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<blockquote data-quote="Delemental" data-source="post: 2048633" data-attributes="member: 5203"><p>Early the next morning, three dwarves wearing the tunics of the Laeshir City Watch entered the Uncut Emerald. They proceeded up the stairs and knocked loudly on the first door they saw. A moment later, the door was answered by Xu.</p><p></p><p> “Are you Lanara Rahila?” one of the dwarves asked.</p><p></p><p> “No,” Xu replied. “May I help you?”</p><p></p><p> “Is Miss Rahila inside?”</p><p></p><p> “She is still asleep,” Xu explained. “Can you return later today?”</p><p></p><p> “I’m afraid not. Can you get her, please?”</p><p></p><p> Puzzled, Xu closed the door and went to rouse her roommate. Lanara peered out from under her blankets with her green eye.</p><p></p><p> “What is it?” she groaned.</p><p></p><p> “There are three men outside from the city watch who wish to speak with you,” she said.</p><p></p><p> Lanara stood up, her pink hair poking out wildly from her head. “Why?”</p><p></p><p> “They did not say.”</p><p></p><p> Grumbling, Lanara stood up, wrapping her blanket around her torso like a toga. She shuffled over to the door and opened it.</p><p></p><p> “Lanara Rahila?” asked the head dwarf.</p><p></p><p> “Yeah, that’s me. What’d you want?”</p><p></p><p> “Can I see your boots, Miss Rahila? The ones you were wearing last night.”</p><p></p><p> “My boots?” Lanara was about to make a comment about strange fetishes, but saw the serious look on the faces of the watchmen, and thought better of it. She moved away from the door, and produced her boots. “And it’s Lanara, not ‘Miss Rahila’. I haven’t been called ‘Miss Rahila’ since… actually, I’ve never been called that.”</p><p></p><p> The lead dwarf took the boots, and turned them over to examine the soles. He pulled a piece of parchment out from his pocket, and compared the bottom of Lanara’s boots to the parchment. He then handed back the boots, and rolled up the parchment.</p><p></p><p> “Miss Ra… Lanara, do you recognize this?” From another pocket, the dwarf produced a scrap of fabric and held it out for Lanara to see. The blue, semi-transparent material was instantly recognizable to Lanara. It was the sleeve from her old dancing outfit, the one she’d lost to the ogres in the mountains on the way to this city.</p><p></p><p> “Yeah, I recognize it.”</p><p></p><p> “Does it belong to you?”</p><p></p><p> “Well, it used to.”</p><p></p><p> The dwarf put the material away. “I’m going to have to ask you to come with us, ma’am.”</p><p></p><p> Lanara looked genuinely shocked. “Now? Why?”</p><p></p><p> “You’ve been named as a suspect in a crime, and we have cause to take you into custody. Please, get dressed and we’ll escort you to the nearest security station.”</p><p></p><p> “One moment, officer…” Xu said, coming up to the door as Lanara walked backward, stunned, and sat on her bed.</p><p></p><p> “Estagond. Detective Estagond.”</p><p></p><p> “Detective, what is the charge?”</p><p></p><p> Detective Estagond shook his head. “I’m afraid that the laws of Laeshir don’t allow us to reveal specific charges to the public until a suspect has been detained. You and any other concerned parties are welcome to report to the security station where we can provide details, and you will be allowed to make a statement if you wish.”</p><p></p><p> By this time Lanara had pulled on a loose shirt and skirt, and shoved her feet into her boots. She walked out of the room, and was escorted out of the tavern by the watch. Xu immediately walked across the hall and knocked on the door.</p><p></p><p> Osborn’s head poked out of the door a moment later. “What’s up?”</p><p></p><p> “Osborn, please wake Kyle.”</p><p></p><p> Osborn glanced into the room. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”</p><p></p><p> “We have no choice. Lanara’s been arrested.”</p><p></p><p> “What?” Osborn dashed out into the hall, looking around. “When? Why?”</p><p></p><p> “Just this moment, and the cause is uncertain. We must go to the security station to learn more.” Xu turned to knock on the next door as Osborn dashed inside and shook Kyle, shouting his name.</p><p></p><p> Kyle jerked upright, blankets falling away from his head. His injuries from the brawl had faded, but his hair and clothes were matted with congealed butter. He winced at the morning light. Osborn was somewhat surprised at the wizard’s appearance. Toward the end of the night he’d left the tavern to escort the young dwarves home, and so didn’t see how the night ended. The bruises he expected, but not the butter. Osborn quickly decided he was no longer in the mood for toast this morning.</p><p></p><p> “Go away,” he muttered. “You don’t wake up a man with a hangover who knows the <em>lightning bolt</em> spell.”</p><p></p><p> “Do you have that spell prepared right now?” Osborn asked.</p><p></p><p> “No,” Kyle admitted after a pause.</p><p></p><p> “Good, then wake up. Lanara’s been arrested, and we need to go see what’s happened.”</p><p></p><p> “Arrested?” Kyle dropped the blankets onto the floor. He shielded his eyes from the light, and yawned. “Gods, I feel like I’ve been run over by an ale wagon.” He yawned again. “I can’t wake up.”</p><p></p><p> “Better find a way, and hurry!” Osborn shouted from down the hall. “I’m going to help Xu wake up the others!”</p><p></p><p> Kyle blinked and shook his head, but it didn’t help the spinning. He tried to recall what had happened last night, but after the brawl it was a blur. He vaguely recalled something about dancing…</p><p></p><p> Kyle snapped himself out of his train of thought. He’d have to do something drastic to focus on the present. Kyle took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Then he pointed his index finger at himself, and recited the words to the <em>ray of frost</em> spell.</p><p></p><p> The others were quickly roused by the hideous shriek that came from Kyle’s room moments later. Everyone came rushing in to see Kyle standing up, brushing frost off his robes, looking considerably more alert. The group looked around at each other, their gazes falling in particular on Tolly, Kyle, and Autumn, who were slicked with butter. Kavan, who had been at his church all night and only returned to the inn early that morning, looked bemused at the scene. He was clearly trying to envision what sort of escapades the three of them had been in last night.</p><p></p><p> Autumn looked down at her clothes. “How did I…” she looked at Kyle. “How did you…” She then looked at Arrie, who only smiled and winked. She’d been sober enough at the end of the night to clean herself off, eliminating any incriminating evidence.</p><p></p><p> Autumn looked at Tolly. “Do you have butter on you?”</p><p></p><p> He looked down at his once-pristine robes. “Oh… yeah.”</p><p></p><p> Xu explained what had happened to Lanara while Kyle cleaned everyone off with <em>prestidigitation</em>. They set out immediately for the security station, with Tolly and Autumn remaining behind to pull on their armor. Osborn almost made a comment that the process might go faster if they were still covered in butter, but in his haste to get to Lanara he let it slide.</p><p></p><p> The security station was bustling with activity. Droves of hungover dwarves were coming out of the station, having been detained the night before after their drunken revelry got a little too boisterous. A clerk at the front desk directed them down a long hallway to speak with the Detective’s Bureau. Several minutes passed as they waited in a small foyer, eventully being joined by Tolly and Autumn. Shortly after that, they were escorted back to a small, windowless office and sat around a long, narrow table. After another few minutes, Detective Estagond came into the room and sat at the head of the table.</p><p></p><p> “I’ll get right to the point,” he said. “Your friend has been accused of theft by the Temple of Estranë*. Last night around three bells a reliquary of the Temple was stolen from them. Evidence on the scene links Miss Rahila to the area, and thus she was named as a suspect. She will be held here until her trial, or until a bail of 200 gold is paid.”</p><p></p><p> “Oh, we’ll be posting bail today,” said Arrie. “Now, what kind of evidence are we talking about? Because I know that Lanara was with us last night at three bells.”</p><p></p><p> “A sketch of a boot print at the scene of the crime matches the footwear Miss Rahila had on last night. In addition, an article was found on the scene which she has admitted belonged to her.” Detective Estagond leaned forward onto the table. “You say that she was with you last night at the time in question?”</p><p></p><p> “Yes, she was. I remember hearing three bells sound just before we left for our inn last night,” Arrie said.</p><p></p><p> “You were out last night? By any chance were you intoxicated at the time?”</p><p></p><p> Osborn chimed in. “She was, but I wasn’t, and neither was Xu, and Arrie’s telling it right.”</p><p></p><p> The detective nodded and made a few notes on a sheet of parchment. “Is there anyone besides yourselves that can vouch for Miss Rahila’s whereabouts last night?”</p><p></p><p> “Just every single person in the Dirty Horse Tavern,” said Osborn.</p><p></p><p> “I see. We’ll send someone by there to take a statement. I would appreciate it if you would all do the same while you’re here.”</p><p></p><p> “Is Lanara the only one accused of this crime?” asked Tolly.</p><p></p><p> “We have other suspects,” Detective Estagond said curtly. “That’s all I’m at liberty to say. If you wish to post bail, I can direct you to the clerk’s office. Miss Rahila will be free to move about the city, but not leave it. Should our investigations conclude that Miss Rahila is responsible for the theft of the relic, she will be brought to trial by the city of Laeshir, but if convicted will be turned over to the church of Estranë for punishment.”</p><p></p><p> After entering their statements, the party paid the bail and met Lanara outside about an hour later. “What did they tell you?” Osborn asked her as she emerged from the jail.</p><p></p><p> “They told me that they thought I stole some old saint’s thighbone from Estranë,” she said, shivering slightly. “Why on earth would I want an old bone?”</p><p></p><p> “We’re going to figure this out,” said Autumn, putting an arm around Lanara’s shoulders. “What do you want to do first?”</p><p></p><p> “I need a long bath, and new clothes,” said Lanara.</p><p></p><p> “I am going to the Temple of Ardara,” said Tolly. “I wish to research the legal codes here in Laeshir, so that we know what to expect from the legal system.”</p><p></p><p> “Let’s all meet back at the inn this afternoon to decide what we’re going to do about this,” Kyle said. They parted ways, with most of the party returning to the inn with Lanara.</p><p></p><p> The cansin stomped her way upstairs, eager to change her clothes and get into a relaxing bath. How dare they accuse her of stealing? She had a mind to write a scathing ballad about the city. She opened the door to her room, and saw a dwarf sitting in the middle of the floor, going through her things.</p><p></p><p> “Qin-Chu’s toes! Who are you? What are you doing in here?”</p><p></p><p> “Searching for evidence,” he said nonchalantly, tossing a handful of her unmentionables aside.</p><p></p><p> Autumn came into the room, responding to Lanara’s outcry. “What business do you have here?”</p><p></p><p> He jerked a thumb at Lanara. “Ask her.”</p><p></p><p> “He’s going through my things!” she cried, her face turning red.</p><p></p><p> “On what authority?” Autumn demanded. In response, the dwarf produced a folded sheet of parchment. “Search warrant,” he said. Autumn opened the document and scanned it. “This says you’re authorized to look for the missing relic,” she said.</p><p></p><p> “Does it look like I have a thighbone in here?” Lanara shouted.</p><p></p><p> “Dunno yet,” he said. “So far no, but I’ve only checked this room and the one across the hall so far.”</p><p></p><p> “Wait a minute,” said Autumn, “you’ve been going through our possessions as well?”</p><p></p><p> “Can’t be too careful.”</p><p></p><p> By this time Osborn had wandered by, and saw the commotion. “What’s going on?”</p><p></p><p> “This man has been searching our rooms,” said Autumn, glowering. “He claims to have a warrant.” She handed Osborn the parchment. The hin looked at the document carefully. It seemed legitimate, but something about it was off. “I’m going to go check this out,” he said.</p><p></p><p> “Knock yourself out, little man,” the dwarf said, as he opened up a few jars in Lanara’s pack and began sniffing them.</p><p></p><p> Osborn whistled for Rupert who loped into Lanara’s room. Despite the dog’s massive size, the intrusive dwarf seemed to pay it no heed. Jumping onto the dog’s back, Osborn ran straight to the security station, and dashed into the detective’s station in the back.</p><p></p><p> “Detective Estagond!” he cried, leaping off Rupert. “There’s a man in our rooms searching through our belongings. He says he has a warrant!”</p><p></p><p> The detective took the paper Osborn was holding, and studied it. “Well, this is a legitimate search warrant, but not issued by the city.”</p><p></p><p> “I don’t understand,” Osborn said.</p><p></p><p> “Well, the truth is that the church of Estranë controls about half the legal system here in town. They have the authority to dispense their own justice through their priests, which includes searching suspect’s belongings, making arrests, and bringing suspects to trial in front of a church tribunal instead of the city courts.” Estagond looked as Osborn. “It’s basically whoever gets to them first has legal rights to them. Your friend is lucky we found her first.”</p><p></p><p> “Can he really go through all our stuff?”</p><p></p><p> Estagond sighed. “Not really. We’ve had this kind of trouble before. I’ll come around with a couple of my boys and settle this.”</p><p></p><p> Moments later, Osborn returned to the Uncut Emerald with Detective Estagond and two watchmen in tow. Lanara had worked herself into a lather watching her belongings scattered everywhere. Autumn continued to argue with the dwarf, who largely ignored her.</p><p></p><p> “Ah, Borendor,” said Detective Estagond, stepping into the room. “I thought it might be you.”</p><p></p><p> “I have a warrant from the temple, Estagond,” said Borendor, who nonetheless looked nervous for the first time.</p><p></p><p> “I can see that.” Estagond unfolded the paper and glanced at it. “Tell me, have you found the stolen item among the suspect’s personal effects?”</p><p></p><p> “No,” Borendor sulked.</p><p></p><p> “Then you’re finished here. Watchman Hedros, kindly escort Master Borendor out.”</p><p></p><p> As one of the guards watched Borendor stomp out, Estagond turned to Autumn. “I’d check your things if I were you,” he said, “and keep a close eye on them from now on. The people who work for Estranë are known to sometimes accept unsolicited contributions, if you get my drift.”</p><p></p><p> “Isn’t there anything you can do to stop it?” Autumn asked.</p><p></p><p> Estagond shook his head. “My hands are tied. They have the legal power to do this. If you’d like I can assign a watchman to accompany you, Miss Rahila, in order to make sure everything stays above-board.”</p><p></p><p> Lanara sighed. “Whatever, fine. I just want this nightmare over with.”</p><p></p><p> Estagond nodded. “Watchman Erron, you are to stand watch over the suspect.” The second watchman saluted, though the look in his eyes said he was no more excited about the assignment than Lanara.</p><p></p><p> “Detective,” said the bard, “I’m telling you that I didn’t steal that relic.”</p><p></p><p> Estagond looked around, then spoke in a hushed tone. “For what it’s worth, I believe you. But the evidence points to you, and that’s what I have to base my decisions on.” He stepped closer, and put a hand on her shoulder. “If I were you, I’d start thinking about who might be trying to frame you, and why.”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">* * *</p><p></p><p> The group spent much of the afternoon discussing the question of who might have wanted to frame Lanara for the theft of the reliquary from the Temple of Estranë. Several figures were named; Sauroth, the necromancer they’d defeated in Tlaxan; the church of Estranë themselves, as part of some elaborate cover-up, or some other minor enemy they’d made. Tolly returned from his research into Laeshiri law that afternoon, and briefed the group on the finer points.</p><p></p><p> “Most notable is the fact that the accused is permitted to investigate their own case to produce evidence that will establish their innocence, as long as such investigations are supervised by an officer of the accusing organization.”</p><p></p><p> “That’d be me,” said Watchman Erron, raising his hand.</p><p></p><p> “The accused may also recruit assistants for their investigation,” added Tolly.</p><p></p><p> “That’d be us,” said Kyle.</p><p></p><p> They continued to discuss the possible suspects. Tolly and Arrie got into a heated debate over whether the culprit had followed them into the city from Tlaxan, or if they were based here in Laeshir and had backtracked the party’s route into the city in order to obtain Lanara’s old dancing outfit.</p><p></p><p> “Hey, guys?” interrupted Kyle. “Maybe we should focus on where that thighbone is rather than who the thief is.” He turned to Erron. “Can we investigate where the theft occurred?”</p><p></p><p> “You can,” the dwarf replied. “It’s an official investigation. Of course, the crime scene’s in the Temple of Estranë, and they have the right to block access to their grounds for religious reasons – ‘we’re purifying the site today’ and such.”</p><p></p><p> “I think we should go talk to the guards at the main gate,” said Arrie. “Maybe they saw someone come into town last night that caught their eye.”</p><p></p><p> “Arrie, hundreds of people come through that gate every day,” Kavan said.</p><p></p><p> “Yes, but mostly dwarves. We already know the culprit wasn’t a dwarf because of the boot prints. And if they were trying to pretend to be Lanara – well, she’s rather distinctive, isn’t she?”</p><p></p><p> “What are you saying?” Lanara said, running her fingers through her wild pink hair and staring at Arrie with her mismatched eyes. She then flashed a smile at the warrior.</p><p></p><p> “Very well, perhaps we should split up,” offered Tolly. “Kyle, Kavan, and I can go to the Temple of Estranë to examine the scene.” Tolly looked over at Osborn. “I’d appreciate if you would accompany us, Osborn. You may spot something there the rest of us miss.”</p><p></p><p> “Happy to come along!” the hin said.</p><p></p><p> “The rest of us will go to the gate,” said Autumn. “Perhaps we should send the watchman with you in case the church gives you trouble.”</p><p></p><p> “Sorry,” said Erron. “I have to stay with her.” He pointed a stubby finger at Lanara. “But stop by the station on your way and they’ll send someone with you.”</p><p></p><p> The group separated, agreeing to meet back in a few hours. The four women, with Erron in tow, went out to the main gate and struck up a conversation with the watchmen on duty. Luck was with them; the shift had just changed, and thus the guards on duty had also been on the previous night. After some casual questioning, one of the watchmen looked at Lanara, then back to Arrie.</p><p></p><p> “Well, I can’t say as I noticed anyone odd coming into the gate, but I swear I saw your friend there in the streets late last night.”</p><p></p><p> “Really? Where?” asked Arrie.</p><p></p><p> “I saw her walk across the street there,” he said pointing a short way down the main trade road. “From that alley across to that one. Couldn’t miss her; pink hair and everything.”</p><p></p><p> “Interesting,” said Arrie. “Thank you.”</p><p></p><p> They decided to check at the other town gates to see if there had been other sightings. “So, we know that whoever this is can look like you,” said Autumn. “We could be dealing with a magic user.”</p><p></p><p> “True,” said Xu, “but it could also be a doppelganger, or someone skilled in the art of disguise. Or even another cansin with similar features.”</p><p></p><p> “Whatever the reason,” chimed in Arrie, “it’s obvious that they wanted to be noticed, so that they could establish that Lanara was out in the streets at the time of the crime. It seems that this was targeted against her from the start.”</p><p></p><p> “I still don’t get it,” Lanara complained. “I don’t have any enemies! At least, none that would go to this length to get to me.”</p><p></p><p> Their check of the other gates did not produce any more sightings of ‘Lanara’. The group returned home to see the four men sitting in the inn’s common room, looking glum.</p><p></p><p> “What happened?” asked Autumn.</p><p></p><p> “Well, let’s put it this way,” said Kyle. “Things probably would have gone a lot better if I’d been in charge of the diplomatic exchange.”</p><p></p><p> Autumn winced. She’d been giving Kyle lessons in etiquette recently, but his tendency to say the wrong thing at the wrong time was well known to all of them. If he would have done a better job…</p><p></p><p> “Tell us what happened,” said Arrie, sitting down at the table.</p><p></p><p> “We got into the Temple just fine,” said Kavan. “Big, impressive building, built to look like a fortress, though Osborn says it’s mostly for show. We get to look around at the scene of the theft. There’s a stone dais where the relic once sat. It used to be covered by a glass dome, but the thief apparently broke it. The priests had already cleaned up the glass. The priest there said that the boot print was found just outside the temple, and that the scrap of clothing was found on the floor next to another display case. They’re guessing that the thief caught it on the case on their way out.”</p><p></p><p> “Have they done any divinations?” asked Autumn.</p><p></p><p> “They had, but the priest we were talking to said the results were church business, not ours. That’s when Tolly demanded to speak with the high priest.”</p><p></p><p> The four men glanced at Tolly, who sat impassively listening to the story unfold. Osborn picked up the tale. “So we get into High Priest Valuchar’s chambers after waiting a while, and Tolly demands that the church hand over the divination results to the city. The High Priest refuses, though we do find out that their attempts to locate the reliquary itself have failed. Then Tolly tries to pull rank on this guy.”</p><p></p><p> “You did what?” gasped Lanara.</p><p></p><p> “Estranë is one of the servitors of Ardara,” stated Tolly. “I reminded High Priest Valuchar of that relationship.”</p><p></p><p> “And Valuchar reminded him that Estranë may serve Ardara, but that doesn’t mean her church does,” Osborn continued. “Things got ugly from there. I distinctly remember Tolly shouting at Valuchar – ‘Your weakness shall be your downfall’. That’s when we got thrown out of the Temple.”</p><p></p><p> Lanara groaned. “Well, so much for that. We’re never getting into there now.”</p><p></p><p> Kavan laid a hand over Lanara’s. “Perhaps we could try again tomorrow. I plan to send a letter to High Priest Valuchar in hopes he might reconsider.”</p><p></p><p> “I don’t think we’ll need to go back,” said Osborn.</p><p></p><p> They all looked at the hin. “Why not?” asked Kyle.</p><p></p><p> “Because I have this.” He reached into a pocket and pulled out a small shard of glass. “I found it on the ground near the dais where the thighbone used to be. I think they missed it when they cleaned up.”</p><p></p><p> Tolly looked at the glass, then at Osborn. “Why didn’t you share this with us before?”</p><p></p><p> “Because I wanted to tell everybody at the same time,” he said. “Besides, I couldn’t let you get off the hook so easily for being a stubborn jackass.”</p><p></p><p> Tolly fixed Osborn with a stare, then slowly broke into a smile. “I knew I asked you to come along for a reason.”</p><p></p><p> </p><p> ----------------------------</p><p></p><p>* Estranë is the goddess of tyranny and rule by might.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Delemental, post: 2048633, member: 5203"] Early the next morning, three dwarves wearing the tunics of the Laeshir City Watch entered the Uncut Emerald. They proceeded up the stairs and knocked loudly on the first door they saw. A moment later, the door was answered by Xu. “Are you Lanara Rahila?” one of the dwarves asked. “No,” Xu replied. “May I help you?” “Is Miss Rahila inside?” “She is still asleep,” Xu explained. “Can you return later today?” “I’m afraid not. Can you get her, please?” Puzzled, Xu closed the door and went to rouse her roommate. Lanara peered out from under her blankets with her green eye. “What is it?” she groaned. “There are three men outside from the city watch who wish to speak with you,” she said. Lanara stood up, her pink hair poking out wildly from her head. “Why?” “They did not say.” Grumbling, Lanara stood up, wrapping her blanket around her torso like a toga. She shuffled over to the door and opened it. “Lanara Rahila?” asked the head dwarf. “Yeah, that’s me. What’d you want?” “Can I see your boots, Miss Rahila? The ones you were wearing last night.” “My boots?” Lanara was about to make a comment about strange fetishes, but saw the serious look on the faces of the watchmen, and thought better of it. She moved away from the door, and produced her boots. “And it’s Lanara, not ‘Miss Rahila’. I haven’t been called ‘Miss Rahila’ since… actually, I’ve never been called that.” The lead dwarf took the boots, and turned them over to examine the soles. He pulled a piece of parchment out from his pocket, and compared the bottom of Lanara’s boots to the parchment. He then handed back the boots, and rolled up the parchment. “Miss Ra… Lanara, do you recognize this?” From another pocket, the dwarf produced a scrap of fabric and held it out for Lanara to see. The blue, semi-transparent material was instantly recognizable to Lanara. It was the sleeve from her old dancing outfit, the one she’d lost to the ogres in the mountains on the way to this city. “Yeah, I recognize it.” “Does it belong to you?” “Well, it used to.” The dwarf put the material away. “I’m going to have to ask you to come with us, ma’am.” Lanara looked genuinely shocked. “Now? Why?” “You’ve been named as a suspect in a crime, and we have cause to take you into custody. Please, get dressed and we’ll escort you to the nearest security station.” “One moment, officer…” Xu said, coming up to the door as Lanara walked backward, stunned, and sat on her bed. “Estagond. Detective Estagond.” “Detective, what is the charge?” Detective Estagond shook his head. “I’m afraid that the laws of Laeshir don’t allow us to reveal specific charges to the public until a suspect has been detained. You and any other concerned parties are welcome to report to the security station where we can provide details, and you will be allowed to make a statement if you wish.” By this time Lanara had pulled on a loose shirt and skirt, and shoved her feet into her boots. She walked out of the room, and was escorted out of the tavern by the watch. Xu immediately walked across the hall and knocked on the door. Osborn’s head poked out of the door a moment later. “What’s up?” “Osborn, please wake Kyle.” Osborn glanced into the room. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” “We have no choice. Lanara’s been arrested.” “What?” Osborn dashed out into the hall, looking around. “When? Why?” “Just this moment, and the cause is uncertain. We must go to the security station to learn more.” Xu turned to knock on the next door as Osborn dashed inside and shook Kyle, shouting his name. Kyle jerked upright, blankets falling away from his head. His injuries from the brawl had faded, but his hair and clothes were matted with congealed butter. He winced at the morning light. Osborn was somewhat surprised at the wizard’s appearance. Toward the end of the night he’d left the tavern to escort the young dwarves home, and so didn’t see how the night ended. The bruises he expected, but not the butter. Osborn quickly decided he was no longer in the mood for toast this morning. “Go away,” he muttered. “You don’t wake up a man with a hangover who knows the [I]lightning bolt[/I] spell.” “Do you have that spell prepared right now?” Osborn asked. “No,” Kyle admitted after a pause. “Good, then wake up. Lanara’s been arrested, and we need to go see what’s happened.” “Arrested?” Kyle dropped the blankets onto the floor. He shielded his eyes from the light, and yawned. “Gods, I feel like I’ve been run over by an ale wagon.” He yawned again. “I can’t wake up.” “Better find a way, and hurry!” Osborn shouted from down the hall. “I’m going to help Xu wake up the others!” Kyle blinked and shook his head, but it didn’t help the spinning. He tried to recall what had happened last night, but after the brawl it was a blur. He vaguely recalled something about dancing… Kyle snapped himself out of his train of thought. He’d have to do something drastic to focus on the present. Kyle took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Then he pointed his index finger at himself, and recited the words to the [I]ray of frost[/I] spell. The others were quickly roused by the hideous shriek that came from Kyle’s room moments later. Everyone came rushing in to see Kyle standing up, brushing frost off his robes, looking considerably more alert. The group looked around at each other, their gazes falling in particular on Tolly, Kyle, and Autumn, who were slicked with butter. Kavan, who had been at his church all night and only returned to the inn early that morning, looked bemused at the scene. He was clearly trying to envision what sort of escapades the three of them had been in last night. Autumn looked down at her clothes. “How did I…” she looked at Kyle. “How did you…” She then looked at Arrie, who only smiled and winked. She’d been sober enough at the end of the night to clean herself off, eliminating any incriminating evidence. Autumn looked at Tolly. “Do you have butter on you?” He looked down at his once-pristine robes. “Oh… yeah.” Xu explained what had happened to Lanara while Kyle cleaned everyone off with [I]prestidigitation[/I]. They set out immediately for the security station, with Tolly and Autumn remaining behind to pull on their armor. Osborn almost made a comment that the process might go faster if they were still covered in butter, but in his haste to get to Lanara he let it slide. The security station was bustling with activity. Droves of hungover dwarves were coming out of the station, having been detained the night before after their drunken revelry got a little too boisterous. A clerk at the front desk directed them down a long hallway to speak with the Detective’s Bureau. Several minutes passed as they waited in a small foyer, eventully being joined by Tolly and Autumn. Shortly after that, they were escorted back to a small, windowless office and sat around a long, narrow table. After another few minutes, Detective Estagond came into the room and sat at the head of the table. “I’ll get right to the point,” he said. “Your friend has been accused of theft by the Temple of Estranë*. Last night around three bells a reliquary of the Temple was stolen from them. Evidence on the scene links Miss Rahila to the area, and thus she was named as a suspect. She will be held here until her trial, or until a bail of 200 gold is paid.” “Oh, we’ll be posting bail today,” said Arrie. “Now, what kind of evidence are we talking about? Because I know that Lanara was with us last night at three bells.” “A sketch of a boot print at the scene of the crime matches the footwear Miss Rahila had on last night. In addition, an article was found on the scene which she has admitted belonged to her.” Detective Estagond leaned forward onto the table. “You say that she was with you last night at the time in question?” “Yes, she was. I remember hearing three bells sound just before we left for our inn last night,” Arrie said. “You were out last night? By any chance were you intoxicated at the time?” Osborn chimed in. “She was, but I wasn’t, and neither was Xu, and Arrie’s telling it right.” The detective nodded and made a few notes on a sheet of parchment. “Is there anyone besides yourselves that can vouch for Miss Rahila’s whereabouts last night?” “Just every single person in the Dirty Horse Tavern,” said Osborn. “I see. We’ll send someone by there to take a statement. I would appreciate it if you would all do the same while you’re here.” “Is Lanara the only one accused of this crime?” asked Tolly. “We have other suspects,” Detective Estagond said curtly. “That’s all I’m at liberty to say. If you wish to post bail, I can direct you to the clerk’s office. Miss Rahila will be free to move about the city, but not leave it. Should our investigations conclude that Miss Rahila is responsible for the theft of the relic, she will be brought to trial by the city of Laeshir, but if convicted will be turned over to the church of Estranë for punishment.” After entering their statements, the party paid the bail and met Lanara outside about an hour later. “What did they tell you?” Osborn asked her as she emerged from the jail. “They told me that they thought I stole some old saint’s thighbone from Estranë,” she said, shivering slightly. “Why on earth would I want an old bone?” “We’re going to figure this out,” said Autumn, putting an arm around Lanara’s shoulders. “What do you want to do first?” “I need a long bath, and new clothes,” said Lanara. “I am going to the Temple of Ardara,” said Tolly. “I wish to research the legal codes here in Laeshir, so that we know what to expect from the legal system.” “Let’s all meet back at the inn this afternoon to decide what we’re going to do about this,” Kyle said. They parted ways, with most of the party returning to the inn with Lanara. The cansin stomped her way upstairs, eager to change her clothes and get into a relaxing bath. How dare they accuse her of stealing? She had a mind to write a scathing ballad about the city. She opened the door to her room, and saw a dwarf sitting in the middle of the floor, going through her things. “Qin-Chu’s toes! Who are you? What are you doing in here?” “Searching for evidence,” he said nonchalantly, tossing a handful of her unmentionables aside. Autumn came into the room, responding to Lanara’s outcry. “What business do you have here?” He jerked a thumb at Lanara. “Ask her.” “He’s going through my things!” she cried, her face turning red. “On what authority?” Autumn demanded. In response, the dwarf produced a folded sheet of parchment. “Search warrant,” he said. Autumn opened the document and scanned it. “This says you’re authorized to look for the missing relic,” she said. “Does it look like I have a thighbone in here?” Lanara shouted. “Dunno yet,” he said. “So far no, but I’ve only checked this room and the one across the hall so far.” “Wait a minute,” said Autumn, “you’ve been going through our possessions as well?” “Can’t be too careful.” By this time Osborn had wandered by, and saw the commotion. “What’s going on?” “This man has been searching our rooms,” said Autumn, glowering. “He claims to have a warrant.” She handed Osborn the parchment. The hin looked at the document carefully. It seemed legitimate, but something about it was off. “I’m going to go check this out,” he said. “Knock yourself out, little man,” the dwarf said, as he opened up a few jars in Lanara’s pack and began sniffing them. Osborn whistled for Rupert who loped into Lanara’s room. Despite the dog’s massive size, the intrusive dwarf seemed to pay it no heed. Jumping onto the dog’s back, Osborn ran straight to the security station, and dashed into the detective’s station in the back. “Detective Estagond!” he cried, leaping off Rupert. “There’s a man in our rooms searching through our belongings. He says he has a warrant!” The detective took the paper Osborn was holding, and studied it. “Well, this is a legitimate search warrant, but not issued by the city.” “I don’t understand,” Osborn said. “Well, the truth is that the church of Estranë controls about half the legal system here in town. They have the authority to dispense their own justice through their priests, which includes searching suspect’s belongings, making arrests, and bringing suspects to trial in front of a church tribunal instead of the city courts.” Estagond looked as Osborn. “It’s basically whoever gets to them first has legal rights to them. Your friend is lucky we found her first.” “Can he really go through all our stuff?” Estagond sighed. “Not really. We’ve had this kind of trouble before. I’ll come around with a couple of my boys and settle this.” Moments later, Osborn returned to the Uncut Emerald with Detective Estagond and two watchmen in tow. Lanara had worked herself into a lather watching her belongings scattered everywhere. Autumn continued to argue with the dwarf, who largely ignored her. “Ah, Borendor,” said Detective Estagond, stepping into the room. “I thought it might be you.” “I have a warrant from the temple, Estagond,” said Borendor, who nonetheless looked nervous for the first time. “I can see that.” Estagond unfolded the paper and glanced at it. “Tell me, have you found the stolen item among the suspect’s personal effects?” “No,” Borendor sulked. “Then you’re finished here. Watchman Hedros, kindly escort Master Borendor out.” As one of the guards watched Borendor stomp out, Estagond turned to Autumn. “I’d check your things if I were you,” he said, “and keep a close eye on them from now on. The people who work for Estranë are known to sometimes accept unsolicited contributions, if you get my drift.” “Isn’t there anything you can do to stop it?” Autumn asked. Estagond shook his head. “My hands are tied. They have the legal power to do this. If you’d like I can assign a watchman to accompany you, Miss Rahila, in order to make sure everything stays above-board.” Lanara sighed. “Whatever, fine. I just want this nightmare over with.” Estagond nodded. “Watchman Erron, you are to stand watch over the suspect.” The second watchman saluted, though the look in his eyes said he was no more excited about the assignment than Lanara. “Detective,” said the bard, “I’m telling you that I didn’t steal that relic.” Estagond looked around, then spoke in a hushed tone. “For what it’s worth, I believe you. But the evidence points to you, and that’s what I have to base my decisions on.” He stepped closer, and put a hand on her shoulder. “If I were you, I’d start thinking about who might be trying to frame you, and why.” [CENTER]* * *[/CENTER] The group spent much of the afternoon discussing the question of who might have wanted to frame Lanara for the theft of the reliquary from the Temple of Estranë. Several figures were named; Sauroth, the necromancer they’d defeated in Tlaxan; the church of Estranë themselves, as part of some elaborate cover-up, or some other minor enemy they’d made. Tolly returned from his research into Laeshiri law that afternoon, and briefed the group on the finer points. “Most notable is the fact that the accused is permitted to investigate their own case to produce evidence that will establish their innocence, as long as such investigations are supervised by an officer of the accusing organization.” “That’d be me,” said Watchman Erron, raising his hand. “The accused may also recruit assistants for their investigation,” added Tolly. “That’d be us,” said Kyle. They continued to discuss the possible suspects. Tolly and Arrie got into a heated debate over whether the culprit had followed them into the city from Tlaxan, or if they were based here in Laeshir and had backtracked the party’s route into the city in order to obtain Lanara’s old dancing outfit. “Hey, guys?” interrupted Kyle. “Maybe we should focus on where that thighbone is rather than who the thief is.” He turned to Erron. “Can we investigate where the theft occurred?” “You can,” the dwarf replied. “It’s an official investigation. Of course, the crime scene’s in the Temple of Estranë, and they have the right to block access to their grounds for religious reasons – ‘we’re purifying the site today’ and such.” “I think we should go talk to the guards at the main gate,” said Arrie. “Maybe they saw someone come into town last night that caught their eye.” “Arrie, hundreds of people come through that gate every day,” Kavan said. “Yes, but mostly dwarves. We already know the culprit wasn’t a dwarf because of the boot prints. And if they were trying to pretend to be Lanara – well, she’s rather distinctive, isn’t she?” “What are you saying?” Lanara said, running her fingers through her wild pink hair and staring at Arrie with her mismatched eyes. She then flashed a smile at the warrior. “Very well, perhaps we should split up,” offered Tolly. “Kyle, Kavan, and I can go to the Temple of Estranë to examine the scene.” Tolly looked over at Osborn. “I’d appreciate if you would accompany us, Osborn. You may spot something there the rest of us miss.” “Happy to come along!” the hin said. “The rest of us will go to the gate,” said Autumn. “Perhaps we should send the watchman with you in case the church gives you trouble.” “Sorry,” said Erron. “I have to stay with her.” He pointed a stubby finger at Lanara. “But stop by the station on your way and they’ll send someone with you.” The group separated, agreeing to meet back in a few hours. The four women, with Erron in tow, went out to the main gate and struck up a conversation with the watchmen on duty. Luck was with them; the shift had just changed, and thus the guards on duty had also been on the previous night. After some casual questioning, one of the watchmen looked at Lanara, then back to Arrie. “Well, I can’t say as I noticed anyone odd coming into the gate, but I swear I saw your friend there in the streets late last night.” “Really? Where?” asked Arrie. “I saw her walk across the street there,” he said pointing a short way down the main trade road. “From that alley across to that one. Couldn’t miss her; pink hair and everything.” “Interesting,” said Arrie. “Thank you.” They decided to check at the other town gates to see if there had been other sightings. “So, we know that whoever this is can look like you,” said Autumn. “We could be dealing with a magic user.” “True,” said Xu, “but it could also be a doppelganger, or someone skilled in the art of disguise. Or even another cansin with similar features.” “Whatever the reason,” chimed in Arrie, “it’s obvious that they wanted to be noticed, so that they could establish that Lanara was out in the streets at the time of the crime. It seems that this was targeted against her from the start.” “I still don’t get it,” Lanara complained. “I don’t have any enemies! At least, none that would go to this length to get to me.” Their check of the other gates did not produce any more sightings of ‘Lanara’. The group returned home to see the four men sitting in the inn’s common room, looking glum. “What happened?” asked Autumn. “Well, let’s put it this way,” said Kyle. “Things probably would have gone a lot better if I’d been in charge of the diplomatic exchange.” Autumn winced. She’d been giving Kyle lessons in etiquette recently, but his tendency to say the wrong thing at the wrong time was well known to all of them. If he would have done a better job… “Tell us what happened,” said Arrie, sitting down at the table. “We got into the Temple just fine,” said Kavan. “Big, impressive building, built to look like a fortress, though Osborn says it’s mostly for show. We get to look around at the scene of the theft. There’s a stone dais where the relic once sat. It used to be covered by a glass dome, but the thief apparently broke it. The priests had already cleaned up the glass. The priest there said that the boot print was found just outside the temple, and that the scrap of clothing was found on the floor next to another display case. They’re guessing that the thief caught it on the case on their way out.” “Have they done any divinations?” asked Autumn. “They had, but the priest we were talking to said the results were church business, not ours. That’s when Tolly demanded to speak with the high priest.” The four men glanced at Tolly, who sat impassively listening to the story unfold. Osborn picked up the tale. “So we get into High Priest Valuchar’s chambers after waiting a while, and Tolly demands that the church hand over the divination results to the city. The High Priest refuses, though we do find out that their attempts to locate the reliquary itself have failed. Then Tolly tries to pull rank on this guy.” “You did what?” gasped Lanara. “Estranë is one of the servitors of Ardara,” stated Tolly. “I reminded High Priest Valuchar of that relationship.” “And Valuchar reminded him that Estranë may serve Ardara, but that doesn’t mean her church does,” Osborn continued. “Things got ugly from there. I distinctly remember Tolly shouting at Valuchar – ‘Your weakness shall be your downfall’. That’s when we got thrown out of the Temple.” Lanara groaned. “Well, so much for that. We’re never getting into there now.” Kavan laid a hand over Lanara’s. “Perhaps we could try again tomorrow. I plan to send a letter to High Priest Valuchar in hopes he might reconsider.” “I don’t think we’ll need to go back,” said Osborn. They all looked at the hin. “Why not?” asked Kyle. “Because I have this.” He reached into a pocket and pulled out a small shard of glass. “I found it on the ground near the dais where the thighbone used to be. I think they missed it when they cleaned up.” Tolly looked at the glass, then at Osborn. “Why didn’t you share this with us before?” “Because I wanted to tell everybody at the same time,” he said. “Besides, I couldn’t let you get off the hook so easily for being a stubborn jackass.” Tolly fixed Osborn with a stare, then slowly broke into a smile. “I knew I asked you to come along for a reason.” ---------------------------- * Estranë is the goddess of tyranny and rule by might. [/QUOTE]
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