Jaymiss nods and says How about this. If I get done with that fellows order and I have time I'll make your mermaids but you're gonna have to pay the same price o'thirty pieces of gold due to the quick turn around required.
"Fair enough... I will gladly pay your price for the work... But I think you misundstand what I wanted.. not mermaids, but merfolk... one of each.. you know...?"
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Variel shrugs when Jiro looks his way. I do not know how long this will take nor if Rain has other plans while we are here. We might be gone tomorrow or it might be a week if we can not find who we are looking for.
As for the stealth group moving forward when the time comes Variel will try and find a lookout post from which to keep an eye on the area in question. Hoping to find an unobtrusive spot while the rest do their thing Variel will while away the time studying his spell book while keeping 1 eye peeled around him.
”Aye! It is so, senet. Indeed, it is a certainty that I know his tongue and can understand his speech,” she answers quickly, her eyes flicking to Horatio’s back as she glances suddenly back to Rain.
”He can explore far, aye, if it is requested…” she adds.
...”Apologies, senet! I will wait for thee and thy company outside…” she says hastily and then follows Horatio outside quickly, her expression somewhat nervous as she hurries out.
Rain was about to answer Amen-set when the girl rushed to follow Flynn out of Carver's Hall. Leaving Jiro to finalise his order, Rain responded to Variel with a quick, "I, too, am uncertain of the duration of our visit", before motioning to the others that she was leaving the hall and followed the other two out into the pouring rain. Lifting the collar of her cape, she stated simply, "Please instruct Horus to fly to the cottage on top of yon cliff", Rain pointed in the direction, "for that is where Haddon lives and we must know if he is there alone or with others and if anything out of the ordinary is occuring"; Rain's voice remained low even with the hard rain droplets falling upon the muddy ground. If Amen asked for more detail as to where to find the cottage, Rain readily supplied it.
When the group was together once again, outside the Hall, Rain turned her gaze to them in turn and quietly added, "I have asked Amen to send her bird to scout out the cottage and report back what he sees and hears. Variel, any other instruction?" She pushed the raindroplets from her eyes and face - grateful in part for Besmara's Tricorne upon her head.
Lifting the collar of her cape, she stated simply, "Please instruct Horus to fly to the cottage on top of yon cliff", Rain pointed in the direction, "for that is where Haddon lives and we must know if he is there alone or with others and if anything out of the ordinary is occuring"
Amen-set stands in the deluge, seeming to ignore it completely as Rain approaches her and speaks.
Her eyes flick to Horatio and both women can see him turn somewhat to regard them each, a small frown on his face as the weather beats down on his shoulders. He takes out the smoke and throws it into a mud puddle and turns and walks off.
Amen-set shakes her head in frustration than turns back to Rain.
”Horus shall find this place, search it as needed, and then report back to us. If any spy him then they will only see a bird hunting from prey and I doubt it shall stir up any notice; assuming that any are bothering to watch through this mess so carefully,” she says with a bow, then glances back to Horatio.
”Apologies, senet; he is vexed, as thy might know…” she adds with a soft voice and another shake of her head.
Horus comes back after about 20 minutes or so and says Could not enter. Smell blood.
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Variel looks to Jiro first and then Rain second. Up to you 2 but it seems like we need more of a direct presence there that can take the initiative if needed. We will follow close behind but give you a 100ft lead or so if you wish it. That way we I can cast haste if need be and be there within a few seconds to help you out.
Seijiro nods in agreement and looks to Rain for her opinion... "That's fine with me, Variel-sama."
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Rain spreads her wings, which were draped around her like a glistening leather cloak, and puts her arms around Seijiro, holding him securely to herself. With a powerful downward flap and a leap from strong legs, she soars into the rain which has pulled back to a steady, seeping kind of rain that soaks into the thickest clothes. Nothing happens as you both reach the cottage. The front door is closed and the windows are shuttered. Seijiro spies a simple lock and no traps and has the door open in moments. As the door opens you can see why Horus smelled blood.
Haddon’s dead body lies inside the cottage. Two crossbow bolts protrude from his back, and his head is submerged in a fish tank. Inside the red tinged water of the fish tank is a piranha-like creature with frilled spines, huge eyes, and lots of teeth, which has consumed most of its master’s exposed f lesh. Clutched in Haddon’s hand is a piece of driftwood carved to resemble a birdlike humanoid with a narrow beak.
The cottage is a simple one room cottage with an area for cooking eating and sleeping.
"It's a carving of a tengu... birdlike creatures common in the east. Unfortunately, if he knew anything, he's taken it to the grave with him... unless he left some clues in the cabin."
Seijiro starts searching the room.
Seijiro starts searching the room.
Amen-set glances at Horatio and he stares back, a frown on his face, then jerks his head at the door and Amen-set nods.
Horatio turns to Adular -
"Can you speak with the dead today, padre?" he asks with a neutral voice, then he exits the cabin after Amen-set.
Horatio's Perception Check to find a threat -
He nods to Amen-set who sends Horus aloft to scout the surrounding area -
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Haddon looks to have been dead for about a week and there are faint traces of poison on the crossbow bolts. The angle of the bolts suggests that Haddon was shot through the window. You discover outside a discarded glass vial near a rocky outcropping about 80 feet away with a good view of Haddon’s window. Rain has washed away tracks and any residue from the vial. In the fish tank, you find a false bottom in the base, inside is a waterproofed bag containing 40 pp, 259 gp, and a scrimshaw walrus tusk scroll case (worth 50 gp). Inside the case are several rolled up scrolls of sheet music and lyrics, part of an old Chelish opera written in Infernal.
"This must mean something, but I've no idea what... " shows the scrolls to the others who are still there... "I can read it, but I don't know the actual work it's from and if it's correct, or might be some kind of secret message or code."
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Variel shakes his head at the notion that the fish tank had a secret compartment. I guess it goes to show you that anything can be used for a second purpose.
When Jiro mentions a possible secret code Variel shrugs his shoulders. I suppose we would need to bring it to a musician to get it identified and appraised if none of us can state it's worth.
When Horatio comes back with the vial and reveals his findings Variel pounds his fist on the table. Shanxia! It seems like we are caught up again in a group of assassins. Who else would use poison so effectively and from such a distance. We must watch our backs closely before we are found out and targeted as well.
Adular, with this news can I count on you to have a remove poison spell available should we need it. We also should have a few antitoxins ready should multiple people get poisoned. We should also return to Jaymiss and question him again and see his reaction to the news of what happened here.
Horatio will return with Amen-set after the examination and report to them that the weather has long obfuscated the tracks.
"This must mean something, but I've no idea what... " shows the scrolls to the others who are still there... "I can read it, but I don't know the actual work it's from and if it's correct, or might be some kind of secret message or code."
As Horatio considers this, Variel offers his own thoughts.
Shanxia! It seems like we are caught up again in a group of assassins. Who else would use poison so effectively and from such a distance. We must watch our backs closely before we are found out and targeted as well.
When he digests the information the others have shared, and their thoughts on the matter, his distracted frown now changes to a confused scowl.
"I apologize for not staying with you all longer; but I had assumed we had little time, given the disposition of the corpse and - to my mind - the obvious clues that were apparent," he says slowly.
"But it seems my guesswork was wrong; though, given the clues we discovered, can you blame me?" he says somewhat helplessly to the others.
Shaking his head he moves to the body and points at the clues, hoping that by analyzing their odd nature that it may help explain his sudden exit to the others.
"If the man was dead a week the water would not have looked red. Instead, it would have looked brown, or - at best - rust colored. This water didn't, leaving me to believe the issue happened recently," he says slowly.
"The skin of the flesh was neither puffy nor swollen; again suggesting a rather recent execution. After all, had the subject been submerged so long in water - in this case a week - then the flesh would have become swollen, even near the bite marks of the fish, because that is what water does to flesh and skin after being so long submerged."
Glancing at the floor he shakes his head at the lack of any issues with the ground beneath the feet of the corpse.
"The body would have voided itself after death in an effort to expunge toxins from the system. Consequentially there would have been piss and dung on the floor, which should have been noticeable, but wasn't."
He shakes his head and looks at the others.
"I was in error and moved quickly to hopefully deal with a threat. I did not do a better examination of the corpse because I thought the cursory examination of the remains would justify my action."
"It seems that - in this case - my rudimentary knowledge of medicine led me to make a foolish conclusion. I apologize for that," he says to the others.
Horatio glances at Variel thoughtfully.
"If you will permit me the chance to examine the shaft, I could try to attempt to discover what type of poison is still on the arrowhead. This may give us an advantage in creating an anti-oxidant, as well, possibly, provide a clue as to where the assassin got his poison."
He turns to Jiro after considering the suggestion about a code.
"I think your suggestion has merit. Else why hide the scrolls under a case filled with water? I am somewhat skilled in Linguistics, as are many of us, and I can read the Infernal tongue. Perhaps, if we read the music and put our heads together, we can crack a possible code?" he asks the others.
We should also return to Jaymiss and question him again and see his reaction to the news of what happened here.
Horatio nods slowly at Variel's last suggestion, but holds up his hand then turns to the others.
"Begging your pardon, Captain-General; but the fish still lives and has lived for some time, likely. Is there anyone among us who can Speak with Animals? The fish may have give us some other insight that we may have overlooked..." he asks the group as a whole.
As he waits for an answer, a sudden thought occurs to him.
"This man had two crossbow bolts in his back, yes? But it takes a moment to load a crossbow. If the man was shot with one bolt, then the killer loaded a second bolt - and fired that bolt - the body would have already moved and the second arrow would likely be at a very different angle."
"This suggest that the killer may have had a crossbow that could have fired two bolts. If so, then this is not a common weapon and may make it easier to track our assassin," he offers to the others.
"Can you speak with the dead today, padre?" he asks with a neutral voice, then he exits the cabin after Amen-set.
"Not today, sorry mate," Adular says realizing it would be useful indeed if he had, he looks at the corpse, "Never know when you'll need that one until you do, sad to say."
Adular, with this news can I count on you to have a remove poison spell available should we need it. We also should have a few antitoxins ready should multiple people get poisoned. We should also return to Jaymiss and question him again and see his reaction to the news of what happened here.
"I'll pray for it first thing I can, everyone try not to be poisoned until then," Adular cautions, his face going into a grim frown, THIS is why I pressed so damn hard for the scrolls.
"I'll pray for it first thing I can, everyone try not to be poisoned until then," Adular cautions, his face going into a grim frown, THIS is why I pressed so damn hard for the scrolls.
Horatio offers a nod to Adular at the comment, then he continues to study the results.
Horatio gestures to Amen-set and nods at the paper.
She comes to try to aid him with the code -
Seijiro looks the papers over again, trying to see if he can make heads or tails of it other than what it appears to be.
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I am not capable of speaking with animals but what you suggest is possible. The fish might have some information but it might have none either as the bolts are in the back and the man fell forward. He might have blocked the view of the window.
The two bolts though could be done easily before there was a chance to react. A first bolt hits his target surprising him and then the assassin reloads and fires again before he even turns around.
When we return to talk to Jaymiss we can inquire if he knows of any mucisians on the island. Variel turnt o Rain, That is unless you know of any that live here?
"Let's go back to the ship then, and look over these papers... I'd like to see if we can crack this code... We are going to be here for at least another day, so might as well use this time for that... anyone want to work on it with me? Perhaps brainstorming we might be able to crack it."
Seijiro, if we go back to the ship, will go to work right away on the code...
"Let's go back to the ship then, and look over these papers... I'd like to see if we can crack this code... We are going to be here for at least another day, so might as well use this time for that... anyone want to work on it with me? Perhaps brainstorming we might be able to crack it."
Horatio looks at the others for a while, then he turns to Seijiro.
"Aye, I will help you," he says, then bows to Seijiro.
He also asks Amen-set to aid them;
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After a few hours of trying multiple combinations and such, Seijiro hits on a melody that helps with the translation.
The decoded instructions order Haddon to report on the movement of ships visiting Drenchport, especially those belonging to the Master of the Gales. The instructions also identify Haddon’s main contact, a woman named Roweena Kellet in Hell Harbor on Devil’s Arches.
Seijiro beams as he and Horatio and Amen-Set hit on just the right melody. "That's it! Let's tell the others and start making plans... sounds like we might be going to this Hell Harbor place."
Seijiro beams as he and Horatio and Amen-Set hit on just the right melody. "That's it! Let's tell the others and start making plans... sounds like we might be going to this Hell Harbor place."
Horatio nods, a small grin on his face.
"Outstanding," he says to the kitsune.
"Now, as for this Hell Harbor place, what do we really know?" he muses.
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While Horatio and Jiro head back to the ship to continue working on the cipher Variel heads to Jaymiss to let him know of the turn of events and see his reaction. Approaching the man selling the carvings Variel picks up another piece as he he converses with the man. I am afraid that our previous meeting was too brief. I have come back to speak with you again to see if you have anything else that you wish to tell us. You se he was unable to meet with us when we arrived to give us his story.
If Jaymiss answers that he told them all he knows Variel will press the issue a bit more. Listen, you are the only one that knows anything about this and I find it hard to believe that this guy has been dead for a week and no one knew about it yet you know enough to keep tabs on the guy.
sense motive for reaction
Ok, but answer me this. Why would he have a carving of a bird in his hand that seemed to be one of your artworks? As he was dying was it a clue that you were involved in his death?
"That's it! Let's tell the others and start making plans... sounds like we might be going to this Hell Harbor place."
As Horatio still considers the nature of Hell Harbor he considers Seijiro's words.
"I have no problem telling them what we discovered, but I'm not sure where they are," he says.
"But that's alright; we won't be leaving without the ship... That said, if we're on the ship then maybe we can do a bit of prep work on our own before we leave?" he asks the kitsune.
"It occurs to me that you're able to use magic of a sorts to shift through space to move behind enemies, yes?" he asks Seijiro.
"If you were able to do that - hit an enemy from behind, but the blade you use was poisoned - then you could move to another enemy even while the first enemy starts to feel the bite of poison while you're doing your main work on another."
"I'm knowledgeable about making poisons; if you'd like, I could make some to coat your blades. What do think?" he asks Seijiro.
"I don't know... I've never considered using poisons... it doesn't sound like a good thing to do. I guess I'm just not comfortable with the idea. Maybe if it were to do something like put them to sleep or something that wouldn't be too bad. But something that actually caused physical harm, that would be different. Let me think on it a little, neh?"
"I don't know... I've never considered using poisons... it doesn't sound like a good thing to do. I guess I'm just not comfortable with the idea. Maybe if it were to do something like put them to sleep or something that wouldn't be too bad. But something that actually caused physical harm, that would be different. Let me think on it a little, neh?"
Horatio shrugs.
"Sure!" he says amicably.
"Of course, one of the main things that I've enjoyed using is a poison that damages the health of the individual. It won't kill them, it just wears them down - makes them weaker or something. If you want to finish them off, you can do that. If you want to knock them out, you can do that, too," he adds.
"Anyhow, it was just a suggestion. Right now we're stuck in port with nothing to do and I don't know how long we're here, so I figured it would be something to do to pass the time."
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Jaymiss looks at you with genuine surprise at the news of his death. I hadn't seen him but I didn't think anything of it and despite how it might have sounded, I don't spend every day looking at him. I hear rumors and such things and no one brought me anything about him being dead otherwise I woulda told ya. As for the bird, I didn't make it for him but it sounds like a Tengu and probably was Corlan, a good friend of Haddon's
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Variel is surprised at the news of the Tengu friend. While Jaymiss may not have known more about the death itself or who did it at least there was another lead to follow. Corlan huh? And where would I find this friend? Also is this Corlan an friendly chap that accepts visitors or should I be on my guard should when I go speak with him?
Jaymiss shakes his head and says He lives in Hell Harbor last I heard. Not sure more than that. I'd say be on your guard as general principle when dealing with these folk.
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Adular is impressed with Jiro's work, and when he hears about it says so, "Tongue twisters like that would likely break my mind."
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thanks Jaymiss. May be seing you around here someday. Keep up the nice work. Also I may have a commission for you but I won't be needing it for another month or so. I will be back, trust me.
I need a carving of a 3 masted ship on a raging sea with wind tossed sails and the most beautiful elven lass at the helm. 3 feet long would be preferable. The rest I will leave up to your artistic whim.
Jaymiss nods and says I'll be happy to create it for you although that size would be quite expensive. Probably in the neighborhood of 500 pieces of gold.
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Variel nods his head in agreement even if he was hoping for less then that. Half now and half upon completion work for you? That way if you need any materials for it you can purchase the best that you need.
Variel will hand over the 250gp before returning to the Lady.
BAck at the ship Variel will relay his findings to the others. It seems that we need to find a tengu named Corlan, He might know more about what is going on. Hell's Harbor is where we need to look for him.
So let's go to this Hell's Harbor place, and then we can return here and pick up our commissions when we get back, assuming what we learn doesn't send us somewhere else first."
Rain had listened silently and simply observed once Haddon's body was discovered and the various articles were found, examined and catalogued. At Variel's mention of Shanxia, she began to inwardly wonder about the assassins before concentrating on the Haddon's main contact.
When all the officers were returned to the Lady, Rain waited to hear Variel's information and then began readying the ship to sail to Hell Harbour on the isle of Devil's Arches. Neko sat beneath a partially-covering against the light precipitation. The golden cat did not like her fur getting wet for no important reason.
Adular nods once, not having a better plan himself.
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Rain expertly guides the ship to Hell Harbor, a journey which normally takes two days but is finished in half that time. Pulling into port, you see that Hell Harbor is a medium sized town built upon the slopes of an active, although relatively tame, volcano. Black cliffs surround the harbor and the buildings have a generally gray cast to them. You are able to pull up to the dock without incident.
A few questions identifies Roweena as a harbor quartermaster in the employ of Arronax Endymion, lord of Hell Harbor and a former admiral in the Empire navy. Roweena manages two of Endymion’s smaller trade warehouses, but she’s recently gone missing. Since Roweena’s disappearance, the goods in the warehouses she managed have been transferred to other holdings, leaving both warehouses empty.
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Variel sees that the officers are all in agreement as they head to Hell's Harbor. The trip is again quick thanks to Rain's skill at the helm. Arriving and finding out that their target Roweena has disappeared and her warehouses empty Variel inquires about Corlan as well.
Gather info
Depending on what he finds out he will talk to the others about trying to visit Arronax Endymion directly and see what this man has to say about the situation.
Part of her was saddened when they left Tempest Cay. Yet, she knew they had a quest to fulfil. Upon arrival, she docked the Lady deftly/safely in port.
Their initial inquiry led them to discover the disappearance of Roweena Kellet and the empty warehouses she managed.
So the local harbour quartermaster was missing - the very same person they sought for further inquiry. Someone was certainly ahead of them a few steps in this quest and Rain did not like it.
Variel suggested they meet with Roweena's employer, Arronax Endymion - a good step for he would have some information on the woman or the reason why the goods were moved - what was so special about them? And what of the Tengu, Corlan? Was he on the isle at present or missing, too?
Listening as Variel made his inquiries first, Rain attempted to make some of her own in hopes that between them something would be revealed before they would visit with the Lord of Hell Harbour.
Adular tries to recall what religions are found here, and where their churches might be
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Through your combined efforts asking around you are able to find out the Corlan is a smuggler and find out his address. His apartment house lies on the edge of Hell Harbor’s tengu rookery. Corlan’s house sits at a crossroads where two wide streets intersect in a “T.” It is a small house nestled between two larger buildings in the intersection.
Rain, during your questioning, you find out that Arronax is out of town having a meeting with another Pirate Lord.
Adular, you aren't sure but you'd guess the normal of Besmara and the like are in town.
Once the officers were all together, Rain quietly relayed her information regarding the Lord of Hell Harbour, "Arronax Endymion is not here as he is meeting with a fellow Pirate Lord elsewhere."