shilsen
Adventurer
The first order of business is to ‘de-stone’ Korm, which is eventually achieved via the only stone to flesh scroll available at the Guild. Once that is done, the Angels settle down to a little rest, while they discuss their plans for the day and the two alienists go about identifying the few items they took off Messal’rok’s corpse.
Midway through the discussion, Bodo returns with the information Six asked for, all neatly written up in report form.
According to him, Thurik Davandi is a Sharn native, born and bred. The current councilor from Upper Menthis, he is the owner of Davandi’s Fine Tailoring, a very successful clothing store in the Den'iyas district of Upper Menthis. He lives there with his family, consisting of his wife, son and daughter. Thurik is believed to have gained his council seat through flattery and blackmail, and to have a hold over many of the more powerful Menthis merchants, who backed his candidature. He is also known to have connections with the Boromar clan and the Zilargo Embassy, usually voting in the Council as part of what’s called the Boromar bloc.
Bodo also mentions that the Sharn city elections are occurring within a few days, from the 6th to the 8th, and the actual appointments will occur on 9th Rhaan, the Feast of Boldrei, which is the day many political appointments occur across Khorvaire. Thurik is expected to win easily and to retain his seat for another 3 years.
“So that’s about it,” says Bodo. “How was it?”
“Very good, Bodo,” says Six honestly, only to be interrupted by a frowning Gareth.
“You sent Bodo to find information about the guy we think might be Killian, or at least connected to him? Are you crazy?”
“There was no danger,” argues Six.
“No, really, it’s just fine. And I was happy to…” says Bodo, before being cut off.
“What he’s happy to do doesn’t matter, Six. He’s just a child.”
“Hey!”
Gareth ignores Bodo and continues, “I really don’t appreciate you doing this without telling us…”
“Actually,” says Nameless with a grin, “I knew.”
“Yeah. Me too.” “Same here.”
Gareth’s expression gets even darker. “In that case, without telling me. You have no right to risk Bodo’s safety this way!”
Not bothering to argue, Six says, “He was just getting some freely available information for me. Anyway, it’s not worth arguing about.”
Turning to Bodo, he asks, “Did you find out about the City Council meeting?”
“Yes. They have a weekly meeting where petitioners speak to them, which you can watch from a gallery, if you want. The next one’s tomorrow.”
“I want to go to that one,” says Six. “Anyone else?”
Both of the druids say that they’d like to see the Council Hall. Six asks Bodo a couple more questions, which the boy either answers or says he’ll find out about. Gareth doesn’t interject any more, but as soon as Six is done, he marches Bodo out of the room to talk to him about responsibility.
Once he returns, this time without Bodo, Korm asks, “So - are we going anywhere else today?”
“We need to speak to Balan Cord,” says Nameless. “I want to tell him about Desro and Dala.”
***
Later that evening, the Angels sit across a table from Warden Balan Cord, in the headquarters of the Blackened Book in the Warden Towers district.
Once Nameless is done, Balan says, “Thank you for all the information. Hopefully that should help us with the case of Arrok’s murder, which, as I said, was at a dead end.” His face gets a little grimmer. “And it’s always good to know when someone is moving around town impersonating me.”
Nameless pushes half a vial of coagulated blood across the table. “This is from one of the two. It might come in handy for a divination, though they’re evidently quite well-protected against it.”
“Nevertheless, every little bit helps,” says the Warden, pocketing the vial. “Is there anything else you can think of?”
“It would be a good idea to get your men to search the location where we fought them,” adds Six. “We checked it quite thoroughly, but one can always miss something. And maybe check around the area for where they fled to. Nameless, how far can a dimension door take you?”
“Nearly seven hundred feet as a minimum, and definitely more for that wizard.”
“I’ll make sure to have that looked into,” confirms Balan, making a note. “Anything else?”
“Well, that’s about it,” says Nameless, when Six adds, “I had a favor to ask.”
“Yes?”
Six produces a small package of iridescent green powder. “Powder of silent passage, which we found on Desro. Gareth said it’s illegal to possess in Sharn, but can come in very handy for our kind of work, so if you could let us keep it…?”
Balan smiles. “Yes -I’m sure you could find a way to use it. Not to worry. I’ll give you a permit before you leave.” He looks at the pad he was writing on. “Now, let me make sure I’ve got this all correct…”
***
A permit from the primary countermage of the Blackened Book has unforeseen advantages. The next day, when Six and Korm (with Luna, now in the form of a small dog) are having their equipment searched before being allowed into the Council Hall in the Highest Towers area, one of the guard’s searching them opens and reads the permit. He hands it to his captain, who quickly peruses it and says, “Permission from Warden Cord, eh? That’s good enough for me.”
A few minutes later, the trio are standing on the large circular viewing gallery that is situated high up on the public Council chamber and allows tourists and curious locals to look in through large windows at the goings-on of the City Council.
The section of the chamber they look into is a large round section, with individual seats spaced around the circumference (symbols above each seat indicating which area of Sharn they represent), and a space in the middle for speakers to use. The last is currently occupied by a pair of people who evidently represent some of the entertainment in the Menthis ward, since they are protesting new taxes in the area.
Six, Korm and Luna quickly catch sight of the councilor they came to see. Thurik Davandi is the only gnome on the council, and, to the considerable interest of the watchers, very distinctly resembles Killian. If Killian were slightly stouter and older, that is.
“I wonder if he’s a relative. Maybe his father?” mutters Korm to Six.
As they watch, the adventurers note that Thurik also uses his hands a great deal, just as Killian does, though he never uses a characteristic gesture of Killian’s, where he places a hand to his chest, usually when being particularly facetious. The facetiousness and sarcasm are definitely present in Thurik too, though delivered in a voice slightly deeper than Killian’s.
The watchers also note the other councilors, how they express themselves and what positions they take. It is quickly clear who the members of the Boromar bloc that Bodo mentioned are. Its obvious head is Ilyra Boromar, the representative from Lower Dura, who is almost as good a speaker as Thurik. Beside him, the two members who clearly support her are the other halflings on the Council, Bestan ir’Tonn of Upper Tavick’s, who speaks like a lawyer, and Caskar Havalik of Middle Menthis, who barely speaks at all.
The one person who seems most clearly opposed to Ilyra and the Boromar bloc in general is Sava Kharisa, the middle-aged woman from Lower Central. “We heard about her being the most honest of the councilors,” reminds Six. “I think I’m going to try and speak to her later.”
A couple of the other councilors especially draw the trio’s attention. One is Hruit, a simply dressed man from Middle Dura who is known to be one of the most powerful druids in Sharn, and the other is Kilk, an elderly changeling who wears his form openly, the representative from Lower Tavick’s.
After watching the proceedings for the better part of an hour, the three Angels leave, but not before Six sets up an appointment with Sava Kharisa for the next day. Having heard that she owns an art gallery in Lower Central, he uses the excuse that he wishes to talk to her about his work.
Gareth, meanwhile, visits the Deneith enclave as he does every couple of days, and finds that the twin Sentinel Marshals have finally returned to Sharn. He spends a pleasant couple of hours over lunch with Lalia, during which she tells him some more about the assassination attempt on Boranel and Aurala.
Lalia also confirms that the information about the attempt was extracted from Raskalorn, who - as the Angels had surmised - was a traitor after all, even though the official report claimed otherwise. She mentions that she heard about the Angels being involved in Raskalorn’s capture, and adds that such exploits will stand Gareth in good stead when it comes to joining House Deneith and finding the kind of position he desires.
After Gareth returns to relate what Lalia told him, and the other three mention what they saw of Thurik Davandi, the subject turns to something the group has discussed in passing earlier - finding a permanent base of operations in Sharn.
Trillia, laughingly admitting that she’s just trying to get them out of her hair, says that she has found a somewhat unusual situation that the Angels might be able to take advantage of, and explains the details. Ocean View, in Upper Tavick's Landing (directly above and west of Deathsgate, where Trillia lives), is a wealthy residential district which is extremely exclusive, at least 30 current residents needing to sign a petition allowing newcomers to purchase property there. In short, as Trillia puts it, “people like you wouldn’t have a hope in hell.”
But a manor there is soon to be on sale under quite unusual circumstances. Called the Gray House, it had passed through the hands of Karrnathi nobles for 3 centuries. Just over two months ago, the Blades of Arakhain (the only adventuring group in Sharn better known than the Angels) broke in there and unveiled the fact that it was the primary Sharn safe house for the Order of the Emerald Claw (which had attacked them shortly earlier in Sharn), with the current owner, Lady Jesel Tarra’az, being a vampire.
There was a pitched battle, during which the Blades killed dozens of Emerald Claw agents, including Karrnathi undead, human soldiers, and a vampire. Lady Jesel escaped, only to encounter the Blades some days later and be killed. The Blackened Book, which had been investigating Emerald Claw presence in the city and apparently sent the Blades there, took custody of the place while they searched it thoroughly. Rumor says that the Blades tried to obtain the place as part of their reward, but current residents of Ocean View made it clear that there’d be a very strong appeal to the Council and beyond if that happened.
Trillia says that the manor will be going on the market very soon, but the situation that it became available in, combined with the Blackened Book’s concerns about its next users (since it is reputedly full of hidden passages, has no windows and only a single entrance, and has a couple of other little surprises), means that it’s not likely to get many prospective buyers soon.
According to her, where this becomes relevant for the Angels is the fact that while they wouldn’t normally have any hope of getting a crack at this place, the fact that the Blackened Book is now the nominal owner (and Warden Balan Cord is the one in charge of the investigation that took place there) significantly raises their chances of getting their hands on it. Plus, it sounds like a place that would be easy to fortify and maintain. Trillia adds that it’s a tower building with three floors, so it’s quite big, and especially with the location, very costly. She estimates that it would normally go for something like 20,000 galifars, but with the circumstances, it’s difficult to say.
By the time the story* is told, Luna’s extremely excited by the prospect, and the others are also interested. Much of the remainder of the evening is taken up with discussion of how to obtain the place and what can be done with it if they do, with ideas ranging from Luna and Korm planning to stone shape the building to their desire to Six (presumably) joking that animating the stuffed figure of Naxaliyen to work as a doorkeeper will be the perfect way to dissuade unwelcome guests.
***
The next morning, the group is joined at breakfast by Surr’kal, who arrives with Gurr’khan in tow.
The elderly druid, looking a little tired and significantly out of place in Trillia’s living room, explains that he did meet with Saala Torrn, the nominal leader of the Gatekeepers, in the Shadow Marches as planned. While she personally knows little about the Key, Saala thinks she remembers hearing of such items in the past. She has a couple of possible sources that she will be talking to, and is fairly confident that she will have relevant information about it.
Gurr’khan tells the group to be ready to leave with him next morning. He also warns that it will probably take some traveling even after he transports them to the Marches, and that they should pick up appropriate apparel and traveling gear for swampy terrain.
After he explains this, Nameless asks, “You can speak with stones, correct?”
“Yes, though I do not have the relevant spell ready now. Why?”
“Because we need some information about a couple of people who may be after the Shard. We fought them near their lair and they fled, but maybe you can find out more by speaking to the stones there.”
Gurr’khan shrugs and says, “If it is related to the Shard, I will try. Tomorrow, before we leave.” Then he looks around the group, his expression resembling that of a disappointed teacher speaking to errant schoolchildren. “Surr’kal tells me that you almost lost the Shard in Yarkuun Draal.” Behind him, Surr’kal shrugs and gives a weak grin.
“The important thing is that it is safe now,” defends Korm, tapping the bag on his back.
“The important thing,” grunts Gurr’khan, “Is that you not risk it anywhere.” His expression becomes slightly less critical as he adds, “Still, Surr’kal also says that you have worked hard to protect it through many dangers, so that is something.” With that, he takes his leave and departs with Surr’kal.
Once they’re gone, Trillia looks at the Angels. “So - what is your plan until you leave?”
Nameless considers for a moment and replies, “Considering everything that’s happened to us, I suggest we sit in a locked room. And fireball anyone who knocks.”
* Which is, incidentally, among the exploits of my other Eberron group, whose campaign is now on indefinite hiatus.
Midway through the discussion, Bodo returns with the information Six asked for, all neatly written up in report form.
According to him, Thurik Davandi is a Sharn native, born and bred. The current councilor from Upper Menthis, he is the owner of Davandi’s Fine Tailoring, a very successful clothing store in the Den'iyas district of Upper Menthis. He lives there with his family, consisting of his wife, son and daughter. Thurik is believed to have gained his council seat through flattery and blackmail, and to have a hold over many of the more powerful Menthis merchants, who backed his candidature. He is also known to have connections with the Boromar clan and the Zilargo Embassy, usually voting in the Council as part of what’s called the Boromar bloc.
Bodo also mentions that the Sharn city elections are occurring within a few days, from the 6th to the 8th, and the actual appointments will occur on 9th Rhaan, the Feast of Boldrei, which is the day many political appointments occur across Khorvaire. Thurik is expected to win easily and to retain his seat for another 3 years.
“So that’s about it,” says Bodo. “How was it?”
“Very good, Bodo,” says Six honestly, only to be interrupted by a frowning Gareth.
“You sent Bodo to find information about the guy we think might be Killian, or at least connected to him? Are you crazy?”
“There was no danger,” argues Six.
“No, really, it’s just fine. And I was happy to…” says Bodo, before being cut off.
“What he’s happy to do doesn’t matter, Six. He’s just a child.”
“Hey!”
Gareth ignores Bodo and continues, “I really don’t appreciate you doing this without telling us…”
“Actually,” says Nameless with a grin, “I knew.”
“Yeah. Me too.” “Same here.”
Gareth’s expression gets even darker. “In that case, without telling me. You have no right to risk Bodo’s safety this way!”
Not bothering to argue, Six says, “He was just getting some freely available information for me. Anyway, it’s not worth arguing about.”
Turning to Bodo, he asks, “Did you find out about the City Council meeting?”
“Yes. They have a weekly meeting where petitioners speak to them, which you can watch from a gallery, if you want. The next one’s tomorrow.”
“I want to go to that one,” says Six. “Anyone else?”
Both of the druids say that they’d like to see the Council Hall. Six asks Bodo a couple more questions, which the boy either answers or says he’ll find out about. Gareth doesn’t interject any more, but as soon as Six is done, he marches Bodo out of the room to talk to him about responsibility.
Once he returns, this time without Bodo, Korm asks, “So - are we going anywhere else today?”
“We need to speak to Balan Cord,” says Nameless. “I want to tell him about Desro and Dala.”
***
Later that evening, the Angels sit across a table from Warden Balan Cord, in the headquarters of the Blackened Book in the Warden Towers district.
Once Nameless is done, Balan says, “Thank you for all the information. Hopefully that should help us with the case of Arrok’s murder, which, as I said, was at a dead end.” His face gets a little grimmer. “And it’s always good to know when someone is moving around town impersonating me.”
Nameless pushes half a vial of coagulated blood across the table. “This is from one of the two. It might come in handy for a divination, though they’re evidently quite well-protected against it.”
“Nevertheless, every little bit helps,” says the Warden, pocketing the vial. “Is there anything else you can think of?”
“It would be a good idea to get your men to search the location where we fought them,” adds Six. “We checked it quite thoroughly, but one can always miss something. And maybe check around the area for where they fled to. Nameless, how far can a dimension door take you?”
“Nearly seven hundred feet as a minimum, and definitely more for that wizard.”
“I’ll make sure to have that looked into,” confirms Balan, making a note. “Anything else?”
“Well, that’s about it,” says Nameless, when Six adds, “I had a favor to ask.”
“Yes?”
Six produces a small package of iridescent green powder. “Powder of silent passage, which we found on Desro. Gareth said it’s illegal to possess in Sharn, but can come in very handy for our kind of work, so if you could let us keep it…?”
Balan smiles. “Yes -I’m sure you could find a way to use it. Not to worry. I’ll give you a permit before you leave.” He looks at the pad he was writing on. “Now, let me make sure I’ve got this all correct…”
***
A permit from the primary countermage of the Blackened Book has unforeseen advantages. The next day, when Six and Korm (with Luna, now in the form of a small dog) are having their equipment searched before being allowed into the Council Hall in the Highest Towers area, one of the guard’s searching them opens and reads the permit. He hands it to his captain, who quickly peruses it and says, “Permission from Warden Cord, eh? That’s good enough for me.”
A few minutes later, the trio are standing on the large circular viewing gallery that is situated high up on the public Council chamber and allows tourists and curious locals to look in through large windows at the goings-on of the City Council.
The section of the chamber they look into is a large round section, with individual seats spaced around the circumference (symbols above each seat indicating which area of Sharn they represent), and a space in the middle for speakers to use. The last is currently occupied by a pair of people who evidently represent some of the entertainment in the Menthis ward, since they are protesting new taxes in the area.
Six, Korm and Luna quickly catch sight of the councilor they came to see. Thurik Davandi is the only gnome on the council, and, to the considerable interest of the watchers, very distinctly resembles Killian. If Killian were slightly stouter and older, that is.
“I wonder if he’s a relative. Maybe his father?” mutters Korm to Six.
As they watch, the adventurers note that Thurik also uses his hands a great deal, just as Killian does, though he never uses a characteristic gesture of Killian’s, where he places a hand to his chest, usually when being particularly facetious. The facetiousness and sarcasm are definitely present in Thurik too, though delivered in a voice slightly deeper than Killian’s.
The watchers also note the other councilors, how they express themselves and what positions they take. It is quickly clear who the members of the Boromar bloc that Bodo mentioned are. Its obvious head is Ilyra Boromar, the representative from Lower Dura, who is almost as good a speaker as Thurik. Beside him, the two members who clearly support her are the other halflings on the Council, Bestan ir’Tonn of Upper Tavick’s, who speaks like a lawyer, and Caskar Havalik of Middle Menthis, who barely speaks at all.
The one person who seems most clearly opposed to Ilyra and the Boromar bloc in general is Sava Kharisa, the middle-aged woman from Lower Central. “We heard about her being the most honest of the councilors,” reminds Six. “I think I’m going to try and speak to her later.”
A couple of the other councilors especially draw the trio’s attention. One is Hruit, a simply dressed man from Middle Dura who is known to be one of the most powerful druids in Sharn, and the other is Kilk, an elderly changeling who wears his form openly, the representative from Lower Tavick’s.
After watching the proceedings for the better part of an hour, the three Angels leave, but not before Six sets up an appointment with Sava Kharisa for the next day. Having heard that she owns an art gallery in Lower Central, he uses the excuse that he wishes to talk to her about his work.
Gareth, meanwhile, visits the Deneith enclave as he does every couple of days, and finds that the twin Sentinel Marshals have finally returned to Sharn. He spends a pleasant couple of hours over lunch with Lalia, during which she tells him some more about the assassination attempt on Boranel and Aurala.
Lalia also confirms that the information about the attempt was extracted from Raskalorn, who - as the Angels had surmised - was a traitor after all, even though the official report claimed otherwise. She mentions that she heard about the Angels being involved in Raskalorn’s capture, and adds that such exploits will stand Gareth in good stead when it comes to joining House Deneith and finding the kind of position he desires.
After Gareth returns to relate what Lalia told him, and the other three mention what they saw of Thurik Davandi, the subject turns to something the group has discussed in passing earlier - finding a permanent base of operations in Sharn.
Trillia, laughingly admitting that she’s just trying to get them out of her hair, says that she has found a somewhat unusual situation that the Angels might be able to take advantage of, and explains the details. Ocean View, in Upper Tavick's Landing (directly above and west of Deathsgate, where Trillia lives), is a wealthy residential district which is extremely exclusive, at least 30 current residents needing to sign a petition allowing newcomers to purchase property there. In short, as Trillia puts it, “people like you wouldn’t have a hope in hell.”
But a manor there is soon to be on sale under quite unusual circumstances. Called the Gray House, it had passed through the hands of Karrnathi nobles for 3 centuries. Just over two months ago, the Blades of Arakhain (the only adventuring group in Sharn better known than the Angels) broke in there and unveiled the fact that it was the primary Sharn safe house for the Order of the Emerald Claw (which had attacked them shortly earlier in Sharn), with the current owner, Lady Jesel Tarra’az, being a vampire.
There was a pitched battle, during which the Blades killed dozens of Emerald Claw agents, including Karrnathi undead, human soldiers, and a vampire. Lady Jesel escaped, only to encounter the Blades some days later and be killed. The Blackened Book, which had been investigating Emerald Claw presence in the city and apparently sent the Blades there, took custody of the place while they searched it thoroughly. Rumor says that the Blades tried to obtain the place as part of their reward, but current residents of Ocean View made it clear that there’d be a very strong appeal to the Council and beyond if that happened.
Trillia says that the manor will be going on the market very soon, but the situation that it became available in, combined with the Blackened Book’s concerns about its next users (since it is reputedly full of hidden passages, has no windows and only a single entrance, and has a couple of other little surprises), means that it’s not likely to get many prospective buyers soon.
According to her, where this becomes relevant for the Angels is the fact that while they wouldn’t normally have any hope of getting a crack at this place, the fact that the Blackened Book is now the nominal owner (and Warden Balan Cord is the one in charge of the investigation that took place there) significantly raises their chances of getting their hands on it. Plus, it sounds like a place that would be easy to fortify and maintain. Trillia adds that it’s a tower building with three floors, so it’s quite big, and especially with the location, very costly. She estimates that it would normally go for something like 20,000 galifars, but with the circumstances, it’s difficult to say.
By the time the story* is told, Luna’s extremely excited by the prospect, and the others are also interested. Much of the remainder of the evening is taken up with discussion of how to obtain the place and what can be done with it if they do, with ideas ranging from Luna and Korm planning to stone shape the building to their desire to Six (presumably) joking that animating the stuffed figure of Naxaliyen to work as a doorkeeper will be the perfect way to dissuade unwelcome guests.
***
The next morning, the group is joined at breakfast by Surr’kal, who arrives with Gurr’khan in tow.
The elderly druid, looking a little tired and significantly out of place in Trillia’s living room, explains that he did meet with Saala Torrn, the nominal leader of the Gatekeepers, in the Shadow Marches as planned. While she personally knows little about the Key, Saala thinks she remembers hearing of such items in the past. She has a couple of possible sources that she will be talking to, and is fairly confident that she will have relevant information about it.
Gurr’khan tells the group to be ready to leave with him next morning. He also warns that it will probably take some traveling even after he transports them to the Marches, and that they should pick up appropriate apparel and traveling gear for swampy terrain.
After he explains this, Nameless asks, “You can speak with stones, correct?”
“Yes, though I do not have the relevant spell ready now. Why?”
“Because we need some information about a couple of people who may be after the Shard. We fought them near their lair and they fled, but maybe you can find out more by speaking to the stones there.”
Gurr’khan shrugs and says, “If it is related to the Shard, I will try. Tomorrow, before we leave.” Then he looks around the group, his expression resembling that of a disappointed teacher speaking to errant schoolchildren. “Surr’kal tells me that you almost lost the Shard in Yarkuun Draal.” Behind him, Surr’kal shrugs and gives a weak grin.
“The important thing is that it is safe now,” defends Korm, tapping the bag on his back.
“The important thing,” grunts Gurr’khan, “Is that you not risk it anywhere.” His expression becomes slightly less critical as he adds, “Still, Surr’kal also says that you have worked hard to protect it through many dangers, so that is something.” With that, he takes his leave and departs with Surr’kal.
Once they’re gone, Trillia looks at the Angels. “So - what is your plan until you leave?”
Nameless considers for a moment and replies, “Considering everything that’s happened to us, I suggest we sit in a locked room. And fireball anyone who knocks.”
* Which is, incidentally, among the exploits of my other Eberron group, whose campaign is now on indefinite hiatus.
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
