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Message: <blockquote data-quote="peteyfrogboy" data-source="post: 1154501" data-attributes="member: 5677">Terror In Freeport: Part 3A group of three well dressed pedestrians was nothing out of the ordinary amid the morning traffic on Wave Avenue. They strolled past blocks of gilded townhouses and high priced boutiques, but they were not in the Merchant District for simple sightseeing. They slowed as they reached a section of free standing mansions, each an individual display of incredible wealth and exquisite taste. In the middle of these was 100 Wave Avenue."It figures," muttered Rachel. Swaying in the morning breeze were banners bearing the now familiar crest of Councillor Verlaine. She glanced at Parika. "What do you think?"The burglar counted the guards arrayed around the building and assessed the barred windows and spiked roofline. "There's no way we are getting in there." She led the small group in a subtle about face that would take them back to the Old City."So what now?" asked Nevroth."I'll check with my sources and see what I can dig up about this guy," said Parika. "Maybe he's got a weak spot somewhere."***Parika felt more comfortable back in her normal clothes, but no better about her situation. Snick apparently didn't keep up with the intricacies of Freeport politics. He had seemed curious about who she was working for and why she was looking for dirt on Verlaine, but she didn't give him any hints. The best advice he had was to check the Office of Public Records. It didn't seem like a very exciting proposition, but it was the only one left."This is it," said Nevroth. They stood before a massive structure, nearly indistinguishable from its neighbors in the Warehouse District. Only the sign outside revealed the Office of Public Records for what it was.The door opened into a large room filled with shelves. Each shelf was packed with papers, ledgers, book, and scrolls. There was no apparent order to the mess. A grizzled, middle-aged man sat behind a desk sorting through a stack of paper. He looked up as the door opened. "Whatcha lookin' fer?"Parika glanced around. "Oh, we just wanted to take a look around."The man shrugged. "Suit yerself." He jerked his thumb toward a door marked "Records". The half-elf opened the door and stepped through. In the dim light she could see the cavernous interior of the warehouse, with shelves towering all the way to the ceiling. They seemed to use the same filing system as the outer room. Parika stepped back into the office. "Uh... maybe we could use a little help.""I thought ya might," said the man, chuckling. ***Nevroth flipped back and forth through the pages of a large ledger. "This Verlaine guy looks like just a run of the mill merchant. An exceptionally successful merchant, but that's all. Imports, exports, a stake in several businesses around the city. Nothing suspicious here.""Nothing unusual that I can see either," said Parika. "He doesn't appear in any of the Captains' Council minutes until right after Milton Drac became Sea Lord, and then he shoots straight to the top of the heap."The record keeper, who had eventually introduced himself as Reed, approached the book strewn table with another armload of books. He set the stack down with a thump. "So you're trying to dig up dirt on Verlaine, eh?"Parika shrugged. "Just taking an interest in local affairs."Reed grunted and turned to leave. Before he could go, Rachel stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. When he looked back at her, she batted her eyes. "I'm sure an important official like yourself has some opinion on Verlaine. I'd love to hear what you have to say."Reed gave her a yellow-toothed grin. "Well, I can't say as I have much love for the man. He ain't done much but line his own pockets since he's been on the Council. And just the other day he sent his thugs in here to go diggin' around in my files, the filthy wretches.""Oh?" asked Rachel. "What were they looking for?""Old maps of Scurvytown. I told 'em there hadn't been a useful map o' that place in fifty years, but they kept demanding one, so I gave 'em what I had. And then they said they needed maps o' the sewers, too. I don't know what they was lookin' fer, but they made a right mess that I ain't had time to clean up yet.""Do you think we might be able to take a look at those maps?""Sure, they're, ah, over there on the floor. I'd get 'em, but my back is killin' me."Rachel thanked him and helpfully bent over to retrieve the maps. Parika rolled her eyes. Soon the maps were rolled out on the table, and they began studying them. "Whoever those guys were," said Parika, "they weren't the cleanest people in the world." She indicated a number of greasy fingerprints around the map. One particularly nasty spot was on a sewer entrance in Scurvytown.Nevroth checked the spot against the old street map and nodded. "That looks like it's right behind the temple."Meanwhile, Rachel was scrutinizing the sewer map. She traced one of the sewer lines with her finger. "They left us a trail, too. It goes all the way across town into the Merchant District, but it trails off there. Interesting."Parika found a sheet of parchment and made a rough copy of the route. She tucked it away in her pack and stood up. "Well, that should give us something to go on. Lets get moving."They packed up their gear and Rachel thanked Reed sweetly. They left the cackling record keeper behind and went back out into the afternoon sun. Their conversation ground to a quick halt as they saw a large group of armed men surrounding the records office, all bearing Verlaine's seal."Your presence is requested at the Courts by Councillor Verlaine. Please come with us."</blockquote>

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