Sinking Ever Deeper [IC] (HM Judging)

Visil leads the way out of the inn to the waterfront canals outside. Raising an arm he flags down a passing gondola large enough to hold your party. He gives the oarsman directions to a canal in the Rose District, one of Venza's richest districts. The oarsman tries to strike up a conversation with him but Visil doesn't appear to hear his idle talk. The canals pass by rapidly under the oarsmans expert hand. Soon you are passing by taller and wider buildings whose decorations become more and more opulent. The boat finally pulls up in front of one of the larger examples you've seen. The front is bedecked with tall carved pillars with balconies before every window and a door of rich dark wood. Visil doesn't stop at the front door however, he eyes the boat traffic around him before directing the oarsman to the service entrance. The service entrance looks much plainer and consists of an overhang bridging this building and the one next to it in a side canal. A pair of undecorated wooden doors mark the entrance. Another boat is already here, a wide flat barge like boat with nothing on its decks save for some tarpaulin. A grizzled, unshaven man sits in the rear near the steering pole eyeing your group as you arrive. Visil looks over his boat once and then nods before leading you in through the side door.

Inside the manor, so obviously well kept on the outside, does not match appearances on the inside. The air smells musty, like the building has been closed up for a long time. You see signs where people have been hard at work scrubbing mold stains off the walls. A wide passage runs along the backside of the building leading off into storage rooms, a massive kitchen, and servants quarters. Visil strides past all of them with barely a glance as he leads you to another set of doors, these far better decorated than what you've seen so far. Past these doors you emerge from under a huge spiraling staircase into the foyer of the main part of the mansion. Here you can see some of the structures former splendor. The walls are stained, the wood trim warped, and the curtains are moldy rags but the structure still seems to show its proud heritage. A crystal chandelier hangs overhead and the floor is covered with fine marble tiling intermixed with colored stone chip mosaics. A wide stone fireplace is partially inset into a wall to the right of the main entrance. It looks wide enough to cook an entire steer on.

Fulgrim
[SBLOCK]
The stonework of the fireplace draws your expert eye. While waiting for Visil you take a moment to look it over. It looks to be expertly crafted with carved floral designs mixed with hunting animals such as hounds, foxes, and horses. It was obviously too big to have been moved here in one piece but you have a hard time finding any seams. There are still a few ashes in the middle of it but you can tell it has not been used in a long time.

Stonecunning (1d20+7=25)
[/SBLOCK]

Visil asks you to wait here a moment while he goes to check on some things. You see him disappear down a side hall, reemerging after a few moments. He beckons you to follow him. Down the side hall you see signs of ongoing repair work. Some of the walls have had their plaster pulled down are are being reworked with new bits of wood. Visil stops before a large hole in the wall behind which is a wooden door of a different design than anything else you've seen in the house so far.
Visil pauses a moment before speaking as if to read from a prepared speech, "The nature of this city presents some unique building challenges. It sits on what amounts to a swamp. Everything here over time sinks into the muck at the bottom of the lagoon. Each house you see in the city is built on the remains of houses before it. When an entrance become unusable because it has dropped below the level of the walkways it is sealed off and becomes a basement or storage room for the home and a new floor is built above it. You can see evidence of it all around the city. When part of a structure becomes completely useless it is sealed off. A new patch of wall and paint covers it up and it is soon forgotten.
This home is the former residence of a disgraced guild master. It has been unclaimed for many years since he abandoned it. I have had experts hard at work renovating it for its new owner. While checking the walls for insects they discovered this abandoned stairway leading to a lower level of the house. This is nothing news worthy. Just another level that sank below usefulness."

He turns and opens the door, revealing a a dark stairway leading downwards. Visil picks up a small wooden box sitting next to the entrance way. Opening the lid reveals a brightly glowing object. He lifts a small stone on a silver chain from the box and holds it out in front of him like a lantern as he turns to go down the stairs. The wooden boards creak loudly in protest to the unaccustomed weight as you descend the dark passageway. At the bottom you come out into a dank and musty room. Mold grows in all of the corners around large pieces of furniture. A wardrobe and a large bed fill most of the room. The bed is covered by a massive colony of mold and fungi growing up out of the remains of the coverings. The light from Visil's stone barely seems to light up the dim chamber.

Visil leads you to another door that has been pulled open and partially off its hinges. The wood has swollen from all the moisture in the air. The floorboards underfoot sag here and there. He leads you down a twisting passageway past more closed doors to a larger room. The air smells different here, though you have a hard time deciding what it is. It is definitely a bad smell though. This last room seems to have once been some kind of entertaining room. Large benches sit around the corners of the room and an overturned wardrobe has fallen into the middle of the room. A large pile of cloth wrapped bundles are stacked in the center each of which is about 6' long. There must be nearly 30 of them. Something greyish extends from one of the bundles.
Visil holds a scented handkerchief over his mouth while he speaks. "Another of the problems this city has is what gets put in these chambers when they're sealed off. There had always been rumors of course, about the guild master. It was said that he owed money to some very unsavory characters. The kind of men who need places to put things they don't want other people to see. It is my belief that they made a deal with him for part of his debt.
Have you ever noticed, that there are no graveyards in Venza? And you can't just dump a body in a canal or the lagoon. It will just float there, or be brought back in by the tide. They have to be taken out to sea on barges which can be inspected. The safest place to get rid of them is to put them somewhere no one will look and let the muck have them."
As he speaks you begin to make out the outlines of sunken faces beneath the cloth shrouds. The greyish object turns out to be an out flung arm.
"Thus you see my dilemma! The owner of the house is now responsible for the contents of the house, in one sense the owner of these bodies. Should any of my workers see this they will spread terrible, untrue rumors about my master and the bodies in his basement. I have chartered the boat at the servant entrance to take these things out to sea and be rid of them the proper way.
Now you can see my purpose for you. I need these bodies moved to the boat quietly, today, as I have dismissed the servants under the auspices of a holiday. Before you object, the legality of it is not in question. I have verified with our barrister that disposal of bodies at sea is the proper course of action. It is uncommon, but not a unique situation. If have also contacted, quietly, the leader of the White Cloaks about the situation and he also advised me on the current course of action. It seems they have their own hands full without pursuing decades old deaths.

Knowing now the fullness of my predicament will you help? I am willing to pay a substantial sum, 2,000 gold for your service."

Venza History
[SBLOCK]
Info about the Sinking City of Glass
Beneath Venza
[/SBLOCK]

Treasure Tracking
[SBLOCK]
Reserved Space
[/SBLOCK]

Zoryk Wolfheart, Half Elven Lvl1 Fire Elemental Sorcerer

Zoryk follows Visil to the canals. Sitting on the gondola, the young sorcerer takes in the sights of the city as the gondola makes it's voyage. Arriving at the manor Zoryk keeps quiet and lets his employer give them the tour. Listening attentively to the man as he gives his speech on Venza architecture the sorcerer seems elsewhere. When Visil mentions bodies his face contorts in disgust before he manages to regain his composure a few seconds later, it is when the man makes mention of how to dispose of the bodies and of the White Cloaks being too busy to investigate that Zoryk begins to feel the flame of anger rise within him.

"I'm hoping that the services of a chaplain or priest have been retained so that these bodies can be put to rest accordingly. I can see your dilemma indeed, your master's reputation could suffer for a crime he didn't commit."

The sorcerer looks around the room, trying to see if he could simply burn the bodies instead of carrying them to sea, thus eliminating the risk of being discovered ferrying deadmen.

As the gondola passes into the Districk of the rose, Vincenzo points to an elaborately built home, "that is where my Uncle lives." later in the home where the chipped stone mosaic was he says,"not bad. seen better"

Fulgrim follows Visil out of the Dunn Wright Inn and to the waterfront canals. He fidgets as he watches the other gondola's floating by, seeming apprehensive of the water travel. He remains on the dock as the others fill the gondola, glancing about finally realizing he is the last on the dock. Muttering under his breath he walks quickly along the plank and into the gondola, quickly taking a seat as if struggling to keep his feet under him as the gondola moves in the gentle wakes of the others passing by.

Fulgrim never completely relaxes, the tension obvious as he holds the seat he sits on tightly, watching the city buildings pass by. He is quite happy to be back on firm ground when the gondola pulls up to the service door. His gaze looks all about, studying the workmanship of the manor - seeming to see the glory that it once was even under the layers of filth and mold that mar it now.

As Visil excuses himself, the fireplace calls to him as he moves to it, running his fingers over the stone. Even with a skilled eye picking out any seams to the fireplace is quite difficult.

Fulgrim follows as Visil leads the companions down into the depths of the manor. The smell is strong as they enter the room with the cloth wrapped "packages", his sense of smell not quite placing it until the talk of graveyards is brought about as the realization hits the dwarf as to just what is in the cloth wrapped bundles.

"Zoryk d'er is right. Ye got anybody to say words fer dese folks? Even somethin' the local priest has givin' us ta read might put dese folk at ease." Fulgrim says, still not covering his nose or mouth from the smells.

"Dese folk deserve a proper rest though an dis basement sure ain't de place for dat." Fulgrim adds. "'sides, the workin' price seems fair 'nuff.

Temarel took a single look at the bodies and went a sickly shade of green. Sauvressa, who had stood passively behind for the entirety of the journey frowned deeply her golden eyes emitting a soft fiery glow.

"Evil was done here."

Temarel put an arm to his mouth and turned around desperately trying not to vomit. "No, I don't think so. The logic is sound even if, ugh, gods am I imagining the smell? Even if it's horrid. I do think we need to get these men properly dealt with as properly and as silently as possible. I can imagine the scandal it would bring."

"It does no one any good to point fingers of accusations anyway. These people are beyond the point of caring."

With that Temarel found a vacant corner of the room and lost his lunch and a bit of his dignity.

" I agree Fulgrim, these people deserve a proper burial, if only for that I agree to the proposal sir." says the half-elf sorcerer.

Looking sideways at Sauvressa Zoryk adds: "We might be able to uncover who did this while we're working, call that an extracurricular activity."

Vincenzo nods as to the revelation. "I had a feeling this is what we had to deal with. Never a pleaseent duty, reguardless.

Maybe we can carry them in old sheets and hide them in some of the broken statuary and slip them off into the water at the assigned place at sea. Then deposite the broken statuary else where"

Hello,
The smell is strong as they enter the room with the cloth wrapped "packages", his sense of smell not quite placing it until the talk of graveyards is brought about as the realization hits the dwarf as to just what is in the cloth wrapped bundles....

Visil nods slowly. "I had not considered retaining the services of a holy man. I can make those arrangements while the bodies are being moved to the barge, one of the local churches should have someone available for a service at sea. If that is satisfactory?" he says as he presses his handkerchief tighter to his face and begins to back towards the exit. He is beginning to look green in the face.

seing the butler getting greener around the gills by the moment, Vincenzo nods to the the idea. Then to the rest of the party he asks ," Just how do you propse we get these guys out to sea on the barge?"