"Well I'd like to speak to Rav Kinman one more time to see if we can find out which piece of the enjoiner he had. I believe he said he bought it from a chelaxian family fallen on hard times, and that would certainly match up with the fates of a couple of the 5 families. Hynter, Quintari/Pinecrest, or Harbuck... After that I'd say we can head back to HQ and see if the others are there." Simza muses, glancing at the other two for their thoughts as they start heading back towards Irefoot Hall once again.
"Ah, it slipped my mind that the Princess of the Bazaar actively keeps the Watch out of the area," Rasil told Barin.
Turning to the local "guards", the gnome said, "My apologies for letting such an important fact escape me. You see, I'm new to this 'Watch' thing."
"However, it is vitally important that we find Veristan Mikobar. He's not in any trouble."
Tapping his walking stick against the ground to emphasize his point, Rasil added, "However, he could be in danger, and we need to speak to him so that he's aware of the problem!"
Mrumph! Whatever... As my colleague said we are here for this Mirkobar fellow, point us to him and we'll be glad to remove ourselves from your turf... for now at least"
Koraq shrugs at the young girl's suggestion, apparently indifferent to her idea. "Guess that'll work. Not sure what else the jerk'll have for us, but I guess we got some more specific stuff ta ask 'im."
Koraq shrugs at the young girl's suggestion, apparently indifferent to her idea. "Guess that'll work. Not sure what else the jerk'll have for us, but I guess we got some more specific stuff ta ask 'im."
"Well as long as he has the name of who he bought his fragment from then that'll be better than nothing." she advised, not too much looking forward to the encounter either. Nevertheless when they arrived back at Irefoot Hall she headed straight towards the rude Chelaxian.
"Mr Kinman. We were hoping you could answer just one more question for us. Would you be able to tell us the name of the family you purchased your fragment of the enjoiner from?"
Though his back is turned at first, you can almost see the rolled eyes as Kinman hears your voice. "Wouldn't it be a better use of our tax money for you to figure out all your questions at once, instead of traipsing back here every few hours to ask them one at a time!? I bought the fragment from Lord Hynter. Any more questions?"
The toughs look at each other, then back at the two of you. "I don't recognize that name. Is he a merchant here? If we encounter this man, we shall pass along your warning of danger. Now, unless you're here to shop, for merchandise, we would ask you to respect the Princess' boundaries of jurisdiction."
"Perhaps, but certain question only occur or become relevant after further investigations." Simza replied to the man, shaking her head as he asked if there were any further questions, though she did glance at Koraq and Issceran to see if anything else had occured to them from their own investigations.
Koraq, already annoyed at a long day of little productive work, doesn't take Kinman's tone very well. "A few; how long ago did you get the fragment? Did anyone else know about ya purchasing the fragment? How long have you had that stick up your ass?", retorts the half-orc, pantomiming writing down any response the businessman may have.
Rasil looked to Barin. "Perhaps we should leave."
Turning to the toughs, "Unless you think that the Princess or one of her factors would be willing to spare us a few minutes?"
"Months, anybody who walked into my shop who saw the thing, and get your wretched, deviant, inferior self out of what's left of my shop!"
The toughs just look at Rasil.
Simza couldn't help a grimace at the last 'question' for Rav, though she could certainly understand it. Having no further desire to be around the guy she was more than happy to leave, waiting until they were out of earshot before speaking again.
"That went about as expected. Lets head back to HQ, see if the others have left any word there, and then uhh... figure out where to go then."
"Let's go, Barin," Rasil said.
"I'm only happy to oblige, citizen.", bowing with his snarky grin before leaving with Simza and Issceran.
"Sounds good to me Simz. At least we got a name."
Barin takes his time, giving the thugs a long, hard look before shrugging and following Rasil:"Whatever... be seeing you people! Next time I'll try to be as good an host as you have been! Count on it!"
As they headed out of that district, Rasil said, "It's getting late. We should head back to the MSI Headquarters and see if we can connect with the others."
With a shrug he added, "And if we feel there's still time, maybe all of us together will have more luck tracking down Veristan Mikobar."
"Yeah, that was all I was after." she agrees, starting the short walk back to headquarters, wondering what the others had found. THey had names to go on, but it would still be a bit difficult to find the fragments just from some family names.
Barin nods:"Let's try something a tad different, let's do things my way this time, so saying the dwarf moves towards the seedier parts of town until he sees a shoanti. When that happens he'll put him to the question about Mikobar.
Intimidate check:
Barin and Rasil take a detour into Rag's End, amid the slums, hookers on street corners, and drug pushers in every alleyway. Shoanti are more plentiful here than other places in Magnimar, and it's not long before Barin has one such individual shoved up against a building, stammering that he has no idea who this Mikobar is, but if that's his name, he's no true Shoanti. The shamans may know of him, however.
Barin gives the shoanti a playful slap on the back... making him stagger, then he smiles and with an amiable tone he asks:"Good... and where can we find these shamans of yours?"
When they reach headquarters Sizma is disappointed to find no word from Rasil or Barin. "Well, what do you think we should do now?" she asks, turning to the others.
"We need to have a seat and look at what we've learned at a new angle," Issceran said, speaking up from a period of silence as he had fallen back into a mode of observing and listening. The elf nodded sagely, thrumming his fingers across the satchel he carried his spellbook in. "I'm sure our companions have news for us so we can accurately put this puzzle together. As the pieces fall into place, we'll understand everything better."
Simza nodded as Issceran spoke up, having felt inclined to wait at headquarters for the others anyway. "Alright then. I'll see if there's something I can scrounge up for lunch while we wait."
The terrified Shoanti gives Barin directions to the nearest Shoanti shaman, desperate to be rid of the angry dwarf.
Following the directions, you enter a small, rustic shop in Rag's End. A burly Shoanti woman, grey hair betraying her age, greets your arrival. "Welcome. Not my usual clientele, but how may the spirits aid you today?"
Simza scrounges up some food for sandwiches, though she realizes the kitchen larders desperately need restocking.
Rasil gave the Shoanti woman a large smile.
"Good day, we were wondering if you could help us locate someone? His name is Veristan Mikobar. Have you heard of him?"
The woman's smile turns from smile to frown. "Mikobar?" She turns to spit on the floor. "That's for Mikobar. I will help no friends of his. Please leave."
Barin chimes in:"You have it all wrong old woman. We are members of the watch. We need to speak with Mirkobar precisely because he's possibly implicated in a crime. Ever heard about the enjoiners? And do you know something about a wizard who's specialized in summoning creatures and has a pet giant snake? Well... we think this Mirkobar to be mixed with all of this stuff. So, care to explain why all this animosity towards him?"
Diplomacy check:
Rasil showed the woman his MSI badge as Barin talked to her.
The woman's frown remains, but she does stop spitting.
"Well, in that case, yes I do know of him. He is a disgrace to the Skoan-Quah, a collaborator who has let himself be corrupted by those who seek still to oppress our people. He and Wisp, that snake of his, are known to many in the clans. A bounty rests on his head, so much that no true Shoanti will ever grant him safe refuge."
"Really?" Rasil said. "If his 'snake' is a summoned creature--oh, what was that term? eidolon?"
The gnome scratched his head and then shrugged. "Anyway, that sounds like the man we're after."
Giving the woman a charming smile, he added, "So, you wouldn't happen to be able to point us in his direction, would you?"
The woman snorts. "You can put those charming dimples back where they came from, young man. I'd tell you if I could, and no manner of dimples are going to help me know what I don't know. All I can tell you is he won't be living anywhere our people frequent, and none of my people would help him."
"Annnnnnnd... bullseye!"
Barin gives the shoanti woaman a broad smile:"Well... thank you for your help then. If you really dislike him as much as you claim, know he's very likely to be involved in a robbery and a killing, and the watch is keen on having some words with him. Any help in locating him would REALLY be appreciated, and there may be a reward in it too, although I cannot say for sure at this point"
"As I said, we have a bounty on his head, too. 2000 gold pieces, raised by the various clans represented in Magnimar and surrounding areas."
"Wow! That is impressive!" Rasil exclaimed in regards to the reward.
"Thank you again. Knowing where not to look is still helpful! Good day to you!"
Rasil motioned for Barin to join him outside. Once there, he said, "I think we really need to head back to HQ. It's getting late, and we need to compare notes with the others."
Many Shoanti, due to latent racism and oppression by the colonial descendants, only possess the training and experience for the most menial of jobs, meaning many of them are forced to live in areas such as Rag's End and the industrial maze of Kyver's Islet. While there are criminals in every culture, the rigid honor code that many Shoanti live by prevents a life of wanton crime, meaning most avoid Underbridge, but finding any one person in there without expert guidance would be futile at best, and suicidal at worst. Shoanti would also be rare in any of the Summit districts. Well-to-do Shianti tend to end up in the Marches or Lowcleft.
"Agreed! We've got our mystery wizard a name. Now we can start to wrap this investigation up"
The elf joined Simza and Koraq as a light meal was prepared. He set his satchel down on the floor next to his chair as he sat at the table. He licked his lips thoughtfully and his pale eyes moved between his companions. "So, this enjoiner has me most particularly interested," Issceran mused. "Being a magical artifact it is quite valuable. Its history..." He paused, raised a finger, and reached down to produce a scroll and inkwell. He then proceeded to roll the parchment out and copy down some quick elven script.
"Well, while the history could be important an' all, Issceran, the big thing is ta figure out who an' where this bastage be.", taking a bite out of a hastily assembled sandwich.
"Mmm, Koraq has a point. What we learned this morning should be helpful, but it doesn't actually get us much closer to finding out who's behind this; not unless he's a descendant of one of the 5 families." Simza observes as she settles down with the others to what food she'd managed to scavenge. "Our best bet, unless the others have a better lead, is probably to track down the current owners of the other 3 fragments of the enjoiners, so hopefully Rasil and Brain will have some information on that."
Rasil and Barin finally returned to the MSI Headquarters.
"Wheh! That was a long day!" exclaimed the gnome as he plopped down in a chair.
"It's good to see all of you!" Rasil added emphatically.
"So, did you three discover anything?"
"I wouldn't dismiss the history regarding the artifact in connection with whom is after the pieces," the wizard spoke. "It may be a very powerful motive..." He paused as Rasil and Barin returned to the headquarters and he inclined his head to the two when they entered, continuing to write in that quick and fine elven script. He glanced to Simza to speak on their behalf.
Barin barges in sits on a bench and makes a show of being very pleased:"Yes, I'd like to hear what you discovered... we did a bit of searching too and something very interesting did come up. But, please, Simza, continue"
"Yes I'm sure it will be useful, but it's not a direct lead to the culprit is all I was saying." She looked up relieved when the other investigators entered. "Ahh good. We were starting to wonder what had happened to you." she greeted them as they settled themselves. "It's only half over Rasil," she observed before composing herself.
"Well it was a fairly dull morning in the library for us, but we did manage to track down a bit more information on the enjoiner. We found a book that had a good deal of information about it called Fetishes and Relics of the Shoanti Savages by Icaman Freat, a Chelish historian. Tyval Khallish of the Skoan-Quah clan created it during the chelish invasion, it was a forbidden practice, but it was quite effective until he was killed by a group of five Chelaxians, Praxim Hynter, Jessyn Quintari, Regibald Millis, Vanna Gush, and Torrin Harbuck. We also found a record of how they destroyed the thing in the first place, it actually seems relatively simple for something claimed to be an artifact... though I spose it isn't actually destroyed is it, just separated..." the girl mused. "Koraq managed to find a bit more current information on the families while we were still studying..."