[tSoY] Dungeons and Dragnet

[Lackhand]

Valandil: I've already described the faint dusting of ash outside the window. The facing window -- the little girl's room -- provides an excellent vantage to what have happened that night. The others, not so much, however.

The remaining watchmen proceed about managing the details of the crimescene to your exacting specifications.


Himura: You were able to climb the wall without too much difficulty at all. Time and again, it might have been nice to have been able to secure greater purchase , but a strong sword grip covers all flaws.

The stone is rough-but-smooth, just a grade or two below "river-polished", but shaped such that there are enough ridges between the stones to use for grips. The shock of ash at the top is much slighter than you had thought, just an incidental dusting. Now your hands are dirty again, great.


Valandil & Himura:
The names of the boys were Willem and Eddard Tane, both engravers for the Post, a somewhat lowbrow broadsheet issuing from presses scattered across Dura and Cliffside. Cheapest paper, cheapest ink, cheapest block prints, and cheapest news.

The ink-smirched brothers are fond of drinking, chasing women, and gambling, but have little time for leisure pursuits, as they are always busy.
Their friends at the Post haven't seen them today; their manager, an obese and lively dwarf named Lyssa, had sent a runner to find them earlier, looking for them at all their usual haunts and failing.

Your attempt to do the same is met with similar failure until you ran into the watchmen milling about a broken tavern window in the Goblin Quarter. A fight between a few hotheaded drunken louts broke out against some demihuman scum, Officer Taymon of the Day Watch informs you.
His shiny breastplate gleamed regally on his six-foot frame, and the passing demihumans looked on him with a mixture of loathing and loathing. He's the only one not spattered with mud from the rain, a large black folding umbrella held in his gauntleted hand to keep his armor scintillating.

Seems Willem and Eddard were in the crowd of ten humans that did a bit of drinking last night. They're in the drunk tank, miserable and reeling. The victims of their sottish rage were less lucky, one having been beaten to death, three with injuries charged with Disturbing the Peace, and another few unaccounted for.

 

[tursiops]

Himura has a message sent to their mother saying that they are safe. Himura also has a message sent to Darrien (telling the messenger to check both at the crime scene and neighboring houses and at the Keg & Kettle) that the boys have been found, and giving their location.


Himura then asks officer Taymon for some specifics about the incident, complimenting him on him immaculate appearance on such a dirty day:

When exactly did it happen (or the watch's best estimate if the exact time is not known)? Specifically Himura wants to know if this happened before or after the incident at the Hotel.

Were the drunken humans known to be friends or merely drinking buddies found that night?

Were the demihumans all of the same type? What type(s) were they?

Were any weapons involved on either side? Is there anything strange about the injuries sustained on either side?

 

[CaineWasFramed]

Meanwhile, Darrien trys to deal with the nervous parents. "Nothing to be worried about folks, we just noticed your daughter staring down at us from the window. I wanted to stop by and make sure she's all right, and see if maybe she saw anything. Just a casual little chat and then I'll leave you to your tea." as Darrien says this he steps into the door (Deceit +,0,0,1 rank to make them think everything is okay).

If the parents let Darrien in he'll ask to see the girls room, and then spend some time chatting with her, slowly comming around to the question of whether she saw anything (+,0,+,1 rank if this is deceit, 0 ranks if it's ettiquette).

If the parents refuse to let him in, he'll start to get more serious, first emphasizing that this he needs a statement as part of his report. He'll try to keep the tone calm, but insistent. If the couple remains adamant he'll start to ask why they're not willing to help the police, and start to question the couple as suspects (where were you at the time, what do you do for a living, how long have you been in the area, do you frequent the inn, can anyone back up your story, etc.). +,0,-, not sure what the skill is here. If he's still not successful in trying to talk to the girl he will leave (he doesn't want to scare the girl), saying "enjoy your tea folks. I'll be back later with a warrant," (he's doesn't think they're suspects in this crime, but he does think something in the appartment may be suspect and he is serious).

Whether or not he's successful he'll then proceed across the way the the building on the other side of the shaft, so see who's there and try to find more witnesses.

 

[Lackhand]

Darrien: Ah, but these are not rote peasants to so easily be trundled by your pack of lies!
They oppose your Deceit with a flat-footed, slack jawed resist of (+ + 0, 1 rank) = 3.

So they do indeed refuse to let you in, and I'm choosing to interpret your "get more serious" as BDtP, which is what this sounds like to me!
(The stakes are: You win, you get to talk to their daughter, and the parents cooperate fully with your investigation.
They win, and you leave their house, and the police don't bother them again. Also, the librarian gets to lecture you about civil liberties while looking somewhat like an angry chicken.)

You lost the initial roll by 1, meaning the amazing Husband/Wife Tag Team Of Awesome get one bonus die to their attempt (via Sway) to, knowing that something is up and this spells the end of a terrible day, convince you that they couldn't possibly be of any help. (0, 0, -, -, and I GoD them to another 0, meaning total of 0.)

Your action was perpendicular; over their protestations, you grow grim and threatening. Right now, you're *also* sitting on a 0; if you had Sway you could get right back @ 'em, but this sounds like an untrained sway, thus failing.

Perhaps spend pool or GoD or convince someone else to GoD you?
Also note, since both sides failed their duel of wits (staring at each other slackjawed, mustering up a new point!), you can change your stated intention now for free.
They're not going to; you threatened them, deepening their resolve to not help, but otherwise they're pretty happy with "trying to make you go away forever".

You can change stated goal if you like, though.

I spent one GoD, I have 5 left

 

[VenezuelanWiz]

Himura San and Valandil Question

'Demihuman scum' is not a term that anyone wants to hear, particularly from an officer. After gently chidding the officer [making sure his ears are visible only to the officer otherwise they remain covered] he requested to be taken to see Willem and Eddard, and if they could be provided with a room to question them.
"Willem, Eddard, would you care to tell us where you were to be found last night ? Other than out drinking, brawling, and tormenting your dear mamma, who is wrought with worry", Valandil said.
After trying to instill in them some guilt/worry over their mom and shirked responsibilities Valandil proceeded to ask about the ex-inhabitants of the inn, asking particularly after Emerikol and his companions. If they were around yesterday what they saw/heard. Last but not least he attempted to convince them that fighting is a bad thing and demihumans aren't all evil monsters or destructive or whatever their misconception might happen to be.

Use Resist to avoid answering any questions they may have as to the nature of the investigation (-,0,0, 2 ranks= 1), use Discern Truth untrained to try and catch any lies they tell (+,+,+,0 ranks=3), and sway untrained to convince them of the badness of fighting (-,-,+,0 ranks= 0). If a 'gilt them' check is needed then it is attempted untrained (0,0,+, 0 ranks = 1)
Hopefully Himura will be able to aid with the checks.

 

[Lackhand]

Himura and Val: they fight crime!
Himura dispensed a few coppers to get a message around town.

Taymon accompanied you back to the drunkard's cells, so we'll have this scene there, if that's okay. Nothing untoward happens while you brave the elements to get to the cells. Most of the nights' stragglers have decided to go home, rather than face the rain; you've been running around town since dusk and it's probably closer to twelve bells now.
Straining, at the edge of hearing, you can hear the silver voices of the Flamists tolling the hour, three minutes before the Sovereign Bells boom out, steady and bronzed and deep.

The cells are cramped and uncomfortable, located on the top few floors of a tower devoted to the Men of the Day Watch. The tower is well built, dating from before the Last War, and one of the older buildings in its neighborhood.
Taymon answered a watchman's bell at daybreak, breaking up a fight between a few ugly drunks, and the mangy curs in the next cell over: Shifters, badly hurt and still unconscious.

The shifters are charged with assault with deadly weapons, disturbing the peace, and a variety of other, more minor crimes. They have criminal records already, Taymon remarks, which is not uncommon for their kind, especially around Lower Dura, where they have trouble finding housing, pack wars with the goblins, and tend to let hotter tempers prevail.

The humans did, in some cases, pull weapons, but of the "metal tankard"/"chair" variety: weapons of opportunity. All told, they're in about as sorry shape as the shifters, just spread out over more bodies; the bite marks are deeper, the claw marks red and angry, and in one or two cases, the services of a dragonmarked or Sovereign's Healer may prove necessary.


Officer Taymon rattles a truncheon on the bars, gets Willem and Eddard to pay enough attention to answer questions, and walks off, keeping his distance from the Shifter's cage, his spine erect.

The two brothers look particularly sorry here: torn clothes, bruises, and middle-aged-paunch wear thin on anyone, but the bleary red eyes and stubble point at the aftermath of a bender.
Eddard suffered a bite to the shoulder during the fight, and is cradling it delicately.

They're initially reticent, but you're able to gather from their chorus-of-testimony that Willem was minding the till last night while considering his layout for a woodcut (Eddard asleep in the back room), when he thought he heard something from the adventurer's room upstairs. In general, he didn't like to meddle, but when he heard a few heavy thumps a few minutes later from the midden...
"Like someone throwing sacks of meal around, 'twas. I went round th' back to check, not wanting me mum to have to worry with a big mess out back, not again.
Th' door were already open, an' I saw a few angry looking Manges, begging your pardons, officers, Shifters, milling about the door.
I shouted at 'em, scare 'em off, I did -- and they bolted. I could 'tell 'em was already drunk, so I got together a few of the Boys, and we went out to find 'em, 'cos I wanted to get some names.
Walked down to the Well's Fare Pub down there an'... well, things got a bit out of hand. We just wanted to find out who was muckin' about me mum's place, nothin' more, officer. But the Manges didn't like us fine folk comin' down to there, and one thing sorta led to another."

He's glad to hear his mum's okay -- he wasn't really worried about her, so much as the property damage -- and seems to assume that the "mucking about" was of the breaking windows/graffiti variety, not the robbery/multiple murder sort.

Not sure you could convince him that fighting is a bad thing, or that shifters aren't dangerous -- their big ruttin' teeth took a chunk out of his brother! -- and the racism goes pretty deep through him.

Neither of the brothers remember a lot about Emerikol the Elder; he and his band checked in while Eddard was minding the desk, and paid good gold coin to have the rooms for a few weeks, with no questions to be answered.
They did some odd things, came and went at strange hours, and paid to remove the stains when a visit of theirs poking around somewhere in the Cogs turned violent and messy.

The woman (Tanya) was a warrior of some sort, usually kitted out in chainmail under whatever she was wearing; the man (Dag) seemed like a merchant of some sort, always talking of trade, and handling coin for the three of them.

Dag had a sense of humor, and made fast friends with the dwarves, the one time they had eaten in the commons room. Tanya was restless, and spoke maybe three words to the recollection of either brother, falling back to grunts and nods, the rest of the time.
It was Dag who hired Orgrim, the Finder, on the recommendation of Willem.

Emirikol rarely consented to speak to any of them, bossing around the two underlings and responding in a clipped, cultured Karnathi accent to anyone impertinent enough to speak to his fabulousness. He carried his staff with him everywhere, no matter where it got in the way, and was very, very fussy about the meals that were carried up to his room, for him to eat separately.

Darrien: Your BDtP is still ongoing, so feel free to post your action, too! I'll be out of town for the next week, so my posting may be spotty. Bear with me. Growrl. <-- a bear.

 

[tursiops]

"I have a few questions:

Can you describe what sort of sound it was that you heard from the adventurers room that led you to believe something was amiss?

You said you didn't want your mother to have to deal with a mess out back again. What happened the first time?

From your testimony I assume that these [Himura gestures towards the cell with the Shifters] are not, to the best of your knowledge, the ones that were at the inn.

Do you have any more details about when they "paid to remove the stains" from that "violent and messy" visit to the Cogs?"

[I rolled a +-0 to discern truth which I should have done earlier but it doesn't really matter anyway]

 

[Lackhand]

Himura: He doesn't know what the sounds were, they were pretty faint, and muffled by the inn. Nothing big, nothing that noisy, and nothing out of the usual for the current occupants.

The paid to remove the stains thing: They were paid to not ask questions so they didn't ask questions.
The trio were covered in filth and blood, with a large portion of it Tanya's. This was about a week ago. She looked pretty good the next day, though became a lot more fidgety, her hand rarely straying far from a sword.

The testimony: Willem, the more outgoing brother, fixes you with a flat eyed stare. "One Mange looks just 'bout the same to me as 'nother, officer, 'specially in the dark. The fight weren't our startin', we was just looking to ask some friendly questions."
On "again": "Well, they're always starting fights, and stealing, and vagrancy an' suchlike, aren't they? I'm no Flamist, but you gotta see their point: Nothing a shifter does better than shift; turncoats, th' lot of them. They've caused no trouble recently, but my brother an' me got long memories; time was our mam's place was scrawled on coupla times a month, or they'd be making trouble for the custom, or some such."

He darts his eyes into the other cell, nervously. The shifters are all still out of it, none paying any attention to him, which causes him to visibly relax.

 

[tursiops]

In response to Willem "I'm not worried about who started the fight. I only asked if those were the same as the ones that were at your inn because, if they were, then we would want to interrogate them."

 

[VenezuelanWiz]

Where Valandil Starts to Show Frustration

"Without good reason only fools visit The Cogs. . . and fools they didn't appear to be" thought Valandil to himself.
Valandil wished that Kara weren't busy with her examinations. He thanked the two brothers [When Himura finished with his questioning] and proceeded to tell Officer Taymon, in private, that his bias against Shifters, and more generally demihumans, would be likely to cause troubles. Valandil was outwardly calm, but Himura noticed that some of the shadows were becoming sharper. It was a clear sign to those that knew Valandil's moods, that Valandil was bothered.

[If nothing untoward happens from the above] After this Valandil suggested they return back to the Keg & Kettle to discuss with the other members of the squad what they've learned, possibly see if amongst the 'evidence' taken at the scene there were any notes or somesuch that the ex-adventurers might have kept.