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The Collected Journals of Artemis Heuw Cannith
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<blockquote data-quote="sniffles" data-source="post: 3339561" data-attributes="member: 30035"><p><strong>The Collected Journals of Artemis Heuw Cannith, excerpt 17</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Devo's latest entry.</strong></p><p></p><p>"The next step was to connect the re-inforced plates to HU's frame. After that, I would add the interior lining and be done. Each of the nuts and bolts necessary for this operation had been hand-picked for quality, durability, and aesthetics. HU was fine with the bolts, but didn't like the nuts for some reason: he claimed they were too thick and made him feel bloated. I argued with him, but he wouldn't stop tok'ing back. I even rolled them around in the palm of my hand, showing him how much he would enjoy them. Eventually I succumbed to his desires, put his nuts in a vice, and shaved them down. The things I do to make him happy!" </p><p>. -- An excerpt from the Craft Journal of Artemis Heuw Cannith, Volume 7 </p><p></p><p>"Summoners are funny people. I suppose, though, that this is only a true statement if you are the type to consider Aerenal elves "people". I do, but I am a well educated man, and not prone to the narrow-minded racism that all of the lower-ward illiterates share. </p><p></p><p>I could tell immediately that VE and IR were engaged in a conjurer's duel. They couldn't have picked a better spot for it, I thought. </p><p></p><p>The interior of the Rose is the better half of a round tower, making it a near perfect semi-circle. One can consider the entrance to be the "ground" floor (preposterous, I know, given the fact that we were half a mile up in one of Sharn's nicer districts); it is a circular area defined on one side by the bar, on the opposite side by the front entrance, and on the two remaining sides by broad stairways that sweep up to the second floor balcony. From the edge of this balcony, one has a clear view of the combatants down below, without being close enough to get hurt. It was this balcony that the two duelists occupied, VE on the right side of the tower, IR on the left. </p><p></p><p>Of course, this wasn't an arena, this was a place of business with innocent spectators. A duel of summoned creatures would do tremendous damage to what was quickly becoming my favorite social spot. </p><p></p><p>Fortunately for us, VE chose not to follow the rules of a conjurer's duel. He tried to cast a spell at CA, but DA stopped him in his tracks. If he attacked us, we were free to attack him. HU and I both lobbed Thunderstones [ref: CJ-V4-19] in his direction. They were square on target, but it didn't appear to deafen VE as I had hoped they would. CA, never one to back down from a fight, leapt forward to embrace the battle. XL stood ready, a dart held high in case VE tried to use his magic again. It looked like the scene was well in hand. </p><p></p><p>I turned and walked past ST, who was methodically destroying air elementals. One flew past me, on it's way to attack IR. Another breach of ettiquette in a summoners duel. Continuing on, I went back to the far edge of the tower where I used one of my many wands [ref: CJ-V6-53] to bring the soarsled into the room with me. It was an interesting piece of work. </p><p></p><p>Coming back into the main room, I saw that the duel below between zombie ogre and earth elemental was going as expected. They stood there, toe-to-toe, bashing one another. IR was part way down the stairs and behind her ogre, using a wand and her magic to keep the dead ogre healed. </p><p></p><p>Across the room, the DC were having a hard time taking out one solitary wizard. I regretted leaving this fight to them: the only other person in the DC who could properly handle a wizard was IR, and she was distracted following the rules of the duel. It looked like DA was making a difference, but perhaps not enough of one. I sent HU over to give a healing potion to CA, who seemed badly abused. </p><p></p><p>Resorting to one of my untested wands [ref: CJ-V7-11], I struck VE with a burst of flat grey energy that left much of his magic drained. The animated chains by his side went limp, giving CA one less opponent to deal with. DA, taking my cue, cast a zone of silence around herself and ran up to the cornered wizard to negate his spellcasting. CA stepped forward to engage once again, but VE had had enough: he turned and leapt into the air. In a flash, he was gone, replaced once again by his dragon. It raced away, but not before I got one more shot at it with my wand [ref: CJ-V6-44]. Both beams of fire struck the creature, but it's natural resistance shrugged off the magic. It was just past the confines of the tower when DA stunned the creature. It stopped flapping, and started falling. </p><p></p><p>I raced over to the sill of the tower, looking down, but I could not see the creature. DA raced over as well, but didn't bother stopping. Completely silent, she cleared the ledge and was gone, plummeting downward after the dragon. I looked to ST, who had followed me, and shrugged. We turned in unison to go back to the main room. </p><p></p><p>The zombie ogre was destroyed, gone. The earth elemental persisted, however, and was doing considerable damage to CA, IR, and XL. Not one of them would survive another hit from the creature. Using the wand I had to hand, I struck the elemental with two beams of fire and it exploded in a shower of burning rock and ash. Before the detritus even had time to settle, the remains of the creature faded from view. HU clapped, the only one with courtesy enough to thank me for saving the DC. Again. </p><p></p><p>I came around the balcony's edge, calling down to the patrons and staff to see if everyone was all right. A crowd of people unfolded from behind the bar and out of the back rooms -- customers and staff who had been too fearful to intervene, but too curious to leave. Many of them congratulated me on driving the interloper away. Naturally, I had the courtesy to suggest that the rest of the DC had some small part in clearing the place of ruffians. No one was injured, much to my relief. </p><p></p><p>The same could not be said of the DC. ST was badly damaged, and all of the rest of us bore deep wounds -- most from the fireball. Hutch was rather beat up, as well. Some quick magics from IR and myself set things mostly straight. </p><p></p><p>We were barely healed up when the owner of the Rose came to us and suggested that we didn't need to be there when the Watch came. He volunteered to tell the watch captain what had happened and handle all of the ensuing questions. I thanked him and we headed towards the door. At his suggestion, though, we turned around and took our exit through the kitchen and down into the lower part of the tower, where we were able to find our own way out. </p><p></p><p>It just occured to me that I am using a single mnemonic to annotate two different people: Sten and Stark. From this point forward, Stark shall be referred to as S1. </p><p>The next day was spent in preparation for our departure. I realized that my supply of healing wands was a bit low, so set S1 to creating another [ref: CJ-V7-50]. I arranged for a horse and with gear to be ready for me down near the lightning rail station, and set about putting my affairs in order. I was expecting be gone for the next twenty or so days. </p><p></p><p>The day of our planned departure, the DC met at my tower for breakfast. We were more than ready for a trip out. JE was there, too. He had stopped by the evening before to ask me to complete one more task in the investigation that DA and I had been working on for the past week. It involved questioning a suspect to see if he needed to be brought in for interrogation. I told JE that we would take care of it in the morning and he said that would be fine. I asked the DC if they wouldn't mind the slight detour, and no one around the table objected. After waiting for XL to finish eating, we left with JE in tow. </p><p></p><p>We were on our way down to the lower wards, to ask a merchant by the name of Theldryk (TH) about his sudden rise in wealth. Our investigations had followed a string of recent robberies, and we were looking for how they had been acheived. Many of the thefts had seemed impossible to pull off, including the last: the burglary of a Kundarak vault. Through circumstance too tedious to dictate here, TH's name had become attached to the investigation, and we were going down to ask him a few simple questions. </p><p></p><p>The lower wards can be a maze at times, and the area around the shop was no exception. As I came around the corner, my well-trained senses warned me that something was amiss. The door to the shop stood open, and a seedy-looking fellow stood watch on the front step. Loud crashes and rustling noises came from the interior. At our approach, he yelled over his shoulder that there was trouble. The man was a clairvoyant! </p><p></p><p>That was sarcasm. He didn't really seem anything important. </p><p></p><p>I ordered the man to stand down, and CA came to back me up, flashing his blades dangerously. The yellow-tailed thief (sarcasm, again) clumsily pulled a weapon, and looked at me with obvious fear in his eyes. He was rooted to the spot. Evidently, he had heard of me. </p><p></p><p>Two more would-be robbers came out of the shop. One sprinted away. The other threw a knife at me, which I easily side-stepped. ST, who seemed to take the assault upon my body personally, threw his energy blade at the man who tumbled to the steps, bleeding. </p><p></p><p>XL raced past the group and into the shop, only to cry out in fear when he learned that a lantern had been spilled in the confusion and a fire had started. DA bound our first thug in magic, while IR finished a spell that summoned a fleet-footed skeleton to chase down the one getting away. The sound of their clattering, wailing chase faded into the distance. </p><p></p><p>ST moved forward to secure our captured brigand while CA and I moved into the building to salvage what we could. XL and CA tried to put out the fire. I had better ideas, though, and used a wand [ref: CJ-V7-30] to instantly search the area. Three of the stolen items were hidden about the shop, and the wall-mounted lock-box had been broken into. The shop itself seemed full of spices and unusual herbs. Other than the stolen goods, though, there was nothing "illegal" about the place. </p><p></p><p>A commotion outside took my attention away from the shop. TH, the shopkeep we had come to question, had just arrived and was lamenting the ransacking of his shop. With wide-eyed terror, he rushed past us to check on his lockbox, then cried aloud at the loss of his key. </p><p>When pushed, he admitted that the key lead to a Lost Room, and that from this room one could go anywhere. Anywhere at all. We produced some of the stolen items, and he admitted to taking them. JE had his man. </p><p></p><p>Our captured robber knew nothing about a key. He had been advised by an orc friend named Irontusk (IT) that this place would be easy pickings after IT was through with it. Evidently, it was this IT that had the key. After a few more questions, we learned that IT lived down in the Grey Flood wharf district. The watch had arrived by this point, so we turned TH and the robbers over to them. </p><p></p><p>We had a debate at this point, though. Our rail was leaving soon -- if we continued the investigation then we would very certainly miss our departure time. This was the only lead we had, however, and JE asked that we follow up on it while we could. The DC decided to delay our departure, and moved to finish the investigation. </p><p></p><p>If I had known how complicated it would become, I might have pushed onward instead. </p><p>Grey Flood is right on the river, a stinking, decaying wharf district characterized by a virtual boardwalk of tied-together skiffs, barges and boats. The river boats on the very outside of the flotilla were out in the river fishing when we arrived. Our prey was much closer. </p><p>I had just spotted IT, half a dozen boats away from where we stood on the pier, when a shrill-voiced halfling woman cried out a warning to him. At the sound, he took off, leaping boat to boat away from us. CA immediately gave chase, following him in kind. The rest of the DC, with JE still in tow, ran back up the pier and between the warehouses in the hopes of circling around and cutting of his escape. </p><p></p><p>DA disappeared at some point during our mad rush. IR and VA had the lead and ran as fast as they could towards the third warehouse down, beyond which lay a lane that would take them to the farthest pier. HU and I passed ST easily, his adamantine frame causing hiim to run very slowly. We took the first chance we found to get back to the river. XL was right behind us, but ST kept on running, following after IR and VA. </p><p></p><p>Emerging from the shadows of the warehouse, I saw CA on the river. He was having trouble getting across some of the boats. Ill repair, fish netting, and the slime left from months of cleaning fish on the unwashed surface of different boats was slowing him down. CA found his stride, though, because he suddenly picked up speed, jumping from one boat to another in rapid succession. I shouted my encouragement to him. </p><p></p><p>I paused on the causeway to see if I could spot our quarry, but there was a whole flotilla of madly bobbing boats between he and I. XL scampered down into the boat that we had first seen IT in, looking for clues. HU and I moved adroitly down onto a long barge tha jutted farther out into the river than any of the other boats. My intent was to go out as far as possible so that I could see my prey. </p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, CA had just scampered across this particular barge, rousing the ire of three guard dogs. I tried to warn them back, but was forced to defend myself when they attacked. </p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, farther down the line of boats, IT had almost made it to his getaway boat. He would have made it, actually, if he hadn't stopped to set a barge on fire. He was trying to dissuade his persuers. If I had been given the opportunity, I would have warned him of the futility of that act. DA, having used her magic to go invisible and fleet-footed, was one step ahead of him. The boat she chose to make her stand in, unfortunately, was occupied. A giant spider in a wicker cage slung a web at her, it's infallable spider senses ignoring her invisibility. She was entrapped. </p><p></p><p>Two dead wyverns circled above us, summoned, no doubt, by IR. One performed a diving attack on IT and the boat he stood upon. He managed to keep his feet, but was seriously wounded by the bite. The other zombie wyvern looked lost, if that is possible for one of the dead, until IR summoned both creatures to her side. ST arrived on the scene, but his pursuit was slowed when he had trouble navigating past the flaming barge. No doubt, he would be asking me to fix the fire datmage he sustained. </p><p></p><p>IT made another run for it, but collided with the invisible DA and they both tumbled into the river. He came up first, and tried to scramble onto his boat. CA was there by this time, and kicked the orc in the face. IR and VA flew in on their newly acquired dead zombie wyverns. When one of the wyverns grabbed IT and lifted him free of the water, CA knocked the orc out with another kick to the face. DA struggled up out of the water, and once the spider cage was covered, our fight was done. </p><p></p><p>Our investigation, it turns out, was far from the same. </p><p></p><p>After some magical persuasion from DA, IT was more than happy to tell us his side of the story. He had been hired by a sickly elf to acquire the key; and had been paid only 100 gold to do it, too. We handed IT over to JE, who took him up to the nearest watch tower, and followed the only lead we had left. IT told us where he met this elf, and that is where we were headed. </p><p></p><p>We were on our way up to an old guildhouse, located in the lower wards on the east side of Sharn. I don't even remember what distraict it was in. XL had the idea of disguising himself as IT to infiltrate the guildhouse, and we liked the idea. DA volunteered to go with him, invisibly, to see what additional information she could glean and offer what protection she could. IR, VA, and CA came towards the guildhouse from one side. ST, HU, and I came at it from the other. </p><p></p><p>The area of town we were in was rather run down. The architecture of the place was rather interesting, though, and I spent a few of our waiting minutes discussing some of the more interesting construction with ST. He was fascinated with my lecture, naturally, but had a hard time forming the type of interesting questions that would have turned a lecture into a companionable discussion. Ah, well. House Cannith sent him to me not for his social skills, but for his ability to protect me from harm. </p><p></p><p>There were a handful of ruffians in the immediate vicinity, and it looked like they held ill intentions towards the three of us. They were probably curious to see what riches HU contained. As I did not want to draw attention to our position, however, I made the universal sign of "Do not approach and you will not be harmed, what you are thinking is dangerous to your health" in the direction of the unsanitary-looking gang. They probably noticed one or more of my wand sheaths as I did so and decided, rightfully so, that I was far too dangerous to tussle with. I suppose they could have seen ST, as well, but when they slunk away, proverbial tails between their legs, I was the one their fear clad faces kept turning towards. HU stooped down to examine a shiny rock. </p><p></p><p>I judged the time was right, and the three of us moved forward. IR had begun her approach a scant prematurely and was at the guildhouse a few seconds before us. A narrow passage led to the entrance of the building. As we approached, we could hear XL, playing at IT, in the doorway talking to a couple of goons. Something about the way the hooligans spoke nagged at me, but we were in motion and I didn't have time to ponder the situation. </p><p>IR and VA rushed into the house, bullying one of the brigands back against the wall. CA went in swinging, and the other one dropped to the ground, dead. I took one look inside and stepped back. </p><p></p><p>The sour scent of sickness suffused the soiled house. HU handed me a silk kerchief, and I quickly covered my nose and mouth. A quick infusion [ref: CJ-V3-12] bolstered my immune system, and a second [ref: CJ-V1-11] made me more resistant to whatever sickness lay within the house. Cautiously, and without touching anything, I moved forward. I told HU to touch nothing. Right on queue, he folded his arms up under his lid. That was handy. </p><p></p><p>Our remaining brigand did not put up a fight as VA tied him up. The man was too sick to resist. IR looked the two men over and pronounced them sick. I made some comment to her, but her elven ears must not have caught my sarcasm, muffled as it was by the rumpled silk I held before my mouth. Blinding Sickness, I think she named the disease. Sounded uncomfortable. </p><p></p><p>XL showed us the way upstairs, where the head man was. I took a moment to appreciate the splendor that the guild house once contained. It was obvious that the place had been abandoned long ago, then taken over by this gang. There was still a fair amount of wealth scattered through the house -- tapestries, carved furniture, and the like -- but one would need my trained eye to see past the filth and wear to see it. I am sure that the rest of the DC did not appreciate their environs on the same level I did. </p><p></p><p>The leader of the gang sat alone in a large, dim room. For a moment, there was a locked door that seperated us, but it was either CA's strong shoulder or DA's clever fingers bypassed that obstacle. As I came into the room, I noticed that someone had spilled oil just inside the door. Sloppy. </p><p></p><p>After one look at us the leader shrunk in on himself, surrendering in self-pitied acquiessence. He was an elf, as we'd been told, and sick, though not as bad as some of his followers. It took very little to convince him to tell us his tale. He claimed that a sickly, crooked-toothed priest of the Silver Flame by the name of Veltargo (VT) had approached him and made him a deal. VT offered to hand over to the elf a curative for the disease that he and his men suffered under, if they would procure for him a certain key. </p><p></p><p>The leader of the gang agreed, and hired IT to steal the key from TH. IT broke into TH's shop, then sold the information about the robbery to another gang, who came in after IT to clean up the shop. It was luck that ran into the very last gang, but skill that took our investigation from them to IT to the elf, and now to VT. Unfortunately, we had no leads that would help us find VT. </p><p></p><p>I took a look at the "potion" VT had given over as a curative, and had to suppress a laugh. It was nothing more than a (very poor) mead. There were no additives at all that I could discern in the "potion". </p><p></p><p>IR took pity on the sickly elf and his men (it must be an elf thing), and offered to heal all of them. After a quick assessment of the gang (there were eight in total; half a dozen of them were too sick to move from their beds) IR determined that an immediate stop-gap measure was needed for four of them or they would not live through the night. At some point, she must have been told about the valuable properties scattered about the place, because she informed the gang that we would be taking all of the nearby items of value to help pay for the necessary scrolls. No one put up a struggle. </p><p></p><p>IR informed the DC that she would need four days to heal these men. We agreed to delay our trip. </p><p></p><p>So now I have four days before we leave. I can probably spend most of that in my lab. What to do? Maybe I'll reinforce HU, for the rigorous travels ahead...." </p><p></p><p>. -- An excerpt from the Personal Journal of Artemis Heuw Cannith, Volume 7 </p><p></p><p>"Yes, a Companionable Homunculus Elocating Storage Trunk." </p><p>"No, it is self-perambulating asset containment apparatus." </p><p>"I appreciate that you admire my chest, but I do not craft that way." </p><p>"What are you, some kind of blind man?" </p><p>"Why don't you go back to staring at women's chests, and keep your eyes off of mine?" </p><p>. -- An excerpt from the List of Witty Responses to Yesterday's Question, "What is that, some kind of chest?", by Artemis Heuw Cannith</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="sniffles, post: 3339561, member: 30035"] [b]The Collected Journals of Artemis Heuw Cannith, excerpt 17[/b] [B]Devo's latest entry.[/B] "The next step was to connect the re-inforced plates to HU's frame. After that, I would add the interior lining and be done. Each of the nuts and bolts necessary for this operation had been hand-picked for quality, durability, and aesthetics. HU was fine with the bolts, but didn't like the nuts for some reason: he claimed they were too thick and made him feel bloated. I argued with him, but he wouldn't stop tok'ing back. I even rolled them around in the palm of my hand, showing him how much he would enjoy them. Eventually I succumbed to his desires, put his nuts in a vice, and shaved them down. The things I do to make him happy!" . -- An excerpt from the Craft Journal of Artemis Heuw Cannith, Volume 7 "Summoners are funny people. I suppose, though, that this is only a true statement if you are the type to consider Aerenal elves "people". I do, but I am a well educated man, and not prone to the narrow-minded racism that all of the lower-ward illiterates share. I could tell immediately that VE and IR were engaged in a conjurer's duel. They couldn't have picked a better spot for it, I thought. The interior of the Rose is the better half of a round tower, making it a near perfect semi-circle. One can consider the entrance to be the "ground" floor (preposterous, I know, given the fact that we were half a mile up in one of Sharn's nicer districts); it is a circular area defined on one side by the bar, on the opposite side by the front entrance, and on the two remaining sides by broad stairways that sweep up to the second floor balcony. From the edge of this balcony, one has a clear view of the combatants down below, without being close enough to get hurt. It was this balcony that the two duelists occupied, VE on the right side of the tower, IR on the left. Of course, this wasn't an arena, this was a place of business with innocent spectators. A duel of summoned creatures would do tremendous damage to what was quickly becoming my favorite social spot. Fortunately for us, VE chose not to follow the rules of a conjurer's duel. He tried to cast a spell at CA, but DA stopped him in his tracks. If he attacked us, we were free to attack him. HU and I both lobbed Thunderstones [ref: CJ-V4-19] in his direction. They were square on target, but it didn't appear to deafen VE as I had hoped they would. CA, never one to back down from a fight, leapt forward to embrace the battle. XL stood ready, a dart held high in case VE tried to use his magic again. It looked like the scene was well in hand. I turned and walked past ST, who was methodically destroying air elementals. One flew past me, on it's way to attack IR. Another breach of ettiquette in a summoners duel. Continuing on, I went back to the far edge of the tower where I used one of my many wands [ref: CJ-V6-53] to bring the soarsled into the room with me. It was an interesting piece of work. Coming back into the main room, I saw that the duel below between zombie ogre and earth elemental was going as expected. They stood there, toe-to-toe, bashing one another. IR was part way down the stairs and behind her ogre, using a wand and her magic to keep the dead ogre healed. Across the room, the DC were having a hard time taking out one solitary wizard. I regretted leaving this fight to them: the only other person in the DC who could properly handle a wizard was IR, and she was distracted following the rules of the duel. It looked like DA was making a difference, but perhaps not enough of one. I sent HU over to give a healing potion to CA, who seemed badly abused. Resorting to one of my untested wands [ref: CJ-V7-11], I struck VE with a burst of flat grey energy that left much of his magic drained. The animated chains by his side went limp, giving CA one less opponent to deal with. DA, taking my cue, cast a zone of silence around herself and ran up to the cornered wizard to negate his spellcasting. CA stepped forward to engage once again, but VE had had enough: he turned and leapt into the air. In a flash, he was gone, replaced once again by his dragon. It raced away, but not before I got one more shot at it with my wand [ref: CJ-V6-44]. Both beams of fire struck the creature, but it's natural resistance shrugged off the magic. It was just past the confines of the tower when DA stunned the creature. It stopped flapping, and started falling. I raced over to the sill of the tower, looking down, but I could not see the creature. DA raced over as well, but didn't bother stopping. Completely silent, she cleared the ledge and was gone, plummeting downward after the dragon. I looked to ST, who had followed me, and shrugged. We turned in unison to go back to the main room. The zombie ogre was destroyed, gone. The earth elemental persisted, however, and was doing considerable damage to CA, IR, and XL. Not one of them would survive another hit from the creature. Using the wand I had to hand, I struck the elemental with two beams of fire and it exploded in a shower of burning rock and ash. Before the detritus even had time to settle, the remains of the creature faded from view. HU clapped, the only one with courtesy enough to thank me for saving the DC. Again. I came around the balcony's edge, calling down to the patrons and staff to see if everyone was all right. A crowd of people unfolded from behind the bar and out of the back rooms -- customers and staff who had been too fearful to intervene, but too curious to leave. Many of them congratulated me on driving the interloper away. Naturally, I had the courtesy to suggest that the rest of the DC had some small part in clearing the place of ruffians. No one was injured, much to my relief. The same could not be said of the DC. ST was badly damaged, and all of the rest of us bore deep wounds -- most from the fireball. Hutch was rather beat up, as well. Some quick magics from IR and myself set things mostly straight. We were barely healed up when the owner of the Rose came to us and suggested that we didn't need to be there when the Watch came. He volunteered to tell the watch captain what had happened and handle all of the ensuing questions. I thanked him and we headed towards the door. At his suggestion, though, we turned around and took our exit through the kitchen and down into the lower part of the tower, where we were able to find our own way out. It just occured to me that I am using a single mnemonic to annotate two different people: Sten and Stark. From this point forward, Stark shall be referred to as S1. The next day was spent in preparation for our departure. I realized that my supply of healing wands was a bit low, so set S1 to creating another [ref: CJ-V7-50]. I arranged for a horse and with gear to be ready for me down near the lightning rail station, and set about putting my affairs in order. I was expecting be gone for the next twenty or so days. The day of our planned departure, the DC met at my tower for breakfast. We were more than ready for a trip out. JE was there, too. He had stopped by the evening before to ask me to complete one more task in the investigation that DA and I had been working on for the past week. It involved questioning a suspect to see if he needed to be brought in for interrogation. I told JE that we would take care of it in the morning and he said that would be fine. I asked the DC if they wouldn't mind the slight detour, and no one around the table objected. After waiting for XL to finish eating, we left with JE in tow. We were on our way down to the lower wards, to ask a merchant by the name of Theldryk (TH) about his sudden rise in wealth. Our investigations had followed a string of recent robberies, and we were looking for how they had been acheived. Many of the thefts had seemed impossible to pull off, including the last: the burglary of a Kundarak vault. Through circumstance too tedious to dictate here, TH's name had become attached to the investigation, and we were going down to ask him a few simple questions. The lower wards can be a maze at times, and the area around the shop was no exception. As I came around the corner, my well-trained senses warned me that something was amiss. The door to the shop stood open, and a seedy-looking fellow stood watch on the front step. Loud crashes and rustling noises came from the interior. At our approach, he yelled over his shoulder that there was trouble. The man was a clairvoyant! That was sarcasm. He didn't really seem anything important. I ordered the man to stand down, and CA came to back me up, flashing his blades dangerously. The yellow-tailed thief (sarcasm, again) clumsily pulled a weapon, and looked at me with obvious fear in his eyes. He was rooted to the spot. Evidently, he had heard of me. Two more would-be robbers came out of the shop. One sprinted away. The other threw a knife at me, which I easily side-stepped. ST, who seemed to take the assault upon my body personally, threw his energy blade at the man who tumbled to the steps, bleeding. XL raced past the group and into the shop, only to cry out in fear when he learned that a lantern had been spilled in the confusion and a fire had started. DA bound our first thug in magic, while IR finished a spell that summoned a fleet-footed skeleton to chase down the one getting away. The sound of their clattering, wailing chase faded into the distance. ST moved forward to secure our captured brigand while CA and I moved into the building to salvage what we could. XL and CA tried to put out the fire. I had better ideas, though, and used a wand [ref: CJ-V7-30] to instantly search the area. Three of the stolen items were hidden about the shop, and the wall-mounted lock-box had been broken into. The shop itself seemed full of spices and unusual herbs. Other than the stolen goods, though, there was nothing "illegal" about the place. A commotion outside took my attention away from the shop. TH, the shopkeep we had come to question, had just arrived and was lamenting the ransacking of his shop. With wide-eyed terror, he rushed past us to check on his lockbox, then cried aloud at the loss of his key. When pushed, he admitted that the key lead to a Lost Room, and that from this room one could go anywhere. Anywhere at all. We produced some of the stolen items, and he admitted to taking them. JE had his man. Our captured robber knew nothing about a key. He had been advised by an orc friend named Irontusk (IT) that this place would be easy pickings after IT was through with it. Evidently, it was this IT that had the key. After a few more questions, we learned that IT lived down in the Grey Flood wharf district. The watch had arrived by this point, so we turned TH and the robbers over to them. We had a debate at this point, though. Our rail was leaving soon -- if we continued the investigation then we would very certainly miss our departure time. This was the only lead we had, however, and JE asked that we follow up on it while we could. The DC decided to delay our departure, and moved to finish the investigation. If I had known how complicated it would become, I might have pushed onward instead. Grey Flood is right on the river, a stinking, decaying wharf district characterized by a virtual boardwalk of tied-together skiffs, barges and boats. The river boats on the very outside of the flotilla were out in the river fishing when we arrived. Our prey was much closer. I had just spotted IT, half a dozen boats away from where we stood on the pier, when a shrill-voiced halfling woman cried out a warning to him. At the sound, he took off, leaping boat to boat away from us. CA immediately gave chase, following him in kind. The rest of the DC, with JE still in tow, ran back up the pier and between the warehouses in the hopes of circling around and cutting of his escape. DA disappeared at some point during our mad rush. IR and VA had the lead and ran as fast as they could towards the third warehouse down, beyond which lay a lane that would take them to the farthest pier. HU and I passed ST easily, his adamantine frame causing hiim to run very slowly. We took the first chance we found to get back to the river. XL was right behind us, but ST kept on running, following after IR and VA. Emerging from the shadows of the warehouse, I saw CA on the river. He was having trouble getting across some of the boats. Ill repair, fish netting, and the slime left from months of cleaning fish on the unwashed surface of different boats was slowing him down. CA found his stride, though, because he suddenly picked up speed, jumping from one boat to another in rapid succession. I shouted my encouragement to him. I paused on the causeway to see if I could spot our quarry, but there was a whole flotilla of madly bobbing boats between he and I. XL scampered down into the boat that we had first seen IT in, looking for clues. HU and I moved adroitly down onto a long barge tha jutted farther out into the river than any of the other boats. My intent was to go out as far as possible so that I could see my prey. Unfortunately, CA had just scampered across this particular barge, rousing the ire of three guard dogs. I tried to warn them back, but was forced to defend myself when they attacked. Meanwhile, farther down the line of boats, IT had almost made it to his getaway boat. He would have made it, actually, if he hadn't stopped to set a barge on fire. He was trying to dissuade his persuers. If I had been given the opportunity, I would have warned him of the futility of that act. DA, having used her magic to go invisible and fleet-footed, was one step ahead of him. The boat she chose to make her stand in, unfortunately, was occupied. A giant spider in a wicker cage slung a web at her, it's infallable spider senses ignoring her invisibility. She was entrapped. Two dead wyverns circled above us, summoned, no doubt, by IR. One performed a diving attack on IT and the boat he stood upon. He managed to keep his feet, but was seriously wounded by the bite. The other zombie wyvern looked lost, if that is possible for one of the dead, until IR summoned both creatures to her side. ST arrived on the scene, but his pursuit was slowed when he had trouble navigating past the flaming barge. No doubt, he would be asking me to fix the fire datmage he sustained. IT made another run for it, but collided with the invisible DA and they both tumbled into the river. He came up first, and tried to scramble onto his boat. CA was there by this time, and kicked the orc in the face. IR and VA flew in on their newly acquired dead zombie wyverns. When one of the wyverns grabbed IT and lifted him free of the water, CA knocked the orc out with another kick to the face. DA struggled up out of the water, and once the spider cage was covered, our fight was done. Our investigation, it turns out, was far from the same. After some magical persuasion from DA, IT was more than happy to tell us his side of the story. He had been hired by a sickly elf to acquire the key; and had been paid only 100 gold to do it, too. We handed IT over to JE, who took him up to the nearest watch tower, and followed the only lead we had left. IT told us where he met this elf, and that is where we were headed. We were on our way up to an old guildhouse, located in the lower wards on the east side of Sharn. I don't even remember what distraict it was in. XL had the idea of disguising himself as IT to infiltrate the guildhouse, and we liked the idea. DA volunteered to go with him, invisibly, to see what additional information she could glean and offer what protection she could. IR, VA, and CA came towards the guildhouse from one side. ST, HU, and I came at it from the other. The area of town we were in was rather run down. The architecture of the place was rather interesting, though, and I spent a few of our waiting minutes discussing some of the more interesting construction with ST. He was fascinated with my lecture, naturally, but had a hard time forming the type of interesting questions that would have turned a lecture into a companionable discussion. Ah, well. House Cannith sent him to me not for his social skills, but for his ability to protect me from harm. There were a handful of ruffians in the immediate vicinity, and it looked like they held ill intentions towards the three of us. They were probably curious to see what riches HU contained. As I did not want to draw attention to our position, however, I made the universal sign of "Do not approach and you will not be harmed, what you are thinking is dangerous to your health" in the direction of the unsanitary-looking gang. They probably noticed one or more of my wand sheaths as I did so and decided, rightfully so, that I was far too dangerous to tussle with. I suppose they could have seen ST, as well, but when they slunk away, proverbial tails between their legs, I was the one their fear clad faces kept turning towards. HU stooped down to examine a shiny rock. I judged the time was right, and the three of us moved forward. IR had begun her approach a scant prematurely and was at the guildhouse a few seconds before us. A narrow passage led to the entrance of the building. As we approached, we could hear XL, playing at IT, in the doorway talking to a couple of goons. Something about the way the hooligans spoke nagged at me, but we were in motion and I didn't have time to ponder the situation. IR and VA rushed into the house, bullying one of the brigands back against the wall. CA went in swinging, and the other one dropped to the ground, dead. I took one look inside and stepped back. The sour scent of sickness suffused the soiled house. HU handed me a silk kerchief, and I quickly covered my nose and mouth. A quick infusion [ref: CJ-V3-12] bolstered my immune system, and a second [ref: CJ-V1-11] made me more resistant to whatever sickness lay within the house. Cautiously, and without touching anything, I moved forward. I told HU to touch nothing. Right on queue, he folded his arms up under his lid. That was handy. Our remaining brigand did not put up a fight as VA tied him up. The man was too sick to resist. IR looked the two men over and pronounced them sick. I made some comment to her, but her elven ears must not have caught my sarcasm, muffled as it was by the rumpled silk I held before my mouth. Blinding Sickness, I think she named the disease. Sounded uncomfortable. XL showed us the way upstairs, where the head man was. I took a moment to appreciate the splendor that the guild house once contained. It was obvious that the place had been abandoned long ago, then taken over by this gang. There was still a fair amount of wealth scattered through the house -- tapestries, carved furniture, and the like -- but one would need my trained eye to see past the filth and wear to see it. I am sure that the rest of the DC did not appreciate their environs on the same level I did. The leader of the gang sat alone in a large, dim room. For a moment, there was a locked door that seperated us, but it was either CA's strong shoulder or DA's clever fingers bypassed that obstacle. As I came into the room, I noticed that someone had spilled oil just inside the door. Sloppy. After one look at us the leader shrunk in on himself, surrendering in self-pitied acquiessence. He was an elf, as we'd been told, and sick, though not as bad as some of his followers. It took very little to convince him to tell us his tale. He claimed that a sickly, crooked-toothed priest of the Silver Flame by the name of Veltargo (VT) had approached him and made him a deal. VT offered to hand over to the elf a curative for the disease that he and his men suffered under, if they would procure for him a certain key. The leader of the gang agreed, and hired IT to steal the key from TH. IT broke into TH's shop, then sold the information about the robbery to another gang, who came in after IT to clean up the shop. It was luck that ran into the very last gang, but skill that took our investigation from them to IT to the elf, and now to VT. Unfortunately, we had no leads that would help us find VT. I took a look at the "potion" VT had given over as a curative, and had to suppress a laugh. It was nothing more than a (very poor) mead. There were no additives at all that I could discern in the "potion". IR took pity on the sickly elf and his men (it must be an elf thing), and offered to heal all of them. After a quick assessment of the gang (there were eight in total; half a dozen of them were too sick to move from their beds) IR determined that an immediate stop-gap measure was needed for four of them or they would not live through the night. At some point, she must have been told about the valuable properties scattered about the place, because she informed the gang that we would be taking all of the nearby items of value to help pay for the necessary scrolls. No one put up a struggle. IR informed the DC that she would need four days to heal these men. We agreed to delay our trip. So now I have four days before we leave. I can probably spend most of that in my lab. What to do? Maybe I'll reinforce HU, for the rigorous travels ahead...." . -- An excerpt from the Personal Journal of Artemis Heuw Cannith, Volume 7 "Yes, a Companionable Homunculus Elocating Storage Trunk." "No, it is self-perambulating asset containment apparatus." "I appreciate that you admire my chest, but I do not craft that way." "What are you, some kind of blind man?" "Why don't you go back to staring at women's chests, and keep your eyes off of mine?" . -- An excerpt from the List of Witty Responses to Yesterday's Question, "What is that, some kind of chest?", by Artemis Heuw Cannith [/QUOTE]
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