Laya feels a hand gently tap her shoulder. A serving maid stands behind her holding a strange contraption chair. "Excuse me, but could I offer you a more comfortable chair?." she presents Laya with a halfling-sized chair that ratchets up to the appropriate height for the table.
Laya smiles broadly. "Thank you so much. That's very kind of you." She unloads her pack on the newly brought chair, but continues to stand on the human-sized one. "They're very considerate in this place," she says. "Certainly no lack for comfort."
After the food arrives, she takes a piece of bread and bites into it. She chews thoughtfully for a few seconds, then swallows. "Not bad," she says and takes another bite.
As Markiv approaches he sees Heward futily negotiating with the homeless man. Figuring the guardsman wouldn't be talking to vagrant unless there was something to gain he decides to assist. After a quick stop at one of the nearby street vendors he joins Heward. In one hand steams the largest meat pie he could purchase. "Mr. Wallas, I must be growing senile. I purchased this meat pie, but now I remember we just had lunch. Are you still hungry by any chance?"
Tiberius wrinkles his nose at the meat pie.
"Those things have bugs in them. Bugs make my memory foggy. See, I'm already starting to forget about the man I saw. Now that place doesn't have bugs."
"Very well. Maybe they have some mead, I'm parched from all this traveling about. Come along then," says Markiv without showing any signs of irritation.
A meat pie like the one you mentioned wouldn't cost more than 4 cp.
It actually takes more convincing of the maitre d' to allow you to bring this man into the restaurant than it does to get him to talk once you do. In the end, the manager is more concerned with staying in the Watch's good graces than the small handful of customers he has, and you are given a table in the corner. A fine meal is brought to you and Tiberius tucks into it with gusto.
Once he's eaten a fair bit, he starts to talk. "Yeah, I was out last night, around the Hall, looking for unclaimed treasures. You wouldn't believe the great stuff some people just throw away." A cockroach skitters out of his beard and scuttles across the table. Tiberius doesn't seem to notice. "So anyways, I'm looking about when I hear this pounding sound, like rocks hitting rocks, but soft like, like it was far away or behind a thick door. Then, the walls on the Hall start swaying. I sees this guy, hiding in the alleyway next to it, watching it all. Then, all of a sudden, the walls come crashing in. I got so scared, I done wet myself right then, but it weren't over. The man in the shadows starts saying some creepy stuff and this giant snake, gotta be 7 feet long comes out of nowhere and starts going in where them walls used to be. It's gone for like a minute, I hear some shout from inside, then the snake comes back, gives some necklace thing to the shadows guy, and then vanishes! Poof, gone in a little puff of smoke. 'Twas the weirdest thing I've seen in days, it were."
Your waiter brings over a bill for 1 gp, 7 sp, with an urgently-whispered, "Whenever you're ready. Take your time."
Sense Motive
Heward sips his ale and listens to Tiberius' tale. "Hmmm. An interesting story. This man with the snake, do you think you could recognise hiim if you saw him again?"
Sense Motive 1d20+6
Heward sips his ale and listens to Tiberius' tale. "Hmmm. An interesting story. This man with the snake, do you think you could recognise hiim if you saw him again?"
"Well, I don't know. It was pretty dark and he had a hood up over his face, so I doubt I would recognize him. Course, there can't be that many people running around Magnimar with giant glowing letters on their foreheads, now can there?"
Shocked at what the homeless says Markiv enters a deep meditative ritual, after a minute golden light coalesces around his form. Where once an old man sat there is now a suit of shining armor. Markiv can be seen meditating within the amber-like plates, but the eyes of the armor are those of a different entity and when he speaks there are two voices at once, Markiv's arm, clad in a glowing armor, ends at a huge clawed gauntlet. He raises it to the helmet's forehead where an arcane symbol blazes in the air.
Tiberius is so shocked, his mouth drops open. Half-chewed food falls out, disappearing into his beard. There's a momentary scuffle beneath the tangles of hair. "Uh, okay, I guess there's at least two of you's," Tiberius stammers. "His letter looked different, though."
The rest of the cafe, already quiet due to lack of patrons, has gone completely silent, as the few diners and wait staff stop what they're doing to watch Markiv in awe.
Markiv turns to Heward, "
Remembering where he is, the synthesist addresses the gawkers, He seems to take joy in the understatement.
Heward gawks at the transformed Goldroth.
In a low voice he asks, "A spell? Like an illusion?"
Glancing around at the patrons and restaurant staff, he says, "Let's get out of here."
Awgin tears into his food as though he hasn't eaten in a long time. After he's taken several gulps he asks. "Have any luck, Calatin? We came up with nothing."
Heward gawks at the transformed Goldroth.
In a low voice he asks, "A spell? Like an illusion?"
Glancing around at the patrons and restaurant staff, he says, "Let's get out of here."
It would seem that the restaurant staff echoes Heward's opinion, and for once, even Tiberius is silent. That is, until you get outside the restaurant where he thanks you profusely for the lunch, and then inquires as to what you were planning on doing with that extra meat pie...
Once outside Heward will ask Tiberius about his local range, "in case we need more information."
Then he'll suggest trying to catch up to the others at headquarters.
Heward and Markiv take their leave of Tiberius and begin their return journey to MSI headquarters. Along the way Heward asks Markiv about the manifestation of his eidolon.
Reaching headquarters, Mrs. Brigglespan sends them on to the Cenotaph Arms where they find the remainder of the group....
Walking in, Heward spots the others and heads directly over to their table. "Ale and for my friend Markiv here."
He leans his halberd against the wall, turns a chair around so the back of the chair brushes the table and straddles it.
"We had a long morning, but have some good information.... ... Markiv thinks a summoner's behind this. What did you guys come up with?"
Coming up with Ward's ale in hand, Bartimus remarks, "Hey, I don't mean to pry, but you folks sound like the Watch. Did they reopen the garrison round the corner? Business sure dropped off once they pulled out."
Awgin eats his stew quickly and he's very protective of his bowl while there's anything in it.
"The dead guy is a dead end. It seems like he was at the wrong place at the wrong time is all. I do still think that the security company might provide us with something we could use, but we'd need to go back with specific questions, like could a creature be magicked into the protected area from outside of it?"
"The security company's security isn't very good," Laya says. "There are a lots of ways to circumvent it. I'm not sure what good asking them more questions would do, other than to uncover yet more ways to circumvent the system. That building would probably have been better off with no security than what they were getting."
"Would seem to me that the how isn't so much important as the why, in something like this," Bartimus suggests as he polishes a nearby table.
"That's the hard question isn't it? I dare say you're right. Maybe we should go back and talk to the shop owners and building owners. We could try to lock down if anything unusually valuable is missing and ask about enemies. What do you all think?"
Having summoned his eidolon, Markiv loathes to dismiss it. The creatures lends him the body of youth for reasons unknown. Someday I may learn the price I pay for calling upon this creature... I only hope its intentions are as divine as its appearance. intones Markiv. Attempting to be as non-threatening to the others as he can within the golden armor. Having earlier explained to them its magical nature he finds their glances to be unnerving, but to be free of his aching bones is worth the absurdity. I'll convince you to appear less flamboyant sooner or later, Kavna. The eidolon's name rings in his head. Reminding him of the day he found it among his father's arcane studies.
The door opens, and Captain Percival walks in, smiling as he takes you all in.
"I see it didn't take your keen investigative skills long to locate the Cenotaph Arms, at least. Hey Bart, the usual please."
He sits down, frowning slightly as he does. "Only five of you. Where's Erodel?"
"He's not under the table," Laya responds. "That's all I can definitively say." She looks to Calatin.
Hearing about Erodel's departure, Percival mutters something under his breath about unreliable and should have trusted his gut. He gives a satisfied grunt as Bartimus deposits a sandwich of dark rye bread piled high with pastrami and fermented cabbage. As he bites into it, he mumbles, "I'll find you a replacement. There were a few other folks I thought would do just as well."
As you all eat, he listens to your progress so far, seemingly pleased with what he hears. He then bids you a goof afternoon and leaves you to your planning.
What's the next move?
Heward heaves a small sigh of relief when Captain Percival leaves.
"It just occurred to me that I should have interviewed the neighbors at the Naos Market before we left for Irefoot Hall. Someone there may have seen something. I guess I'll go back and take care of that."
"Someone might check in with Thora Rumblemountain, the city engineer. See if she found anything new at Irefoot."
Bartimus asks you all if you would like to set up a tab at the Arms, since you're neighbours now.
"I'd like to see if the guardsman had something worth stealing. We found out that a necklace was taken from the first place and maybe something was taken from the second one as well."
"I'd like to see if the guardsman had something worth stealing. We found out that a necklace was taken from the first place and maybe something was taken from the second one as well."
"Rumblemountian," Laya says. "I like the sound of that name. I'll go check in with her." She grabs her pack from the highchair, then jumps down from the chair she's standing on. "Where can I find her?"
"Rumblemountian," Laya says. "I like the sound of that name. I'll go check in with her." She grabs her pack from the highchair, then jumps down from the chair she's standing on. "Where can I find her?"
"She should be at Irefoot Hall by now. If she isn't then I guess she's either still at Naos Market or her office."
Diplomacy
Sense Motive
Perception
Diplomacy
Sense Motive
Perception
Diplomacy
Sense Motive
Perception
Markiv says thoughtfully.
So let's see if we know where everybody is going:
Laya to Irefoot Hall to see Rumblemountain
Calatin to HQ to examine body
Heward to West Naos Market to interview neighbours
Awgin to HQ to check on the guard's personal effects.
Markiv to Irefoot Hall to ask shopkeepers if anything is missing
Edit: ninja'd. Markiv is going to the Pediment Building to look through police records.
That sound about right?
So Markiv is going to the Pediment Building. That mean that Laya is going to ask shopkeepers about missing inventory?
So Markiv is going to the Pediment Building. That mean that Laya is going to ask shopkeepers about missing inventory?
Calatin Heal: (MW tools provided)
Calatin Perception:
Awgin Heal: (MW tools provided, favoured enemy bonus, since you're trying to figure out clues about how this guy died)
Awgin Perception: (favoured enemy bonus)
Awgin and Calatin return to headquarters and begin their examination of the body. Awgin initially starts out as a second pair of eyes for Calatin as he helps undress the body, but his sharp eyes and keen sense of human physiology soon show him clues the wizard missed. Injuries Calatin had earlier assumed to be crushing injuries didn't look quite right to the ranger; they reminded him of a dead body he'd seen where a very strong man had picked up a much weaker opponent and literally crushed him to death over some cheating at dice. The crushing injuries are in fact constriction injuries - someone or something squeezed this man to death.
Looking through the man's clothes and pockets reveal nothing further that the others hadn't already discovered: a magical crystal for dealing with the security system, a few coppers and silvers, armour and weapons, and other various odds and ends that a man in his position would be expected to have on him.
Markiv makes his way to the Pediment Building to examine old City Watch records. He shows his badge to a receptionist and is directed down several old hallways to a door identified as the City Watch's records room. Going inside, Markiv finds himself in a very tiny little office, occupied by a squat little man, so short Markiv first assumes him to be a gnome or dwarf before realizing that he's just a very short human, and his desk. A door behind the desk leads to the actual records storage. A bell hangs on one wall with a sign that reads "Ring for Service". The small man, however, obviously sees you, as he looks up from the scroll he's reading, squints, and says, "Well, hello. I don't think I've seen you here before. Looking for anything in particular?"
Heward makes his way to the West Naos Market and begins interviewing locals. The few residents he finds (as in, those who actually live in that immediate area) remember very little, although he does find one couple who remember hearing some thumping sounds before the building collapsed. Nobody mentions seeing any snakes around, and none jump on the idea if he brings it up.
Talking with the merchants of the Market, all of whom are still picking through the rubble, none of them can definitively say whether or not anything is missing, as they are still finding small pieces in the debris. At the mention of a necklace, only Ira Mellisor and Triffan Marblecutter claim to have had any necklaces in their shops. They do both have such items still unaccounted for, and ask Heward for a description of the necklace.
"My names, Markiv with the new Special Investigations group. We may have a lead on the collapsed building case. I wanted to check the records and see if our possible suspect has ever been on the books before," explains Markiv, then relays the information told to him by the homeless guy, leaving out the fact he got it form a possibly crazy person.
Arriving at Irefoot Hall, Laya is easily directed to Thora Rumblemountain, the dusty and tired-looking dwarf taking her ease for the moment on some rubble near the northwest corner of the building. She greets you with a weary, but friendly, smile. "Ah! Another of these new MSI people! Welcome. I'm resting my aching feet for the moment, so ask away with your questions."
Laya holds reaches out to shake the dwarf's hand. "Hi, I'm Laya." When the dwarf takes her hand, she says, "Writing is probably the greatest invention of civilization. It allows communication on a level far beyond anything the people who came up with the first spoken words ever imagined. And don't believe the whole picture is worth a thousand words thing. Well-chosen words can convey far more than any picture."
Laya holds reaches out to shake the dwarf's hand. "Hi, I'm Laya." When the dwarf takes her hand, she says, "Writing is probably the greatest invention of civilization. It allows communication on a level far beyond anything the people who came up with the first spoken words ever imagined. And don't believe the whole picture is worth a thousand words thing. Well-chosen words can convey far more than any picture."
Rumblemountain shakes Laya's hand with a look of complete bewilderment on her face. "I ... uh ... I'll keep that in mind. You can tell your friend Mr. Wallas that whatever took West Naos Market down took this building down, too. I'm done calling it an accident, though. Somebody wanted to take these buildings down for whatever reason. It's a lot harder to bring down a one-story building than it is a two-story building, which is probably why your bad guy concentrated his efforts here. He wanted this specific section of the building down. Sure wish I knew how he was doing it, though."