Spinnaker Jon tries to make connections from the words on the note paper to the images on the bas relief...

Knowledge(Arcana): (1d20+6=21)

I didn't realize that K: Nature was appropriate to roll
Since Annie asked, Bryson racks his brain for answers 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

Arcana (1d20+1=10)
Dungeoneering (1d20+6=11)

Spinnaker Jon reads the note again:
Chimera looks to sunrise, Cyclops looks to sunset, Medusa looks to sunrise, Umber Hulk looks to sunset, Basilisk looks to sunrise

Jon walks around the room, looking at the bas relief carvings again:
Starting at the wall immediately to the west of the entrance and moving clockwise, the carvings depicted:
A- a tentacled monster with a glaring red eye and a mouth full of teeth,
B- a looming dragon,
C- a fish-like creature with four tentacles and three eyes,
D- a two-headed giant wielding a pair of immense clubs,
E- a spherical creature with four eyestalks and a bulging central eye over a drooling maw,
F- a gorilla-like beast with a fanged maw and six eyes,
G- and a towering black spider with seven eyes.

Spinnaker Jon nods to himself.
"Arr, 'tis clear the carvings have a numerical progression, one through seven counting the number of eyes."
Frowning at the note he says, "A Chimera is a creature with three heads, dragon, goat and lion, so six eyes. The first number is a six. The Cyclops is easy, so the second number is a one. The Medusa..."
He scratches his head. "Do we count the eyes on the little snake/hair too?"

"Following what you said, two, there's no creature up there with that many eyes. So it has to be two."

"But y'see lad, doesn't the Basilisk also have two eyes? One of the two has to have a different number of eyes... Right?"

"Mates you know, my memory was not very good lately" said Sneaky, "but perhaps I remember a children story about the ability of a medusa to see even behind her thanks to the snakes over her head... and I remember basilisk gaze can turn flesh to stone and I always supposed it has just two eyes to do that to you... perhaps it has multiple legs but I think just two eyes... let's try to do it removing possibilities... the second choice we know should be cyclop with one eye".

"But y'see lad, doesn't the Basilisk also have two eyes? One of the two has to have a different number of eyes... Right?"

"Arr, does ANYONE know how many eyes an Umber Hulk has? Or does we need to go find someones Library for a Naturalist's compendium?"

"4. An umber hulk has 4 eyes. When Ah was a lil'un, the Old Man would scare me with stories of monsters that would eat me if ah was bad. The umber hulk was about the scariest. He said it'd burst forth from the ground and ah would be mesmeerized by the power in its 4 black, beady eyes. It'd give me time to regret whatever wrong ah had just committed, and slowly dismember me with its claws and pincers as it ate me alive." Bryson shudders and looks away.
For some reason I have always liked the umber hulk. The description is from my memory. I gotta go check on the others now.

Annie closed her eyes and called the code back to her mind.

Chimera looks to sunrise, Cyclops looks to sunset, Medusa looks to sunrise, Umber Hulk looks to sunset, Basilisk looks to sunrise

"So we've already turned the pillar to 6 eyes right. Next is 1 left, then 2 right, then 4 left, then 2 right again....we think?" She opened her eyes and looked around. "Sounds like it's worth a try to me!" She grinned with excitement at Lavinia. "Let's see what's inside, waiting for you, Miss Lavinia!" She walked over to help Dgrim turn the pillar again.

"Uhm, actually, since it's only the last one we don't know, why not just keep turning until it sets just right?"

sorry all, been sick the last week...getting better now

Snaps out of his reverie "Oh yes, a combination lock...of course.."

"So we've already turned the pillar to 6 eyes right. Next is 1 left, then 2 right, then 4 left, then 2 right again....we think?" She opened her eyes and looked around. "Sounds like it's worth a try to me!" She grinned with excitement at Lavinia. "Let's see what's inside, waiting for you, Miss Lavinia!" She walked over to help Dgrim turn the pillar again.

Spinnaker Jon puffs on his pipe as he tensely watches Dgrim turn the pillar...

Spinnaker Jon puffs on his pipe as he tensely watches Dgrim turn the pillar...

Ghirrak attains a state of silent readyness, preparing for another posssible trap.

The tension rises as the arrow clunks to a stop on the third combo. Dgrim grunts a little as he heaves on the arm. It jolts into motion as it grids its way towards the last stop...

With a mighty roar of grinding stone that echoed through the chamber, the embedded pillars in the main vault chamber opened. The snakes crafted into the four pillars slithered apart much as the northernmost pillar did before revealing the combination chamber, revealing five large chests in each hidden alcove.

Lavinia returned to the main vault room and spun slowly on the tip of her foot, like a young girl, laughing. "It's here. It's all here." She put a hand to her mouth, tears coming to her eyes. "My parents...they were always in debt...always struggling to keep up appearances...I didn't let myself believe that there would be...that there could be so much here."

Lavinia went to the alcove to the left of the combination chamber's entrance and opened a chest. Her expression remained neutral, but something was wrong. She cocked her head, staring into the chest. Then she opened another. And another.

Anyone looking over her shoulder can see a scattering of coins in each of the open chests, just a few coppers, silvers, or gold pieces sprinkling the bottoms of otherwise empty boxes.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "This isn't possible. There must be something left. They would have told me that things were this dire."

After searching each alcove and opening all but the last three chests, Lavinia's expression transformed from joy to determination to despair. She lifted open a chest and let out a cry of frustration. The chest was filled, but not with coins. Inside were stacks of ledgers, some so old that their bindings were long since rotted through. An iron coffer gave her momentary hope, but its contents was a pile of aged parchment with ornate handwriting and detailed sketches of animals, maps, and sea charts. Lavinia paused over these for a moment before moving onto the last two chests.

These two were neither empty nor filled with anything less than precious metals and jewels. Lavinia Vanderboren let out a deep sigh and sat back upon the cold stone floor. "Oh thank the gods."

After Lavinia moves from the third alcove, Bryson walks to the first and looks inside the chests. He then turns toward the rest of the group and shakes his head somberly. His gaze then moves to Lavinia as she continues to open empty chests. His heart sinks each time she opens another. Upon seeing that first chest in the last alcove wasn't empty, he had a surge of joy followed by disappointment and then joy again when the last two chests were indeed full of money. Lavinia soon finds Bryson's hand on her shoulder when she sits down in relief. "Should we get these to the carriage, Ma'am?"

Instinctively reacting to the threat, the dwarven warrior draws his axe and shield as his face molds itself into that of rage, before quickly realizing there was no threat. Dgrim regains his composure just as Lavinia loses hers, and he watches the woman search her claim.

Curious, Dgrim follows Bryson and looks inside each of the chests. He becomes especially interested when he sees the pile of documents, and examines them more closely. "Lady Lavinia, what do you plan on doing now? Are you going to try collecting the debts to your parents?"

After Lavinia moves from the third alcove, Bryson walks to the first and looks inside the chests. He then turns toward the rest of the group and shakes his head somberly. His gaze then moves to Lavinia as she continues to open empty chests. His heart sinks each time she opens another. Upon seeing that first chest in the last alcove wasn't empty, he had a surge of joy followed by disappointment and then joy again when the last two chests were indeed full of money. Lavinia soon finds Bryson's hand on her shoulder when she sits down in relief. "Should we get these to the carriage, Ma'am?"

Curious, Dgrim follows Bryson and looks inside each of the chests. He becomes especially interested when he sees the pile of documents, and examines them more closely. "Lady Lavinia, what do you plan on doing now? Are you going to try collecting the debts to your parents?"

When the clerk arrived, he gave a small bow to Lady Lavinia and listened to her questions with an uncertain expression. "My Lady, were you not aware of your brother's visits?"

"My brother?" Lavinia repeated, startled.

"Yes, Lady. Vanthus Vanderboren has made three trips to the vault this very month. I assumed when you arrived that this was already known to you."

"Yer own brother was in yer vault milady? Is he the kind of sailor that would steal from ye?"
Spinnaker Jon puffs on his pipe, his thoughts taking a darker turn.

"Hmm... I'd say that your father may have not called in these debts for two possible reasens. One is that they may be somewhat...difficult to collect on due to the nature of the service rendered. The second reason may be that things wee not actually that bad at the time of your parents' passing milady. Which would bring us to your brother.

It doesn't bode well that a man would visit his paren't vault, without telling his sister, and more importantly without warning her of potential life threatening danger."

Ghirrak's voice takes on a dark tone, betraying the direction of his thoughts.

"agreed, this is a curious happenstance, your brother should not have been here, especially as you are the heir, I sense...someone up to no good..."

Annie swallowed disappointment as she saw the empty state of Lavinia's family coffers. Finding enough gold for immediate expenses and a means to get payment for past favors would give Lavinia the lifeline she needed to keep the family in good standing in in the city, but the betrayal by family could only sting deep.

"I'm sorry, Lavinia, that we weren't able to find all you were expecting." She hesitantly reached out and laid the tips of her fingers on Lavinia's arm in sympathy. "And I hope we find your brother was not the culprit behind the state of your vaults."

"Well, let's be as positive as possible," Annie said and joined the dour dwarf in moving the chests that still contained belongings into Lavinia's coach.

"All of you have been so kind," Lavinia said, taking a moment to look at each of the adventurers in turn, her eyes lingering longer on Ghirrak's muscular form than the others. "It wounds me grievously to think that Vanthus could steal from us, but I no longer know what to believe about my brother. When I last confronted him about his behavior and the the company he's been keeping, he struck me..." She seemed incredibly embarrassed and ashamed. "I haven't seem him since. Please, if you wish to remain in my employ, I ask that you find my brother. I must speak with him again. He must be in mortal danger if he needed to drain so much of our family's wealth in secret. Help him find his way back to me if you can?"

Spinnaker Jon straightens up and looks outraged.
"For certain I'll lend ye' a hand in findin' yer brother; ye didn't even need t' ask yer ladyship."
The smoke from his pipe formed a tiny demonic looking creature, which floated over to threaten the clerk; he waived at it and it dissapated.
"T' start with, do ye know where he's been living at? Any places he may work or socialize at? Any particular friends we might call on?"

Ghirrak's eyes narrow slightly, the only sign of emotion.

"We will find him my lady, and we will speak with him. Whatever would bring a man to such desparation must be dealt with. You have my word."

Annie cocked her head to one side as she thought. "You mentioned that you confronted him about the company he was keeping. Do you remember any names?"

"I will hunt him and bring him to you."

"OI! WHUT!?!?" Bindlplotz lets out a gasp..."Yer own brother hit ye? Oi, what is wrong with that one?"

"Valthus... wasn't he the men in the portrait in the Lavinia's dining room?" said Sneaky aloud to no one in particular.

Spinnaker Jon straightens up and looks outraged.
"For certain I'll lend ye' a hand in findin' yer brother; ye didn't even need t' ask yer ladyship."
The smoke from his pipe formed a tiny demonic looking creature, which floated over to threaten the clerk; he waived at it and it dissapated.
"T' start with, do ye know where he's been living at? Any places he may work or socialize at? Any particular friends we might call on?"

Ghirrak's eyes narrow slightly, the only sign of emotion.

"We will find him my lady, and we will speak with him. Whatever would bring a man to such desparation must be dealt with. You have my word."

Annie cocked her head to one side as she thought. "You mentioned that you confronted him about the company he was keeping. Do you remember any names?"

"I will hunt him and bring him to you."

"OI! WHUT!?!?" Bindlplotz lets out a gasp..."Yer own brother hit ye? Oi, what is wrong with that one?"

"Valthus... wasn't he the men in the portrait in the Lavinia's dining room?" said Sneaky aloud to no one in particular.

Just to remind everyone as they begin the search for Vanthus, Diplomacy checks to gather information may be made in each district of Sasserine: Azure, Merchant's, Champion's, Cudgel, Noble, Shadowshore, and Sunrise Districts.

I'm no city guy and hunting for information is not my thing so I'll try to aid another.
Azure 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (15) - 1 = 14
Merchant 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (6) - 1 = 5
Champion 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (9) - 1 = 8
Cudgel 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1
Noble 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (16) - 1 = 15
Shadowshore 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2
Sunrise 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (5) - 1 = 4

Spinnaker Jon's eyes almost pop out of his head as he almost swollows his pipe. After hacking for a moment he gasps out; "Penkus did ye' say? Why he is a born sailorman and me closest mate in the city. I wonder what 'e'd be doing with a noblemen?"

With that, Spinnaker Jon will bow and take his leave; taking Bryson Deepwinter and anyone else who would like to help.

He will try to gather info at the various districts, buying drinks for people and asking about Vanthus Vanderboren, his girlfriend in the Azure district and after his friend Penkus.

Azure district= Diplomacy: (1d20+3=16)

Merchant district= Diplomacy: (1d20+3=16)

Champion district= Diplomacy (Gather Info): (1d20+3=18)

Cudgel district= Diplomacy (Gather Info): (1d20+3=13)

Noble district= Diplomacy (Gather Info): (1d20+3=6)

Shadowshore district= Diplomacy (Gather Info): (1d20+3=9)

Sunrise district= Diplomacy (Gather Info): (1d20+3=19)

"Ah, Penkus. I know him, a little. When Vark attacked my in the Parrot, he came to my defense. I haven't seen him since, but if I can find him, I might be able to convince him to talk to me." Annie scratched the back of her head in a slightly embarassed gesture, unconciously mussing her hair. "Cayden Cailean blessed me that day with a gift of healing for those injured in the Parrot - and Penkus was one of those grievously hurt in that ugly exchange. I'll do what I can to find out about your brother's whereabouts, Miss Lavinia. Hopefully he's just in a bit of trouble and too embarassed about it to ask for help."

Diplomacy checks to look for information on Vanthus Vanderboren, his girlfriend, and especially Penkus (who I remember from that fight in the inn and think I have a good chance of convincing to talk to me). Please let me know if you need me to roll more than once for each bit of informaiton I'm looking for. I'll frequent taverns and talk the servers especially, as that's where Annie's most comfortable. Assuming everyone gets paid what Lavinia promised, she'll spread the equivalent of 1 gold to servers in each section of city - a silver or two to each most likely. I haven't added any modifiers for the money or anything else.

Azure district= Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

Merchant district= Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

Champion district= Diplomacy (Gather Info): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22

Cudgel district= Diplomacy (Gather Info): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

Noble district= Diplomacy (Gather Info): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25

Shadowshore district= Diplomacy (Gather Info): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

Sunrise district= Diplomacy (Gather Info): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26