Odrith and Chalk move to the group of bodies, searching together as quickly and carefully as possible. Together, they see that one of the humans had a familiar winged serpent tattoo on their wrist. One of the small bodies, the gnome clutching a dagger, has dry waste on his boots and cloak, suggesting he has spent time in the sewers recently. He also has a pouch containing five valuable gemstones.
Whit and Kaivius move about the crowd, trying to find a true eyewitness. After talking to several people, wasting a couple minutes of valuable time, one witness does give some useful information.
A wealthy woman in a fine gown and holding a many-ringed hand to her mouth claims she was leaving the Tiger's eye as the explosion happened. You can tell that while she feigns shock and disgust, she really revels in the attention you are giving her.
"“I tell you, it was not a man. More like a puppet shaped like a man. A puppet without strings. It was on the rooftop. It hurled something into the crowd below that caused the explosion. I saw those halflings burned alive! I saw them!”"
Talking to her more, you find that the 4 halflings were playing flutes and dancing in the street when the Gnome ran past, and suddenly whatever was on the rooftop threw something into the street and caused the large explosion.
Moving along, you recognize another shop owner - Fala who owns the Apothecary for which you retrieved the fungus, who says she also witnessed the explosion.
“I was watering plants in the greenhouse on the second floor of my shop when the blast blew out some of the windows. Lucky I wasn’t injured! Through the smoke, I saw a cloaked man take something from the body of a dead gnome, then start limping away. He was badly burned and casting glances over his shoulder, like he was afraid someone might be following him. He was headed toward the Bent Nail.”
You follow the lead heading in that direction, finally stopping at a shaken young boy, probably around 12, who looks distraught. Comforting him, you find that he was friends with the halflings who were caught in the flames.
“Right after the explosion, I ducked behind a rain barrel. Then I heard a ‘plop’ and found this in the barrel.”
He produces a small necklace with two beads and a broken clasp. As you go to reach your hand for it, he pulls away, obviously wanting to keep it.
Odrith calls out that everyone should hurry, the watch will surely be arriving soon.
(You all can take one more action before the watch arrives)
Realizing this scene was sourced from gang activity, Odrith has the answers he needs. He spends the little time he has trying to find any injured survivors and trying to heal them with lay on hands.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Chalk was never one to let things go to waste and quickly tries to pocket the gems. It could come in useful. The tattoo turned up again. Seems like it was some sort of guild dispute again, though who actually knew what they were fighting about this time. She had a sneaking suspicion that they were going to find out.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Kaivius kneels down next to the boy.
"I know that necklace seems like it might be worth some coin, but it may be more trouble than it's worth. Could I trade you 5 silvers for it? They would be less suspicious to spend."
Chalk successfully grabs the gems before anyone notices making it look like she's inspecting the gnome. The smell of sewer on him is rank, his time there so recent that even the fireball blast couldn't burn it off.
Odrith moves about the crowd, healing small burns and consoling witnesses who are in shock. The wealthy woman, however, is harder to placate. She is still focused on the "puppet man" she saw, and begs Odrith to "Track him down! He's a menace!"
The boy happily takes Kaivius' silver, hands her the necklace, and runs off. Several of the witness see this interaction, and eye the necklace as Kaivius pockets it.
A sudden commotion from down the block parts the crowd gathered in the street as the watch arrives. They are led by an older sergeant, with shaggy brown hair and a thick brown mustache. He escorts a short, stout man with a thick blond beard and curly blond hair wearing purple robes, thick glasses, and a large golden medallion on a chain around his neck. The sergeant speaks to the crowd while the man in purple robes inspects the bodies, then allows the guards to take the bodies to local temples. Other guards start herding people back and putting up a familiar glowing yellow rope to mark off the area of the scene. Odrith knows this rope will chime an alarm if someone unauthorized passes over it.
"Please stay back, the Watch and the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors is looking into the situation. Any witnesses or anyone with evidence please come talk to me directly. We will find the cause for the explosion and deal with it accordingly. Please, form a line if you will," he says half annoyed, as the crowd of witnesses all gather around him and shout what they saw. "Please form a line. I will get to each of you in turn."
Odrith motions for the rest of his companions to step away from the crowd and a little away from the scene. "Did anyone find any information that would be useful to the Watch? All I learned is that someone looked like a puppet man or something. Anything we can inform the Watch will help."
Chalk shakes her head, "Move along! nothing to see here!" She didn't have anything to add that wasn't obvious. The smell of the gnome should be clear along with the tattoo on the man. Nothing else was too noteworthy. Well except the gems and they probably weren't related. Probably. Best to make sure later though.
"Mayhaps there was gang involvement? It certainly seems like there was a robbery or something going on here. Between the tattoo and the time he obviously spent in the sewer, I think mischief is highly likely. And there has to be some magic involvement. A man that looks more like a puppet than a man? Surely there was a spell going on."
Kaivius is pretty stumped. She hopes her friends have an idea on what to do next because she's got nothing.
"So, the only information we gathers is there are some stinky gang member and a puppet man." Odrith's face hardens with a dower expression. "I guess it is better than nothing. I will get in line to speak with the guards and try to help with this information." While walking toward the 'orderly line' of people presenting information Odrith turns back to the group and remarks, "I guess we can't look around anymore, maybe figure out what our next step is as I present this info." A bit quieter Odrith also mumbles, "I hope our next step is to just go home and finish our lunch. I'm still hungry."
Chalk waves to Fala as she spies the woman across the crowd but stay with her adventuring companions. One thing Whit had said had caught her attention. She repeats back, "Found a necklace," and cocks her head, letting out a soft clacking sound as she thinks. Something about that all seemed a bit unstable. "Loot the place," she continues in Whit's sarcastic tone, "leave him helpless," she poses, "they seem to be involved." Whatever was going on, that necklace played a key part. "Here, let me help you," she asks of Kavius, intent on inspect the necklace. Maybe it was magical.
Arcana Check 7
Investigation for other information if there's time before the guards swipe it 12
Chalk motions towards the necklace Kaivius bought off the waif.
"Oh, here Chalk. You probably know what to do with this." She hands her the necklace. "I don't know what help I can offer, but if you need me Chalk, I'm here"
Kaivius turns to Whit as Chalk begins conducting her spell. "Do you think we'll have to venture into the sewer again?" Kaivius asks, wrinkling her nose. "Why guilds think that is the best place for their headquarters I'll never know"
Whit groans, "Oh no, I hope not. I don't think I ever got the stink off from the last time. Have you found anything Chalk? I'd rather not stay any longer at a crime scene that I have to."
Chalk discovers that this necklace is a Necklace of Fireballs, with 3 beads left but obviously missing a bead from a recent use. As Chalk relays this to her companions, a familiar woman talking to the city watch points in their direction, and one starts to walk over.
Well that was certainly an interesting find. This was probably the source of the noise and subsequent fire. Chalk vaguely wonders why someone would dispose of a magical item such as this so close to the crime scene but figures the mind of a criminal worked in twisted ways. She mimics the sound of the explosion and points to the necklace, "You are the culprit." She pays no mind to the approaching guard, after all, she hadn't done anything shifty...that anyone noticed.
The guard woman is tall and muscular, obviously proficient with the greatsword strapped to her back. She has her short brown hair pulled into a tight bun and looks stern, until Odrith approaches and her demeanor lightens considerably.
"Oh, it's you. That woman over there said you were suspiciously interested in the accident here and were asking a lot of questions, and had even gathered some evidence. While I'm thankful for your input Odrith, this really isn't your jurisdiction anymore. If you could hand over the evidence you've collected and tell me what you've found out, I'll relay it to sergeant Cromley and it will surely help our own investigations. It seems there may be more than one parties involved in this, and one perpetrator might be close still."
She holds her hand out expectantly to Chalk who is holding the beaded necklace of fireballs.
Odrith engages in light discourse with the guard about 'old habits dying hard' and what not then proceeds to disclose the limited information about possible gang involvement and the puppet man description he got. He ends the conversation and joins the guard in looking at Chalk, though Odrith's gaze is one of curiosity than expectation. Up to this point he knew nothing about the necklace of fireballs.
Oh the guard had come for the necklace. How unfortunate. Chalk hands over the necklace willingly enough. There wasn't a point in trying to hide it from the authority when it was out in the open. "I am curious" she says in Odrith's rich voice and then she repeats her mimed explosion and points to the necklace once more, "You are the culprit."
The guard woman, Odrith recognizes her as Ninaeve, eyes the necklace suspiciously, holding it up to inspect it. "What do we have here?"
The short, stout man in purple robes looks up from his inspection of the bodies as he hears Ninaeve. "Oho! an enchanted necklace, mayhaps?" He quickly waddles over and accepts the necklace as Ninaeve hands it to him. "Yes, yes, a necklace of fireballs, I see. Where was this found?"
Ninaeve relays the information Odrith gave her to the stout man, who introduces himself as Barnibus Blastwind. He is particularly interested in the puppet-like man.
"Unless I am very much mistaken," he says, scratching at the beard hanging over his robes, apparently talking to himself, "it sounds like a nimblewright, the automatons commonly used in our parades... what business would an automaton have have with such a necklace? And why murder on a busy street? What was it after, and who enchanted it?"
He walks away to rejoin the sergeant to continue their questioning of the witnesses. Ninaeve, with a respectful nod to the party, follows to help keep the alley clear.
As the party move to return to their shop, a tall man stops them. "I am Vincent Trench, a personal detective with the Lord's Alliance. I was here on business of my own, but I recognize you as new guild members. On my way out of my client's shop, I noticed the scene you are investigating. The nimblewright could have only been made in one place - the temple of Gond. You may continue your investigation there. I also saw the man Fala saw, who was badly injured and searched the bodies before limping off toward the Bent Nail. I have no business in this, but the guild may. Use your time wisely."
Before the party can respond, the man slips back down the street, quickly blending in with the curious crowd.
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Odrith and Chalk move to the group of bodies, searching together as quickly and carefully as possible. Together, they see that one of the humans had a familiar winged serpent tattoo on their wrist. One of the small bodies, the gnome clutching a dagger, has dry waste on his boots and cloak, suggesting he has spent time in the sewers recently. He also has a pouch containing five valuable gemstones.
Whit and Kaivius move about the crowd, trying to find a true eyewitness. After talking to several people, wasting a couple minutes of valuable time, one witness does give some useful information.
A wealthy woman in a fine gown and holding a many-ringed hand to her mouth claims she was leaving the Tiger's eye as the explosion happened. You can tell that while she feigns shock and disgust, she really revels in the attention you are giving her.
Talking to her more, you find that the 4 halflings were playing flutes and dancing in the street when the Gnome ran past, and suddenly whatever was on the rooftop threw something into the street and caused the large explosion.
Moving along, you recognize another shop owner - Fala who owns the Apothecary for which you retrieved the fungus, who says she also witnessed the explosion.
You follow the lead heading in that direction, finally stopping at a shaken young boy, probably around 12, who looks distraught. Comforting him, you find that he was friends with the halflings who were caught in the flames.
He produces a small necklace with two beads and a broken clasp. As you go to reach your hand for it, he pulls away, obviously wanting to keep it.
Odrith calls out that everyone should hurry, the watch will surely be arriving soon.
(You all can take one more action before the watch arrives)
Realizing this scene was sourced from gang activity, Odrith has the answers he needs. He spends the little time he has trying to find any injured survivors and trying to heal them with lay on hands.
Chalk was never one to let things go to waste and quickly tries to pocket the gems. It could come in useful. The tattoo turned up again. Seems like it was some sort of guild dispute again, though who actually knew what they were fighting about this time. She had a sneaking suspicion that they were going to find out.
Sleight of Hand 4
Kaivius kneels down next to the boy.
"I know that necklace seems like it might be worth some coin, but it may be more trouble than it's worth. Could I trade you 5 silvers for it? They would be less suspicious to spend."
Persuasion : 18
THE ADVANTAGE: 12
Chalk successfully grabs the gems before anyone notices making it look like she's inspecting the gnome. The smell of sewer on him is rank, his time there so recent that even the fireball blast couldn't burn it off.
Odrith moves about the crowd, healing small burns and consoling witnesses who are in shock. The wealthy woman, however, is harder to placate. She is still focused on the "puppet man" she saw, and begs Odrith to "Track him down! He's a menace!"
The boy happily takes Kaivius' silver, hands her the necklace, and runs off. Several of the witness see this interaction, and eye the necklace as Kaivius pockets it.
A sudden commotion from down the block parts the crowd gathered in the street as the watch arrives. They are led by an older sergeant, with shaggy brown hair and a thick brown mustache. He escorts a short, stout man with a thick blond beard and curly blond hair wearing purple robes, thick glasses, and a large golden medallion on a chain around his neck. The sergeant speaks to the crowd while the man in purple robes inspects the bodies, then allows the guards to take the bodies to local temples. Other guards start herding people back and putting up a familiar glowing yellow rope to mark off the area of the scene. Odrith knows this rope will chime an alarm if someone unauthorized passes over it.
"Please stay back, the Watch and the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors is looking into the situation. Any witnesses or anyone with evidence please come talk to me directly. We will find the cause for the explosion and deal with it accordingly. Please, form a line if you will," he says half annoyed, as the crowd of witnesses all gather around him and shout what they saw. "Please form a line. I will get to each of you in turn."
Odrith motions for the rest of his companions to step away from the crowd and a little away from the scene.
"Did anyone find any information that would be useful to the Watch? All I learned is that someone looked like a puppet man or something. Anything we can inform the Watch will help."
Chalk shakes her head, "Move along! nothing to see here!" She didn't have anything to add that wasn't obvious. The smell of the gnome should be clear along with the tattoo on the man. Nothing else was too noteworthy. Well except the gems and they probably weren't related. Probably. Best to make sure later though.
"Mayhaps there was gang involvement? It certainly seems like there was a robbery or something going on here. Between the tattoo and the time he obviously spent in the sewer, I think mischief is highly likely. And there has to be some magic involvement. A man that looks more like a puppet than a man? Surely there was a spell going on."
Kaivius is pretty stumped. She hopes her friends have an idea on what to do next because she's got nothing.
Whit shares what he found with the party and says "I'm not really sure what all this means"
"So, the only information we gathers is there are some stinky gang member and a puppet man." Odrith's face hardens with a dower expression. "I guess it is better than nothing. I will get in line to speak with the guards and try to help with this information."
While walking toward the 'orderly line' of people presenting information Odrith turns back to the group and remarks, "I guess we can't look around anymore, maybe figure out what our next step is as I present this info." A bit quieter Odrith also mumbles, "I hope our next step is to just go home and finish our lunch. I'm still hungry."
Chalk waves to Fala as she spies the woman across the crowd but stay with her adventuring companions. One thing Whit had said had caught her attention. She repeats back, "Found a necklace," and cocks her head, letting out a soft clacking sound as she thinks. Something about that all seemed a bit unstable. "Loot the place," she continues in Whit's sarcastic tone, "leave him helpless," she poses, "they seem to be involved." Whatever was going on, that necklace played a key part. "Here, let me help you," she asks of Kavius, intent on inspect the necklace. Maybe it was magical.
Arcana Check 7
Investigation for other information if there's time before the guards swipe it 12
Chalk motions towards the necklace Kaivius bought off the waif.
"Oh, here Chalk. You probably know what to do with this." She hands her the necklace. "I don't know what help I can offer, but if you need me Chalk, I'm here"
Kaivius turns to Whit as Chalk begins conducting her spell. "Do you think we'll have to venture into the sewer again?" Kaivius asks, wrinkling her nose. "Why guilds think that is the best place for their headquarters I'll never know"
Whit groans, "Oh no, I hope not. I don't think I ever got the stink off from the last time. Have you found anything Chalk? I'd rather not stay any longer at a crime scene that I have to."
Chalk discovers that this necklace is a Necklace of Fireballs, with 3 beads left but obviously missing a bead from a recent use. As Chalk relays this to her companions, a familiar woman talking to the city watch points in their direction, and one starts to walk over.
Noticing a guard approaching his fellows, Odrtih heads back toward the group. This will be a much faster way to report the info to the authorities.
Well that was certainly an interesting find. This was probably the source of the noise and subsequent fire. Chalk vaguely wonders why someone would dispose of a magical item such as this so close to the crime scene but figures the mind of a criminal worked in twisted ways. She mimics the sound of the explosion and points to the necklace, "You are the culprit." She pays no mind to the approaching guard, after all, she hadn't done anything shifty...that anyone noticed.
The guard woman is tall and muscular, obviously proficient with the greatsword strapped to her back. She has her short brown hair pulled into a tight bun and looks stern, until Odrith approaches and her demeanor lightens considerably.
"Oh, it's you. That woman over there said you were suspiciously interested in the accident here and were asking a lot of questions, and had even gathered some evidence. While I'm thankful for your input Odrith, this really isn't your jurisdiction anymore. If you could hand over the evidence you've collected and tell me what you've found out, I'll relay it to sergeant Cromley and it will surely help our own investigations. It seems there may be more than one parties involved in this, and one perpetrator might be close still."
She holds her hand out expectantly to Chalk who is holding the beaded necklace of fireballs.
Odrith engages in light discourse with the guard about 'old habits dying hard' and what not then proceeds to disclose the limited information about possible gang involvement and the puppet man description he got. He ends the conversation and joins the guard in looking at Chalk, though Odrith's gaze is one of curiosity than expectation. Up to this point he knew nothing about the necklace of fireballs.
Oh the guard had come for the necklace. How unfortunate. Chalk hands over the necklace willingly enough. There wasn't a point in trying to hide it from the authority when it was out in the open. "I am curious" she says in Odrith's rich voice and then she repeats her mimed explosion and points to the necklace once more, "You are the culprit."
The guard woman, Odrith recognizes her as Ninaeve, eyes the necklace suspiciously, holding it up to inspect it. "What do we have here?"
The short, stout man in purple robes looks up from his inspection of the bodies as he hears Ninaeve. "Oho! an enchanted necklace, mayhaps?" He quickly waddles over and accepts the necklace as Ninaeve hands it to him. "Yes, yes, a necklace of fireballs, I see. Where was this found?"
Ninaeve relays the information Odrith gave her to the stout man, who introduces himself as Barnibus Blastwind. He is particularly interested in the puppet-like man.
"Unless I am very much mistaken," he says, scratching at the beard hanging over his robes, apparently talking to himself, "it sounds like a nimblewright, the automatons commonly used in our parades... what business would an automaton have have with such a necklace? And why murder on a busy street? What was it after, and who enchanted it?"
He walks away to rejoin the sergeant to continue their questioning of the witnesses. Ninaeve, with a respectful nod to the party, follows to help keep the alley clear.
As the party move to return to their shop, a tall man stops them. "I am Vincent Trench, a personal detective with the Lord's Alliance. I was here on business of my own, but I recognize you as new guild members. On my way out of my client's shop, I noticed the scene you are investigating. The nimblewright could have only been made in one place - the temple of Gond. You may continue your investigation there. I also saw the man Fala saw, who was badly injured and searched the bodies before limping off toward the Bent Nail. I have no business in this, but the guild may. Use your time wisely."
Before the party can respond, the man slips back down the street, quickly blending in with the curious crowd.