This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
(We would have seen it there in our inspection of the body earlier if it was there then, no?)
Tel'ure grits his teeth. "Tsk. They really do want to lead us on a very wild chase..."
He looks up toward the guards around the post. "I want to know who's had their eye on the corpse while it was here, and if anything was placed in their hand between when she was brought here and now."
Stor shakes his head sadly “The brooch is no help, I’m afraid. It is on her body. But how did she come about it?” Stor looks around at the others as Tel’ure questions the guards. “We are fast running out of leads. Perhaps we could go talk with Team 3 and see if they know anything. Any other ideas?”
(We would have seen it there in our inspection of the body earlier if it was there then, no?)
Tel'ure grits his teeth. "Tsk. They really do want to lead us on a very wild chase..."
He looks up toward the guards around the post. "I want to know who's had their eye on the corpse while it was here, and if anything was placed in their hand between when she was brought here and now."
Insight check on their responses: 15
It fit sin her fist. The only way to know it was there was to break her fingers to open the fist. The guards would not have let you do that.
Guards The guards inform you that no one has touched the body since it arrived. You would also know that, in order to put anything in that fist the fingers would need to be broken to open it. It is fairly clear the broach was there the entire time, just hidden in the clenched fist. The broach is not that big, it easily fits in a fist.
I'm adding in a general description of each floor. This might make things a bit easier. You are currently in the Central Hall, near Broock's office. Team Three's room is up on the second level, but you guys have been traveling around on the first level so far. Pretty much between your room, the smith, and now to the central hall.
First Floor
Corridor Outside Team 2’s Room Since Vang was not bleeding profusely, the blood trail leads down the hall to the west but disappears before reaching the corner.
Team 2’s Room This room contains two or three bunk beds, a small study desk, and several trunks where the characters can store their personal belongings. A window to the north leads to the garden and internal patio.
West Staircase This wood-and-stone staircase connects the western part of the civil wing to the bedrooms and library on the second floor.
Artisans’ Workshop This small room—made even smaller by the inclination of the west wall as a result of the stairway above —functions as a sewing workshop that stores the materials and tools for maintaining Ironhand uniforms. A seamstress named Hadggala commands the staff. Characters who use the location for repairs or sewing of fabrics have advantage on their checks.
Blacksmith’s Forge This room houses the forge and contains the materials and tools necessary for creating, maintaining, engraving, and repairing weapons and armor. A magically heated forge consumes charcoal to “spice” up the steel. It takes up all the space on the west wall, except for a small hatch that opens into the cesspools. Hundreds of tools and consumables are immaculately organized on several shelves. A special shelf holds the symbols and seals the blacksmith uses to mark the goods whose taxes were cleared and thus have permission to enter the Capital. A chimney leaves the forge and releases smoke through an opening on the south wall. The magical forge speeds up the work of any blacksmith who has been attuned to it. The blacksmith (Koraldur Smith) spends most of the day here.
Cesspools This passage connects the latrines on the second floor with the castle's pit system. A hatch underneath the forge is used to eject the remains of coal and scalding metals directly into the pits; due to the bad smell, the blacksmith keeps it closed.
Team 4’s Room This simple room contains two bunk beds, a round table with a water jug, and some trunks where visitors can store objects and clothes. It is similar to Team 2’s room and smaller than the rooms on the second floor. Officers pushed Team 4 into accepting this room because they’re all halflings, but the joke is on them, as the proximity to the kitchen meant the Team would have volunteered for this room anyway.
Kitchen Always smoky and dark, this room is where the food is prepared. On the north side, two kilns serve as stoves, so large that chubby servants can hide inside; beside them are a stove and a smoker. A service entry to the north gives access to the gardens of the inner courtyard, where further ahead servants sleep. A cistern that collects rainwater supplies most of the kitchen’s needs for water.
Canteen Part of the kitchen extends to this area through a doorless hole in the wall. An opening in the south wall is used as a counter to serve food to troops that line up in the dining hall. A sliding wooden panel closes the opening when the building is vacant. Nonperishable food and kitchen utensils are stored here in a series of shelves and cabinets. A door to the east leads to the pantry.
Pantry Perishable foods such as pickles, cans with larded meat, beer kegs, sausages, butter, fruits, smoked or salted meats, and all kinds of herbs and spices used to prepare meals are stored here.
Central Hall (Portal and Pit) This open room with no exterior doors overlooks the Great Hall to the east and the corridor to the south that leads to the forge, opposite the Phantom of the Fortress painting that hangs on the north wall. Major Broock, the commanding officer, spends most of his time in the offices in the southwest corner, where the doors are always locked and Ironhand soldiers stand guard inside. The Pit. This is a 15-foot-radius circular opening protected by a 3-foot wall from which protrude two chains attached to the ceiling by pulleys. It’s disguised as a water well but is actually an elevator that takes prisoners to the underground dungeons or hoists them up. The bottom of the pit is 100 feet below and just slightly lit, revealing what appears to be the water reflection at the bottom. Voices and wails can be heard from the pit if the room is quiet.
Major Broock's office and Ladder Room These doors are locked and constantly guarded from the inside by attentive soldiers on duty, who ring a loud bell to call reinforcements as soon as they detect a lockpicking attempt.
Great Hall This large multipurpose hall is the main meeting area in the fortress. Here, meals are served, announcements made, meetings held, and petitioners told to wait to speak with one of the Ironhand officers. Entrance Hall. A huge double wooden door reinforced with iron and adorned with figures that resemble lions leads outside the fortress. If a visitor enters the Great Hall, an 8-foot-tall statue of the Emperor gives them a cold welcome. Behind the statue, a stone and wood staircase leads to the second floor, where a mezzanine enclosed by a railing lets people observe the activity in the area below. Next to the statue and beneath the higher steps of the stairs, a doorless entrance leads into the central hall. Dining Hall. To the north, officers, employees, and the occasional visitor can eat in one of three rows of solid tables made of dark wood. A fourth table, perpendicular to them, is reserved for high-ranking officers or nobles visiting the fort. Next to them, an exit leads to the inner courtyard gardens.
Gardens/Inner Yard This open area includes a garden with spices and ornamental plants, a small orchard with apple trees and blueberries, a chicken coop in the far north, and a cistern that collects rainwater to supply the kitchen.
2nd Floor
Library This seems to be a more reserved area for studies, farther away from the bookshelves to your right, where a closet stands near the door. The room is very dark except for a candle that burns on the desk to your left, next to some parchments and a pen. There is a closed window opposite the door. A blue robe hangs on the back of a chair turned halfway between the desk and the window, 5 feet away from the desk. There is a diamond-shaped opening in a thinner wooden door on the south and east entrances. Most of the books in the library are written in an ancient language, and it’s not easy to determine their subject. There are also books on tax collection, regional descriptions, old maps, heraldry compendiums, and property and land laws that predate the Empire.
Corridors and Pathways The ceilings of the second-floor corridors are 10 feet high in the center and 7 feet high in the corners due to their arched shape. In the southern exterior wall, embrasure holes are carved every 5 feet; in the event of an attack, soldiers can target enemies at the fortress’s main gate.
Latrines and Bathing Room This room has copper bathtubs and a smoker with bathing essences and supplies. Five small cabins on the left wall serve as latrines that are nothing but holes in a stone elevation, protected by a wooden bulkhead.
Balcony Rooms Teams 1, 3, and 5 are housed here. These bigger rooms are more comfortable and have small wooden porches that provide an overview of the inner courtyard. All of them have four single beds, desks, chests, and wardrobes for guests to store their belongings.
Inner Rooms Teams 6 and 7 are housed here. These rooms are similar to the others but smaller and with no windows, which gives them a claustrophobic feel—something soldiers don’t mind.
Mezzanine This section overlooks the Great Hall on the floor below. There’s a 5-foot passage around the walls, protected by a handrail. A straight staircase connects the floors, passing behind the statue of the Emperor.
For access to the inner courtyard, here is what I found... Kitchen has a service door that leads into the inner courtyard. Teams 1, 3, and 5 all have rooms that overlook the inner courtyard. Your team's room's window opens onto the inner courtyard and garden area. So it appears the only door into that area is in the Kitchen itself. I am sure there are other windows that look over it though, just no other door access.
As you are currently in the Central Hall, I am assuming you head up the stairs behind the Mezzanine and onto the second floor.
On the balcony you find two figures. One wears a team 7 broach, and is enormous, over 6 feet tall and 250 pounds of pure muscle, with a mustache that makes him look like a walrus. The second is a female half-orc wearing a team 6 badge and having on finely polished armor.
As you come up onto the balcony the half-orc steps protectively between you and the huge team 7 member. She glares at you, but does not speak, looking to just want you to move along.
Stor inclines his head in a polite greeting to the two as they pass them on the mezzanine “Good morning! Don’t worry, we don’t mean to interrupt, just on our way to visit Team 3. Do you mind pointing out their room for us?”
The half-orc bares her teeth but does not answer. The huge man steps forward though. He gives a stuttering answer, giving somewhat garbled directions. The half orc's glare grows more intense if possible, clearly ready to rip into anyone who gives the man any grief about his stuttering.
Stor smiles back at the pair and follows behind Tel’ure without another word. As they move down the hallway beyond earshot of the pair he whispers back to his guard. “Harold, what about those two? Who are they, have they made a name for themselves?”
Stor pauses, considering the fact there were badges for both Team 6 and Team 7 “They were from two different teams, is that normal before trials?” Insight on response 18.
As you pass near the latrines, on your way to Team 3's room, you see a female dwarf pacing outside of the latrines. She wears her hair in long, complex bob braids that partially hide her missing left ear and scars. The braids are decorated with small metal rings that represent skill in weapons and forging (dwarf men wear them on their beards). She wears a breast plate detailed with flowers and cornucopias, which at first sight can make her look like a cleric of the Children of Tamera; this impression quickly fades when one sees the huge two-handed ax with the symbol of Dorsi tied to her back.
Her eyes narrow on the group of you as you move towards her along the hallway.
"Have any of ye seen my team mate?" She asks as you reach her. "Team 3, wizard, pretty for a human, with tattoos... Name is Vang Irinniena..."
(You would all recognize this as a description of the body outside of your door.)
Corgretor moves over to her with a mournful look on his face, "I'm sorry to be the bearer of such news, I thought the humans who run this place would have had the decency to inform you themselves. Madam Irinniena is dead, slain by an unknown hand, though theses incompetent guards have falsely accused my associate here and refused to look any further. She was slain with a golden dagger and clutching a badge my associate lost while attempting the crossing to this place through the shadow realm. We were hoping to speak with you, to express our sorrow at your loss, and assure you that not only did we have nothing to do with it, but that we are working hard to pursue the true killer that he may be brought to justice before he strikes again." As he finished talking, he bows low to her and remains bowed, awaiting her response.
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(We would have seen it there in our inspection of the body earlier if it was there then, no?)
Tel'ure grits his teeth. "Tsk. They really do want to lead us on a very wild chase..."
He looks up toward the guards around the post. "I want to know who's had their eye on the corpse while it was here, and if anything was placed in their hand between when she was brought here and now."
Insight check on their responses: 15
Stor shakes his head sadly “The brooch is no help, I’m afraid. It is on her body. But how did she come about it?” Stor looks around at the others as Tel’ure questions the guards. “We are fast running out of leads. Perhaps we could go talk with Team 3 and see if they know anything. Any other ideas?”
(I remember her hand being clenched around something, but I can't find where it was stated to have been the badge.)
Corgretor shrugs, "I guess that is our best option for now, barring any moments of magical inspiration."
It fit sin her fist. The only way to know it was there was to break her fingers to open the fist. The guards would not have let you do that.
Guards
The guards inform you that no one has touched the body since it arrived. You would also know that, in order to put anything in that fist the fingers would need to be broken to open it. It is fairly clear the broach was there the entire time, just hidden in the clenched fist. The broach is not that big, it easily fits in a fist.
I'm adding in a general description of each floor. This might make things a bit easier. You are currently in the Central Hall, near Broock's office.
Team Three's room is up on the second level, but you guys have been traveling around on the first level so far. Pretty much between your room, the smith, and now to the central hall.
First Floor
Corridor Outside Team 2’s Room
Since Vang was not bleeding profusely, the blood trail leads down the hall to the west but disappears before reaching the corner.
Team 2’s Room
This room contains two or three bunk beds, a small study desk, and several trunks where the characters can store their personal belongings. A window to the north leads to the garden and internal patio.
West Staircase
This wood-and-stone staircase connects the western part of the civil wing to the bedrooms and library on the second floor.
Artisans’ Workshop
This small room—made even smaller by the inclination of the west wall as a result of the stairway above —functions as a sewing workshop that stores the materials and tools for maintaining Ironhand uniforms. A seamstress named Hadggala commands the staff. Characters who use the location for repairs or sewing of fabrics have advantage on their checks.
Blacksmith’s Forge
This room houses the forge and contains the materials and tools necessary for creating, maintaining, engraving, and repairing weapons and armor. A magically heated forge consumes charcoal to “spice” up the steel. It takes up all the space on the west wall, except for a small hatch that opens into the cesspools. Hundreds of tools and consumables are immaculately organized on several shelves. A special shelf holds the symbols and seals the blacksmith uses to mark the goods whose taxes were cleared and thus have permission to enter the Capital. A chimney leaves the forge and releases smoke through an opening on the south wall. The magical forge speeds up the work of any blacksmith who has been attuned to it. The blacksmith (Koraldur Smith) spends most of the day here.
Cesspools
This passage connects the latrines on the second floor with the castle's pit system. A hatch underneath the forge is used to eject the remains of coal and scalding metals directly into the pits; due to the bad smell, the blacksmith keeps it closed.
Team 4’s Room
This simple room contains two bunk beds, a round table with a water jug, and some trunks where visitors can store objects and clothes. It is similar to Team 2’s room and smaller than the rooms on the second floor. Officers pushed Team 4 into accepting this room because they’re all halflings, but the joke is on them, as the proximity to the kitchen meant the Team would have volunteered for this room anyway.
Kitchen
Always smoky and dark, this room is where the food is prepared. On the north side, two kilns serve as stoves, so large that chubby servants can hide inside; beside them are a stove and a smoker. A service entry to the north gives access to the gardens of the inner courtyard, where further ahead servants sleep. A cistern that collects rainwater supplies most of the kitchen’s needs for water.
Canteen
Part of the kitchen extends to this area through a doorless hole in the wall. An opening in the south wall is used as a counter to serve food to troops that line up in the dining hall. A sliding wooden panel closes the opening when the building is vacant. Nonperishable food and kitchen utensils are stored here in a series of shelves and cabinets. A door to the east leads to the pantry.
Pantry
Perishable foods such as pickles, cans with larded meat, beer kegs, sausages, butter, fruits, smoked or salted meats, and all kinds of herbs and spices used to prepare meals are stored here.
Central Hall (Portal and Pit)
This open room with no exterior doors overlooks the Great Hall to the east and the corridor to the south that leads to the forge, opposite the Phantom of the Fortress painting that hangs on the north wall.
Major Broock, the commanding officer, spends most of his time in the offices in the southwest corner, where the doors are always locked and Ironhand soldiers stand guard inside.
The Pit. This is a 15-foot-radius circular opening protected by a 3-foot wall from which protrude two chains attached to the ceiling by pulleys. It’s disguised as a water well but is actually an elevator that takes prisoners to the underground dungeons or hoists them up. The bottom of the pit is 100 feet below and just slightly lit, revealing what appears to be the water reflection at the bottom. Voices and wails can be heard from the pit if the room is quiet.
Major Broock's office and Ladder Room
These doors are locked and constantly guarded from the inside by attentive soldiers on duty, who ring a loud bell to call reinforcements as soon as they detect a lockpicking attempt.
Great Hall
This large multipurpose hall is the main meeting area in the fortress. Here, meals are served, announcements made, meetings held, and petitioners told to wait to speak with one of the Ironhand officers.
Entrance Hall. A huge double wooden door reinforced with iron and adorned with figures that resemble lions leads outside the fortress. If a visitor enters the Great Hall, an 8-foot-tall statue of the Emperor gives them a cold welcome. Behind the statue, a stone and wood staircase leads to the second floor, where a mezzanine enclosed by a railing lets people observe the activity in the area below. Next to the statue and beneath the higher steps of the stairs, a doorless entrance leads into the central hall.
Dining Hall. To the north, officers, employees, and the occasional visitor can eat in one of three rows of solid tables made of dark wood. A fourth table, perpendicular to them, is reserved for high-ranking officers or nobles visiting the fort. Next to them, an exit leads to the inner courtyard gardens.
Gardens/Inner Yard
This open area includes a garden with spices and ornamental plants, a small orchard with apple trees and blueberries, a chicken coop in the far north, and a cistern that collects rainwater to supply the kitchen.
2nd Floor
Library
This seems to be a more reserved area for studies, farther away from the bookshelves to your right, where a closet stands near the door. The room is very dark except for a candle that burns on the desk to your left, next to some parchments and a pen. There is a closed window opposite the door. A blue robe hangs on the back of a chair turned halfway between the desk and the window, 5 feet away from the desk. There is a diamond-shaped opening in a thinner wooden door on the south and east entrances. Most of the books in the library are written in an ancient language, and it’s not easy to determine their subject. There are also books on tax collection, regional descriptions, old maps, heraldry compendiums, and property and land laws that predate the Empire.
Corridors and Pathways
The ceilings of the second-floor corridors are 10 feet high in the center and 7 feet high in the corners due to their arched shape. In the southern exterior wall, embrasure holes are carved every 5 feet; in the event of an attack, soldiers can target enemies at the fortress’s main gate.
Latrines and Bathing Room
This room has copper bathtubs and a smoker with bathing essences and supplies. Five small cabins on the left wall serve as latrines that are nothing but holes in a stone elevation, protected by a wooden bulkhead.
Balcony Rooms
Teams 1, 3, and 5 are housed here. These bigger rooms are more comfortable and have small wooden porches that provide an overview of the inner courtyard. All of them have four single beds, desks, chests, and wardrobes for guests to store their belongings.
Inner Rooms
Teams 6 and 7 are housed here. These rooms are similar to the others but smaller and with no windows, which gives them a claustrophobic feel—something soldiers don’t mind.
Mezzanine
This section overlooks the Great Hall on the floor below. There’s a 5-foot passage around the walls, protected by a handrail. A straight staircase connects the floors, passing behind the statue of the Emperor.
Question: Does 'portal' here refer to a penumbral portal? Can Tel'ure sense it with his madwalker powers?
Yes, but you already know it was there, as it is how you arrived here to begin with. It is the portal you took here from the palace gardens.
What are we doing next? Where do you wish to go next? Up to Team 3's room?
Does the blacksmith's front onto the inner courtyard, and do any of these other rooms face it as well?
For access to the inner courtyard, here is what I found...
Kitchen has a service door that leads into the inner courtyard.
Teams 1, 3, and 5 all have rooms that overlook the inner courtyard.
Your team's room's window opens onto the inner courtyard and garden area.
So it appears the only door into that area is in the Kitchen itself. I am sure there are other windows that look over it though, just no other door access.
Tel’ure will lead the way up to team 3’s room, knocking on the door if it’s closed.
Corgretor follows Tel'ure's lead for now, unsure of any better options.
Mezzanine
As you are currently in the Central Hall, I am assuming you head up the stairs behind the Mezzanine and onto the second floor.
On the balcony you find two figures. One wears a team 7 broach, and is enormous, over 6 feet tall and 250 pounds of pure muscle, with a mustache that makes him look like a walrus. The second is a female half-orc wearing a team 6 badge and having on finely polished armor.
As you come up onto the balcony the half-orc steps protectively between you and the huge team 7 member. She glares at you, but does not speak, looking to just want you to move along.
Stor inclines his head in a polite greeting to the two as they pass them on the mezzanine “Good morning! Don’t worry, we don’t mean to interrupt, just on our way to visit Team 3. Do you mind pointing out their room for us?”
The half-orc bares her teeth but does not answer. The huge man steps forward though. He gives a stuttering answer, giving somewhat garbled directions. The half orc's glare grows more intense if possible, clearly ready to rip into anyone who gives the man any grief about his stuttering.
Tel'ure glances up toward the half-orc, giving a nod of acknowledgement. "Much appreciated. We'll be on our way, then."
He continues onward toward Team 3's room, waving for his companions to follow and not disturb the two on the balcony.
Corgretor does his best to hide any sign that he noticed the stuttering and gives a friendly nod as he moves to follow his companion.
Deception: 11
Stor smiles back at the pair and follows behind Tel’ure without another word. As they move down the hallway beyond earshot of the pair he whispers back to his guard. “Harold, what about those two? Who are they, have they made a name for themselves?”
Stor pauses, considering the fact there were badges for both Team 6 and Team 7 “They were from two different teams, is that normal before trials?” Insight on response 18.
Latrines
As you pass near the latrines, on your way to Team 3's room, you see a female dwarf pacing outside of the latrines. She wears her hair in long, complex bob braids that partially hide her missing left ear and scars. The braids are decorated with small metal rings that represent skill in weapons and forging (dwarf men wear them on their beards). She wears a breast plate detailed with flowers and cornucopias, which at first sight can make her look like a cleric of the Children of Tamera; this impression quickly fades when one sees the huge two-handed ax with the symbol of Dorsi tied to her back.
Her eyes narrow on the group of you as you move towards her along the hallway.
"Have any of ye seen my team mate?" She asks as you reach her. "Team 3, wizard, pretty for a human, with tattoos... Name is Vang Irinniena..."
(You would all recognize this as a description of the body outside of your door.)
Corgretor moves over to her with a mournful look on his face, "I'm sorry to be the bearer of such news, I thought the humans who run this place would have had the decency to inform you themselves. Madam Irinniena is dead, slain by an unknown hand, though theses incompetent guards have falsely accused my associate here and refused to look any further. She was slain with a golden dagger and clutching a badge my associate lost while attempting the crossing to this place through the shadow realm. We were hoping to speak with you, to express our sorrow at your loss, and assure you that not only did we have nothing to do with it, but that we are working hard to pursue the true killer that he may be brought to justice before he strikes again." As he finished talking, he bows low to her and remains bowed, awaiting her response.