"Well, permission is granted. He might not be the most talkative right now, though," Lieutenant Bolver says with a chuckle, pointing to one of the bodies hanging from the Gate.
"He wasn't the most talkative when he was alive, either. He was interrogated for an entire day and night, but even with the Lord Sage's information, he would not divulge a single one of his secrets - and all we found on his person was a scrap of paper," he concludes.
Of course, they hanged the guy and made the group wait for nothing. Should Ola had any desire left to walk an extra mile to help Back Guards, now it would die. Not showing any disappointment (or any emotion at all), she just asked if the thief had something in his possession other than the clothes he is hanged in.
"And aside from the scrap of paper, of course," Sylyra says quickly, not quite succeeding in giving Ola a sideways glance. "May we see this scrap of paper?" he continues after Bolver has answered their first inquiry.
Once they group is ready to approach the prisoner, the copper-skinned elf says to his blue-skinned counterpart, "Amazingly enough, you generally have the most rapport with others, so if torture wasn't able to reveal anything, it's unlikely they'll talk freely to us. I could give you a little boost to that tongue of yours if you would like."
"Of course they killed him." Hex let's out a disappointed sigh and rubs her eyes. "I'm gonna check out the body first. Join me once your done talking to this guy."
Hex walks away from the group and towards the body the guard gestured to. She examines the body, trying to find something, anything, the Black Fist may had missed.
"I was a bit disappointed," admitted Ola, explaining her confusion to Sylyra, when they finished "conversation" with the guard, "thought they would be a bit more cooperative, missed that bit about paper. Good thing you caught it". "Thank you for your offer," added she calmly, "but I believe if authorities have to be sweet-talked in doing their job, they are not doing it right and not worth the time talking. Anyway, we have as much as we could get here and wasted too much time to obtain it. What does that paper say?"
A smirk remains on Bolver's face as he sends a guard to fetch Tibeem's belongings. Tibeem's body sways in the wind as a raven descends to his shoulder and pecks at his face. Specifics are difficult to make out in the dim light, but Hex sees that his appearance seems to match up with the vague descriptions given by the flyer and the Lord Sage.
After a moment, the guard returns with a small scrap of parchment. Lieutenant looks it over and nods, then hands the paper to Sylyra. "This was all he had on him. We never found any other possessions, but he also had an accomplice that we weren't able to find. If you can manage to do better, bring him to us alive. We've got a spot waiting for him on the wall next to his friend."
"A shopping list?" Sylyra says quietly, more to himself, but not secretly. He holds the paper up to try to put it between his eyes and some form of light to see if there is anything he can see in the paper that isn't immediately visible. Following that, he hands it to Ola. "A waste of time. Agreed."
"Vellum... This is another word for "parchment" isn't it? Probably bought it to make those "false" books." Not that it helped anyhow. "I doubt the shopkeeper - whoever he is - is the part of the crime or knows anything about the second thief. What do you think about asking our little Vella? Arnald is not here but I think we can find her nevertheless. Did not her father say she is affiliated with the ... less savory elements of the town? Even her membership with the Gauntlet was based on that. She might hear some rumors."
Hex returns to the group, unable to find anything of note on the body. As she sees Sylyra examine the note and give it to Ola, she peeks over the paladin's shoulder and reads it.
"Shopping list, huh? It might not actually be a waste of time. If we can find where he bought these things, the shopkeep might know the specifics of what was bought. What sort of leather and chalk was bought, if they bought these things more than once and how much they bought. If we get the specifics, we might be able to figure out if other books were stolen and forged. In turn, we get more information that might help us identify where the second thief might've gone."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Sylyra Investigation: 3
Sylyra holds the paper up between himself and a nearby lamplight, but sees no hidden writing upon the page.
OOC: There are about 20,000 people in Phlan. It's a fairly sizeable place, and there are a variety of shops in the city, both general and specialized. Most of the adventuring gear the party has purchased over the campaign would have been purchased from Cockburn's Grocery, while weapons and armor would be purchased from Matteo the Weaponsmith.
"Finding the right shop will be like finding a needle in a haystack," Sylyra says, sounding annoyed, "but I suppose if we begin with those nearest the library and work our way outward, we might get lucky." He sighs and looks at Ola and Hex. "Let's split up. Which of you lovelies is coming with me?"
Ola did not insist on her idea - after all, she herself not long ago admitted her shortcomings in detective job. "If we want to make it fast, each should probably check one part of the city. Even in this case, it might take some time, provided shopkeepers remember the guy at all. Do you think we can get the list of the shops around?" Once the group returned to the library, Ola simply takes one of the directions (or first shop in the list) and begins her search, asking if someone remembers the man and his purchases.
Looking around Hex would point in a direction different to Ola. "I'll take this direction. If we manage to find a map or list of all the shops in the city, it'll probably make things easier but I think just going ahead and looking around would be faster. Don't need to search all the shops after all, just the ones that sell the things on the list."
Hex looks at Sylyra amused and gives him a pat on the shoulder. "Surely you can be on your own for a while. Just try not to get distracted by any of the fancy clothes shops."
Once everyone is ready, she waves the two goodbye and leaves to search her part of the city. She'd ask around, inquiring if anyone has seen Spernik and questioning shopkeepers from places that are likely to sell the things listed on the paper.
Uragum stops and doesn't follow the others. His reputation is probably still an issue around town. "Well, while you all go to the stores. I think I'll return to the library. While we spoke with the Lord Sage, we should speak with the other scribes and attendants. They may have heard or seen something they would rather not share with upper management."
Sylyra doesn't reply to Ola or Hex as they move off on their own, though he does hold out his hand to Ola to request the piece of paper back before she leaves. To Uragum, Sylyra nods. "You're probably right." He turns and walks away in a direction Uragum will not be walking, even if it means walking in a similar direction as Ola or Hex. After he walks a little ways, the druid finds an out-of-the-way alley or corner where he won't draw watching eyes. His form shimmers and shrinks, becoming a blonde-furred cat. He sniffs the paper, which he placed on the ground/street before taking the altered shape. After getting any scent he can from it, he picks up the paper in his kitty mouth and heads for the library to see if he can pick up any kind of trail.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
OOC: Just as a note and reminder, it is very late into the evening at this point, past midnight.
HEX:
Leaving opposite Ola, you leave the imposing library behind in search of a shop on the city streets. After a short hike, you spot a sign over the entrance of a small building that reads simply-- Grocery. Flickering lamplight leaks out onto the street from inside the building, indicating the presence of someone within.
_________________________________
OLA:
The first thing that comes to your attention upon leaving the library is a plaza within sight of the building's facade. Due to its location in the center of Phlan, this is likely a central marketplace, but currently houses only a handful of merchant carts. Their awnings are faded and tattered, but the carts themselves are in decent repair. At this hour, you see only a pair of figures around their cart: A half-elf woman who is packing crates into her cart, while a large human man stands guard over her with his hand on the longsword at his hip.
_________________________________
SYLYRA:
Perception (Advantage-Keen Smell): 19
Your keen cat senses pick up traces of a scent off of the paper that a human nose would have found nearly impossible; a smoky, musky scent that is quite familiar to you. The trail leads you quickly to a place in which you have spent much time in your usual form: The Laughing Goblin.
_________________________________
URAGUM:
Even at this late hour, the library is far from empty. Individual tables are illuminated by soft candlelight, where scribes study, slumped over books and parchment. There appears to be only a single attendant that is stationed near a desk, seeing to the needs of those scribes still in the building.
Ola was not going to knock at every door in the middle of the night, but since there was at least someone on the streets, she walked to the pair. She was coming slowly and as non-threateningly as it was possible. "Good evening," Ola smiled politely to the woman. "I am doing an investigation for Lord Sage and hoped to bother you with a question". She paused, letting those two assess the situation (and get to feel more comfortable with her own presence) and once the attention was granted, continued. "There were two men" (Ola described Tibeem and Spernik) "who probably often buy around here things like vellum and chalk. Have you ever saw them? And if so, would happen to know which shop did they use?"
Upon seeing the sign, Hex mutters to herself, "As good a place as any." She enters into the building and looks for the shopkeep.
"Hello? Sorry to bother you at such a late time but I was wondering if you've seen someone and whether they've bought things here before." She would describe Spernik and recite the list found on the paper.
Pausing outside of The Laughing Goblin, cat-Sylyra sits and begins bathing one paw while letting his mind wander about the situation. (If anyone pays him any mind, he will run to an alley or side yard with a hiss if the individual gets too close.) If the paper smells like The Laughing Goblin, that means it was here, but nothing more can be assumed. It could have been written here and then given to the thieves. The thieves could have visited here and made the list. The thieves could have stayed here prior to being hired.
DM, a few questions:
Has Sylyra ever seen animals inside The Laughing Goblin? If he entered in cat form, would that immediately put him at risk of being booted out (or worse harmed), or could he get away with trying to sniff around inside?
Does Sylyra remember seeing anyone who looked like the strung-up thief at The Laughing Goblin?
Does he remember seeing two individuals at The Laughing Goblin who could have have been the thieves?
Does he recognize the paper scrap?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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"Well, permission is granted. He might not be the most talkative right now, though," Lieutenant Bolver says with a chuckle, pointing to one of the bodies hanging from the Gate.
"He wasn't the most talkative when he was alive, either. He was interrogated for an entire day and night, but even with the Lord Sage's information, he would not divulge a single one of his secrets - and all we found on his person was a scrap of paper," he concludes.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
Of course, they hanged the guy and made the group wait for nothing. Should Ola had any desire left to walk an extra mile to help Back Guards, now it would die. Not showing any disappointment (or any emotion at all), she just asked if the thief had something in his possession other than the clothes he is hanged in.
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
"And aside from the scrap of paper, of course," Sylyra says quickly, not quite succeeding in giving Ola a sideways glance. "May we see this scrap of paper?" he continues after Bolver has answered their first inquiry.
Once they group is ready to approach the prisoner, the copper-skinned elf says to his blue-skinned counterpart, "Amazingly enough, you generally have the most rapport with others, so if torture wasn't able to reveal anything, it's unlikely they'll talk freely to us. I could give you a little boost to that tongue of yours if you would like."
"Of course they killed him." Hex let's out a disappointed sigh and rubs her eyes. "I'm gonna check out the body first. Join me once your done talking to this guy."
Hex walks away from the group and towards the body the guard gestured to. She examines the body, trying to find something, anything, the Black Fist may had missed.
"I was a bit disappointed," admitted Ola, explaining her confusion to Sylyra, when they finished "conversation" with the guard, "thought they would be a bit more cooperative, missed that bit about paper. Good thing you caught it". "Thank you for your offer," added she calmly, "but I believe if authorities have to be sweet-talked in doing their job, they are not doing it right and not worth the time talking. Anyway, we have as much as we could get here and wasted too much time to obtain it. What does that paper say?"
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
A smirk remains on Bolver's face as he sends a guard to fetch Tibeem's belongings. Tibeem's body sways in the wind as a raven descends to his shoulder and pecks at his face. Specifics are difficult to make out in the dim light, but Hex sees that his appearance seems to match up with the vague descriptions given by the flyer and the Lord Sage.
After a moment, the guard returns with a small scrap of parchment. Lieutenant looks it over and nods, then hands the paper to Sylyra. "This was all he had on him. We never found any other possessions, but he also had an accomplice that we weren't able to find. If you can manage to do better, bring him to us alive. We've got a spot waiting for him on the wall next to his friend."
The note reads:
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
"A shopping list?" Sylyra says quietly, more to himself, but not secretly. He holds the paper up to try to put it between his eyes and some form of light to see if there is anything he can see in the paper that isn't immediately visible. Following that, he hands it to Ola. "A waste of time. Agreed."
"Vellum... This is another word for "parchment" isn't it? Probably bought it to make those "false" books." Not that it helped anyhow. "I doubt the shopkeeper - whoever he is - is the part of the crime or knows anything about the second thief. What do you think about asking our little Vella? Arnald is not here but I think we can find her nevertheless. Did not her father say she is affiliated with the ... less savory elements of the town? Even her membership with the Gauntlet was based on that. She might hear some rumors."
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Hex returns to the group, unable to find anything of note on the body. As she sees Sylyra examine the note and give it to Ola, she peeks over the paladin's shoulder and reads it.
"Shopping list, huh? It might not actually be a waste of time. If we can find where he bought these things, the shopkeep might know the specifics of what was bought. What sort of leather and chalk was bought, if they bought these things more than once and how much they bought. If we get the specifics, we might be able to figure out if other books were stolen and forged. In turn, we get more information that might help us identify where the second thief might've gone."
Hey, DM, how many shops are there in Phlan?
Sylyra Investigation: 3
Sylyra holds the paper up between himself and a nearby lamplight, but sees no hidden writing upon the page.
OOC: There are about 20,000 people in Phlan. It's a fairly sizeable place, and there are a variety of shops in the city, both general and specialized. Most of the adventuring gear the party has purchased over the campaign would have been purchased from Cockburn's Grocery, while weapons and armor would be purchased from Matteo the Weaponsmith.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
"Finding the right shop will be like finding a needle in a haystack," Sylyra says, sounding annoyed, "but I suppose if we begin with those nearest the library and work our way outward, we might get lucky." He sighs and looks at Ola and Hex. "Let's split up. Which of you lovelies is coming with me?"
Ola did not insist on her idea - after all, she herself not long ago admitted her shortcomings in detective job. "If we want to make it fast, each should probably check one part of the city. Even in this case, it might take some time, provided shopkeepers remember the guy at all. Do you think we can get the list of the shops around?" Once the group returned to the library, Ola simply takes one of the directions (or first shop in the list) and begins her search, asking if someone remembers the man and his purchases.
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Looking around Hex would point in a direction different to Ola. "I'll take this direction. If we manage to find a map or list of all the shops in the city, it'll probably make things easier but I think just going ahead and looking around would be faster. Don't need to search all the shops after all, just the ones that sell the things on the list."
Hex looks at Sylyra amused and gives him a pat on the shoulder. "Surely you can be on your own for a while. Just try not to get distracted by any of the fancy clothes shops."
Once everyone is ready, she waves the two goodbye and leaves to search her part of the city. She'd ask around, inquiring if anyone has seen Spernik and questioning shopkeepers from places that are likely to sell the things listed on the paper.
Uragum stops and doesn't follow the others. His reputation is probably still an issue around town. "Well, while you all go to the stores. I think I'll return to the library. While we spoke with the Lord Sage, we should speak with the other scribes and attendants. They may have heard or seen something they would rather not share with upper management."
Sylyra doesn't reply to Ola or Hex as they move off on their own, though he does hold out his hand to Ola to request the piece of paper back before she leaves. To Uragum, Sylyra nods. "You're probably right." He turns and walks away in a direction Uragum will not be walking, even if it means walking in a similar direction as Ola or Hex. After he walks a little ways, the druid finds an out-of-the-way alley or corner where he won't draw watching eyes. His form shimmers and shrinks, becoming a blonde-furred cat. He sniffs the paper, which he placed on the ground/street before taking the altered shape. After getting any scent he can from it, he picks up the paper in his kitty mouth and heads for the library to see if he can pick up any kind of trail.
OOC: Just as a note and reminder, it is very late into the evening at this point, past midnight.
HEX:
Leaving opposite Ola, you leave the imposing library behind in search of a shop on the city streets. After a short hike, you spot a sign over the entrance of a small building that reads simply-- Grocery. Flickering lamplight leaks out onto the street from inside the building, indicating the presence of someone within.
_________________________________
OLA:
The first thing that comes to your attention upon leaving the library is a plaza within sight of the building's facade. Due to its location in the center of Phlan, this is likely a central marketplace, but currently houses only a handful of merchant carts. Their awnings are faded and tattered, but the carts themselves are in decent repair. At this hour, you see only a pair of figures around their cart: A half-elf woman who is packing crates into her cart, while a large human man stands guard over her with his hand on the longsword at his hip.
_________________________________
SYLYRA:
Perception (Advantage-Keen Smell): 19
Your keen cat senses pick up traces of a scent off of the paper that a human nose would have found nearly impossible; a smoky, musky scent that is quite familiar to you. The trail leads you quickly to a place in which you have spent much time in your usual form: The Laughing Goblin.
_________________________________
URAGUM:
Even at this late hour, the library is far from empty. Individual tables are illuminated by soft candlelight, where scribes study, slumped over books and parchment. There appears to be only a single attendant that is stationed near a desk, seeing to the needs of those scribes still in the building.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
The paper was returned without a word, of course.
Ola was not going to knock at every door in the middle of the night, but since there was at least someone on the streets, she walked to the pair. She was coming slowly and as non-threateningly as it was possible. "Good evening," Ola smiled politely to the woman. "I am doing an investigation for Lord Sage and hoped to bother you with a question". She paused, letting those two assess the situation (and get to feel more comfortable with her own presence) and once the attention was granted, continued. "There were two men" (Ola described Tibeem and Spernik) "who probably often buy around here things like vellum and chalk. Have you ever saw them? And if so, would happen to know which shop did they use?"
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Upon seeing the sign, Hex mutters to herself, "As good a place as any." She enters into the building and looks for the shopkeep.
"Hello? Sorry to bother you at such a late time but I was wondering if you've seen someone and whether they've bought things here before." She would describe Spernik and recite the list found on the paper.
Pausing outside of The Laughing Goblin, cat-Sylyra sits and begins bathing one paw while letting his mind wander about the situation. (If anyone pays him any mind, he will run to an alley or side yard with a hiss if the individual gets too close.) If the paper smells like The Laughing Goblin, that means it was here, but nothing more can be assumed. It could have been written here and then given to the thieves. The thieves could have visited here and made the list. The thieves could have stayed here prior to being hired.
DM, a few questions: