And the Uppity Shoeshine... (DM:twilsemail; Judge: renau1g)

Mewness

First Post
Scarmiglione mutters something unintelligible about the decor, which, rich and impressive as it may be, is apparently not in accord with his notions of good taste.
 

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twilsemail

First Post
Reeve leads the party through the house and to the chamber where his master waits.

A bald human with an impressive mustache sits with fingers steepled and his chin resting on his thumb. He appears to be deep in thought, contemplating an item on his large desk. Reeve clears his throat to gain his master’s attention, “Master Rustavich, it is my pleasure to present your adventurers. Apparently their reputation should precede them. This is, ah, ‘Mr. Smith’ and company.” It is faily plain from the way Reeve says 'adventurers' that it is not his pleasure at all.

As the seneschal speaks, Rustavich’s eyes rise to the party. A smile cracks his face and he rises. “Greetings. Greetings. I am happy to welcome you into my home. Is there anything I can get for you?”

Any reasonable requests will have Reeve sent to fetch them. Anything else will receive an amiable laugh.

“This,” he gestures to his desk, “is what has me asking you here today.” On the desk rests what appears to be an eight inch (20 cm) steel wasp with an overly large face. “It arrived this morning.”

[sblock=Arcana 21]The item on the desk is a Final Messenger (EPG 115). This is a warforged component that leaves the body of a dead or dying warforged to relay one last message.[/sblock]

He pauses for just a moment to see if there is any recognition in the eyes of his guests.
 

Mewness

First Post
Scarmiglione has no idea what the significance of the metal bug might be, except that it reminds him of a real bug, which makes him sort of hungry for bugs. He examines the arms of the chair he's sitting on, vaguely hoping that a bug might be crawling on them that he might surreptitiously eat, but unfortunately there are none. He asks politely for a small glass of sherry, and takes advantage of the distraction to feel the bottom of the chair, but there are no bugs there, either.
 
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twilsemail

First Post
The pause was brief. It did not last long enough for anyone to truly speak up anyhow.

"This thing came from my son's... companion. It holds the last image that Shod saw before he perished. At least, that's what I've been told. The image leads me to assume that my son..." he pauses for a moment to compose himself. While he is not breaking down, this conversation is hard for him. Try as he might, the man cannot make this sound like a simple business conversation.

"My boy is dead. I don't know where. I don't know how. I want you to find him. If we can get him back, then someone can bring him back."
 

Luinnar

First Post
This one is sorry for your grief. Kaz says, looking sad. Himura Kazuhira will do whatever it takes to find your child's body and avenge his death.

What is the image of? Kaz asks, looking at the metal bug.
 

twilsemail

First Post
"What looks like my son's hand holding a sword. Here. Take the thing. Look into it's eyes. It will show you." He snatches the insect from the desk and holds it out to the party at large.

GM: Anyone looking can see what they see here.
[sblock=Image]The viewing takes only a second to kick in and is immediately disorienting. After a moment you realize that the image was from the perspective of someone laying on their side. The sight lasts for perhapts three seconds.

An unmoving young man's hand grasps an ornately decorated sword. Blood pools under the hand on a rough stone floor. Water drips down lichen growing on a wall in the background.

Due to the angle very little is actually visible.[/sblock]
 

Xeterog

Explorer
Is that your Son's sword? , something about his tone suggests that Fredrock does not approve of such an elaborately decorated weapon, Do you have any idea where your son and his companion were headed last?
 

twilsemail

First Post
"It is. He comissioned it through Reeve. The sword is certainly battle worthy, but Reeve had assumed it was to be ceremonial in some way."

He waits for the second question to finish, "I've no idea. I thought we'd gotten this adventuring nonsense out of his head when I got rid of the sword. Obviously neither happened."

"Shod. He's the one putting these thoughts into my boy's head. If you find his corpse, leave it. Maybe that'll sort the boy out."

[sblock=Fredrock & Yishim]You two notice Reeve looking a bit uncomfortable at the mention of the sword being disposed of. Rustavich talks through the opportunity to bring it up that instant, however.[/sblock]
 

Dekana

Explorer
Toeto takes her turn to gaze into the metal bug's face. She shakes her head to reorient herself after the image fades. She was hoping there wouldn't be any solid proof of the boy's death, but the bloody hand dispelled that notion. "I'm sorry." she says as she backs away from the bug.

Master Rustavich said:
"Shod. He's the one putting these thoughts into my boy's head. If you find his corpse, leave it. Maybe that'll sort the boy out."

"Sort him out?" Toeto asks somewhat horrified. But she instantly regrets asking it as she realizes what Rustavich has in mind. She took his request for the body as intending to provide his son with a funeral, but he certainly must be wealthy enough to purchase his son's soul from the underworld.
 

Mewness

First Post
Scarmiglione sighs, inwardly cursing the burning curiosity that led him here. His reward, a story about a dead son, is not at all what he was hoping for--not at all scandalous, merely rather unpleasant. And now, here he is, stuck on a silly and probably rather disgusting mission to retrieve a corpse. Best to get it over with. "When was the last time you saw your son?" he asks, feigning interest in the topic. "And this metal insect--when did it arrive, and what direction did it come from?"
 

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