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

[Express]

The Investigation (con't)

Thanks for all the feedback all..

As we rode along in the coach, Bynara tugged at her dress uncomfortably. She also kept checking the two daggers she had hidden in the wide sleeves of her garment. I smiled at his nervousness. I had my longsword, but doing legwork as we were meant forgoing the armor and alot of the hardware we might want to take. I think it made Bynara feel a little naked.

Our vessel wound to the north, away from the city center. It finally gained altitude and ran parallel to the river for a while. We could see Cliffside from this point and the dark shape of ships heading into port. The sky was dotted with other skycoaches and a few flying beasts. Lights from the Towers flickered from the darkness of the Lower City, and from the highest spires.

After about 10 minutes we arrived at our first stop, the City Watch District Headquarters.

It took us a while to find the records office, a dark little room in the lower part of the building. The office was manned by a rather small gnome who sat hunched over a ledger behind a high counter. Behind him through a door, we could see shelves and shelves stretching off into darkness. A single lamp of continual light illuminated the office.

We entered. It was quiet save for the gnomes scribbling. We stopped at the counter, and he ignored us. His downcast expression soured. It didnt take keen observational skills to see this gnome didnt get many visitors, a state of affairs he was most satidfied with.

"Yes?" he said regally, not bothering to look up.

I gave the little squint the particulars about Hennet. I wanted infromation regarding missing persons, recent deaths, suicides recently reported. I flashed my identification and my Medani credentials. The squint wasn't impressed. Bynara floated a few gold to grease the wheels of research.

"One moment" the gnome said. He climbed off his stool and disappeared into the back. The moment lasted fifteen minutes. He finally emerged, hidden behind two large ledgers almost as tall as him. He plopped them on the counter, and then went back to his scribbling.

Everything was organized so it didnt take long to find what we wanted. Hennet Onaan was not wanted for crimes in the Kingdom. No other governments were requesting his arrest. No one fiting his description had recently been murdered, committed suicide, or fallen off any bridges. So much for simple.

We left, which made the gnome happy, he smiled for the first time. We decided to walk to Henent's place, which wasnt far. The walkways and bridges werent crowded this time of day and we made good time.

"So he's a good citizen," Bynara mused, "he stayed out of trouble."

"Working with Morgrave University, I had thought maybe he had had a run in or two." I replied.

We both agreed that of the types of work we could be doing, missing persons had to be the worse.

 

[Express]

The Investigation (con't)

The place where Hennet lived was part of a complex of three towers. They were tall squarish structures, maroonish brown in color. From overhead they would have looked like points on a triange, each equidistant from the other.

The towers were joined together by a large plaza. The "front" of each tower faced the plaza; balconies studded the front at each floor. The entrances to each dwelling was also in the front of the tower. In addition each tower had external lifts, which had been built into a recessed facade to hold the glass and metal lift cages. The lifts shone bluish light as they descended and ascended on the front of the buildings.

The plaza had been well designed to be pleasing to the eye. It was like a park or garden- lined with trees, there was even a fountain in the center. Fairie fire danced in the greenery. Several people walked about. Bynara and I milled about the garden like a couple of sightseers, studying the place.

The balconies of the towers only faced the front. Four external doors, leading to residences flanked the lifts, two on each side. Those on the outside front were most likely more prized. The dwellings went all through the width of the tower, so those on the corners had more external windows, and better view. And it probably cost more, since this plaza sat higher than any of its neighbors in this section of the city. The plaza complex also stood about 200 feet apart from its nearest neighbor, allowing more of the panorama of the city to be seen.

We located Henent's house number, Tower 3, 337. His was a corner dwelling. We knocked on the door. No answer. Again. No answer. Not that we expected one. The ornate door of course was locked.

The door looked heavy, with a large lock. The facade of the building was decorated with ornamental balustrades, and small ledges. Tasteful carved gargoyles had been worked between the floors. The windows of the homes were oval. We admired all this as the lift went up and down. In the plaza a few people came and went. After a bit the plaza was all but empty.

"Well" I asked, "can you pick it?" Of course we could have contacted the property manager, plied him or her with bribes, but that would have taken time. It would have been expensive. And it could have advertised the fact we were looking. Sometimes the direct method is the best.

Bynara leaned against the door. She pulled out her tools. "I could" she said." I don't like doing it in broad daylight. But at night we would be prowlers wouldn't we ?" She laughed and pushed and pulled on the door again, testing it. She frowned."Wouldnt matter anyway. "Theres a bar on the door from the inside-its heavy. Not part of the lock."

I looked back to the plaza. No real foot traffic, the coast was still clear. Bynara tried the large front picture window. It was closed glass, no way to open it. The curtains were drawn.

She walked to the far edge of the balcony near the tower's corner. Smaller oval windows wrapped around the wall. Where the balcony ended it was a sheer drop nearly 100 feet to the next city level. However, masons had been to work recently; empty scaffolding of wood and canvas hung from the side of the tower around to the rear, out of view. The nearest scaffold was 10 feet away.

"Maybe there's a window in the back big enough, "she said. I studied the area again and nodded. With a grin she hiked her dress up a bit and scurried over the balconies edge. She pushed off and gracefully leaped to the scaffolding. She landed hard and the rickety works rattled noisily, and began to sway violently. Bynara waited and let it settle. Then she shifted.

Now Ive never seen a true were-creature. Ive seen Bynara shift before-it helps her climb. It always bothers me though. The change isnt so much physical as it is.. I don't know spiritual. When I look at her eyes it seems like a little of Bynara isnt there. She looked at me with those strange eyes and with a growl scampered along the scaffolding, and out of sight.

I waited out front, trying to look inconspicuous. The lift whizzed by, its occupants waving at me amiably. Several mintues passed. A pair of lovers embraced in the plaza below. I paced to the balcony's edge straining to hear or see Bynara.

I heard the bar being lifted behind the door, and the lock snap open. The door opened slightly and Bynara, looking more like herself ,peeked out. "Come on in" she said impishly.

 

[Nightingale 7]

Very good writing Express!Captivating,and easy to follow too.
Your group of PCs is pretty interesting too?Somebody had to try a Warforged Wizard eh?Isn't he fearful of the built-in ASF?I am also very curious to see how the Artificer class works.

 

[Express]

Very good writing Express!Captivating,and easy to follow too.
Your group of PCs is pretty interesting too?Somebody had to try a Warforged Wizard eh?Isn't he fearful of the built-in ASF?I am also very curious to see how the Artificer class works.

The ASF was a worry, but we wanted an arcane caster type in our group, and the player interested in warforged wanted to play against type. Anvil is alot like a sci fi robot, although he is physically strong, he is an intellectual. I will say this though-we rolled out stats and Anvil came out the best of all of us. Plus as will be shown later, Anvil has a little bit of bad luck in his backstory.

Our party looks like this for what its worth:

Anvil, warforged wizard 3
Bynara, shifter ranger 1/ rogue 2
Calib d'Medani, human cleric 2/ fighter 1
Dorbo Fodderwig, gnome bard 1/ artificer 2

 

[Express]

The Investigation (cont)

I crossed the threshold into the foyer. Bynara closed the door and worked the lock shut. She had turned on a lamp, so despite the curtains being drawn we could see. With a chuckle she folded her arms and leaned against the wall. "Take a look."

The room beyond was a mess, a tumult of overturned furniture, upturned rugs, and strewn books and papers. In its normal state I'm sure the dwelling would have been quite handsome; it had a marble floor, wood paneling, and a high ceiling.The front room even had a fireplace, over which hung a large portrait of Honora. Other doorways led to a large bedroom and study. But right now, it was a wreck.

Either Hennet was a terrible housekeeper or...

"Looks like someone beat us here," Bynara said finishing my thought out loud.

We started to look around. Bynara led me to the bedroom. She had entered by a large window there. She pointed to a small mechanism near the window sill. I could see there was a trap spring. Bynara directed my gaze to a nearby wall. There, mounted even with the height of the window was a small hole. "An arrow trap" Byanra said with a air of profesional knowledge. "The other windows are trapped too. This one's been tripped, the others haven't."

I nodded. Our Hennet was a cautious soul.

We began to search the rooms and there was alot to search. The bedroom and study were both in a state of disarray. The mattress had been cut up. Books, covering subjects ranging from magic to history to religion lay all over the floor. Expensive tapestries, small stautes and vases were knocked over, torn down or broken. Our search took a while.

Bynara dug into the desk in the study while I used my mark. I didnt find sign of anything magic around, unusual considering Hennet was a sorcerer. Bynara found a small purse with gold in the desk. There were also a few papers, mostly letters from Honora. They seemed to correspond quite a bit, and from reading the letters, they were warm and affectionate to each other. There was also a sheaf of a dozen other papers. They each said the same thing:

Your fee has been deposited to your account.

We returned to the front room. We probed the walls, the floors. Bynara kicked at the furniture. "So what were they after? There's some nice things here, you could turn some good coin from it. Why leave it? What were they looking for?"

I shrugged. The place had a fireplace. Given Breland's usual mild climate this looked like something for show. We searched it for a hidden door or safe or staircase, anything to justify our efforts. Nothing. I gazed at the portrait of Honora, which hung slighty askew. I lifted it, hoping to find a hidden safe. No luck.

Bynara took the portrait. I sat down on the edge of a turned over couch. "So they got along." she said, looking at the picture. "He was wealthy. Worked at Morgarve. Am I missing anything?"

I shook my head. "Morgrave might be our angle. I guess we should check the hospitals in case he turned up dead." I shrugged again.

Bynara wasn't listening. I looked up and she was hidden behind the picture, holding the portrait in front of her. She pulled out a dagger and began prying at the frame. I looked at her funny.

"The top of the frame is different", she explained, answering my unspoken question. "The frame is darkwood, see? The top isn't, and its loose." She hacked at the frame angling it for me to see.

"It was damaged," I responded. I didn't care if she tore it up, I mean no one would know. It just seemed wrong to deface Honora's picture.

Byanra worked the top, then the left, bottom and right part of the frame off. She held the canvas up. It was stretched and nailed to a wood backing. She cut and pried it off. As the canvas came free, I could see something on the back,and jumped up.

I picked up a table and we spread the canvas out. Words and symbols were written on the back. It was in language I couldn't read. There was a map of some kind at the bottom below the words. It was rough and looked like Breland, but the map wasn't marked, just an outline.

"Its not goblin." Bynara observed. I was terrible at languages so was no help. We spent countless minutes looking at the script, as if we were hoping our force of wills could rearrange the letters into a pattern we could understand.

Boom

The sound of something heavy crashing into the door brought our attempt at psionics to an end. I clutched the map and for a moment, we both froze.

 

[Express]

The Investigation (con't)

My hand flew to my sword. Whatever was banging on the door wanted in. Bynara took the canvas and folded several times. With a grin she tucked in beneath her dress. "You know," she said sheepishly, "I guess I didn't put the bar back up."

I drew my sword, and looked around. The fireplace was too small to hide in; the kitchen and privy? No help there. The dwelling was a single story affair. I looked at Bynara and she to me, then we scampered back to the bedroom.

Boom. The front door's hinges groaned under the assault. It, he or they were coming in. I followed Bynara through the bedroom out onto the scaffolding.The damned structure rattled and shook. I clung on for dear life; Bynara scuttled back to the front and the balcony.

"By Olladra, what are you doing, girl?" I cursed,' You're gonna make me.." I choked back my words, deciding it was better to concentrate on keeping my grip. I glanced down; it was along way to fall. I carefully inched my way in Bynara's wake.

Bynara came in sight of the front balcony. A small dark haired man in a drab suit stood there, his hand crossbow at the ready. He levelled it at Bynara and fired. The bolt missed and clattered off the scaffolding. Bynara let loose a goblin curse, and then understandably jumped back and reversed course.

I looked up. The scaffold was divided into sections and extended up in an irregular fashion to the tower floor above. Bynara and I retreated and began to climb. The small man followed.

Being a shifter, Bynara was able to outpace me. She reached the top of the scaffold before me. I tried to keep up but between the bucking of the scaffold and the wind whistlting across of the face of the tower, my progress was slow. Luckily, the small man behind us was as inept a climber as me. As I approached the top, I heard a wheezing sound below me. Coming out of Hennet's window was a large big headed man. He was bald, out of breath and looked angry.

I joined Bynara at the window of the apartment above Hennet's. The small man and Big Head were climbing toward us- obviously they had more determination than brains. I pulled my longsword and smashed at the window. The glass gave way and shards flew all about. Bynara went in with me a close second.

Our pursuers were climbing slow, and hesitated to avoid the shower of glass I had unleashed. I leaned out the window and swing at one of the ropes holding this section of scaffolding to the side of the tower. This got Big Head's attention and he redoubled his efforts. I hacked through two ropes on one side. I turned to the other side and cut through one near a pulley.

The scaffold wrenched away from the tower. It didn't come apart, but dropped away at a sharp angle. Ropes still held the base of the scaffold, but the top structure fell away violently and shook and twisted. The small man fell first, quietly, with a shocked expression on his face. Big Head held his grip, but couldn't pull himself back up. His weight pulled at the scaffold, and he fell with a cry.

I stuck my head back inside the window. The dwelling was unoccupied, it tenants thankfully gone. It was very much like Hennet's, and I sprinted to the front door and opened it. As quietly as possible, I crept to the balcony and looked down.

There, standing in front of Hennet's door was a big half-orc in drab clothes and a stupid look on his face. Like me earlier, he was trying to look inconspicuous. There was a commotion in the plaza below; evidently someone had noticed the half-orc's friend's door breaking routine. In the distance I could see a member of the Watch approaching.

The half orc noticed, too. He looked at Hennet's door. I hid. The half orc mentally struggled to find a plan of action, the difficulty of thinking all over his face. Finally with a grunt of confusion, he walked, then ran down the stairs of the balcony. He vanished into the trees of the plaza in full flight.

Bynara and I waited, smoothed out our garmets, then exited the apartment. Closing the door behind us, we calmly walked to the lift like any other citizen. It was time to get back to the office, no doubt about that.

 

[fenzer]

Express, I like this story. Your writing is fast and clear. thanks for a good story hour.

 

[Express]

The Investigation (con't)

Ya found WHAT!?" was Dorbo's repsonse when we all gathered at the office. The gnome clutched at the portrait hungrily, half listening to our day's adventure.

Bynara and I had been careful on our return home. We were feeling a bit paranoid and were fearful we might be followed. We took an indirect way back and changed sky coaches twice. We finally stopped to get something to eat, and then returned in the evening.

Anvil and Dorbo were there as well, having returned from the University. Their investigation had revealed a few interesting facts. Honora had given us two names that Hennet was associated with at Morgrave:

Kasper Guttman, Professor
Lazlo Voren, Assisstant Professor

Kasper Guttman, according to the University, had recently died while on expedition of Darguun. His corpse had just been returned to Breland. Lazlo Voren was on a leave of absence- had been for three months. That explained the University's lack of help to Honora's queries I guess.

The story about Guttman had checked out; the poor guy was buried in the North Cemetary. Dorbo (ever the prepared gnome) had obtained Voren's home address from City Records just in case; Morgrave had been unwilling to share such personal information. However, there was something else that piqued Anvil's interest.

Both Guttman and Voren were experts in goblin culture and history. They were both specialists in things Dhakkani as well.

"They do work at Morgrave University, that's not too unsual." I responded, still expecting big angry men to burst through our front door. Not my best retort, I admit.

"The two men had offices in the same building at Morgrave." Anvil replied, "and outside their offices there were several small items on public display. One such item was this." Anvil produced the gnoll paw Bynara had been keeping. "According to my discreet inquiries there, this is a trophy gathered by goblin tribes in Droaam, taken during the various periods of tribal conflict with the gnolls. It is, apparently, a sign of martial prowess and bravery."

Goblins? Gnolls? What in the Five Nations was going on here? "When you get involved with Morgrave..." I groaned quietly. Bynara laughed.

It had taken some effort to get that story out once Dorbo had seen the canvas. He and Anvil studied it intently, while I watched the windows. Bynara played with the gnoll paw.

"Oh ya" Dorbo added rather casually, "Our boy Hennet wasn't on the faculty at MU. If he had a job there, no one knew him." He turned back to the canvas.

"This is Draconic." Anvil diagnosed.

"But it makes no sense," Dorbo interjected breathlessly.

"It seems to be a code of some kind." added Anvil, much calmer.

"The map seems to be the border of Breland and Droaam, I reckon." Dorbo mused. We all looked. I could make out the Dagger River, the Greywall Mountains, Silver Lake. There were marks but nothing was labelled.

We spent the rest of the evening discussing everything. We decided the goons that chased myself and Bynara weren't City Watch- they didnt seem like Watch. But who? We also concluded we knew nothing about goblins.Why would a city goblin have a tribal totem?

I needed a drink.

I didn't like where this was going. Someone had been watching Hennet's place. We decided we should take turns keeping watch at night at the office just in case. Since we had no other leads we should shadow Voren's place. See what he does and where he goes. Once we found something out, we could always get an interview with him. Earlier that day, I might have been inclined to go to his house and politely question him, or get an appointment.

But now, I wanted to be careful.

 

[Black Bard]

Great writing, Express!!!
Just... smooth...

 

[Express]

3. Enter the Dragoneye.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind about Anvil. First obviously, he is a wizard. Being warforged, people have a lot preconceptions about him. People expect a fighter, a warrior, a walking sledgehammer. Anvil, he doesnt meet those preconceptions. He is big, and metal and all that, but he dresses in a purple tabard and robe, carries a staff, and wears a ridiculous hat that resembles a collapsed formless flour sack. He just looks sort of, well- funny. But Anvil is a wizard, and a good one.

Second, Anvil is smart and determined. Once he sets his mind to something, its hard to get him off it. Especially about familiars.

In the time Ive known Anvil, four years, he has had three familiars. All have met horrible, ignoble ends.

There was the cat Lupo, that somehow got spooked and jumped-not fell- off a skybridge. There was the toad ( I forget its name), that Anvil stepped on during a fight and turned into a pudding. Then, there was his last familiar, the owl Igo. Anvil loves owls, as they are intelligent and noble creatures. Poor Igo flew off on some errand for him, only to get run over by a sky coach. Since then, Anvil had suffered silently and patiently. He wanted a new familiar-and the time was approaching when he could finally summon a new one.

I mention this because Anvil's familiar "anniversary" occured as we took up sureveillance on Professor Voren's home. Voren lived close to the University. His neighborhood was full of inns and shops, and had quite a bit of pedestrian traffic late into the night, with people usually going to the taverns that dotted his neighborhood. We took rooms in the optimistically named Majestic, a small shabby inn located across the street from Voren's home.

The inn was a disgrace to the House Ghallandra I thought, but it offered the best place for observation. So we took up our station and watched. And waited. Fortunately Voren was at home and still in the city. Unfortunately, he didn't leave his home three days.

So with a lull in the action, and no sign that Voren was going to do anything interesting, three of us were watching Voren's home. Anvil took to summoning on the second day, and in the backroom of our cheap rented "suite" did his thing.

Now after day one I was beginning to get discouraged; I am not known for my patience. I toyed with the idea of checking on Honora, to see if she was alright, but I procrastinated and did nothing. Finally, on the night of the third day, with Anvil in full swing of his wizard activity, Voren got visitors.

About two hours after nightfall with a typical spring rain coming down, two goblins knocked on Voren's door. Both the gobs had yellowish complexions and wore light leather overcoats. They each had a short sword and looked unhappy to be out in a Therendor shower.

Voren came to the door. He was fat and balding, with a long wispy grey beard. He didnt exactly look like the legendary tomb raiders that Morgave is infamous for. The professor wore a garish crimson robe and spectacles, and when he saw the goblins, he was unhappy too.

A few words were passed between the gobs and the professor. Voren retreated into his doorway, got a leather pouch, put on an overcoat. The three then walked down the street and into the rainy night. Following was easy, thanks to the crowds out.

We left Anvil to himself (and with the portrait) and tried to be discreet as possible. Bynara led and Dorbo and I followed her. After 12 blocks Dorbo was breathing heavy, and my armor was getting wet. Our trio walked as if they hadn't a care in the world, then finally got into a covered magebred carriage that was driven by another goblin.

We got a skycoach and followed, and it wasn't too hard. The carriage went across town and into Cliffside, finally stopping in a run down section of warehouses at the base of the city's towers, away from the cliff's edge that gave the neighborhood its name.

Nearby, traffic moved down the several paths and roads that descended beneath ground level to the dwellings and business that were honeycombed into the cliff itself. Below us, as we descended, we could see the dark ribbon of the river and bay, outlined with the lights of the port. Ships moved up and down the river despite the weather. But as we landed,our particular part of Cliffside looked deserted.

We landed a safe distance away. Through the rain we saw the Professor and his three escorts enter a battered domed shaped warehouse through a large ten foot high sliding door. The door slammed shut and two goblins took up position outside. Guards. We could see rows of small windows running all around the warehouse's length. Most of the windows were painted over or broken, and small glimmers of light leaked out into the dark street. The warehouse stood close to another equally run down building, and except for a single street lamp, the area was quite dark and gloomy.

We stood a block away, peering around a corner, and tried to be brilliant despite the rain.