You’ve awoken on the floor of an unlit, unfurnished apartment. In one corner lies a spartan wooden coffin, in the other a heavy trunk. The windows have been boarded up, preventing any light from entering the room. The door bears multiple deadbolts and a key still rests in the lock. Your internal clock tells you that it is nighttime.
You are wearing nothing aside from your tattered clothes and a strange iron you’ve never seen before. Your only possessions are the dagger you found stuck in your chest and the letter. Folded up alongside the letter was a map as well.
[spoiler=Opening the Trunk]It appears your mysterious “Master” left a cache of a gear for the mission . In addition there is a set of guardsman’s equipment , and another note written in the same spidery handwriting as the first.
As you’ll soon learn, entering a private residence is impossible for a moroi without proper invitation. This guard uniform might help open some doors for you, but be wary as it will close others. In particular the Four Corners - due to a centuries-old religious restriction that contained no expiration clause, the courtyard is not subject to search or seizure by the authorities. As such the courtyard’s tenants are known to be a criminal fraternity of some kind. No city guard would be caught dead in the place - or rather, dead is the only way they’d be caught in such a place.
E.
Lirel groaned as she felt a spike of pain coming from her chest. And she had a splitting headache. Some days, things just don’t go well. She blindly reached towards her chest, encountering a familiar dagger hilt. She gritted her teeth to prevent herself from crying out loud as she slowly, painfully extracted the dagger. She then massaged her temples. "Argh, my head,” as she pushed herself into a sitting position. Something…wasn’t quite right here. People with chest wounds didn’t go around pulling daggers out of their chest. They either found a healer, or were brought to one quickly, or died. They didn’t wake up in some unlit basement of an abandoned house. She looked at her dagger in her hand with the letter on it.
With growing trepidation she read the contents of the letter, in the dark. She found that she could see perfectly in the darkness. She blinked a few times, then reread it. ”No..no, it can’t be. I can’t be dead.” She stared at the letter in horror as she touched her face, encountering only her cold dead flesh. She realized that all this while she had not taken a single breath. ”Occulus…what kind of monster have I become?” Her voice took fearful high pitched note. Her last memories were of tailing a hooded figure down a deserted alley. Then nothing. Nothing that could have given any hint of what had led to her current predicament.
Occulus manifests, a glowing blue transparent raven.
"You've become one of us now, Mistress. A child of the night. Or more commonly known as a vampire. Sunlight is now your bane."
Occulus could often be vague as the various spirits that possessed him struggled to get their grievances aired. But this time, Occulus's advice was now clear and succinct. And when the spirits were in agreement, it meant it was true.
Lirel took a few deep breaths(out of habit) to calm herself, even though she did not need to breathe any longer. She tried to remember what she could about vampires.
She reread the letter again. Her mysterious benefactor had apparently meddled with her affairs for a reason, with the intention of getting her services, phasing it as a test. It wasn't really that much different from her old life, as a private investigator. The work remained the same, with just one complication, she was now undead and her master could kill her at his whim. Immortality had its perks as well, like now she could have endless time to pursue her vendetta with the Hand. Provided she succeeded in this mission and her master released her from his control. She had a week to do this, and the clock was ticking.
She searched the room, opened the trunk, finding the rest of her gear as well as the cache of guardsman equipment. She looked at the longsword, longbow and arrows, shook her head then left them in the chest, then reclaimed her gear. In life, she had never known the use of those weapons, and in undeath she still did not know how to use them. She looked at the guardsman armor, and sniffed disdainfully. Not really her kind of thing, it was heavy and mostly got in her way. She took note that she would really need to find a good tailor who could mimic the appearance of the guardsman uniform with cloth.
"Occulus - what do you know about this place?"
"Mummy...I'm cold and hungry and want to go home."A child's whine came from Occulus.
"No, how many times did I tell you put in the blue powder in, not the red!" The voice of an angry man rose from Occulus.
Lirel sighed. The voices of the dead were being obtuse again. "That's enough, Occulus. You may go to your rest."
With that Occulus goes back to being a raven tattoo on the back of Lirel's neck.
She put on the guardsman scale mail, then as a afterthought, removed the longsword from the chest and belted it onto her belt, together with her cold iron dagger. Appearances, afterall. Now well disguised as a city guard, she then took the letter, map and key, and stepped out into the night, closed and relocked the door, then headed towards House Borgandy, using the map as a guide.
You emerge onto a street corner, completely unlit even though night has only just fallen. Although your first thought is to reach for a light to read the map, you quickly realize that your supernaturally honed senses can easily read even in this light.
Comparing the map with the local geography, you manage to figure out that you are currently standing on the far northeast corner of Via Scorpoli. Combing the map it seems that House Borgandy doesn't actually appear anywhere. Flipping it over in hopes of a full city map, you find only yet another handwritten note.
It may be tempting to seek out the Borgandy's and question them directly, but believe me, they know nothing about Savario's disappearance other than the fact that it undoubtedly happened somewhere in Dead Fiddler's square. Furthermore, not all of them know of our true nature - revealing it would risk word getting out and compromising the mission.
Lirel looked at the note and furrowed her eyebrows. Her mysterious employer seemed to know what exactly she was doing. Almost as if...he was tailing her secretly. Lirel looks around her surroundings for signs that someone was following her.
Some way of communicating with her mysterious employer would be a good thing.Lirel thought to herself. Like I'd like to know when and where the forgeries appeared, and the day Savario disappeared and if he had made any enemies.
Lirel goes back to the safehouse and makes a few tweaks to her disguise (to look like a female half orc - favoring the human side), before returning to the street, after locking the door.
Lirel looks around carefully for anything out of place, signs of violence as she makes her way to the Hooded Falcon Inn.
Your trip down the road is fairly uneventful - no signs of violence, although you do spot a corner building with two shuttered windows that look like they have taken considerable damage from passers-by, including the name “Bertrand” carved into one of them.
"Yeah. Was hoping for a drink. Tis ok, I'll be on my way. Know any other places still open at this time?" Lirel asks the dwarf.Lirel takes a quick look for any unlikely entrances to the tavern(I.e chimney, pipes, backdoor).
I wonder what kind of business they're conducting in there. Perhaps it was one of those places a guardsman uniform would close.
The dwarf narrows his eyes at you a bit. "Know any other...there's taverns all over the city...are you one of the usual watchmen? Ah wait, I get it now - ye've nipped down here for a discreet pint of ale on the job haven't ye? Well, no self-respecting dwarf would deny an honest guardswoman here ale, eh? Go right in then...if ye get turned away tell 'em Firkin Fortbeard let you in." The dwarf unlocks the gate and points you in the direction of the tavern. "I should warn ye though if you are new here, the next street down is Four Corners - don't go wanderin' around that place if ye know what's good for you."
Inside the tavern portion of the inn things are fairly quiet. A group of men is drinking and playing some sort of card game at a table off to the side, while a lone barkeep cleans up the bar.
"Many thanks, good dwarf, both for letting me in and the warning. Do you want me to help grab you anything from the bar?"She asks Finkle.
She makes her way to the bar, stcking to the shadowed areas (so people won't notice she doesnt have a shadow).
"Bartender, an ale please. Have there been any strange happenings around or have you heard of a man called Savario Borgandy?"
"All stocked up here thanks!" Firkin says as he pats a flask on his belt.
---
The men at the table are playing seem to be playing some sort of bluffing game (for fun, not for coin) amidst a bit of friendly chit chat. "The temple's really been crackin' down on them In-Substantial Heretics lately, I hear failing to renounce carries a death penalty now. What's that? Yeah, yeah Non-Substantialists, that's what I meant. What I'm saying is that their heresies may not be very substantial, but they sure are, and if we track them down we'd make a pretty bit of coin on reward money." They continue to talk about the Heretics as the bartender plunks an ale down on the counter.
Lirel pays for the ale, then wanders over to the card playing group. "What's about the in-substantial heretics? Not another cult of some kind, I hope?" She asks the men at the table.
"No no, they're just a bunch of boring geezers who believe that the gods are unable to act directly in the world other than by granting spells and such. Mostly harmless, but they've really rankled the Church of Thyr." The men eye your guard uniform keenly. "Hold on, where've you been these past few weeks that you haven't heard about this? You're clearly no foreigner..."
"I just moved to the city and got a job with the guards. Moving is such a trying business, really. Still trying to get the hang of things."
"Well bold move on your part coming to a tavern so close to Four Corners." One of the men scoots his chair towards you and cracks a sleezy smile. "But if ye'ever need someone to show you around, you know where to find me - assuming I'm not off guarding some caravan somewhere. That's right, I too am a certified guard, not the city kind of course, but a fellow member of the security business all the same. The name's Luco."
"Hello, Luco. My name is Meg. Good to meet you. Well, I had to get out of the usual patrol areas for a drink." She gives an exasperated sigh. "Have you happened to hear of a man called Savaro Borgandy? My friend, Zorak told me to contact him for a loan at a discounted rate for housing and furniture but he's nowhere to be found. Last thing I heard, he was seen around here."
At the mention of the name Borgandy Luco gives a short sarcastic laugh. "Savario? Beats me, there's far too many Borgandy's to keep track of in this city. Although I suppose if you really want to find him you could try asking the Borgandy's messenger boy, Bordac Gilere. He lives round vermin square somewhere. Just look for the nicest house on the block. But don't you city guards get accommodations in the barracks, what on earth are you house shopping for?"
"You can't put family in the barracks. At least not for long. I'd need somehwere to place my sister's lot when they move over next week. Anyway, thanks for your time, I'll be off!"
Lirel finishes her drink, then leaves the tavern. She gives Finkle a clap on his shoulder. "Thanks!" After leaving the tavern, she takes a quick look around to make sure she is not being followed.
If she is not being followed, she goes back the way she came, to examine the damage done to the house "Bertand" and what might have caused it.
Back at the damaged house, further examination of the outside seems to suggest that the damage was caused by rocks being thrown at the shutters. Based on the extent of the damage, you can conclude that it definitely wasn't accidental.
Lirel knocks on the door. Perhaps I could ask about the damage and if the owner would like to make a report
After knocking a few times, you receive no response from the inside.
Lirel returns to her safehouse, returns her guard armor, and longsword, then puts on her explorer's outfit. She disguises herself as a middle aged human woman, while hiding her dagger in her outfit, but still ensuring she can still draw it quickly.
She casts mage armor, then lights a torch and heads out into the street once more(after locking up the safehouse), this time headed to the marketplace. Time to see if there's any way to feed. On the way to the market, she will try to observe how people dispose their rubbish in Remballo.