Pathfinder – Shadow in the Sky: the Harrowed

[CanadienneBacon]

Girri is going to want to investigate two things:

1.) The cyphermage organization that Samaritha was so interested in joining. Girri will use Knowlege (local) to begin asking after the organization. She'll ask discretely at first. If that produces no results, let me know because at that point I may have Girri start to ask around in an overt manner hoping to attract the organization's attention. Girri's goal is to find out whether the mage at the Goblin is part of the organization, where the organization's interests lie, whether they are noble or black-hearted in intent, and she will additionally attempt to case their building looking for means of ingress and watching who enters and leaves. Detect thoughts, silence, obscuring mist, and/or comprehend languages might come into play.

2.) The robbery at the Golden Goblin. Girri will case the Goblin, watching to see whether the local authorities investigate and whether her name gets mention as a suspect. She'll use magical means to hide herself whenever possible so that in the event she is a suspect, she hopefully won't get nabbed by the coppers. Detect thoughts, silence, and obscuring mist might come into play.


As long as it is safe to do so, Girri will continue sleeping at home and will take care of the stairs and the building's midden.

 

[Ambrus]

OOC: Sorry for being so tardy in responding; I'd posted, had been waiting for your response and then got far too caught up with other things. Mea culpa.

In the morning, after taking care of her stair sweeping and midden emptying responsibilities, Girri heads out into the streets to make a few discreet inquiries. Asking around is hardly necessary however, the previous evening's Gold Goblin heist is the talk of the Harbor District. The harrower overhears many colorful recountings of the event and often finds herself amused by the sometimes ridiculous inaccuracies that have crept into the tale in such a short amount of time. Seeing as how she personally witnessed the entire event, Girri quickly sifts through the rumor mill chaff and comes up with the popular view of what transpired. One element which may seem to be working in her favor is the uncertainty revolving around how many robbers were involved; some versions either include or exclude Samaritha, Old Scratch the imp or Girri herself.

Working her way down to the Gold Goblin itself, Girri observes the gaming hall from a safe distance. The place appears closed down. A pair of Overlord Cromarcky's gendarmes are guarding the front double doors. So it would seem that the city's government has taken some measure of interest in the heist. Hanging around the large golden goblin statue's sword arm is a painted wooden placard that reads 'Help Wanted. Inquire within.'

Seeing as how arcane magic was clearly involved, it seems that others have likewise concluded that the Cyphermages may be involved in the robbery; conjecture amongst the gossip-mongers is rife. Word on the street is that the Cypher Lodge has failed to react to the implication that a mage was seemingly involved yet. That's not terribly surprising seeing as how few fancy boys have been seen outside of their Lodge across the river ever since Blakely's Shadow first appeared in the sky above the city.

Though not personally familiar with the Cyphermages, Girri knows of them by reputation. As unlikely as a cabal of mages might be within a pirate city such as Riddleport, their presence seems due entirely to the existence of the mammoth and mysterious Cyphergate itself. The Order of Cyphers has no official function within the city beyond the ceaseless research its scholarly members conduct on the city's namesake. Even so, in the short span of time that it has existed, the Order of Cyphers has grown in power and influence within the city. Some say that the Order's duly elected speaker Elias Tammerhawk has his eye set on the position of Overlord and isn't terribly far from achieving it; that is, unless Gaston Cromarcky has anything to say about it. Most crimelords within the city don't seem to know how to react to a magical menace and so do one of two things; ignore them or employ them. The fact that most crimelords have been employing the services of the Cyphermages to magically ward their holdings would seem to be the primary reason that the Order has risen steadily in power since it's inception. By handing over fistfuls of money to the Cypher Lodge to keep themselves magically safe, it would seem that the city's crimelords have inadvertently elevated the cabal to a position from which the can conceivably dominate city politics. Most busybodies on the street don't seem to lend much credence to the idea that the spellcaster involved in the Gold Goblin robbery is a Cyphermage; it seems too crass and petty a cash grab for the fancy boys to involve themselves with.

While listening to various conjecture being postulated about the heist, Girri begins to grow alarmed by people's efforts to identify the perpetrators. Supposedly one robber was killed during the heist; no one seems to recognize him as a local thug. Similarly, neither the eyepatch sporting woman or the spellcaster seem known to locals. But some say that a local Varisian dancing girl might have aided in the robbers' escape. An abbess from the House of the Silken veil who'd been working the Goblin at the time says that she recognized the woman. Not long after she hears this, Girri is approached by a neighbor woman of her's from whom she occasionally purchases eggs.

"Aye. A dwarf in fancy britches and some big ulfen man came by yer building earlier. They described ya to me and asked if I knew where you lived. I told em no cause they wouldn't tell me what business it was 'o theirs. They went on, asking everybody who was outside. They came back a bit later and knocked on yer door then went up ta talk ta tha dowager upstairs. I saw em give her a note before they left."

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Alarmed, Girri outwardly frowns before regathering her wits and softly patting the neighbor woman on the upper arm. "Aye, ye did right, missus, an' me thanks. I don't know wot a dwarf might want o' me, but it cain't be much good, can it?" Girri gives the egg woman a silver piece to show her thanks and hopefully buy silence, then heads into her own building via a back way (if there is one) and makes for the dowager's door, on which she quietly knocks.

 

[Ambrus]

OOC: There is an alleyway that backs onto all the buildings along this street; it's for use by servants and where the middens are. Girri can easily make her way to the back of her building but the door only leads to the dowager's kitchen. The only way to Girri's under-stairs hovel is from the front of the building.

Girri picks up her skirts as she makes her way along the muddy alleyway so as to avoid stepping through the refuse and muck flowing down its center. She passes a few familiar faces along the way; serving women busily emptying out chamber pots and garbage bins into the midden piles lining each side of the rear alley. The Varisian harrower does her best to ignore the stench and the rodents scurrying by underfoot.

Arriving at the rear door to the dowager's kitchen, Girri sees that the midden she'd emptied earlier that morning already has some kitchen scraps littering its bottom. As she's about to rap her bare knuckles on the door, the young woman spots an unusually white spec amidst the midden's otherwise drably colored contents.
[sblock=Assuming Girri investigates the spec...]Peering closer out of curiosity, the harrower sees that what she'd caught a glimpse of is in fact a small piece of fine parchment folded over. Gently plucking the note out of the surrounding refuse, Girri scrapes the stray vegetable matter off of the paper, unfolds it and reads:

We know that you were the one dancing
at the Gold Goblin during the robbery last
night. Save yourself some trouble and
come to the Gold Goblin to talk to
Mr. Vancaskerkin about it. If you don't
then we'll either have to come out again
or let the gendarmes haul you in. Don't
make that happen; I've got better things
to do and won't be happy bout having
to stomp all over Riddleport after you
and the gendarmes will treat you even
worse if they get you first. But mark
my words; I will find you wherever
you go if I have to.

Larur Feldin
Gold Goblin floor manager

Idly, Girri wonders to herself whether the dowager has ever thrown out anything else intended for her.[/sblock]