Tymothy stays silent for many heartbeats, studying your features, stroking the stubble on his chin. Finally he sighs, and says, "I fancy myself a pretty good judge of character, but I have little practice with your people, and so I'm not sure I could tell if you were lying or not. And I never imagined there were so many different sorts of elves. That being said, I am sure that I saw a bit of lust for shiny things in at least one or two of your companions' eyes.
"You say you are not here to steal. I will reserve judgment on that. You say you are here to help me, and seem to know something of the situation existing between Donegall and myself. I find this hard to believe, and am concerned that you represent either Donegall himself or a third party trying to oust me from my job.... However, I really can't in good conscience continue to do this job anyway, hamstrung as I am by that bastard's ... 'leverage' I believe you called it. I won't be one of those bought sheriffs who are told who to lock up and who to set free by the moneybags of the town. I'll pack up and move on before I submit to that. So, in that light, what do I have to lose by trusting you?
"Here's my deal, for you to take or leave: I will allow you to search the premises without my interference. I will not allow you to leave until I personally have searched each of you for any valuables. You will not be permitted to carry off any coin, jewels, or treasures of any kind that you did not enter with. Being a bastard does not entitle you or me to rob someone, and none of us here are magistrates to convict him of anything worse. If you happen to come upon hard evidence of Donegall committing a crime, bring it to me, and there may be a reward for that. Otherwise, finish your mission and leave. If you will not swear to these conditions, I am forced to take you into custody until the party is over. What do you say?"
"I can deal with those terms." Akyan replies to Jhaartael. "I'll inform the others." Switching his link, he relays the terms to Tamryn. Once he does this, he will try to walk behind Loris, and pick whatever he can out of his coat as he passes by then sit down across from Mina. (If he saw anything earlier, he will go for that first.)
Kyrsa nods slowly, this will be annoying, especially since none of their other companions know about this arrangement. Surely everyone on their team is trustworthy, so there should be no issue with finding any 'borrowed' objects. "I kind of feel bad for telling him. Doing so forced him to either trust us and go against his duty by allowing potential thieves to have free reign of the manor, or to turn us in even though we have offered to help him. Its rather unfair. Though...if we were thieves it would be rather stupid to tell him. Still, it doesn't seem like he is going to be much help. All this accomplished was getting him to keep a close eyes on us, which may draw attention from elsewhere. Even if he says we have the freedom to do what we need to as long as we let him search us before we leave, I doubt he will be able to keep himself from watching us."
"These terms are reasonable," she replies. "You are an honorable man, and I will not stand in your way of making decisions you feel are right. I realize that we have put you in a rather...awkward situation. Please forgive us for that. We will inform our colleagues when we get the chance. All I ask is that when you search us, we are discrete about it. We don't want people asking questions."
She pauses, "I also must ask. Have you done any searching yourself? I understand if you haven't, but it would be of great help if you already know where we shouldn't bother looking. Lastly, should we find the documents, would you prefer we burn them as soon as we have them? Or would you rather us hand them to you unopened so you know we did not read them. I don't know if they are sealed or not, but it is up to you. I would prefer to burn them upon retrieval, as it would ensure the end of this. However, now that you know we are here, I feel it is your right to make that decision."
Tamryn motions Lyndaran into the room and closes the door, explaining the deal with the sheriff. He then asks Lyndaran to help him search the shelves and tables, looking for hidden passages or possible hiding spots for the purloined documents.
Investigation: 20 (OOC: I used advantage because I’m assuming Lyndaran is helping)
Jhaartael and Kyrsa agree to the sheriff's terms on behalf of the party. Tymothy mulls over Kyrsa's questions. "The private nature of your 'exit-interviews' will depend on whether you are observed by anyone else. If Loris or his family or servants observe you in the private areas of the house, I will be forced to treat you as I would any other wandering guests, although given the fact that you are supposedly visiting business contacts... Aw hell, I hate this kind of subterfuge, it makes my brain hurt. Stay out of sight, stay out of trouble, shouldn't be a problem. Otherwise, we'll have to wing it.
"I have not been able to come up with a sufficient justification for an official search of the residence. I did poke around the office a little, and did not discover much."
Akyan, meanwhile, crosses to the table where Mina and Loris are located, and makes an attempt to loot the pockets of their host. Luckily, the human is distracted, but all that Akyan is able to retrieve is a packet of pipeweed, some hard candy and a frilly handkerchief. It appears his pilfering went unnoticed.
Tamryn and Lyndaran busy themselves searching the gameroom, and do come across some books on the bookshelves that seem less dusty than their neighbors. Assuming that they attempt to manipulate the books, a section of the bookshelves moves aside revealing a locked metal door. There is no keyhole, but there are four tumblers, each marked with the alphabet of the Common tongue. (So, you enter a code of 4 letters). There is also a small depression that looks like it would receive a signet ring. Anyone proficient with thieves' tools who examines the door please make a History check at advantage.
Tamryn leans closer, examine the lock and trying to recall what it reminds him of.
History: Dice rolls not yet available for this section.
17
Tamryn recognizes this security system as a high-end setup from the big cities. Not magical, but ordinary lockpicks have no chance of opening this thing. It theoretically might be possible to crowbar off the tumbler wheels and manipulate the innards of the door that way, but you would still need the ring or something shaped very similarly, and all this would take a while, perhaps 20 minutes.
Tamryn says to Lyndaran, “We’re not going to be able to pick this. I think we’d better start looking for something that could be the code. I’ll ask Akyan if he can get the signet ring off Loris’s finger, somehow. That is probably what goes in this impression here.” He then sends the message to Akyan, asking him to tell Jhaartael what is going on as well. I look for clues on the gaming tables.
Akyan sends the message to Jhaartael, then says to both Jhaartael and Tamryn, "I have an idea, but if it goes terribly wrong, it will most definitely result in me getting kicked out. I'm going to try to take it off of him. If you think its a good idea, let the Sheriff know what I'm about to do and why. If I fail, or the ring turns out to be useless... well I guess I'll spend the night in jail. Feel free to place all of the blame on me. Convince them you were a bit suspicious of me or something." After sending this message, Akyan stows the candy and pipeweed in a pocket, then holds the handkerchief across the table towards Loris. "Excuse me sir, but I think you dropped this." He holds it out in a way that Loris will have to keep the ring facing down towards the table when he takes it. That is of course, if he takes it with the hand with the ring on it. If he does, Akyan will try to slip the ring off his hand as he takes the handkerchief.
While Mina is doing her best to appear enraptured by Loris’s story, she sees Akyan approach, and figures it is for good reason. As he presents the handkerchief to Loris, Mina takes a bite of the desert and exclaims, “Ooh! Master Loris you must try this!!”
Just as Loris is reaching for the handkerchief, she takes hold of his chin in one hand and feeds him some desert with the other, holding his gaze with her eyes.
Loris starts to thank Akyan for returning his handkerchief, but has his face turned and stuffed with cake before he can finish ("Thank...mmmph").
As the drow releases his grip on the item, he does notice there is some writing embroidered on the cloth, but cannot make out what it says.
Meanwhile, Tamryn does not find anything unusual on the tables, but he does note several expensive looking portraits of Loris on the walls, in unusual poses (hunting on horseback, reading a book in a library, giving a speech to a crowd in the town square, standing in the bow of a sailing ship at sea).
As Loris finishes the cake Mina stuffed in his mouth, she takes a quick glance at Akyan with a questioning look that she tried to convey, did that help? did you get what you needed?
Mina gives a big sigh as it dawns on her what they need. Putting her smile back on, she takes a bit more wild boar, making sure to get all the grease and such on her fingers as she does. "Master Loris, this has got to be the best wild boar I have ever eaten." she gives a little moan of pleasure as she eats it. Then, looking as though a great idea pops in her head, she turns towards him, grasping both of his hands in hers. "May I ask a favor? I see that my two friends are getting a tour of your place, would you show me around a little? I would at least like to see the kitchen, would love to know how this delicious meal was prepared."
While his hands are in hers, she grabs ahold of the ring and tries to slide it off as he lets go of her hands.
(hmmm.... greased up exotic elf moaning while she eats, holding his hands, flirting.... that probably would qualify as enough of a distraction to grant advantage. Give it one more go.)
Tymothy stays silent for many heartbeats, studying your features, stroking the stubble on his chin. Finally he sighs, and says, "I fancy myself a pretty good judge of character, but I have little practice with your people, and so I'm not sure I could tell if you were lying or not. And I never imagined there were so many different sorts of elves. That being said, I am sure that I saw a bit of lust for shiny things in at least one or two of your companions' eyes.
"You say you are not here to steal. I will reserve judgment on that. You say you are here to help me, and seem to know something of the situation existing between Donegall and myself. I find this hard to believe, and am concerned that you represent either Donegall himself or a third party trying to oust me from my job.... However, I really can't in good conscience continue to do this job anyway, hamstrung as I am by that bastard's ... 'leverage' I believe you called it. I won't be one of those bought sheriffs who are told who to lock up and who to set free by the moneybags of the town. I'll pack up and move on before I submit to that. So, in that light, what do I have to lose by trusting you?
"Here's my deal, for you to take or leave: I will allow you to search the premises without my interference. I will not allow you to leave until I personally have searched each of you for any valuables. You will not be permitted to carry off any coin, jewels, or treasures of any kind that you did not enter with. Being a bastard does not entitle you or me to rob someone, and none of us here are magistrates to convict him of anything worse. If you happen to come upon hard evidence of Donegall committing a crime, bring it to me, and there may be a reward for that. Otherwise, finish your mission and leave. If you will not swear to these conditions, I am forced to take you into custody until the party is over. What do you say?"
Correal nods his assent with calm respect. "We can agree to that and indeed could not expect less from an honest lawman."
Jhaartael will communicate these new terms to Akyan via the telepathic link.
Eryndor - Red Dead Annihilation | GM - Volo's Trade Franchise - PF2e Adventures set in the Forgotten Realms
"I can deal with those terms." Akyan replies to Jhaartael. "I'll inform the others." Switching his link, he relays the terms to Tamryn. Once he does this, he will try to walk behind Loris, and pick whatever he can out of his coat as he passes by then sit down across from Mina. (If he saw anything earlier, he will go for that first.)
Steath? For being inconspicuous? : 27
Slight of Hand: 13
Kyrsa nods slowly, this will be annoying, especially since none of their other companions know about this arrangement. Surely everyone on their team is trustworthy, so there should be no issue with finding any 'borrowed' objects. "I kind of feel bad for telling him. Doing so forced him to either trust us and go against his duty by allowing potential thieves to have free reign of the manor, or to turn us in even though we have offered to help him. Its rather unfair. Though...if we were thieves it would be rather stupid to tell him. Still, it doesn't seem like he is going to be much help. All this accomplished was getting him to keep a close eyes on us, which may draw attention from elsewhere. Even if he says we have the freedom to do what we need to as long as we let him search us before we leave, I doubt he will be able to keep himself from watching us."
"These terms are reasonable," she replies. "You are an honorable man, and I will not stand in your way of making decisions you feel are right. I realize that we have put you in a rather...awkward situation. Please forgive us for that. We will inform our colleagues when we get the chance. All I ask is that when you search us, we are discrete about it. We don't want people asking questions."
She pauses, "I also must ask. Have you done any searching yourself? I understand if you haven't, but it would be of great help if you already know where we shouldn't bother looking. Lastly, should we find the documents, would you prefer we burn them as soon as we have them? Or would you rather us hand them to you unopened so you know we did not read them. I don't know if they are sealed or not, but it is up to you. I would prefer to burn them upon retrieval, as it would ensure the end of this. However, now that you know we are here, I feel it is your right to make that decision."
Tamryn motions Lyndaran into the room and closes the door, explaining the deal with the sheriff. He then asks Lyndaran to help him search the shelves and tables, looking for hidden passages or possible hiding spots for the purloined documents.
Investigation: 20 (OOC: I used advantage because I’m assuming Lyndaran is helping)
Tamryn - lvl 4 Wood Elf Rogue - Circle of Light Campaign || Drusilla - lvl 1 Half-Elf Ranger - Sleeping Gods || Grrzark - lvl 1 Goblin Barbarian - Danger at Darkshelf Quarry || DM - LTG - Curse of Strahd
Jhaartael and Kyrsa agree to the sheriff's terms on behalf of the party. Tymothy mulls over Kyrsa's questions. "The private nature of your 'exit-interviews' will depend on whether you are observed by anyone else. If Loris or his family or servants observe you in the private areas of the house, I will be forced to treat you as I would any other wandering guests, although given the fact that you are supposedly visiting business contacts... Aw hell, I hate this kind of subterfuge, it makes my brain hurt. Stay out of sight, stay out of trouble, shouldn't be a problem. Otherwise, we'll have to wing it.
"I have not been able to come up with a sufficient justification for an official search of the residence. I did poke around the office a little, and did not discover much."
Akyan, meanwhile, crosses to the table where Mina and Loris are located, and makes an attempt to loot the pockets of their host. Luckily, the human is distracted, but all that Akyan is able to retrieve is a packet of pipeweed, some hard candy and a frilly handkerchief. It appears his pilfering went unnoticed.
Tamryn and Lyndaran busy themselves searching the gameroom, and do come across some books on the bookshelves that seem less dusty than their neighbors. Assuming that they attempt to manipulate the books, a section of the bookshelves moves aside revealing a locked metal door. There is no keyhole, but there are four tumblers, each marked with the alphabet of the Common tongue. (So, you enter a code of 4 letters). There is also a small depression that looks like it would receive a signet ring. Anyone proficient with thieves' tools who examines the door please make a History check at advantage.
Tamryn leans closer, examine the lock and trying to recall what it reminds him of.
History: 23
Tamryn - lvl 4 Wood Elf Rogue - Circle of Light Campaign || Drusilla - lvl 1 Half-Elf Ranger - Sleeping Gods || Grrzark - lvl 1 Goblin Barbarian - Danger at Darkshelf Quarry || DM - LTG - Curse of Strahd
18
Tamryn - lvl 4 Wood Elf Rogue - Circle of Light Campaign || Drusilla - lvl 1 Half-Elf Ranger - Sleeping Gods || Grrzark - lvl 1 Goblin Barbarian - Danger at Darkshelf Quarry || DM - LTG - Curse of Strahd
Tamryn recognizes this security system as a high-end setup from the big cities. Not magical, but ordinary lockpicks have no chance of opening this thing. It theoretically might be possible to crowbar off the tumbler wheels and manipulate the innards of the door that way, but you would still need the ring or something shaped very similarly, and all this would take a while, perhaps 20 minutes.
Tamryn says to Lyndaran, “We’re not going to be able to pick this. I think we’d better start looking for something that could be the code. I’ll ask Akyan if he can get the signet ring off Loris’s finger, somehow. That is probably what goes in this impression here.” He then sends the message to Akyan, asking him to tell Jhaartael what is going on as well. I look for clues on the gaming tables.
Investigation: 10
Tamryn - lvl 4 Wood Elf Rogue - Circle of Light Campaign || Drusilla - lvl 1 Half-Elf Ranger - Sleeping Gods || Grrzark - lvl 1 Goblin Barbarian - Danger at Darkshelf Quarry || DM - LTG - Curse of Strahd
Akyan sends the message to Jhaartael, then says to both Jhaartael and Tamryn, "I have an idea, but if it goes terribly wrong, it will most definitely result in me getting kicked out. I'm going to try to take it off of him. If you think its a good idea, let the Sheriff know what I'm about to do and why. If I fail, or the ring turns out to be useless... well I guess I'll spend the night in jail. Feel free to place all of the blame on me. Convince them you were a bit suspicious of me or something." After sending this message, Akyan stows the candy and pipeweed in a pocket, then holds the handkerchief across the table towards Loris. "Excuse me sir, but I think you dropped this." He holds it out in a way that Loris will have to keep the ring facing down towards the table when he takes it. That is of course, if he takes it with the hand with the ring on it. If he does, Akyan will try to slip the ring off his hand as he takes the handkerchief.
Sleight of Hand: 10
(Waiting to see what Mina is doing before we determine the outcome of Akyan's attempt...)
While Mina is doing her best to appear enraptured by Loris’s story, she sees Akyan approach, and figures it is for good reason. As he presents the handkerchief to Loris, Mina takes a bite of the desert and exclaims, “Ooh! Master Loris you must try this!!”
Just as Loris is reaching for the handkerchief, she takes hold of his chin in one hand and feeds him some desert with the other, holding his gaze with her eyes.
( OK, I'll say 50% chance of him reaching for the handkerchief with the ring hand : 91 01-50 is a yes
So, looks like the ring is on the opposite hand, then)
Loris starts to thank Akyan for returning his handkerchief, but has his face turned and stuffed with cake before he can finish ("Thank...mmmph").
As the drow releases his grip on the item, he does notice there is some writing embroidered on the cloth, but cannot make out what it says.
Meanwhile, Tamryn does not find anything unusual on the tables, but he does note several expensive looking portraits of Loris on the walls, in unusual poses (hunting on horseback, reading a book in a library, giving a speech to a crowd in the town square, standing in the bow of a sailing ship at sea).
As Loris finishes the cake Mina stuffed in his mouth, she takes a quick glance at Akyan with a questioning look that she tried to convey, did that help? did you get what you needed?
Akyan shakes his head slightly when Loris is looking away, then quickly taps on his own ring finger.
Mina gives a big sigh as it dawns on her what they need. Putting her smile back on, she takes a bit more wild boar, making sure to get all the grease and such on her fingers as she does. "Master Loris, this has got to be the best wild boar I have ever eaten." she gives a little moan of pleasure as she eats it. Then, looking as though a great idea pops in her head, she turns towards him, grasping both of his hands in hers. "May I ask a favor? I see that my two friends are getting a tour of your place, would you show me around a little? I would at least like to see the kitchen, would love to know how this delicious meal was prepared."
While his hands are in hers, she grabs ahold of the ring and tries to slide it off as he lets go of her hands.
Sleight of hand 7
(hmmm.... greased up exotic elf moaning while she eats, holding his hands, flirting.... that probably would qualify as enough of a distraction to grant advantage. Give it one more go.)
(ha ha, thanks.)
Sleight of hand 20