“No harm done. We’re in and warn now.” Hadi says, adding, “It seems the Benotto name doesn’t carry quite as much weight this far north. Perhaps my uncle wasn’t as active as he said.”
Then turning to more serious topics asks, looking to his companion, “We’re actually here to investigate a disappearance outside of town. Might be connected with the death?”
Annique and Hadi went out to see the guard to get some information. I didn't know you had gone with them.
Garend turns to Hadi.
" Ho no, we know of your uncle. He just didn't mince words when he talked about you. Sorry about that, I should have been more amicable to you." he says with a nod. "You know what they say, it s not the words that make the man its the deeds." he gives a slight bow.
"Not sure the disappearance are connected. What are you looking for exactly? Maybe I can help. Or ask around at the gates.."
After a while Hretta comes back. She has a grim look on her face and you can feel the wave of cold rage emenating from her.
"They will do nothing." she mutters "with the deaths they are cowering in their homes those... Cowards. I we't to my contacts and they haven't seen nor heard of any draw caravan. Not even in the late night rumbling of the drunks."
"i went to the house of our elected lord and they blew me off. No ressources they said."
She looks at the one in the main room. Sorry but it seems the carava' never made here. "
Annique nods to Sehra after her comments about the town's decision, giving her a sympathetic look. As Garend comes in and comforts his wife, Annique then picks up and sips at her tea, seemingly back at ease.
Echoing Hadi's comments, Annique agrees. "The situation at the gate was understandable. It's just an unfortunate reality of these times." She then sets down her cup and stands. "I was wondering though if perhaps you had heard anything about a dwarf caravan lately? That's the disappearance Hadi mentioned. It was supposed to come through Bryn Shander." She then looks over at the elf. "That is an interesting thought though about the disappearances in town and the caravan's disappearance being linked."
"We have had a few deaths in the city. Murders really. The guard swears they are on it but nothing changed of course." In her voice, you can hear the contempt.
She looks at Feral who nods back. " But we know who is responsible."
She moves toward the group and Jarvis because he was the one asking the questions.
"We have no proof but we know that the man named Sepek Kaltro is at the heart of it."
“Sephek Kaltro works for a small traveling merchant company called Torg’s, owned and operated by a shady dwarf named Torrga Icevein. In other words, Sephek gets around. He’s charming. Makes friends easily. He’s also Torrga’s bodyguard, so I’m guessing he’s good with a blade.
“His victims come from the only three towns that sacrifice people to the Frostmaiden on nights of the new moon. This is what passes for civilized behavior in Icewind Dale. Maybe the victims found a way to keep their names out of the drawings and Sephek found out they were cheating, so he killed them. Maybe, just maybe, Sephek is doing the Frostmaiden’s work.
“Feral followed Torg’s for a tenday as it moved from town to town. Quite the devious little enterprise, but that’s not my concern. What struck me is how comfortable Sephek Kaltro looked in this weather. No coat, no scarf, no gloves. It was like the cold couldn’t touch him. Kiss of the Frostmaiden, indeed."
"Ooh, very mysterious indeed," Amaryllis responds. "Maybe we could check it out after we find the missing caravan? If it never made it here, something must have happened on the way from the Silver Marshes. We could go there and see if we find them or tracks of them on the way. Also..." She considers the matter for a moment, thinking of all the possibilities. "Maybe we can ask Annique to ask her guard friend to ask his guard friends whether any of them saw a caravan enter town in the past few tendays. That way, we could know for sure whether the caravan entered or not. If it didn't, I doubt that unfreezing dwarf could do anything about it. But, Annique had already gone..." She ponders the matter for a while. Eventually, she says: "Or, we could completely forget about the caravan and instead investigate Sephek. Sounds equally interesting, and if they're connected, we can hit two birds with one stone."
Without lookin in their direction, Rinn listens intently to Gretta’s words to Jarvis, betrayed only by the narrowing of her eyes. After Amaryllis has finished her say, Rinn’s quiet and steady voice reaches over the crackling of the flames in the hearth:
“A missing caravan is worrying. A known murderer among the Towns is far worse… We mustn’t forget our reason for being here, but I would do all I could to bring a killer to justice.”
Thael sat with his back to the wall and took his food looking time and again in the direction of the doors, terribly conscious of their situation. They were strangers, foreigners to the folk of Bryn Shander in a time when even locals had trouble with the ruling council. There was no truly safe place for them - a thought the deep elf kept in his mind as he waited for the dwarven ladies and their information.
Gretta returned with a dark expression on her face and carried words darker still. She had no information or supplies to give, but was not the most surprising or terrible thing she said.
“Wait. There are three cities regularly sacrificing people to Auril?”He questioned with little surprised in his voice. The matrons of the houses in the Underdark used to do just the same. “I presume that this sacrificial duty is not voluntarily taken and is where the troubles with the council come from.”
Thael doubted any member of the council was ever chosen. Their families and friends were probably safe too. The threat of being appointed the next tribute should be enough to silence to the wisest opposition while the more defiant could be actually sacrificed. Besides, how much would someone be willing to pay to avoid being offered to the winter goddess? It seems the leader of the city was not so good of a woman as rumor meant her to be.
“Who gave the idea of starting these sacrifices?” Asked the Warlock, half expecting to be someone connected to this Kaltro figure. “And why are you so sure Sephek is behind it, besides the fact that he is not affected by the cold?” Not to play Asmodeus’ advocate, but he didn’t think that ignoring the weather was something so hard to achieve using the arcane arts. For all that Gretta said this bodyguard could just have inherited, or stole, a particularly useful magic item. “Is he always present when one of the deaths happens?”
Jarvis let’s the others speak up first, taking a long minute or two or three of thought. “Hretta,” again with the very deliberate pronunciation. “How do these murders occur? And which towns are offering sacrifices? Show me on a map, if you can.”
Gretta nods as everyone starts talking. She holds up her hand.
" I know that you all have something to do. Clan business and all that, but this is something wrong on another level. Murder."
She shakes her head and Feral shrugs.
"If you have time you get back to us and we will stop this. I'll give you 100 gold pieces to end this. Return to me when you have dealt the murderer." She stops for a second. " I would prefer that you don't talk to your guard friend about our talk. Or the authorities at all for that matter."
"Where are you staying? I will go around and ask at the gates. But I can already tell you that we have had no caravans coming in at my gate for the last two weeks."
Annique gives Garend a nod. "So most likely the caravan didn't make it this far - that does help. But anything more you might find out would help. We are going to be staying at the Twin Hammers."
Finishing up her tea, Annique then stands. "Sehra, thank you for the warm hospitality. It is truly appreciated. And thank you too Garend." She starts to bundle herself up and prepares to head out.
It is not too late when Annique and Hadi come back to the tavern. The maidens have prepared a meal and some drinks. They have closed the doors to any others and are ready for any questions.
"You are welcome here when you have done your search of the missing caravan. Feral will look into the whereabouts of our killer and we will point you in the right direction if you are still interested."
I will let you exchange information and decide on your next move.
Maybe it was the promise of gold, maybe it the tension of the times. Either way, his companions seemed eager to investigate the case of the supposed murderer. Amarilys was clearly interested and Rinn assumed Sepek’s guilt was well known. Only Jarvis raised questioned the killings.
For Thael the entire situation was strange. First the dwarven sisters asked them to not get in trouble with the council, then they offer a contract on a man, saying they would rather not have a guard or any authority informed? How could they even know for sure he was the killer?
“Well, Greta, if you want us to deal with this murder of yours I think it is only fair that you answer our questions. Specially the one regarding why you are so sure Sepek is the killer.” He says to the woman in audible but calm voice. “No offense, but you are basically telling us to kill a man because he doesn’t feel cold. Something that may be work of a god or a magic trinket.” Not that the Warlock expected such an item to be affordable for a bodyguard of a small traveling merchant company, but Kalro could have stolen such thing. Hell, he could even have found it in a stroke of luck. “Who gave the idea of starting the sacrifices to Aurill? Did the killings start before or after the sacrificial offerings? Was Sepek always in town when a murder happened? Did he work traveling the cities of the killings before the deaths? When did you notice that he was unaffected by the winter?”
Thael wanted to completely rule out the possibility of the man being condemned simply by being in the wrong place in the wrong time. It was not a pleasant experience, he knew well enough being born a man of the drow.
“How do the murders occur?” He asks Gretta, repeating Jarvis’ query. “And which cities are making the sacrifices, right?”The dark elf cast his eyes upon the Artificer, as if waiting for confirmation that it were those questions the later asked. Hopefully, this time the sisters would answer.
Returning to the Twin Hammers, Annique comes and sits with the others, slowly removing her cloak to allow herself to be warmed by the fire.
"Bryn Shander is sacrificing people! Today was the nineteenth." She makes the statement bluntly, looking at the others with a look of disbelief. "I suppose I'd heard rumors, but... "
She grabs one of the drinks at the table and consumes nearly half of it. She glances at the two dwarven women. "I'm sure you knew, but I was a little surprised I guess."
She then continues, addressing the group. "My friend Garend has not seen the caravan. It doesn't sound like it made it here. He will see if any of his fellow guards might have some information and get back to me. But he also said the guards are on edge because of a bunch of disappearances here in Bryn Shander."
She then sits back, taking another large drink from the glass she grabbed. Her expression seems to be one of uncertainty of what to do next.
Quote from Makkiu>> Annique assumed Sepek’s guilt was well known.
(OOC - Annique was not at the tavern so has no assumptions. She doesn't even know about Sepek at all. You probably mean the other dwarven woman, Feral.)
(OOC - Neither. I was speaking of Rinn and typed the wrong name. Thanks for the heads up.)
Amaryllis listens to the others' questions, but even before they are answered, she interrupts: "It's harder, and usually slower to solve multiple mysteries simultaneously. We're more likely to succeed and finish faster if we word on one, and only then the other. I don't mind which we do first, but we should decide on that." She halts, looking up at the tall heads around her. She hoped they were all able to understand her words and the meaning behind them. It's not like she had never met fools before. "Either we investigate the murdering, or we investigate missing caravan, or we split. These are the options I see before us. I'm fine with either..." She lets her words trail off as she looks at the others, considering something. "Though I'd rather not split. Shall anything happen, it's good to walk in larger groups... usually."
Annique looks at Amaryllis confused. "Multiple mysteries? Murders? Did something happen while we were away?" She looks about the room, trying to account for everyone in their group.
"Is this is the killer Feral mentioned? To look into when we are back from looking for the caravan?"
"It's horrific, no one should have to die to appease that ***** who keeps us all under her power.", Thaddeus says.I wasn't there, sorry.
Liarin: Against the Cult of the Reptile God
Adewild: Shadows and Light 2
Brother Thaddeus: Rime of the Frostmaiden.
“No harm done. We’re in and warn now.” Hadi says, adding, “It seems the Benotto name doesn’t carry quite as much weight this far north. Perhaps my uncle wasn’t as active as he said.”
Then turning to more serious topics asks, looking to his companion, “We’re actually here to investigate a disappearance outside of town. Might be connected with the death?”
PbP 🎲: Tyekanik; Moneo Noree; Korba Muris; & occasional DM:
Thaddeus
Annique and Hadi went out to see the guard to get some information. I didn't know you had gone with them.
Garend turns to Hadi.
" Ho no, we know of your uncle. He just didn't mince words when he talked about you. Sorry about that, I should have been more amicable to you." he says with a nod. "You know what they say, it s not the words that make the man its the deeds." he gives a slight bow.
"Not sure the disappearance are connected. What are you looking for exactly? Maybe I can help. Or ask around at the gates.."
Back at the tavern
After a while Hretta comes back. She has a grim look on her face and you can feel the wave of cold rage emenating from her.
"They will do nothing." she mutters "with the deaths they are cowering in their homes those... Cowards. I we't to my contacts and they haven't seen nor heard of any draw caravan. Not even in the late night rumbling of the drunks."
"i went to the house of our elected lord and they blew me off. No ressources they said."
She looks at the one in the main room. Sorry but it seems the carava' never made here. "
Annique nods to Sehra after her comments about the town's decision, giving her a sympathetic look. As Garend comes in and comforts his wife, Annique then picks up and sips at her tea, seemingly back at ease.
Echoing Hadi's comments, Annique agrees. "The situation at the gate was understandable. It's just an unfortunate reality of these times." She then sets down her cup and stands. "I was wondering though if perhaps you had heard anything about a dwarf caravan lately? That's the disappearance Hadi mentioned. It was supposed to come through Bryn Shander." She then looks over at the elf. "That is an interesting thought though about the disappearances in town and the caravan's disappearance being linked."
Rabbit Sebrica | Skarai | Katryl Brightfury | Rylia Lionrage | Roxana Raincrest | Janek Whitmor | Lokilia Vaelphin
Jarvis taps his fingers across the table contemplatively. “Hretta,” he says with a very deliberate pronunciation. “What deaths?”
Paladin - warforged - orange
Gretta turns to Jarvis.
"We have had a few deaths in the city. Murders really. The guard swears they are on it but nothing changed of course." In her voice, you can hear the contempt.
She looks at Feral who nods back. " But we know who is responsible."
She moves toward the group and Jarvis because he was the one asking the questions.
"We have no proof but we know that the man named Sepek Kaltro is at the heart of it."
“Sephek Kaltro works for a small traveling merchant company called Torg’s, owned and operated by a shady dwarf named Torrga Icevein. In other words, Sephek gets around. He’s charming. Makes friends easily. He’s also Torrga’s bodyguard, so I’m guessing he’s good with a blade.
“His victims come from the only three towns that sacrifice people to the Frostmaiden on nights of the new moon. This is what passes for civilized behavior in Icewind Dale. Maybe the victims found a way to keep their names out of the drawings and Sephek found out they were cheating, so he killed them. Maybe, just maybe, Sephek is doing the Frostmaiden’s work.
“Feral followed Torg’s for a tenday as it moved from town to town. Quite the devious little enterprise, but that’s not my concern. What struck me is how comfortable Sephek Kaltro looked in this weather. No coat, no scarf, no gloves. It was like the cold couldn’t touch him. Kiss of the Frostmaiden, indeed."
"Ooh, very mysterious indeed," Amaryllis responds. "Maybe we could check it out after we find the missing caravan? If it never made it here, something must have happened on the way from the Silver Marshes. We could go there and see if we find them or tracks of them on the way. Also..." She considers the matter for a moment, thinking of all the possibilities. "Maybe we can ask Annique to ask her guard friend to ask his guard friends whether any of them saw a caravan enter town in the past few tendays. That way, we could know for sure whether the caravan entered or not. If it didn't, I doubt that unfreezing dwarf could do anything about it. But, Annique had already gone..." She ponders the matter for a while. Eventually, she says: "Or, we could completely forget about the caravan and instead investigate Sephek. Sounds equally interesting, and if they're connected, we can hit two birds with one stone."
Varielky | Emma
Without lookin in their direction, Rinn listens intently to Gretta’s words to Jarvis, betrayed only by the narrowing of her eyes. After Amaryllis has finished her say, Rinn’s quiet and steady voice reaches over the crackling of the flames in the hearth:
“A missing caravan is worrying. A known murderer among the Towns is far worse… We mustn’t forget our reason for being here, but I would do all I could to bring a killer to justice.”
Thael sat with his back to the wall and took his food looking time and again in the direction of the doors, terribly conscious of their situation. They were strangers, foreigners to the folk of Bryn Shander in a time when even locals had trouble with the ruling council. There was no truly safe place for them - a thought the deep elf kept in his mind as he waited for the dwarven ladies and their information.
Gretta returned with a dark expression on her face and carried words darker still. She had no information or supplies to give, but was not the most surprising or terrible thing she said.
“Wait. There are three cities regularly sacrificing people to Auril?” He questioned with little surprised in his voice. The matrons of the houses in the Underdark used to do just the same. “I presume that this sacrificial duty is not voluntarily taken and is where the troubles with the council come from.”
Thael doubted any member of the council was ever chosen. Their families and friends were probably safe too. The threat of being appointed the next tribute should be enough to silence to the wisest opposition while the more defiant could be actually sacrificed. Besides, how much would someone be willing to pay to avoid being offered to the winter goddess? It seems the leader of the city was not so good of a woman as rumor meant her to be.
“Who gave the idea of starting these sacrifices?” Asked the Warlock, half expecting to be someone connected to this Kaltro figure. “And why are you so sure Sephek is behind it, besides the fact that he is not affected by the cold?” Not to play Asmodeus’ advocate, but he didn’t think that ignoring the weather was something so hard to achieve using the arcane arts. For all that Gretta said this bodyguard could just have inherited, or stole, a particularly useful magic item. “Is he always present when one of the deaths happens?”
Jarvis let’s the others speak up first, taking a long minute or two or three of thought.
“Hretta,” again with the very deliberate pronunciation. “How do these murders occur? And which towns are offering sacrifices? Show me on a map, if you can.”
does anyone have a map?
Paladin - warforged - orange
The group at the Tavern:
Gretta nods as everyone starts talking. She holds up her hand.
" I know that you all have something to do. Clan business and all that, but this is something wrong on another level. Murder."
She shakes her head and Feral shrugs.
"If you have time you get back to us and we will stop this. I'll give you 100 gold pieces to end this. Return to me when you have dealt the murderer." She stops for a second. " I would prefer that you don't talk to your guard friend about our talk. Or the authorities at all for that matter."
For Annique and Hadi:
Garend listens and thinks for a minute.
"Where are you staying? I will go around and ask at the gates. But I can already tell you that we have had no caravans coming in at my gate for the last two weeks."
Annique gives Garend a nod. "So most likely the caravan didn't make it this far - that does help. But anything more you might find out would help. We are going to be staying at the Twin Hammers."
Finishing up her tea, Annique then stands. "Sehra, thank you for the warm hospitality. It is truly appreciated. And thank you too Garend." She starts to bundle herself up and prepares to head out.
Rabbit Sebrica | Skarai | Katryl Brightfury | Rylia Lionrage | Roxana Raincrest | Janek Whitmor | Lokilia Vaelphin
For all.
It is not too late when Annique and Hadi come back to the tavern. The maidens have prepared a meal and some drinks. They have closed the doors to any others and are ready for any questions.
"You are welcome here when you have done your search of the missing caravan. Feral will look into the whereabouts of our killer and we will point you in the right direction if you are still interested."
I will let you exchange information and decide on your next move.
Maybe it was the promise of gold, maybe it the tension of the times. Either way, his companions seemed eager to investigate the case of the supposed murderer. Amarilys was clearly interested and Rinn assumed Sepek’s guilt was well known. Only Jarvis raised questioned the killings.
For Thael the entire situation was strange. First the dwarven sisters asked them to not get in trouble with the council, then they offer a contract on a man, saying they would rather not have a guard or any authority informed? How could they even know for sure he was the killer?
“Well, Greta, if you want us to deal with this murder of yours I think it is only fair that you answer our questions. Specially the one regarding why you are so sure Sepek is the killer.” He says to the woman in audible but calm voice. “No offense, but you are basically telling us to kill a man because he doesn’t feel cold. Something that may be work of a god or a magic trinket.” Not that the Warlock expected such an item to be affordable for a bodyguard of a small traveling merchant company, but Kalro could have stolen such thing. Hell, he could even have found it in a stroke of luck. “Who gave the idea of starting the sacrifices to Aurill? Did the killings start before or after the sacrificial offerings? Was Sepek always in town when a murder happened? Did he work traveling the cities of the killings before the deaths? When did you notice that he was unaffected by the winter?”
Thael wanted to completely rule out the possibility of the man being condemned simply by being in the wrong place in the wrong time. It was not a pleasant experience, he knew well enough being born a man of the drow.
“How do the murders occur?” He asks Gretta, repeating Jarvis’ query. “And which cities are making the sacrifices, right?” The dark elf cast his eyes upon the Artificer, as if waiting for confirmation that it were those questions the later asked. Hopefully, this time the sisters would answer.
Returning to the Twin Hammers, Annique comes and sits with the others, slowly removing her cloak to allow herself to be warmed by the fire.
"Bryn Shander is sacrificing people! Today was the nineteenth." She makes the statement bluntly, looking at the others with a look of disbelief. "I suppose I'd heard rumors, but... "
She grabs one of the drinks at the table and consumes nearly half of it. She glances at the two dwarven women. "I'm sure you knew, but I was a little surprised I guess."
She then continues, addressing the group. "My friend Garend has not seen the caravan. It doesn't sound like it made it here. He will see if any of his fellow guards might have some information and get back to me. But he also said the guards are on edge because of a bunch of disappearances here in Bryn Shander."
She then sits back, taking another large drink from the glass she grabbed. Her expression seems to be one of uncertainty of what to do next.
Rabbit Sebrica | Skarai | Katryl Brightfury | Rylia Lionrage | Roxana Raincrest | Janek Whitmor | Lokilia Vaelphin
(OOC - Neither. I was speaking of Rinn and typed the wrong name. Thanks for the heads up.)
(Hey, I'm back a little earlier than expected.)
Amaryllis listens to the others' questions, but even before they are answered, she interrupts: "It's harder, and usually slower to solve multiple mysteries simultaneously. We're more likely to succeed and finish faster if we word on one, and only then the other. I don't mind which we do first, but we should decide on that." She halts, looking up at the tall heads around her. She hoped they were all able to understand her words and the meaning behind them. It's not like she had never met fools before. "Either we investigate the murdering, or we investigate missing caravan, or we split. These are the options I see before us. I'm fine with either..." She lets her words trail off as she looks at the others, considering something. "Though I'd rather not split. Shall anything happen, it's good to walk in larger groups... usually."
Varielky | Emma
Annique looks at Amaryllis confused. "Multiple mysteries? Murders? Did something happen while we were away?" She looks about the room, trying to account for everyone in their group.
"Is this is the killer Feral mentioned? To look into when we are back from looking for the caravan?"
Rabbit Sebrica | Skarai | Katryl Brightfury | Rylia Lionrage | Roxana Raincrest | Janek Whitmor | Lokilia Vaelphin