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Message: <blockquote data-quote="skotothalamos" data-source="post: 6242640" data-attributes="member: 83398">Digging for more InformationAfter the ambush at the subrail station, the Constables had some investigating to do. Mort hit the streets to find information. He returned later with a story from a teamster named Marcus who said that he knew of a woman named Kaja Stewart who dealt in rare items and had previously worked on “the hill.” Unfortunately, this was not enough help for the Constables, as it seemed that Stewart had left the employ of Reed MacBannin after the events of the summer, and they were trying to track down the source of the potentially-dangerous ancient artifacts. Summer looked to the sky before she slept, seeking answers on anything and everything. Ironpeak shared a some Martial Science theory with her. In addition to codifying the way combat worked, with measurable indices such as Armor Class and Hit Points, some new theorists at the Battalion had been experimenting with a Theory of Narrativium. This theory presupposed the existence of a story, or “plot,” which could be seen to drive certain people to behave towards certain ends, in the interest of making a good story. A radical theory, to be sure, but one that Ironpeak hoped that Summer would be able to meditate on in an effort to find a lead. This led Summer to ask the stars, “Where is the plot going?” She also concentrated on the ancient artifacts, attempting to learn of their origins. That night, Summer dreamt of an ancient ziggurat. Inside, she saw three orcs, holding the three items aloft and seeming to cast a spell at a great plate of solid gold which seemed to be blocking a passageway. She got the impression that they were sealing a gate, but they spoke in a language she did not recognize. Their attire reminded her of ancient history lessons from her schooling in Elfaivar. In addition, she dreamt of the three artifacts being displayed at a museum in Flint: the Pardwight University Museum of Natural History. The next morning, Summer shared this information with the others. Some of the Constables went to Pardwight University to investigate the museum, but Summer and Cazara were called in to consult on another case by one of Saxby’s new favorite constables: Sergeant Blake Arrington. Sergeant Arrington said that her squad was now working the Parity Lake Conspiracy case, and they had found something that they thought Cazara’s team should see. Arrington led Summer and Cazara to the basement of a Parity Lake steel mill. A man’s body lay on the floor, its skull crushed and hands bound with a twisted steel bar. The man had the remains of a rusted-iron necklace, identical to the ones used on MacBannin’s manor (and elsewhere) to cross over into the Bleak Gate through a rusted iron ring. His throat was filled with inert witchoil, which held no souls. (Notably, not even the man’s own soul had been trapped by the arcane liquid.) The only identification on the man were the initials “A.G.” sewn into his socks. In addition, there were the remains of a finely-crafted bronze golem in the basement. The golem had been torn apart, as though every seam and joint had failed at once. Its head was still in relatively good shape, however. Also of note at the crime scene was a ring of rusted iron built into the steel mill’s basement floor. The constables gathered the remains of the man and the golem and had them sent to RHC Headquarters for further examination. On the way out, Summer noticed a piece of torn fabric, made of several layers of stitched cotton and silk, the likes of which she’d not seen since her time in pre-Malice Elfaivar. Only a very wealthy Eladrin woman would own a garment made from that fabric. Meanwhile, the other constables traveled to the museum to talk with the curator, Hans Weber. Professor Weber explained that he was aware of an archaeological expedition to a ziggurat the High Bayou in the south of Risur that had brought back some artifacts that matched the description of the items the constables had recovered. Weber described the “pre-Kelland people,” a civilization that lived in Risur thousands of years ago, before King Kelland founded the nation of Risur. These people were sometimes referred to as “The Ancients.” He told the constables about how the Ancients built stone ziggurats and had advanced knowledge of astronomy, magic, and goldsmithing. He told the constables that the expedition had been led by Dr. Xambria Meredith, of Mitchell University in the city of Slate. Dr. Meredith found the three objects at the High Bayou site and had them delivered to the museum several months ago, but then they were stolen from the museum. Dr. Weber requested that the constables return the museum’s items as soon as possible. Malkie explained that the items were evidence in an ongoing case, but once the case was resolved, he could have the items for the museum. Before leaving, the constables asked if Dr. Weber knew where to find Dr. Meredith. He said she was “recuperating” on the Pardwight campus after a traumatic experience at the dig site. The two constable teams met up at headquarters to compare notes before heading to visit Xambria. She was staying in a faculty apartment on the campus. She seemed distracted and distant, but invited the investigators in for tea and cinnamon rolls. Xambria told them about her archaeological dig in the High Bayou, a unique area in the foothills of the Anthras Mountains between Risur and Ber. The giant spiders native to the area had created great silk-and-earth barriers which slowed the flow of the streams coming down from the mountains, creating a bayou environment nowhere near the ocean. In that bayou, Xambria and some colleagues had discovered an Ancient ziggurat and had come to Flint to find financing for an archaeological dig. The Danoran tiefling financier Caius Bergeron ended up financing their trip. Mort recognized the name and knew that he could regularly be found at the Silver Swan Inn in North Shore, where he regularly stayed during his months-long visits to Flint. After receiving enough funds to pay for her dig, Xambria assembled a team mostly consisting of graduate students from Pardwight and Mitchell Universities. They started their excavation of the ziggurat site in early Spring. They sent some of the ancient items back for further study, such as the three artifacts the constables had run across. Upon their receipt, Bergeron sent a message specifically asking Dr. Meredith to be on the lookout for a golden plate or seal, and that if one was found, he would send a team of specialists to deal with it. They found the golden seal and Bergeron sent a team of two humans and three tieflings. Xambria then made a run for supplies, as she could not do any more work at the site until the specialists were finished. When she returned two days later, her team was dead at and around the entrance to the ziggurat. She fled the site as quickly as she could and returned to Flint. The constables stayed into the evening, asking for more details on Xambria’s expedition. Eventually, she told them her own theory on the Ancients. She claimed that the pre-Kelland people were orcs, not humans (as Weber claimed). Excavations of Ancient sites almost always turn up gold relics, but never the means to mine or forge gold. Xambria said she believes that the Ancients traded for the items from another, more advanced, civilization. This other civilization has never been found. She said she thinks it might have been a civilization from another plane of existence, or another planet, that used some sort of travel magic. She thinks that method of travel must have stopped working at some point, and that the cessation of that trade partner may have hastened the demise of the pre-Kelland civilization. In defense of this somewhat radical theory, she pointed out other examples of now-extinct civilizations, such as the demons of Drakr and the dragons of Ber. She even brought up an old Clergy scroll that mentions a demon named “Egal the Shimmering, Lord of the Golden Legion,” as a potential match for the missing civilization. After listening to her account of her expedition, and politely listening to her pet theory, the constable finally left Dr. Meredith’s apartment. Mort said he thought he could set up a meeting with Caius Bergeron, as their families had interacted in the past. The constables looked him up at headquarters and found a picture of Bergeron. The workday had clearly gone on too long as the non-tieflings focused on the spiky ridge along Bergeron’s jaw line. “Is that skin or bone?” asked someone. The constables quickly looked up the rest of their files on tieflings and noted a similar structure on the jawlines of all the males. It was probably Ironpeak or Cazara who dubbed the term “fleshbeard” to refer to the phenomenon. Delft stormed in at this point and told everyone to go home for the night. Malkie and Mort managed to secure a dinner meeting with Bergeron the next evening. They tried to get information out of him by pretending to be in search of funding for an archaeological dig on Axis Island. This strategy backfired, as they were blithely ignorant of the fact that Danor had closed off access to Axis Island. Malkie impressed Bergeron by eating a serving of polip alla infanti, or live octopus. Unfortunately, the constables learned little from Bergeron except that he had indeed financed Xambria’s mission, but that he had not heard from her since the disaster at the ziggurat. All the leads seemed to lead to one place: the ziggurat. The constables approached Delft, and he agreed. He said that tracking down the origin of the dangerous magical items that were known to have released dangerous beasts in Flint should fall under the part of the RHC charter that covers defense of the kingdom. He approved their expense request and handed out stipends for the constables’ own expedition to the ziggurat.</blockquote>

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