House Medani Detection Office:The Lady in Blue (Updated 12-03-05)

[Express]

Ok been a while......


1. Rainy Day Doldrums


What can I say, it started just as a regular day, Mol to be exact. It was a cool day, mid morning and raining. And as usual, the office was dead.

Myself, I was seated at my desk reading the Korranberg Chronicle. It was an old copy but I was bored and reading it for what was the fourth time. Me? I guess I should introduce myslef. Im Calib d'Medani, operator of the Sharn branch of the Medani Detection Office.Not the main office, more like the tertiary one. Now I know you may be thinking: dragonmarked? a noble? powerful and influential? Let me assure you- I ain't that impressive.

Of course I have the mark. Im a half elf and even related to Baron Trelib who's up in Wroat. But Im a bit of a black sheep in my family- its a long story, but I nearly got disinheirited. So now, only because of my maternal connections am I allowed to run the most unprofitable branch office of our Guild. I mean the Baron's a mover and shaker, and hes up in Wroat. If you have any gold or power you go see him. So my office is mostly freelance work, small stuff really.

Which means Im broke..again.

Im not alone though. Our branch office has three associates. Looking up from the Chronicle I see one: Anvil. He's warforged- an a wizard to boot if you can believe it. Handy in a tight spot, really knows his stuff. Now that particular morning he was sitting by the window watching the rain. Sometimes Anvil likes to have people think he's dumb, but he was sitting there so still, so motionless. I would have sworn he was asleep except warforged don't sleep. Anvil is hard to figure sometimes.

Now no business doesn't mean our grubby little office was quiet. Why? Because of course Dorbo was in the back room banging on something. Dorbo's a gnome and an artificer which means he's either pestering you with questions or tinkering. And by tinkering I mean hammering. Hes a bit absent minded and all, doesn't realize the racket he makes, but a nice guy. And he doesn't complain all that much when I don't pay him on time.

I was getting ready to shout at him to keep it down but Bynara beat me to it. Bynara had been snoozing in the corner, but the noise woke her. And of course Bynara being a shifter means shes now making as much if not more noise than Dorbo. Bynara's our tracker and footpad, stealthy and silent- she can shadow a halfling across the plains of Talenta in the noon day sun and he'd never see her. But she's got a temper- it didnt take her long to fly to the back room. The sound of crashing metal led me to believe she threw something at Dorbo and narrowly missed.

I was about to play mediator, when SHE walked in. Anvil didnt notice her, and the noise of a scuffle told me the others were too busy, but I saw her. SHE was beautiful; hair like golden straw, piercing blue eyes, dressed in fine silks, and her ears....by the Five Nations... she was a half elf!

I just stood there speechless, I mean not only did we have a customer she was a knockout....

 

[Seravin]

Nice opening. I like it and hope to see more of it.

 

[Ancalagon]

There are certain elements of film noir in this first entry, I like it.

Ancalagon

 

[caixa]

Nicely done, can't wait to hear more.

Thanks for doing an Eberron storyhour - its got me "jazzed" too.

Peterson

 

[Express]

Rainy Day Doldrums (Continued)

Now when I was put to sleep, the last thing I remember seeing was her face from hours before. She was like an angel. She wore a dark hooded cloak to protect her from the rain, but when she took it off, she revealed a dark blue dress of silk. Her skin was fair and she had a sapphire ring on her right hand. She couldnt have been older than 30. And her blue eyes...

But I'm getting a little ahead of myself. For several akward moments I was just standing there, dumbfounded. Anvil noticed the woman and my state, so he rose to meet our guest.

Now Anvil has a deep voice and he speaks usually rather slow. In fact he probably sounds like your grandfather. It always strikes me as funny-he sounds like a member of Parliament sometimes. "Good Morning my Lady" he said, "I am Anvil, how may the House Medani serve you today?"

The woman smiled at Anvil and looked to me. I snapped out of my reverie and introduced myself. I offered her a seat. From the back Bynara and Dorbo had heard our customer and stopped squabbling. Out of the corner of my eye I could see them peeking into the room. I introduced them to our guest.

"My name is Honora Onaan. I have traveled from New Cyre to seek some word of my stepbrother of whom I have had no communication for many months. I have entreated with the authorities with little result, so now I seek your professional advice. The innkeeper at the Blackstone Towers directed me to one of your other offices, but it was closed, so I made my way here, with directions."

Blackstone Towers I thought. Only one of the most expensive hostelries in town.

Bynara and Dorbo took seats nearby. Dorbo, the ever-prepared gnome had taken ink to paper and was taking notes. Byanra and I exchanged a knowing glance and a joint vision of avarice and riches passed between us.

Honora continued, "The authorities have found no trace at his lodgings or at Morgrave University where has been working. My brother I should tell you is a sorcerer, greatly intrigued with the mystic side of magic and with ancient lore.Of this I am not ashamed."

I nodded in silent agreement. I should have been studying her to guage her intent, motive etc...but found concentrating hard to do.

She continued despite my quiet difficulties. "He has been from home for many years but always stays in touch or finds time to visit. But for six months I have had no word. I am at my wits end, I fear."

Anvil spoke up in his parliamentain grandfather voice, professional as ever "Do you have reason to fear for his safety? As unpleasant as this is to ask, does he have enemies? Do you know what he has been doing at the University?"

"I fear I know little of my brothers recent life," Honora replied , "he is a most private person, which I have always respected. You see, my stepbrother served in the War for Breland- it greatly affected him. In the past few years he adapted a most fatalistic air toward life."

Honora produced a parchment."I have here the addresss of his lodgings and the name of those he knew at the University. They have not been very helpful at Morgrave, so I hope you may have success."

I inquired if she had a picture of her brother, trying not to stare. She did, a well done miniature one, expensive looking. It portrayed a young male half elf in light armor and velvet robes holding a short spear. He was handsome with a jaunty determined look on his face, as if he was about to spring out of the frame.

Questions and Answers followed. How old was the portrait? It is a decade old portrait Honora explained but he has been little changed since its commission. His name? Hennet.They looked very much alike I thought.

Bynara began to broach the subject of money, whereupon our customer produced a small leather purse and placed it on the desk. It jinged and thudded with a most satisfying heaviness.

"Here is 750 gold pieces as retainer." she said in the most bland manner. "I am sure you will bill me for expenses and other cost. Money is no object. War and peace have made me a widow and a wealthy one at that." The young woman paused as tears welled in her eyes, but she held them back with great composure. "Hennet is the only family I have in the world. Please find him."

That was the end of the interview. After a few more pleasentries she refused an escort to her inn, exited, and boarded a sky coach that we had failed to notice near the balcony .

And we were alone with the gold.

 

[Express]

Rainy Day Doldrums (Continued)

I waited until she was safely away, then turned to the others, still slightly under the womans spell. "Well? Opinions?"

Anvil shook his head. "Hers is a sad tale indeed."

Dorbo chuckled."You're moon eyed after her boy."

Bynara clapped her hands. "We're rich! We can pay off our bill at the Crown Heart!"

We all concluded that was a wonderful idea.

The Crown Heart is a tavern, of course. Our office sits in a less than fashionable-but respectable section of the city, about midway up the city altitude wise. The Crown Heart is two sky bridges from our building (which also holds our lodgings, I might add) and is our unofficial home away from home. So it was there we adjourned to plan our strategy.

It was agreed over lunch that the following day we would divide the legwork. Myself and Bynara would confer with the authorities and inspect Hennet's home, while Dorbo and Anvil would poke around Morgrave. Neither option promised much hope of success.

Lunch ran into dinner. Dinner into supper. Ale, wine and beer ran freely. It was dark by the time we returned to the office, each of us (except Anvil of course) slightly under the influence.

The night was fine and clear. It had stopped raining, and the sky was alight with the glow of the Ring. It was Bynara noticed the door first, despite the darkness and the liquor. Hissing she pointed to the lock- it had been picked and the door slightly ajar.

Dorbo began to sputter, "My laboratory! My things!'

A cold look from Bynara shut him up. "Follow me gnome,"she whspered, "we'll try the backdoor. You take the front?"

Anvil and I nodded in agreement. Bynara was good with tactics. After a few minutes to allow the others to get in position, we entered, attempting to be quiet. I could hear chattering from another room. It was dark, pitch black in the office.

I heard the spell too late. It struck me like a hand. In a flash I was out cold thanks to a sleep spell. Caught unawares like a fool. Before I fell unconscious, I saw Honora's face again, my angelic Lady in Blue as I hit the floor.

 

[Express]

Rainy Day Doldrums (cont'd)

I awoke a short time later. By then the office was well lit, the lamps turned on. Anvil was standing over me, smiling, or at least a close approximation of a smile as Warforged do.

"For a half elf you sleep quite well." Anvil actually chuckled.

Now this jest may be lost upon you. I'll explain this a bit later. It all comes to the fact I'm a black sheep and why a sleep spell would affect me. It has to do somewhat with family history, so I won't go into it here.

Suffice it to say I consider myself a half elf. I look a little like a half elf. I even prefer the company of half elf women. But physically, I'm human.

At any rate I struggled to get to my feet. Bynara was gone, off chasing our intruders. Dorbo was in the rear of the office standing over a small figure dressed in a black suit. As I stumbled over, I could see through the spell and alcohol induced haze it was a goblin lying motionless.

"He's dead Calib," Dorbo pronounced.

"For the love of.." I sputtered. "Did you have to kill it?" Now the City Watch will have be called. Questions. Wonderful.

"It tried to get away in the dark, boy," Dorbo snapped, "Bynara tripped it. We couldnt hit 'um they were too quick."

"No doubt their speed was magically influenced, I have little doubt of that. " Anvil interjected helpfully. With a shrug he went to inspect our office for signs of theft.

Bynara appeared in the doorway breathing heavily. "Theyre gone, moving too fast. Two of them. I couldn't keep up."

While Anvil looked the place over, the rest of us gathered round the corpse. Its clothes were black, nothing fancy nothing too shabby.A bloody dagger was in its right hand, a pool of dark blood beneath the body. It had a mask over its mouth and nose, which Dorbo removed.

"Stone cold," the gnome observed. "When Bynara tripped this fella he fell on his blade. Look, its got somthing on it." He crouched and sniffed at the dagger. "Something toxic. Took him quick like."

We didnt recognize the goblin, wasn't from our district. He had no tatoos or marks that would make him a soldier in any crimelord's organized groups. Dorbo did pull a strange necklace off him. A small black furry paw.

We passed it around. Rabbit? Racoon? We pondered it.

Anvil returned. "My limited observations seem to reveal nothing was taken. Dorbo's laboratory is in a ramshackle state however. It appears we interrupted their attempt at burglary." Dorbo grunted unhappily and went to look after his things.

Bynara took the paw. Sniffed it. Studied it. For a moment I thought she was going to put it in her mouth.

"That's no animal paw." she said with a confident smile. "Its a gnoll paw-the right one, shrunk down."

That was it for me. "I'm going to bed. I'm drunk, tired, and embarassed. Anvil, fetch the City Patrol please. Answer their questions."

I climbed the rear steps and went to my room. There would be work to do tomorrow.

 

[Black Bard]

Great writing!!!

Can't wait for more!!

 

[Express]

2. The Investigation

The next day, as could be expected, I had a hangover. I shuffled downstairs. Everyone was there. Anvil was watching the window. Dorbo was cleaning up the chaos from the previous night. Bynara was at the desk, toying with the gnoll paw.


She informed me the Watch had collected the corpse. The blood stain was even gone. They hadn't asked too many questions, looked to them it was a straightforward robbery. I doubt the Watch looked too hard though. Bynara had asked their opinion of the paw- they thought it may have been a gang symbol, but those kind of fashions change rapidly. That goblin didn't look like a Lower Depths gang member to Bynara. Didn't to me either.

I was also told Anvil had spent the night carefully studying the paw. It was quite mundane, no magic detected. So Bynara had a new plaything.

Hennet's address was located in a "new" tower district, a section that had been built upon older exchanges and markets so prosperous merchants and bureaucrats could live a bit higher from the working classes in style. Sharn is after all called the City of Towers. Life is vertical as well as horizontal, and social climbers like to literally move up. A visit to a well-to-do neighborhood meant Bynara and I would need to dress up, look respectable. She would have to shed the bare midriff look. And I would have to pull out the vestments.

Now we all have a past, secrets, embarassments. Bynara, for instance was a ranger in the Eldeen Reaches. Got into some trouble she never talks about, now she's a city girl. Anvil was buried in the ground for several years until Dorbo found him. He has little memory of his past. Dorbo dyes his hair red to disguise his age. He was a librarian in Korranberg until he got interested in magewrightery. I am a slightly ex-cleric of the Sovereign Host.

Not that it was my choice. I have my mother to thank. I am the youngest of seven children. My mother was a born Medani. She was a force of nature, prideful, intelligent, beautiful. A true dragonmarked scion, and favorite cousin of Baron Trelib. My father died in a shipwreck before I was born. Both were true half elves. I am human, even the ears.

Before my fathers death, he had been from home for nearly a year. My mother had had a not too secret affair with a human knight. When my birth approached, my mother, guilty over the affair, my father's death, and fearful of dishonoring his name, went into seclusion. I was born in secret, and with my evident humanity was placed in the care of the Church. To the rest of the world, I had died at birth.

I learned everything. Seminary,divine magic, and martial studies. I was cloistered and knew little of my family or true name. It took the death of my mother and her will for my identity to be revealed. The intercession of the Baron himself avoided scandal. There are some who don't approve of me, even the Baron, I think, but I dont care.

However, I didnt really appreciate my situation. I was 16 when I was legitamized. Free of the church's discipline, I rebelled. I was an idle, drunken, whoring rebel. For several years. Again it took the pull of the Baron to give me a last chance, so here I am. The funny thing is I'm still legally a cleric, a warrior of the Church. I have little real spiritual authority, but I'm knowledgable with things divine. Being a Medani, and living in Breland, as long as I don't do anything too stupid, there won't be a problem.

So I dressed in the robes of the cleric, found the Holy Symbol. I take the outfit seriously. Its just my role I'm still unsure off.

I met Bynara at the front dooor. She had changed into a courtier pattern dress, light green perfect for summer. She looked good. Shifters usually got weird looks even in Sharn. In her outfit, she would blend in, which was the point.

We hailed a sky coach and headed off.

 

[megamania]

Well done and nicely paced. Solid introductions. Keep it up.