Very well, I’ll arrange for my staff to meet you all in the dinning hall. Maybe some tea will help to make everyone feel a little more at ease.
Gretchyn takes the silvery charm from Nia, analyzing it with an untrained eye.
I’ll have Patches show this to the children, see if any of them know who was hiding it. Normally I’d say my kids couldn’t sneak something in here under my nose, but obviously my house isn’t as secure as I once thought.
If you want to listen, stand by the back door here while Patches talks to the kids.
*******
Not one for many words, Svexyn slips away from the group and wanders outside, looking for access to the building’s roof. The gutter seems the safest candidate, though it is still slick with last night’s rain and a fine coating of green algae. Despite the difficulty, Svexyn easily clambers up the pipe, and lifts himself onto the roof.
The roof is constructed of grey and black fired clay tiles. It appears in good repair, many of the tiles looking brand new. You do spot several broken tiles though, and the gutters look like they could use a good sweeping. The leaves and other detritus threaten to block the gutters.
From this vantage point, you can see several routes someone agile enough could have taken to get onto the roof from nearby buildings, but you can’t imagine someone making the climb while carrying children. They would have to be very strong.
*******
The half-orc gathers the children around him and shows the leaf to the children. The children pass it around hand to hand, each getting a good look at it.
Now kids, have any of you seen this before? Maybe one of our missing friends kept it special, hiding it from Miss Gretchyn?
Its ok, you know old Patches wouldn’t get you in trouble, it will be our little secret right?
None of the children react at the sight of the token, and Patches shrugs his shoulders, handing the leaf back to Nia.
I’m sorry miss, the kids haven’t seen it. I know them, if they had seen it they’d have told me.
Patches waits for Gretchyn to start making afternoon tea, then moves to go back outside with the children. He stops in the doorway then turns back to the group.
Please, you’ve got to find those kids. I heard the city guard called of the search. A lot of people showed interest in finding those kids, but you are the first I’d heard about the kids in weeks. Find them and bring them back.
With that he turns around, quickly becoming “it” in a game of tag as a toddler ambushes him just outside the door.
After a few minutes, the staff is assembled in the dinning hall. Gretchyn introduces each one in turn and then leaves to watch the children.
The gardener, Jaromir Copperbeard, sits at the table with dirty fingernails, drinking water from a large clay flask instead of tea. He is middle aged, but his mane of red hair shows signs of grey at the temples.
The nurse, Neva Fanister, is a middle aged human woman. She professes no magical talent, but is well versed in mundane treatments and cures for a variety of childhood illnesses.
The cook, Temar Flagonstern, is an aging male human. He appears to be the inverse of what you’d expect a chef to be. His lanky, bony figure barely fits into his loose clothing.
The teacher, Willow Atherfell, is a middle aged half-elf who professes to be an alumnus of the orphanage. Her family was ambushed on the trade road, herself being the only survivor. She was raised by the city orphanage and then took on the job of its school teacher when she was old enough.
And finally the janitor, Patches. Also an alumnus of the orphanage, he might be mistaken for simple if you hadn’t heard him speak eloquently enough but a few minutes ago. He is more quiet then the others, only offering answers when questioned directly.
Valinaan starts the initial inquiry, asking each of them what happened the night of the disappearances. After a few minutes, you’ve put together the following details.
Everyone was accounted for that evening at dinner, all the staff eating together except for Jaromir, who always took his meal in his garden outside. While he seemed to have nothing against the kids, the screams of a few dozen whelps is enough to drive any sane man to crave some solitude.
After dinner, Willow, Gretchyn, and Neva helped the children wash up while Patches and Temar cleaned up the dinning hall and kitchen. Jaromir worked in the garden for a few more hours then went to bed early. The women saw the kids to bed, Willow reading to the children while Neva and Gretchyn took care of the little ones’ bed time preparations. After everyone was in bed, the 3 took a head count, then locked everyone in their rooms. This was the last time the children were all seen together.
Willow went to her room to read, then went to sleep. Gretchyn and Neva spent some time on the porch talking before they too retired to their rooms for the night.
Patches had been using the cooler night air as an opportunity to clean out the gutters and repair the roof out of the hot sun. He had gone outside to continue his work after finishing his kitchen duty. Patches doesn’t remember exactly when he came back inside, but went straight to bed.
No one reported seeing, or hearing, anything out of the ordinary. The house is old and has its share of night sounds. Any creaks or groans can normally be attributed to the old bones o fthe building settling into the volcanic soil. When Gretchyn awoke the next morning and went to wake the children, 4 beds were empty, no one being the wiser.
