Init Order
Ulath
Savendir
P1 and P2
Nyxalia
Zarine
Ilias (can post an additional action)
End Rd 3
Owen
B1 and B2
"Do you have any way to communicate with your brethren below?" Savendir calls to the wizards as he rushes back into the fray. "They should stop anyone from leaving the Spire."
He unleashes an arrow at the intruder who stabbed Nyxalia.
"What's that lass? Grab him?" he rumbles through his big bushy beard. Throwing out thickly muscled arms from his years of manual labour, to grasp around his assailants waist. His fingers lock, despite the height difference of the two, that just gives the carpenter greater leverage.
Savendir's arrow strikes the fleeing burglar in the thigh. The man cries out in pain but remains standing.
,
The pickpocket swings his sap at Ulath and raps him hard on the head while trying unsuccessfully to avoid his grasp. "You'll soon learn to loathe the day you chose to interfere with our plans!" snarls the petty pickpocket.
The pickpocket then contorts his body and manages to squirm out of the dwarf's hold. He quickly moves away from the dwarf taunting him along the way. "Old fool! I've bested far more able captors then you. But don't worry, your interfering days will be over soon."
The other pickpocket continues to plead with Owen. "Please call that wolf off of me. I'll tell you anything you want to know. Just protect me from that vicious animal."
The startled wizard/librarians gain their composure and begin to converge. The wizard nearest to Savendir hears his call. "I've messaged the guards downstairs to lock down the library. He won't get far."
Init Order
Nyxalia
Zarine
Ilias
End Rd 3
Owen
B1 and B2
Ulath
Savendir
P1 and P2
Swinging out a short-arm clothesline, trying to catch the wriggling man with the but of his chisel. "Git back 'ere. Thar slipperyer tha a greased eel. Tho' tha looks like one."
Seeing that Savendir is assisting her, Nyxalia smiles as she steps forward and delivers another two punch combo.
The other pickpocket continues to plead with Owen. "Please call that wolf off of me. I'll tell you anything you want to know. Just protect me from that vicious animal."
"Not my wolf. Not my problem. Beginning to outlive your usefulness. Talk."
Zarine smiles at the librarian. "If they're going to catch that one, we don't need the rest of these." She pulls a dart and a vial of dark, sticky substance from her belt pouch and dips the tip of the dart in the vial, coating it generously.
Ulath is able to catch the pickpocket with his chisel before the rogue has a chance to escape. The pickpocket falls down unconscious.
Struggling with an arrow in him, the assailant near Nyxalia is able to avoid her first blow but catches the second fist square in the chin and drops unconscious.
The wizard says, "They caught the thief on the stairwell and he his now in custody."
The pickpocket held by Owen stammers, "Don't hurt me! I don't know much but I'll tell you all I know. I was hired to keep a look out near the stairs as Soncatim stole some book. We weren't suppose to attack unless somebody on the floor tried to interfere. After that, we were suppose to blend into the chaos and slip out the front. That's all I know. Please just let me go now."
Chaos does ensue after the heist. Librarians rush to the aid of their fallen comrades. One of the Wizards steps forward. "My name is Egar Vinstan, I am a librarian here. Thank you for capturing some of the thieves. I must say, I am impressed by your quick action. Almost like you were anticipating this event. Who are you?" The last question is tinged with a sound of suspicion.
"That is near to the truth," Savendir says to Egar in a low voice. "We are tracking a band of kidnappers and thieves. A snippet of their correspondence indicated they might try something here. We did not know what we would find."
"Are any of your staff injured?" the lithe elf continues. "I am well-trained in the healing arts. Once we are certain everyone is well, perhaps your staff can determine what was stolen. That can only help us in finding it and expediting its return. We will also want to speak to the brigand captured down below."
Zarine nods in agreement with the elf's explanation as she fits the dart into her blowgun and nonchalantly packs everything up again, strolling closer to the librarian to join in the quiet coversation.
"Indeed, Savendir is correct. Our information was fragmentary because of an... er... accident. We had no details, nor did we know if anybody working here was aiding the culprits, so could not give warning. I'm just glad we arrived in time to help," she purrs, smiling at the wizard.
Bustling over to the librarian, rubbing himself gingerly. "'Ere whats this then? Hooligans' in the library, should suspend their cards - that's what tha should get done."
He brushes some wood shavings from the tip of his beard and sticks the lathe in his thick dark leather belt. Listening to Savendirs' tale, his brows crease; "Brigands, can't be doing with 'em. Mighty flimsy logic - bet you'll rush off to follow some other lead." He looks at the others suspiciously; "You'll try to get 'em to open their gobs? Well I won't be having any funny stuff." He sets himself, clearly inviting himself to any interrogation.
Egar answers, "Yes, two of our brothers have been injured, Peris and Delk. I appreciate your offer to help but we will be able to treat them ourselves."
He considers Savendir and Zarine's story for a moment and then his faces softens slightly. "It is fortunate that you were here, then. Who knows what other items may been taken if their plan had not been thwarted. I will find out what has been stolen. In the mean time, we can detain your prisoners in a private study room on the floor below." He motions to one of the librarians standing near by. "Tanos will lead the way and remain for the questioning. I will join you shortly."
Egar turns and heads to the Rare Book Room. Tanos steps up. "Please collect your prisoners and follow me. The remaining thief is being brought to the study room now."
Zarine attempts quick searches of the prisoners, rifling their clothing and checking their anatomy with deft, practiced hands.
The pickpocket held by Owen stammers, "Don't hurt me! I don't know much but I'll tell you all I know. I was hired to keep a look out near the stairs as Soncatim stole some book. We weren't suppose to attack unless somebody on the floor tried to interfere. After that, we were suppose to blend into the chaos and slip out the front. That's all I know. Please just let me go now."
"I will let you go," Owen whispers calmly, "and we will meet again. Time is a flat circle."
With that, Owen slices the man's neck open to the spine.
Ilias dismisses his wolf, seeing that things are well in hand.
Fortunately Ulath doesn't see Owen's actions as he goes over to the bookshelf he was working at and picks up his tools. Then comes back, there's a look of distaste - whether at the corpse (that he was sure was alive a minute ago) or at the blood staining the floor.
"Reet, we can't let things get too outta hand here." he states plainly in his thick accent.
Nyxalia watches the man collapse and then turns to survey the rest of the room. Noting that the fight seems to be over and everything is in hand, she moves over near Savendir and nods at his words. A small scowl crosses her face for a moment as Zarine walks over to Savendir and starts to converse with the Librarians too, but she says nothing.
Zarine starts at the sudden spray of blood and horrible gurgle of the dying man, then schools her face to stolid impassivity. "He must have been dangerous," she mutters weakly to the Librarian.
Savendir regards Owen with undisguised disapproval. "Let us hope he was as uninformed as he claimed. We will never know."
Savendir regards Owen with undisguised disapproval. "Let us hope he was as uninformed as he claimed. We will never know."
Owen shrugs, wiping his dagger clean on a cloth.
"Potential liability. Provided some information, though. These pickpockets were hired by a man called Maxkevlay Soncatim to provide backup so that Soncatim could steal a book. Stealth was of the essence. Backup failed."
Owen's captive slides to the ground as his life swiftly drains away.
Zarine finds the remaining 2 living captives on this floor are carrying the following:
- P2 has 4 darts, each with thick substance on the end, 1 sap, padded armor, caltrops, 1 set of thieves tools. 2 GP, 4 SP, 8 CP
- B1 has a masterwork composite shortbow, 10 arrows, a sap, climber's kit, silk rope, grappling hook, tanglefoot bag and masterwork thieves tools and a pouch containing sticky substance. 8 GP, 3 SP, 2 CP
Owen finds that P1 has the same as P2 except he only has 3 darts. 1 GP, 7 SP, 6 CP Tanos looks sternly at Owen. "You've made quite the mess over there. I trust that no blood has stained our books. Please assist with removing the body. We need to minimize the disturbance to our patrons."
Turning to the others he says, "We have shed enough blood on our rare book floor. Please lead collect your prisoners alive and follow me."
Other wizards move in to begin putting the floor back in order. They cast spells to remove the blood.
Tanos leads down to the next floor and into one of the private study rooms. Bound to a chair you find the other accomplice sitting with a scowl on his face. 3 other chairs are empty and surround a wooden table.
Zarine examines the substances on the darts and in the pouch.
Zarine examines the substances on the darts and in the pouch.
Zarine sees that the substance on the end of the dart, and the substance in the pouch are the same.
"You've made quite the mess over there. I trust that no blood has stained our books. Please assist with removing the body. We need to minimize the disturbance to our patrons."
Owen shrugs again, and makes a cursory search of the man's pockets, taking nothing. As he begins to drag the body towards the room in which the prisoners are being kept, what spots of blood are left on the floor in the process curiously disappear.
Nyxalia follows the others downstairs and helps to secure the prisoners. She then goes to stand next to the door, watching the proceedings and eager to see how Savendir handles the situation.
The entire experience has left Savendir weary. He did not expect so much blood to be spilt, and is furthermore questioning whether his companions are trustworthy. He descends the stairs without saying a word to anyone, and does not speak until he addresses the bound prisoner.
"Who hired you?" he asks bluntly.
Zarine hastens down the stairs, keeping some distance from Owen. In the study room, she tosses her findings on the table in front of the prisoner. "Your friends' gear," she hisses, "None have escaped. Tell all, and perhaps mercy will be shown you."
Owen gently places the body on the floor within view of the bound prisoner, then moves to a position close behind Savendir, standing quiet and impassive.
At first, the surviving prisoners sit silently eyeing their captors. A pool of blood begins to growth beneath the corpse that Owen had placed on the floor.
Finally, the youngest suspect stammers, "We we we were hired by Maxkevlay Soncatim to be lookouts. We..." "Quiet BOY!" snarls a man appearing to be in his late twenties. "It's not these folks you should be worryin about. You have a younger sister don't ya?" the man continues threateningly.
The tension in the room is disturbed momentarily when Egar enters the room.
"We have determined which book has been stolen," he explains. "The missing tome is a very old book that describes the origin, uses and possible locations of an artifact called the Ihyster. I cannot speculate to what purpose this book may serve but we must have it returned. As there seems to be a connection between your investigation and this book, I ask that you retrieve this book as soon as possible. I will provide you access to our rare book collection if it will assist you in your investigation. Time is often of the essence in these matters, I urge you to complete your interrogation quickly and begin your search."
Zarine starts. "I thought all of them were captured? How could they have gotten the book out of the library." She regards the captives wryly. "I take it Maxkevlay Soncatim is not among you?"
The two older captives look back with contempt. The younger one glances at the other two and then back to Zarine. He pleads, "Please Ma'am, help me and I can help you. Maxkevlay teleported along with his chief henchman as soon as they grabbed the book. They, they just abandoned us. He's..."
"BOY!" roars the other captive again. "I warned you. You're sweet sister is going pay for your treachery." The man struggles against his bindings. "You think he won't know? He may be watching us right now."
The tension in the room is disturbed momentarily when Egar enters the room.
"We have determined which book has been stolen," he explains. "The missing tome is a very old book that describes the origin, uses and possible locations of an artifact called the Ihyster. I cannot speculate to what purpose this book may serve but we must have it returned. As there seems to be a connection between your investigation and this book, I ask that you retrieve this book as soon as possible. I will provide you access to our rare book collection if it will assist you in your investigation. Time is often of the essence in these matters, I urge you to complete your interrogation quickly and begin your search."
Owen's ears perk up at the mention of the rare book collection, but he keeps his attention focused on the drama playing out between the two prisoners, all the while racking his brain for information on the Ihyster.
Nyxalia walks calmly over to the yelling man and slugs him one in the jaw to silence him.
"Now if your friend would be quiet, you can continue," she says before stepping back to the wall.
Zarine sighs like a teakettle hissing. "Are there other rooms these men can be taken, honored librarians? I think they would be more cooperative if separated."
Savendir nods at Zarine. "That would be prudent." To the more cooperative prisoner, he adds, "Do not mind this man's threats. He has no means to communicate them to anyone who can act on them."
The two older captives look back with contempt. The younger one glances at the other two and then back to Zarine. He pleads, "Please Ma'am, help me and I can help you. Maxkevlay teleported along with his chief henchman as soon as they grabbed the book. They, they just abandoned us. He's..."
While watching the scene, Owen also begins to make mental notes, using his unique expertise in the matter of conjuration and teleportation, on how and how far Maxkevlay could have teleported.
Nyxalia punches the belligerent prisoner. A red welt grows on the side of the man's jaw. He glares back at Nyxalia but says nothing.
The term Ihystear is unknown to Owen.
Tanos says, "We can take that young prisoner next door. These two aren't going anywhere."
He unbinds the younger prisoner from the chair, while keeping the prisoner's hands bound. He leads the prisoner into a study room next door. He than rebinds the prisoner.
Owen's arcane knowledge tells him that a dimension door spell has range of at least 400 feet and maybe longer.
Separated from his companions, the young prisoner relaxes slightly and says, "I'll try to help, but I am worried about my sister. They told me if I didn't cooperate that they would make her pay. Goran says that Maxkevley has magical powers and he can watch us somehow no matter where we are. All he needed was some hair from our heads and then we couldn't resist."
"Goran says that Maxkevley has magical powers and he can watch us somehow no matter where we are. All he needed was some hair from our heads and then we couldn't resist."
Owen's interest is slightly piqued by this development.
"Did he say anything else? Need anything else? Drop of blood maybe, or a tooth?"
The young prisoner is taken slightly aback by Owen's question. "No, he didn't say anything directly to me. I mostly spoke to his lead man, Walgold Chandler. He just told me a condition of being hired was to give up a lock of hair. I don't understand why."
"Do you know where they would have taken the book?" Savendir asks calmly. "Did Maxkevley have a base of operations?"
The prisoner answers, "I've never been to Maxkevley's base, but I have heard the others talk about it. They said it is somewhere below Kaer Maga in the Under City. I don't know where exactly but I do know that one time I had to meet them near the tunnel leading to the Brothers of the Seal's temple."
Nxyalia follows the others into the new room and once more stands by the door, alert for anything out of the ordinary.
She perks up at the mention of the Brothers of the Seal. She walks over to Savendir and whispers in his ear.
She then waits to see if Savendir has anything else to say to her before returning to her post by the door.
Brothers of the Seal
Brothers of the Seal[dice="Knowledge (history)]1d20 + 10
A silent civil war is being raged currently. Its violence occasionally spills out onto the streets of Kaer Maga. As long as you remain neutral, you should not have much trouble with the Brothers.
"Whose temple?"