(OOC: He stays as long as everyone is willing to be there. If a majority wants to leave at some point, he'll leave too.
Looking for a handwritten shop note is just going over as much ground as possible for something that should be in plain sight. He isn't opening books, rifling through drawers, or focusing on a specific area. Just keep circling (1 min circle, then more time on the next sweep), general observation while looking for handwriting, and lending another set of eyes if someone else makes a request.
Despite the loud lady across the street, we aren't doing anything wrong. The door was unlocked, and there was a note on the door saying it was open. (Selective omission of the Knock spell.) If it turns out the shop lady didn't write the note on the door, that is still in the group's favor that someone else is doing fishy things... Oberyos is "lawful", so better to get the cooperation of authorities, instead of running away and being suspicious.)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM) Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy) DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
Bryson will walk around with Oberyos and assist with the search, but after about two minutes, or when the guards show up, Bryson will head outside to cut the guards off and buy the rest of the group some time.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“The mark of a successful DM is when you have caused more player deaths with doors than dragons, demons, or devils.”
Mara hesitates just inside the threshold of the door, eyeing Thom and then the entryway before sighing and pulling out her awakened spellbook, flipping to a specific page before casting Detect Magic with a small hand gesture and murmur of arcane words. Focusing on anything that might be unusual in the book shop.
((Does Oberyos tell the group what he's looking for and why? Or say any of your last paragraph out loud? Cuz those are good points! xD ))
While Oberyos is waiting for everyone else to state out loud what they want to do, he explains his thoughts out loud (while investigating), to no one in particular. He is looking for handwriting to compare to the note saying the shop was open all hours. It is suspicious that the shopkeeper hasn't responded, and someone else mused that the note might not be from Miss Alyssina.
(If the group decides this is too much hassle just to buy a book, he won't resist the suggestion to wait outside to clear up the situation with the watch. Or just leave, if the others are absolutely certain that won't make us look suspicious.)
Oberyos also mentions that, if/when the city watch show up, we tell the police that we came to shop, and found it empty. We believed the note on the door to be genuine. The door was unlocked, we knocked twice, and the Alarm spell went off when we entered. Being concerned upright citizens (except maybe for Arjan), we are worried that Miss Alyssina hasn't shown up yet.
If she did write the note, then why the Alarm despite the shop being open all hours?
If she did not write the note, then who left the note? Did the note writer do something nefarious to the shopkeeper?
(He also mentions that if we think the lady across the street is a busybody, we could suggest the city watch should interrogate her all night to find out what she heard or saw from the shop before our group arrived.)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM) Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy) DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
Brandon calls out from the counter in the back of the shop “Look for any sign of the shopkeeper, something seems off about all of this. We can check out the door and staircase as well, see where they lead” Brandon gestures to the door along the back wall “We are not here to steal anything, but let’s look for any sign of this Sundering book as long as we are here as well.”
Mara will only spend up to a minute glancing about the shop for any glow of magic, calling out anything she notices. Glancing at Brandon and Oberyos she says, "Feel free to keep looking, I'll greet the guards." Before exiting and waiting outside the shop for the guard to arrive. To Arjun she will caution, "Put your weapon down and try not to look so threatening. We've done nothing wrong and we don't want to give the guard any reason to suspect otherwise."
OoC - I'm going to take a little dramatic license with your specifics but hopefully deliver what you all intend. In actual time, about three minutes will elapse to cover the post.
Oberyos set about searching the room, looking for the shopkeeper's notes, he starts in the most obvious place, the counter in the corner, with Bryson moving over to assist and keeping the light of his torch steady and safely away from the mass of highly flammable items all around. The rest of the group start scanning over the shelves and stacks for likely candidates, knowing the book is of considerable value and unlikely to be left lying around amongst other random volumes and titles.
Oberyos & Bryson
Your search bears fruit almost immediately. It appears that Miss Alyssina kept a log of what you conclude to be transactions and enquiries into her collection of more valuable pieces, you are able to quickly find the entry for 'Sundering (Draconic Ed.)' dated eight days hence with Teswan's name and offer price of 500Gp against it. Surprisingly, another entry dated just two days ago lists a value of 960Gp but the name has been omitted. Looking back a few pages you can see that there are several other high value entries without a name, with both positive and negative figures associated to them. One such entry, dated 6 ten days past appears to indicate the receipt of the book with a purchase price of 400Gp. Looking at some of the numbers, you can safely assume that none of these books are kept in the room you have entered, lest they be immediately devalued from mishandling and undue wear.
Mara (and group as she has said she will share her insights)
Upon finishing the spell, you immediately sense mag is and spend a few moment to bring a blue glow into being, emanating from the shutters where the window illusions have been held in place. Somehow it looks like the spell has been anchored to the shutters, or something attached to the shutters that powers the continued projection.
You can also sense magic coming from the room upstairs, though you are unable to see the source, or sources, at present.
Bryson excuses himself from Oberyos's side to check on the street and wanders out with Mara. The woman is still ringing her bell, though with less vigor, and her shouts are becoming more hoarse. The odd cry to stop ringing the bell, or that the watch don't care can be heard in response. As Bryson emerges from the doorway she seems to renew her ringing, "You! You bewitched me. Theiving wizard! What have you done with Miss Alyssina?" She doesn't wait for a response before her wailing continues, louder and more raspy than before. It is clear she won't listen to anything you say.
Thom
Oberyos's points all sound reasonable, but you are familiar with the less pragmatic and reasonable approach of some watch officers. Where locking every one that might be guilty comes first, and asking questions is left to someone getting paid more.
OoC - I am basing some of these insights off your background to work it in a bit more but you can take them or leave them as you see fit for Thom.
"Look I can try and talk with the city watch, but we have been in here too long, and I for one do not wish to be caught. Now who is leaving with me?" Thom does not give anyone a chance to reply before walking out.
Depending on what the others do will drive Thom next actions. Everyone exits with out 'waisting time' Thom will start to look for a way to leave, most likely the darkest road to allow them to see torch light. If so stay behind Thom will move to a dark ally that is a distance from the shop, where he can hide and watch.
Arjun grunts sourly at Mara's tone, but nevertheless stows his weapon. Thom's urgings fall on deaf ears though as he waits to see what others in the group do before moving anywhere.
Bryson holds his hand up as if to urge Thom to stop, but the human doesn't seem to pay him any mind so Bryson continues outside to look for the guard. Hearing the woman shout and scream, Bryson quickly realizes that she is beyond reasoning and figures that his spell must have worn off. Thinking on his feet, the scholar quickly pulls a piece of parchment out of his pack and begins scribbling on it with some magical inks. He writes on the paper,
"Dear Bryson,
I have left a sign on the door that says 'Open all hours. Knock twice if locked.' If you knock twice, you should be able to enter freely. I wish you the best of luck in finding what you are searching for.
Yours, Alyssina"
As he is writing, however, Bryson enchants the paper with his last reserves of magic and designates anybody but the woman as a target of his spell. That means that everyone else should be able to read the note perfectly fine, but to the woman, the note will read in common:
"You are being cursed. The gods have forsaken you for your crimes and this is your punishment. A demon himself will appear before you to deliver your consequence."
Bryson will then fold the note up and put it in his pocket while he waits for the watch to arrive.
(OOC: 10 GP of spell components was subtracted from Bryson's inventory for the casting of the spell.)
Once the watch arrives, he quickly approaches them and says, "Please good officers, I ask that you help this woman. I am sure she has gone insane and needs mental help. She continues to insist that I bewitched her somehow and that we are breaking in." With that, Bryson pulls out the note that he wrote earlier and adds, "I can prove that she is crazy. Watch this." He will then show the woman the note (which should show the alternate version) and have her read it while facing the guards. Furthermore, as soon as she is done reading it, he will mentally command his familiar to appear behind the guards, but so that the woman can see it, for just a second before disappearing again. Once she is done, he will take the note and show the guards what he has written as well (the normal writing should appear for them). "See? Clearly, she has gone insane from something. She needs help."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“The mark of a successful DM is when you have caused more player deaths with doors than dragons, demons, or devils.”
Rolling her eyes at the woman's screaming, Mara sighs and shakes her head as she crosses her arms. As Thom protests waiting for the guard, she would reply uncertainly, "If we try to leave, she'll just tell the watch what we look like and which way we went. Isn't it better we get ahead of it than have to deal with the consequences later? I for one would like to be able to return to Neverwinter eventually. Preferably without a bounty on my head." If the solemn bodyguard decides to retreat to an alleyway, she will hesitate, taking a step towards her long time traveling companion before glancing at the others and shaking her head, deciding to stay put for now. Though Bryson's immediate actions were making her nearly wish she hadn't. Curious as to what he was writing, she glanced underneath his elbow and nodded. Not a terrible idea but not great if the guards figured out the handwriting didn't match.
When the watch arrives she makes sure to make show of raising her empty hands in show of peace, "We apologize for the noise and trouble. We were entering as directed when said lady,"Nodding her head over to the 'concerned citizen', "Began yelling at us and ringing that bell which distracted us and caused us to forget the directions given. So we thought it'd be best for us to wait until you arrived to sort it out." Trying to help Bryson persuade the guards.
Since, Bryson ran out, Oberyos will tell the others what was seen in the log book behind the counter. (OOC: Everyone can read that specific "spoiler" in post #109.)
Since he has a sample of the shopkeeper's handwriting, he compares it to the note on the door. (OOC: Are they obviously different? He has proficiency with the forgery kit, so he knows what to look for.)
To Mara: "I agree. Best to clear up any misunderstandings, rather than let that Shrieker go uncontested."
(Also looks worried about Bryson.) "I was going to be more direct, since that shrieker doesn't know my voice. I was thinking about using Message to give her whisperings. Something like "your noise is waking the dead", followed by "get-get-get out-out-out". (OOC: Like the background music from the old Friday the 13th movies.)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM) Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy) DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
Brandon gives one last glance up the spiral staircase and then exits the shop with the others. He chuckles softly at Bryson’s note “Good one, lad” and stands by the others. “No use staying around here much longer, sounds like the book is no longer here and we can let the watch sort out what became of Miss Alyssina. We can try our luck in Waterdeep”
In the case the city watch approaches, they have done nothing wrong and he will help the others persuade the guards of that fact. “Aye, that’s the truth of it. We are here to find the shopkeeper and were following the instructions provided when someone decided to wake up the entire neighborhood.”
@Oberyos, the sign is a small carved wood piece that doesn't allow a suitable comparison of the handwriting. If you were to move the sign slightly and had good light, you'd be able to notice that there was a slight colour differentiation behind the sign, suggesting that the sign has been there for some time, or is taken up and down as needed. The fact that it is a semi-permanent sign and not a hastily written scrawl lends credence to the fact that it was placed there by the shopkeeper. You can be confident that this is either a highly elaborate and well planned out ruse with vast amounts of preparation work, or the sign is completely genuine.
The party makes the decision to abandon the search inside of the Paper Wyrm, and gather outside the shop in ones and twos before finally everyone is standing outside. Thom remains hidden in the shadows of the alleyway whilst the others are gathered in front of the shop. The shrieking lady is again tapering in her ardour and when she see's you all waiting around quite politely, making no effort to flee or do anything that looks even remotely suspect. Oberyos sends his words silently to her, and you can her hear reply "It ain't waking them lazy good-for-nothings though!". The fact that she responds so naturally to the voice in her head makes Oberyos realise that she might not be all there in the first place.
A long minute passes... that's the sort of minute that feels like an eternity, waiting around, expectant of something about to happen, that drags on, and on, the seconds are slow and the only thing that reminds you that time hasn't stopped is the now intermittent ringing of the bell. The fatigue obviously setting in to the old lady's arm, for having rung the thing for the last five minutes. In between the pauses now you can hear another noise, as the bell ringing becomes less frequent and the noise gets louder you can identify the tramping of feet on the cobbled streets, and after a few moments, three armoured men come from around the church at a trot. The front runner, a taller man of average build immediately shouts out, "Alright Ethne. Stop your ringing and leave this to us."
He approaches the group and Bryson steps forwards "Please good officers, I ask that you help this woman. I am sure she has gone insane and needs mental help. She continues to insist that I bewitched her somehow and that we are breaking in." With that, Bryson pulls out the note that he wrote earlier and adds, "I can prove that she is crazy..."The first guard puts his hands up to stop Bryson's speech. "That 'crazy' woman is corporal Almick's mother, so be careful with your allegations." He looks hastily over the note thrust towards him before continuing, "She means well but that bell gets rung every couple of nights for something she's seen. So we traipse out here and have a look so the folks nearby can get back to sleep. Not often we find someone waiting around to prove they're innocent, which makes me a tad suspicious if I'm being frank."
"We apologize for the noise and trouble. We were entering as directed when said lady," Mara joins the conversation, nodding her head over to the 'concerned citizen',"Began yelling at us and ringing that bell which distracted us and caused us to forget the directions given. So we thought it'd be best for us to wait until you arrived to sort it out."
"So you conveniently received a note instructing you to enter and search this shop freely and take whatever you found?"The guard seemingly in charge says, doubt heavy in his voice. Brandon chimes in, “Aye, that’s the truth of it. We are here to find the shopkeeper and were following the instructions provided when someone decided to wake up the entire neighborhood.”
The lead guard nods, "You didn't find her though did you? Otherwise she'd make all this explanation a lot easier."Arjun steps forwards now, extending his hand and shaking the guards. "We'd better come back t'morrow, can't keep you away from yer pressing duties back in them nice, warm barracks..." A slight jingle of coins can be heard as the two shake hands and Arjun back away. "Well, quite... There doesn't seem to be any forced entry, and I guess you do have a note which I can take as evidence." He moves through the group, and firmly closes the door to the Paper Wyrm. "Be about some other business for the night then..."
The guards move and stand resolutely by the door to the shop simultaneously barring any hope of re-entry and providing you with hard stares and a reason to move on from the establishment. Taking your queue from Arjun, who starts walking back the way you came you all leave the shop and start to make your way back to the Faun. "None o' yers know how to deal with city guards. I'd better get them coins back on this job."
You try to retrace your steps back to the Faun, Brandon being too distracted on the way over remembers little of the streets that you took. Roll me a a survival check to see how well you remember the route.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Brandon leads the others back along the darkened streets back to the tavern. Survival 21
Along the way, he discusses their options with the group “Well, it appears that some unknown buyer purchased the book, or at least offered a much larger sum than our good friend Teswan. Do we move on to Waterdeep and look at one of the other options? Or do we return in the morning to try to talk with the shopkeeper? Although I am sure we cannot afford the price. maybe we can find out who asked about it”
As they walk, he keeps an eye out on the shadows, alert for danger Perception 18
Bryson replies to the group, "I never found out what book you were searching for. I was looking for 'The Sundering' translated into Draconic, but what was the book that you were looking for. I remember reading that my book was sold at a high price, but you aren't searching for the same book, are you? That would make this entire ordeal a bit more complicated. I don't mind compensating you if you'd let me have the book. I need it to regain entry to my home."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“The mark of a successful DM is when you have caused more player deaths with doors than dragons, demons, or devils.”
Brandon gives Bryson a sideways glance “Now that is interesting. We were inquiring after the same book. Need it to return home, eh? That mean you are from Candlekeep? You can’t even return home without paying the entrance fee? It’s a wonder anyone ever leaves the place.”
"Yes, I am from the Citadel of the Books and I need an important manuscript to get back in." Bryson shrugs, "Most people do not leave, but I wished to explore the world a little. See what experiences it had to offer outside of the walls of Candlekeep." Bryson's expression falls for a second, "But now that I am done my exploration, I need to find a way to get back home. Therefore, I ask that if we do find the book, you allow me to please take it and return home."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“The mark of a successful DM is when you have caused more player deaths with doors than dragons, demons, or devils.”
@Quasimodal - how long are you going to spend searching?
Bring out your inner chatacter class...
(OOC: He stays as long as everyone is willing to be there. If a majority wants to leave at some point, he'll leave too.
Looking for a handwritten shop note is just going over as much ground as possible for something that should be in plain sight. He isn't opening books, rifling through drawers, or focusing on a specific area. Just keep circling (1 min circle, then more time on the next sweep), general observation while looking for handwriting, and lending another set of eyes if someone else makes a request.
Despite the loud lady across the street, we aren't doing anything wrong. The door was unlocked, and there was a note on the door saying it was open. (Selective omission of the Knock spell.) If it turns out the shop lady didn't write the note on the door, that is still in the group's favor that someone else is doing fishy things... Oberyos is "lawful", so better to get the cooperation of authorities, instead of running away and being suspicious.)
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec
Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM)
Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy)
DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
Bryson will walk around with Oberyos and assist with the search, but after about two minutes, or when the guards show up, Bryson will head outside to cut the guards off and buy the rest of the group some time.
“The mark of a successful DM is when you have caused more player deaths with doors than dragons, demons, or devils.”
Mara hesitates just inside the threshold of the door, eyeing Thom and then the entryway before sighing and pulling out her awakened spellbook, flipping to a specific page before casting Detect Magic with a small hand gesture and murmur of arcane words. Focusing on anything that might be unusual in the book shop.
((Does Oberyos tell the group what he's looking for and why? Or say any of your last paragraph out loud? Cuz those are good points! xD ))
Nym Durnodel - Aspiring Heroes of Faerûn // Danica Amastacia - Red Dead Annihilation
While Oberyos is waiting for everyone else to state out loud what they want to do, he explains his thoughts out loud (while investigating), to no one in particular. He is looking for handwriting to compare to the note saying the shop was open all hours. It is suspicious that the shopkeeper hasn't responded, and someone else mused that the note might not be from Miss Alyssina.
(If the group decides this is too much hassle just to buy a book, he won't resist the suggestion to wait outside to clear up the situation with the watch.
Or just leave, if the others are absolutely certain that won't make us look suspicious.)
Oberyos also mentions that, if/when the city watch show up, we tell the police that we came to shop, and found it empty. We believed the note on the door to be genuine. The door was unlocked, we knocked twice, and the Alarm spell went off when we entered. Being concerned upright citizens (except maybe for Arjan), we are worried that Miss Alyssina hasn't shown up yet.
(He also mentions that if we think the lady across the street is a busybody, we could suggest the city watch should interrogate her all night to find out what she heard or saw from the shop before our group arrived.)
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec
Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM)
Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy)
DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
Brandon calls out from the counter in the back of the shop “Look for any sign of the shopkeeper, something seems off about all of this. We can check out the door and staircase as well, see where they lead” Brandon gestures to the door along the back wall “We are not here to steal anything, but let’s look for any sign of this Sundering book as long as we are here as well.”
Mara will only spend up to a minute glancing about the shop for any glow of magic, calling out anything she notices. Glancing at Brandon and Oberyos she says, "Feel free to keep looking, I'll greet the guards." Before exiting and waiting outside the shop for the guard to arrive. To Arjun she will caution, "Put your weapon down and try not to look so threatening. We've done nothing wrong and we don't want to give the guard any reason to suspect otherwise."
Nym Durnodel - Aspiring Heroes of Faerûn // Danica Amastacia - Red Dead Annihilation
OoC - I'm going to take a little dramatic license with your specifics but hopefully deliver what you all intend. In actual time, about three minutes will elapse to cover the post.
Oberyos set about searching the room, looking for the shopkeeper's notes, he starts in the most obvious place, the counter in the corner, with Bryson moving over to assist and keeping the light of his torch steady and safely away from the mass of highly flammable items all around. The rest of the group start scanning over the shelves and stacks for likely candidates, knowing the book is of considerable value and unlikely to be left lying around amongst other random volumes and titles.
Oberyos & Bryson
Your search bears fruit almost immediately. It appears that Miss Alyssina kept a log of what you conclude to be transactions and enquiries into her collection of more valuable pieces, you are able to quickly find the entry for 'Sundering (Draconic Ed.)' dated eight days hence with Teswan's name and offer price of 500Gp against it. Surprisingly, another entry dated just two days ago lists a value of 960Gp but the name has been omitted. Looking back a few pages you can see that there are several other high value entries without a name, with both positive and negative figures associated to them. One such entry, dated 6 ten days past appears to indicate the receipt of the book with a purchase price of 400Gp. Looking at some of the numbers, you can safely assume that none of these books are kept in the room you have entered, lest they be immediately devalued from mishandling and undue wear.
Mara (and group as she has said she will share her insights)
Upon finishing the spell, you immediately sense mag is and spend a few moment to bring a blue glow into being, emanating from the shutters where the window illusions have been held in place. Somehow it looks like the spell has been anchored to the shutters, or something attached to the shutters that powers the continued projection.
You can also sense magic coming from the room upstairs, though you are unable to see the source, or sources, at present.
Bryson excuses himself from Oberyos's side to check on the street and wanders out with Mara. The woman is still ringing her bell, though with less vigor, and her shouts are becoming more hoarse. The odd cry to stop ringing the bell, or that the watch don't care can be heard in response. As Bryson emerges from the doorway she seems to renew her ringing, "You! You bewitched me. Theiving wizard! What have you done with Miss Alyssina?" She doesn't wait for a response before her wailing continues, louder and more raspy than before. It is clear she won't listen to anything you say.
Thom
Oberyos's points all sound reasonable, but you are familiar with the less pragmatic and reasonable approach of some watch officers. Where locking every one that might be guilty comes first, and asking questions is left to someone getting paid more.
OoC - I am basing some of these insights off your background to work it in a bit more but you can take them or leave them as you see fit for Thom.
Bring out your inner chatacter class...
"Look I can try and talk with the city watch, but we have been in here too long, and I for one do not wish to be caught. Now who is leaving with me?" Thom does not give anyone a chance to reply before walking out.
Depending on what the others do will drive Thom next actions. Everyone exits with out 'waisting time' Thom will start to look for a way to leave, most likely the darkest road to allow them to see torch light. If so stay behind Thom will move to a dark ally that is a distance from the shop, where he can hide and watch.
Thom Everyman- Midgard One Shots
DMing- The Voyage of the Fallen Star
Arjun grunts sourly at Mara's tone, but nevertheless stows his weapon. Thom's urgings fall on deaf ears though as he waits to see what others in the group do before moving anywhere.
Bring out your inner chatacter class...
Bryson holds his hand up as if to urge Thom to stop, but the human doesn't seem to pay him any mind so Bryson continues outside to look for the guard. Hearing the woman shout and scream, Bryson quickly realizes that she is beyond reasoning and figures that his spell must have worn off. Thinking on his feet, the scholar quickly pulls a piece of parchment out of his pack and begins scribbling on it with some magical inks. He writes on the paper,
"Dear Bryson,
I have left a sign on the door that says 'Open all hours. Knock twice if locked.' If you knock twice, you should be able to enter freely. I wish you the best of luck in finding what you are searching for.
Yours,
Alyssina"
As he is writing, however, Bryson enchants the paper with his last reserves of magic and designates anybody but the woman as a target of his spell. That means that everyone else should be able to read the note perfectly fine, but to the woman, the note will read in common:
"You are being cursed. The gods have forsaken you for your crimes and this is your punishment. A demon himself will appear before you to deliver your consequence."
Bryson will then fold the note up and put it in his pocket while he waits for the watch to arrive.
(OOC: 10 GP of spell components was subtracted from Bryson's inventory for the casting of the spell.)
Once the watch arrives, he quickly approaches them and says, "Please good officers, I ask that you help this woman. I am sure she has gone insane and needs mental help. She continues to insist that I bewitched her somehow and that we are breaking in." With that, Bryson pulls out the note that he wrote earlier and adds, "I can prove that she is crazy. Watch this." He will then show the woman the note (which should show the alternate version) and have her read it while facing the guards. Furthermore, as soon as she is done reading it, he will mentally command his familiar to appear behind the guards, but so that the woman can see it, for just a second before disappearing again. Once she is done, he will take the note and show the guards what he has written as well (the normal writing should appear for them). "See? Clearly, she has gone insane from something. She needs help."
“The mark of a successful DM is when you have caused more player deaths with doors than dragons, demons, or devils.”
Rolling her eyes at the woman's screaming, Mara sighs and shakes her head as she crosses her arms. As Thom protests waiting for the guard, she would reply uncertainly, "If we try to leave, she'll just tell the watch what we look like and which way we went. Isn't it better we get ahead of it than have to deal with the consequences later? I for one would like to be able to return to Neverwinter eventually. Preferably without a bounty on my head." If the solemn bodyguard decides to retreat to an alleyway, she will hesitate, taking a step towards her long time traveling companion before glancing at the others and shaking her head, deciding to stay put for now. Though Bryson's immediate actions were making her nearly wish she hadn't. Curious as to what he was writing, she glanced underneath his elbow and nodded. Not a terrible idea but not great if the guards figured out the handwriting didn't match.
When the watch arrives she makes sure to make show of raising her empty hands in show of peace, "We apologize for the noise and trouble. We were entering as directed when said lady," Nodding her head over to the 'concerned citizen', "Began yelling at us and ringing that bell which distracted us and caused us to forget the directions given. So we thought it'd be best for us to wait until you arrived to sort it out." Trying to help Bryson persuade the guards.
Nym Durnodel - Aspiring Heroes of Faerûn // Danica Amastacia - Red Dead Annihilation
Since, Bryson ran out, Oberyos will tell the others what was seen in the log book behind the counter. (OOC: Everyone can read that specific "spoiler" in post #109.)
Since he has a sample of the shopkeeper's handwriting, he compares it to the note on the door.
(OOC: Are they obviously different? He has proficiency with the forgery kit, so he knows what to look for.)
To Mara: "I agree. Best to clear up any misunderstandings, rather than let that Shrieker go uncontested."
(Also looks worried about Bryson.)
"I was going to be more direct, since that shrieker doesn't know my voice. I was thinking about using Message to give her whisperings. Something like "your noise is waking the dead", followed by "get-get-get out-out-out".
(OOC: Like the background music from the old Friday the 13th movies.)
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec
Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM)
Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy)
DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
Brandon gives one last glance up the spiral staircase and then exits the shop with the others. He chuckles softly at Bryson’s note “Good one, lad” and stands by the others. “No use staying around here much longer, sounds like the book is no longer here and we can let the watch sort out what became of Miss Alyssina. We can try our luck in Waterdeep”
In the case the city watch approaches, they have done nothing wrong and he will help the others persuade the guards of that fact. “Aye, that’s the truth of it. We are here to find the shopkeeper and were following the instructions provided when someone decided to wake up the entire neighborhood.”
@Oberyos, the sign is a small carved wood piece that doesn't allow a suitable comparison of the handwriting. If you were to move the sign slightly and had good light, you'd be able to notice that there was a slight colour differentiation behind the sign, suggesting that the sign has been there for some time, or is taken up and down as needed. The fact that it is a semi-permanent sign and not a hastily written scrawl lends credence to the fact that it was placed there by the shopkeeper. You can be confident that this is either a highly elaborate and well planned out ruse with vast amounts of preparation work, or the sign is completely genuine.
The party makes the decision to abandon the search inside of the Paper Wyrm, and gather outside the shop in ones and twos before finally everyone is standing outside. Thom remains hidden in the shadows of the alleyway whilst the others are gathered in front of the shop. The shrieking lady is again tapering in her ardour and when she see's you all waiting around quite politely, making no effort to flee or do anything that looks even remotely suspect. Oberyos sends his words silently to her, and you can her hear reply "It ain't waking them lazy good-for-nothings though!". The fact that she responds so naturally to the voice in her head makes Oberyos realise that she might not be all there in the first place.
A long minute passes... that's the sort of minute that feels like an eternity, waiting around, expectant of something about to happen, that drags on, and on, the seconds are slow and the only thing that reminds you that time hasn't stopped is the now intermittent ringing of the bell. The fatigue obviously setting in to the old lady's arm, for having rung the thing for the last five minutes. In between the pauses now you can hear another noise, as the bell ringing becomes less frequent and the noise gets louder you can identify the tramping of feet on the cobbled streets, and after a few moments, three armoured men come from around the church at a trot. The front runner, a taller man of average build immediately shouts out, "Alright Ethne. Stop your ringing and leave this to us."
He approaches the group and Bryson steps forwards "Please good officers, I ask that you help this woman. I am sure she has gone insane and needs mental help. She continues to insist that I bewitched her somehow and that we are breaking in." With that, Bryson pulls out the note that he wrote earlier and adds, "I can prove that she is crazy..." The first guard puts his hands up to stop Bryson's speech. "That 'crazy' woman is corporal Almick's mother, so be careful with your allegations." He looks hastily over the note thrust towards him before continuing, "She means well but that bell gets rung every couple of nights for something she's seen. So we traipse out here and have a look so the folks nearby can get back to sleep. Not often we find someone waiting around to prove they're innocent, which makes me a tad suspicious if I'm being frank."
"We apologize for the noise and trouble. We were entering as directed when said lady," Mara joins the conversation, nodding her head over to the 'concerned citizen', "Began yelling at us and ringing that bell which distracted us and caused us to forget the directions given. So we thought it'd be best for us to wait until you arrived to sort it out."
"So you conveniently received a note instructing you to enter and search this shop freely and take whatever you found?" The guard seemingly in charge says, doubt heavy in his voice. Brandon chimes in, “Aye, that’s the truth of it. We are here to find the shopkeeper and were following the instructions provided when someone decided to wake up the entire neighborhood.”
The lead guard nods, "You didn't find her though did you? Otherwise she'd make all this explanation a lot easier." Arjun steps forwards now, extending his hand and shaking the guards. "We'd better come back t'morrow, can't keep you away from yer pressing duties back in them nice, warm barracks..." A slight jingle of coins can be heard as the two shake hands and Arjun back away. "Well, quite... There doesn't seem to be any forced entry, and I guess you do have a note which I can take as evidence." He moves through the group, and firmly closes the door to the Paper Wyrm. "Be about some other business for the night then..."
The guards move and stand resolutely by the door to the shop simultaneously barring any hope of re-entry and providing you with hard stares and a reason to move on from the establishment. Taking your queue from Arjun, who starts walking back the way you came you all leave the shop and start to make your way back to the Faun. "None o' yers know how to deal with city guards. I'd better get them coins back on this job."
You try to retrace your steps back to the Faun, Brandon being too distracted on the way over remembers little of the streets that you took. Roll me a a survival check to see how well you remember the route.
Bring out your inner chatacter class...
Brandon leads the others back along the darkened streets back to the tavern. Survival 21
Along the way, he discusses their options with the group “Well, it appears that some unknown buyer purchased the book, or at least offered a much larger sum than our good friend Teswan. Do we move on to Waterdeep and look at one of the other options? Or do we return in the morning to try to talk with the shopkeeper? Although I am sure we cannot afford the price. maybe we can find out who asked about it”
As they walk, he keeps an eye out on the shadows, alert for danger Perception 18
Bryson replies to the group, "I never found out what book you were searching for. I was looking for 'The Sundering' translated into Draconic, but what was the book that you were looking for. I remember reading that my book was sold at a high price, but you aren't searching for the same book, are you? That would make this entire ordeal a bit more complicated. I don't mind compensating you if you'd let me have the book. I need it to regain entry to my home."
“The mark of a successful DM is when you have caused more player deaths with doors than dragons, demons, or devils.”
Brandon gives Bryson a sideways glance “Now that is interesting. We were inquiring after the same book. Need it to return home, eh? That mean you are from Candlekeep? You can’t even return home without paying the entrance fee? It’s a wonder anyone ever leaves the place.”
"Yes, I am from the Citadel of the Books and I need an important manuscript to get back in." Bryson shrugs, "Most people do not leave, but I wished to explore the world a little. See what experiences it had to offer outside of the walls of Candlekeep." Bryson's expression falls for a second, "But now that I am done my exploration, I need to find a way to get back home. Therefore, I ask that if we do find the book, you allow me to please take it and return home."
“The mark of a successful DM is when you have caused more player deaths with doors than dragons, demons, or devils.”
Thom would have joined the party at some point.
Thom Everyman- Midgard One Shots
DMing- The Voyage of the Fallen Star