murmur in complaint. 

"Don't worry, we'll be inside eating fish in no time," He told her, playfully bumping her hip with his. "Besides, this is something that needs doing." 

"Didn't know you were such a Wissenland sympathizer," she joked, snuggling closer to him. It made them both warmer and more comfortable, at least for the moment. Neil blinked against the blistering wind, the day overcast, the sky grey and forlorn. If he were a bit more superstitious, he would have thought this sudden winterstorm was brought on by something daemonic. Luckily, he wasn't very superstitious, just normally-stitious. 

"I'm not, love. But if this city falls, we probably will too. I'd rather they have guns to use, yeah?" 

The wall opened. 

It was a door of course, but it was made very much to look like a wall. Neil had known it was there, but there was another door opposite Emmaline might have thought they were waiting on. Either way, a wide faced man with the hair and mutton chops of a wild animal waved them inside. Neil and Emmaline hustled in, the spacious building, that at first glance looked to be just an entrance into a building full of apartments and business, was actually one huge floor with only a few doors leading to other, likely smaller rooms. It looked like the central room they were in was some sort of workshop for thieves. Ropes, bolts, knives, as many pieces of equipment as one might manage was set up and laid out as if for sale or display. There were a few chairs to sit in, and two Dwarfs rifled around, carrying sacks of what was likely contraband and moving supplies from point a to b. 

"You've picked a hell of a time to see me, Neil. I'm about to be busy as hell when shit hits the fan," Stedder said, pulling at his collar, glancing at the Dwarfs. They looked like brothers, brown bearded and wearing matching outfits. "At least, I think. You never know in a siege. And who the hell is-" 

Emmaline gently pulled her hood off of her face, and the man blanched like Neil had just brought in a cultist of tzeentch. He pulled Neil aside, but still so close Emmaline could hear regardless. "You brought a woman into my headquarters!?" 

"This woman can outthief most cock-havers in the city, numbnuts." Neil replied, poking him in the chest with his finger. "She's a thief too, and I want information. Tell me where the gunpowder was stolen and by who, or I'll have to tell a few inspectors about your little outfit here."