Formalities forgotten, Captain Witherwick admits you to his private office immediately. "What the bloody hell happened out there?" He yells as you enter the room. "I've had every bleeding mage in the service try to contact Gabriel, and he hasn't replied." 

Witherwick's office is spartan, containing only the essentials: a wooden desk, a small bookshelf with several large leather-bound tomes, and a couple of chairs. A painting on the wall depicts a stern man who bears a remarkable resemblance to the man behind the desk. Aside from a few military papers Witherwick's desk is bare.

"He is dead sir" The viashino would say as he pulls the box out of his bag, holding it tightly. "He broke the lock on this chest here and opened it up after the fighting stopped... and the second he looked inside he died.... He was dead before he hit the ground..." Shiv will mutter as he places the closed box on the mans desk... but has it turned so that if opened it would be facing the wall. 

Witherwick stares at the chest. "I've heard some strange stories in my day..." He mutters, picking up the chest and examining it. A single tear runs down his cheek, but his face remains calm. "Gabriel was a good man. He did his job and he did it well. Cared for the men under his command." He pauses. " What's this, then?" He asks, retrieving a mud-coated letter from the underside of the chest.

"I didn't see that sir... I grabbed the chest and returned it as quickly as I could. I think a couple other watch members survived but other than that everyone else died.. including Atlas" he would say with a frown. "I just wanted to get that box off the street as quickly as possible."

"You did well, Shiv." Witherwick says, addressing you by your name for the first time. "This is criminal evidence and should be handled by experts, but I'm the bloody captain of the Watch. I'll do as I please. " He rips open the letter and reads it. Then he hands it to Shiv, a confused expression on his countenance.

Written in common are the words,

DO NOT OPEN THE CHEST. Enclosed is the item you have requested. I regret that I have to deliver this to you through such unpleasant mediators as the Cazanarro Guild, but it was the safest option. As I mentioned in my last letter, the item enclosed within the chest bears a terrible curse. If any of mortal flesh look upon it, a surge of necromantic knowledge is released into their brains. This knowledge is too horrifying for all but the most powerful lich's to comprehend, and the unfortunate victim dies, as it were, from fright. It really is a fascinating process, but I do not have time to go into details. 

You must take this chest and the item enclosed to a man named Jin, who you will find in the city of The God's Hope. He will know what to do. I dare not say more here. HIS servants are everywhere. It is only a matter of time before HE learns of this letter. When this has been completed, seek me in Khamut. I will pray for you, my friend.

DO NOT OPEN THE CHEST.

-Regards, Dr. M. M. Marlowe

(Are Tak, Leaves, and Jevyn present?)

"Dammit, Shiv!" Knowing that he wouldn't be able to keep up with the viashino, Jevyn deferred the chase to Esme, following at a light jog. Muttering an incantation under his breath as he reached the doors of the Watch, Jevyn reached up as Esme landed on his hand. Enveloped in a puff of deep red smoke, Esme hit the ground, this time as a lizard with dark scales, worming her way into the building to tail Shiv. Jevyn turned a corner and closed his eyes, hoping he'd be able to see what happened with the box.

Stealth: 16

[Casting find familiar to turn Esme into a lizard, and then finding a place to hide while using Esme's senses to observe.]

Esme finds a crack in the wall of Witherwick's office to conceal herself in, giving Jevyn a lizard's-eye view of the proceedings.

Tak would follow Shiv from the skies and stay close by but not speak.

((Sure, I'm with the party))

"If I recall correctly," Witherwick says when Shiv has read the letter, "This Doctor Marlowe is a renowned archeologist."

Khamut is one of the southernmost settlements established by the settlers, and provides the northern cities with glass, beads, and clay in return for produce that Khamut is unable to grow in the hot climate of the south. According to scholars, ancient civilizations that ruled when the Burning Waste was still a fertile valley lie buried in the sands, waiting to be unearthed by aspiring archaeologists. It would appear that Marlowe has done just that.

"So do you think I need to go there?" The viashino will ask as he tilts his head and flicks his tounge. "Also Witherwick.. you remember some of the other individuals that tried out for the watch the same day Atlas and I did? Well they quit because one of our companions... the one that threw daggers... well he got captured by a guild that was trying to steal that box there..." Shiv will say pointing to the chest. "The other companions quit the watch so that the guild wouldn't kill Locke and well... I didn't know if it would be possible to hire them back.. maybe we could free Locke before searching for..... something? In the desert?" The visahino would say scratching his head.

Witherwick sighs and runs a hand through his thinning hair. "Shiv, if it were my decision to make I would give them a second chance. But the laws stand. I'm sorry." He pauses. "What I can do is give you a Seal of the Watch. " He rummages around in his desk for a minute and retrieves a piece of parchment. Hastily scribbling down a signature, he stamps it with a red wax seal and hands it to Shiv. "If you ever find yourself in trouble with the authorities, this should grant you a reprieve. Tell them you're on official Watch business. Now, do you propose that you try and find this man Jin, or travel to Khamut immediately?"

"You are the boss" Shiv would say with a toothy grin. "You tell me what you want your loyal watchman to do and I will get it done" the viashino would say with a toothy grin as he takes the seal from Witherwick.

Witherwick smiles. "Perhaps you should discuss your next move with your friends."

"Alright, sounds good. I am on it!' Shiv will say standing up and giving a salute. "you want me to take that box or are you going to lock it up somewhere safe?

"This chest contains a magic item of immense power. If I give it to you I risk losing my job." Witherwick smiles grimly. "It's yours."

Shiv will smile and carfully take the box, making sure that he doesn't open it before stuffing it back into his bag. With a nod and a handshake he will head out the doors and back towards the tavern they had been staying at, hoping to meet up with the rest of the group again.

Jevyn, seeing Shiv leave the room, commands Esme to return to him, disengaging from her senses. The hobgoblin waited for Shiv outside of the door of the Watch, and joined up with him as he left the building. "That isn't safe, you know," he said in a low voice, nodding to Shiv's bag. "We're going to have to make a double or find a safe place for it. And we need to choose our next steps carefully. We'll likely be tailed- if we aren't already. The Slaine guild is going to expect a delivery, and since you took it to the Watch... We might have made some powerful enemies."

Shiv would whisper very quietly... "What if we get everyone in the slaine guild to look at me.. .all at the same time... while I happen to be holding that item in my hands... We could wipe out the whole guild at once...." Shiv would say with a nervous smile. '