Constables of the 14th Ward

xedr · Jul 17, 2007

[highlight]"I don't see or hear any sign of Teddy. He's probably long gone by now..."[/highlight] Darius calls upward as Rahvin and Alarion join him. [highlight]"Well now, what have we here?"[/highlight] he says more conversationally. Now that better lighting is available, Darius observes the footprints and tries to determine if they are Teddy's size, and in which direction they lead. Seeing that they originate from the direction in which Rahvin is moving, Darius grimaces and steps into the flow to accompany Rahvin. Darius focuses his efforts on (a) staying upright and (b) finding and following the footprints.
[sblock=OOC]Can I "take 20" to analyze and search for the footprints? Here's a balance roll (1d20+1=21)[/sblock]

Leif · Jul 17, 2007

xedr said:
Can I "take 20" to analyze and search for the footprints?

Analyze, maybe. Search, NO. The idea with 'taking 20' is that you are performing a task that you can definitely succeed at doing if you have enough time and take enough care. This might or might not apply to an analysis of a strange object, depending upon how strange is was, whether magic was involved, etc. 'Taking 20' will not ordinarily apply to skills such as track and find traps where failure can have dramatic consequences.

In this case, your analysis reveals that they were made by a human, or human-like, bi-ped wearing soft leather boots (no obvious heel-prints). If the sewer had been clean (YEAH, RIGHT!) then it would have taken a very experienced tracker (now where did I put that Urban Ranger??

) to notice and follow the tracks, but the mud took care of that.

jkason · Jul 17, 2007

Moru Sen, human conjurer

Scotley said:
[sblock=Raul]John and Mary own the dry goods shop next to the alley. There last name is Johnson. They seem to be quiet, upstanding citizens. Raul is aware of no rumors or investigations with reguard to the family.[/sblock]

John thanks Raul and Moru profusely, "I'm really glad you men were here today. I can't imagine why that pack of beasts was in the alley. There had been a bum sort of lurking around back there. I just assumed he was looking for something of value in the trash."

Moru frowns at mention of the bum. "If he's the man we're after, I'm afraid he's rather more than a bum, unfortunately. But you're safe for now. If you have the time, we would certainly appreciate it if you could relate any information you have about this bum to the other officers--" here he indicates the newly-arrived patrolmen--"It looks like my companions may have caught the trail of the man who put your family in harm's way; in which case, time is of the essence."

Assuming his witnesses ask no more questions of him, Moru hustles past the blue barrier to join the others. As he catches a whif of the sewers, he grimaces.

I really need to research an air-freshening spell if we're going to be doing this kind of work," he quips as he waits to hear what the initial findings of his more martial colleagues are.

Lou · Jul 17, 2007

Raul's conversation with John #2

jkason said:
Moru frowns at mention of the bum. "If he's the man we're after, I'm afraid he's rather more than a bum, unfortunately. But you're safe for now. If you have the time, we would certainly appreciate it if you could relate any information you have about this bum to the other officers--" here he indicates the newly-arrived patrolmen--"It looks like my companions may have caught the trail of the man who put your family in harm's way; in which case, time is of the essence."

Assuming his witnesses ask no more questions of him, Moru hustles past the blue barrier to join the others. As he catches a whif of the sewers, he grimaces.

Raul nods in agreement with Moru. Before leaving, Raul says to John, "If you remember anything distinctive about the bum, let a constable know. And have a healer look over your daughter to make sure she's all right. She was very brave."

Raul will follow Moru and rejoin the others, looking over the street and crowd as he crosses.

[sblock=spot check] 1d20+8-> [12,8] = (20) Looking for any sign of Thaddeus Thornapple or anyone suspicious taking an interest in the alley.[/sblock]

Maeglin · Jul 17, 2007

Rahvin steps gingerly unto the treacherous surface. Fortunately, he manages to keep his balance. He advances cautiously towards the object…

[sblock=actions and questions] Rahvin makes the Balance check vs. DC12 (1d20+3=21) .

Question: 1)The object was described as possibly a brick, so it’s small, no?
2) The footprints led south, in the general direction of the object? It was a bit unclear…
If possible, could you mark where the object is, on the map? or tell me the coordinates?
3) Did the spot check reveal anything at the hole in the wall?

[/sblock]

pathfinderq1 · Jul 18, 2007

Scotley said:
"Oh well, it was like this you see. I was noticing that the feed bins seemed to be coming up a little short. I don't have any employees but family and I kept a good eye on them just the same since stuff was missing. I'm sure they wasn't taking anything and we don't normally let the customers back in the bins. He couldn't figure it out either. We called in the constables. A couple of uniformed fellas came out and looked around a bit. They found a couple of holes and said it was rats." He shrugged, "I've had rats before and this seemed like more theft than that, but I hired me a rat catcher just the same. The lazy bastard only worked two days and must have taken his pay and gone off to get drunk. He hasn't come back in a week." I don't think those big buggers could have got in through the little holes. He points at the big Vorbar Mountains Rats over which Bocephus is drooling.

"There might still be some connection- the fellow who seems to have caused all of this trouble has a rather uncanny way with animals, it seems. He might have been using smaller creatures to forage through your storage bins." Thea jotted down a few of the details, then seemed to notice that most of her fellow Alphas had gone down into the sewers. "Thank you for the information, Mr. Wheatstalk- it might be quite valuable to our investigation. If we find any connections we'll be sure to notify you straight away. At the very least, your rat problem ought to be significantly curtailed." Then she turned back to the manhole, and with a heavy sigh, began to follow her compatriots into the depths. She paused on the ladder, her feet well above the 'floor', and watched the others search the area. After a moment, she piped up "We ought to be extra careful hereabouts. From the sounds of things, our quarry may have been lurking in this area for some time- more than enough opportunity to prepare some unpleasant surprises..."

Leif · Jul 18, 2007

Raul sees nothing of interest. The small group of people that didn't quite qualify as a crowd, is dispersing rapidly under the coaxing of a few constable regulars.

As SoulFetter valiantly stands guard outside the manhole, Raul begins his descent, while Moru is just stepping off the last rung to join Jonas, Thea, and Andrew who are grouped nearby. Darius is a little further down the passage, just behind Alarion, who is approaching Rahvin.

As Rahvin proceeds further into the dungeon, uhh make that tunnels, uhh make that SEWERS, he slips briefly, staggers, and regains his balance (ooc: never mind about the balance check). He carefully approaches the object lying in the muck at the bottom of the sewer, carefully inspects the object and its environs but sees nothing of interest. The object itself is retangular, about a foot long by 8 inches wide by an inch or two thick. The surface is mostly caked with muck, so it's difficult to immediately identify its composition. It's texture looks to be mostly smooth, with a few very noticeable lumps also visible.

[Your Next Actions?]

Helfdan · Jul 18, 2007

Alarion
"Careful, Rahvin!" Alarion whispers. "Mayhap we should let Moru or Thea examine it by eldritch means... we know not what deviltry this Thornapple is capable of."

Maeglin · Jul 18, 2007

“Perhaps you are right, Alarion,” Rahvin says, carefully inspecting the item without touching it. “Let us be wary of that opening in the wall, as well, lest there be more of those large rats.”

[sblock=actions] Don't forget Rahvin's spot check for the hole and search check rolls for traps around the object. See post #137 above.

Spot check for hole in wall ; Search check for traps in shadowy object (1d20 +7=16, 1d20+9=15)

[/sblock]

Maidhc O Casain · Jul 18, 2007

SoulFetter

The Urgant takes a last wistful look around at all the open space, and squeezes his way through the manhole. After carefully pulling the cover over the hole so no innocent citizens accidentally fall through, he steps off the ladder.

Reaching back into his pack, SoulFetter takes out a long piece of charcoal and places an 'X' on the ceiling close to the manhole.

As he moves along the tunnel SoulFetter will make a 'carrot mark' on the ceiling every 15 feet or so, each one pointing in the direction of the last.