Janras's page

"Darn, stormed off into melee..." His first option taken away, Janras aims at one of the skirmishers up on the next level and lets loose a bolt from his small crossbow.

Ranged attack; damage (1d20+5=14, 1d6=1)

More like 16 (the crit also uses strength modifier and so on). Only sneak attack damage is not doubled. Or damage from a goblin bane weapon.

Spot; Init (1d20=10, 1d20 2=7)

This is all stone?

"What are you waiting for? Pick it up!" Janras pipes up and makes his way down the stairs.... a few steps

"Njar. I knew I should have prepared something to create an illusion to cover for you, guys. Sorry. That was unprofessional."

"I'm not good at these things... but I can try, Phia. Or I can lead our follower on."

"How far is it, Isaac?"

"I second this. It seems to be able to bring our investigation further the fastest possible way."

"Cannot hurt to ask. Go ahead, Feanor."

"We should also try to find out how susceptible gargoyles are to magic. If steel doesn't work, magic might..."

"Stoney Skin and flying around. That sounds like a gargoyle. They live normally on rooftops of temples and abandoned buildings and in old ruins."

"I think we should ask the one that was shot into the back and the front. He may have been able to get a look at his attacker, saw him and tried to run away...."

"Darn. Where have you guys been? I was on the verge of preparing a Locate spell for you two. Has it at least been fruitful?"

"Dang it. Where are they? Feanor and Isaac should already be here. Our meeting was scheduled more than 20 minutes ago. Ohhh. This is sooo unprofessional. Why do i put up with these guys?"

Janras is clearly getting impatient.

Knowledge (untrained) (1d20+4=8)

"So, where are we going to find that guy."

Good, let's go.

"But the more I think about it, a visit to the Elixir Shop is looking better and better. Perhaps he has some new ingredients I can use?"

"Well, you can then check the Elixir Shop, too."

"Once you're too far over the edge, even murder is a just retribution for broken fingernails."

"Perhaps he tried to get treatment in different temples until frustration got that high, that he took out the priests responsible for the rejection of his queries. Or they tried unsuccessfully, too."

Yes, we are back together, comparing motes.

"Only if we get no clue about the whereabouts of this 'Scrimshaw'. Because 'skin disease' matches with those flakes I found at the murder scene."

"We made a list of the victims from the different newspapers. Some could have been done by our flakey guy. But it will be better, if we'd speak with the author herself. She calls him the Killer from Khyber."

"It means our fingertip snatching killer, did not act for 10 days. Perhaps he was away, perhaps he was unable to move. Perhaps it is a connection to another rhythm. I hope the others bring some info about the bottle I found there."

"Yes, this Rodothea Maté is surely the next person we must speak with. She knows many things about the other murders. And Yes, we should wait for the others to return. I may be prepared for nearly everything, but I don't have a way with people..."

Janras and Feanor go to the library, where they find a nice selection of newspapers of Sharn and begin their search through the last 3 weeks worth of news.

Search (1d20+9=17)

(Library Use...)

"Perhaps a skimming of the Sharn Enquirer of the last two weeks can give us a good but perhaps uncomplete list. Or we could ask the watch, the temples around or this other fellow that was investigating... what was his name? Victor St.Germaine?"

Knowledge(Arcana) (including Skill Enhancement infusion) (1d20 16=20)

Artificer Knowledge about the ashes (1d20 9=21)

Sigh... Bad roll, i do not have detect magic in my repertoire...but

When Feanor comes by the lab, Janras calls out to him.
"Feanor, can you have a look at those ashes when you are done with those corpses? I am not sure what causes those flakes. Massive skin flakes as ashes... molten perhaps. Are those perhaps magical?"

"Then I will stay here and make some tests with those ashes we found. And by the way, can you check out the shop 'Osram's Miraculous Elixirs'? Somone's been buying bottles of 'Jojoba Oil' there. That might bring some clues. Thanks." Janras disappears to his laboratory, humming a song with 'Jojoba' switched in for the appropriate text...

Analysing the Ashes in the lab.
Craft(Alchemy) or Spellcraft (1d20+16=29)

Let's get to the lab, and see what's on the slab...

"I will take some of those ashes with me. And we should take the bottle and the sack with us. Then the lock should be examined. But that should be all. Any further ideas?"

Using the thing around his neck (i.e. a hand of the mage), Janras directs a piece of the ash into a small vial, and the remains of the meal into a small sack he produces from his unfothomable backpack. Sack and vial are returned to the backpack.

"Ready when you are. And don't squander around with the ointment, Feanor. It is meant to last for 5 more bodies."

Upon mentioning that Feanor does not jave the necessary spell prepared, Janras' right eyebrow arches a bit upward. "Hmmm." He then snaps his fingers.

"Preserving the body? Nix problem... I have here... " And Janras begins to rummage thorugh his backpack again... "No... not that one.. ah, yes, here it is." Janras gives a big flask, with a honeylike pinky substance in it, to Feanor. "That should help."

There is written something in Gnomish on the flask:

"But use it only if you are allowed to speak with those poor lads tomorrow."

Janras turns around and goes muttering something under his breath over to Varlin.

Listen Check (DC 18):

"No watch? No Problem. But I'd like to have a look at the lock, when we are done here, Master Varlin. Can that be arranged?"

At last: Magic items are ready, a bit rushed, but ready. Jasras can not cover everything, man things, but not every thing. I still need to get through Magic in Eberron and ECS and Spell Compendium for further spells, but the first batch is quiet okay.

Still to do. rest of equipment, other alchemical items + backstory. sigh.

Jandras seems to spot something unusual aboutt he gnawed bones he brought down from the top the crate.

"Lookee here. This bones are splintered, nearly ground to dust. Sharpie teeth. Very sharpie. A normal civilised humanoid is not capable of that feat. So he waits here for the victims to arrive, equipped with food and drink, traps the envoys from the temple with the tanglefoot bag. They've even sent a fake envoy to order the priest for the blessing. This reeks of conspiracy to me. Stinks more than an Eldeen goat cheese."

"Hey, what have we here?" Janras calls out as he sails above the crates. "Someone was waiting for a long time for those three to arrive."
He drifts down to the crate in question, examines the items he found and touches a "thing" around his neck.

Search for the "new" items. (1d20+12=28)
This is for any details, like teeth marks on the chicken bones or the potatoes, an address printed on the labels or the claypot.

The items he found drift down to the others. "No touchy, please."
A small greasy sack is spread out and covered with gnawed chicken bones and a small clay pot of greasy potatoes. And a fist sized bottle, the label designed in a fluid script reads "Osram's Miraculous Elixirs. Below that it states more simply 'Jojoba Oil, A moisturizing lotion like no other!'. Everything is covered with a layer of ashy-dander (except for the bottle, that was wedged between two crates).

This is partially copied from my "spoilered" text.

Eternal Wands look tre cool, but they have Create Wands as prerequisite. That feat will be available for me at 7th level. If I may create some similar Wondrous items, that are all keyed to me somehow (i.e. no one else may use these things, perhaps an attunement phase that costs XP's?), that would be tops.

I have already included the Armrings of the Feathers into the text... This is a Woundrous Item that bestows Levitate on you (once or twice a day, that particular detail still needs to be fixed). But I already love the notion of me rummaging through my backpack for a particular item.

Sense Motive (1d20=17)
Appraise (1d20+5=7)

Janras was busy getting out his Armrings of the Feathers from the backpack. "Ahh... Here they are." He puts them on and the feathers begin to move and Janras starts to float up into the air... "From up here, you can see something around the elevator entrance. It sparkles." He calls out in Gnomish and watches, if the inquisitor shows any signs of recognition of the language.

(Search at the elevator) (1d20+12=22)

Janras drifts over to Isaac. "Tsts, this fellow seems already to have solved the case. I will have a look at it later... when we are alone, okay?"

He looks at the victims, and the wounds they suffered from their mysterious assailant. "The murderer used either the crates or the ceiling for movement, since I don't think the victims were hanging upside down from the ceiling. I will have a further look up there."

Than he floats back to the top of the room and begins to examine the crates and the celing itself, in case someone used Spider Climb.

Search on top of the crates and the ceiling (this will take some minutes.) (1d20+12=22)

Someone else please speak with this Inquisitor, before he leaves.

___________________________________________________________

A little later when Victor Saint Demain has left, Janras examines the sticky substance.

Craft (Alchemy) (1d20+16=28) sry, it is only +14 => 26, as I do not have access to my laboratory here.

"That was a tanglefoot bag, or the remains of it, after it has broken down." He calls out. "But why here at the entrance and not with the victims?"

Afterwards he comes back to Isaac. "Any clues about these flakes, Isaac?"
Knowledge(Arcana) (or +14 Craft(Alchemy) or +16 Spellcraft) (1d20+12,14,16=13,15,17)

Eternal Wands... hmmm... interesteing... back to the drawing board...eternal wondrous items... even better... very interesting *G*

"Watch out for footprints... I will search the surroundings first, then the victims in detail. One should ask the other one over there, where he was in this room and what he has found out, if he is willing to talk, that is...." The small gnome shoulders eagerly through the two big guys and surveys the surroundings. Then he begins to rummage around in his knapsack. "Somewhere I have these... hmmm.."

Skills are ready... Equipment and background TBD...

First choices made...

skills, equipment, made items (that is the most difficult choice), backstory, personality... TBD