At the spot where the kidneys of someone wearing this cloak must be, there are two stabs and two large blood stains. Besides that the barrel was empty.
"Simpy kicking in the front door of this mans building would probably be unwise if this man truly lends for Clegg Zincher. It would be a bit like the way we took to Croat about his men kicking in the door of the Goblin. The least that should be done is for Clegg to be informed we have a dispute on his turf. I will go speak with the man, but I'd recommend this place be surrounded lest the person inside tries to slip away"
Winter walks back to the door and knocks one last time.
"I must warn you this last time, I am taking petition to Clegg Zincher to get to the bottom of this matter. There is a missing person and at the moment you are looking guilty of some involvement. I would recommend talking with us immediately if you are innocent, or I shall tell Clegg of your crime and ask he waives your protection. I shall be most cross upon my return"
"Final warning."
"Simpy kicking in the front door of this mans building would probably be unwise if this man truly lends for Clegg Zincher. It would be a bit like the way we took to Croat about his men kicking in the door of the Goblin. The least that should be done is for Clegg to be informed we have a dispute on his turf. I will go speak with the man, but I'd recommend this place be surrounded lest the person inside tries to slip away"
Winter walks back to the door and knocks one last time.
"I must warn you this last time, I am taking petition to Clegg Zincher to get to the bottom of this matter. There is a missing person and at the moment you are looking guilty of some involvement. I would recommend talking with us immediately if you are innocent, or I shall tell Clegg of your crime and ask he waives your protection. I shall be most cross upon my return"
"Final warning...by the good grace of Erastil I ask you earnestly to heed it."
Still nothing...
Bah! You can go and get Croat. Ill stay here and make sure the worm doesnt try to bolt but he could run out the back. Bree and I will have to split the door watching duty. Which do you prefer lass?
Before Bree has a chance to answer, a hulking man appears behind you accompanied by about a dozen more thugs. His arms are nearly as big as Sebastian's tighs and large veins criss-cross over his naked chest. A broad sabre dangles at his right side and he wears a colourful bandana...weirdly he looks like a strange mixture of an archetypical pirate and Hulk...
Whatcha be de problem, gentlemen?
Sebastian gives the men a broad smile. "Ah here is the help we need friends, enough of that knocking. Gentlemen, we are looking for a lost comrade. He was here, but now he is gone. It fact..." He pulls the cloak from Kabel and holds it up, poking his fingers through the holes in a bit of theater. "...this was his cloak, and well..it appears it did not hold up against knives very well."
Looking the group of them over, he almost reaches out to tweak the giant muscle of the leader forearm, but refrains. "Seeming as you appear to be a militia of local concerned citizens, perhaps you can help us in the search for him or perhaps you have already received word of his fate and came here directly to help?"
When Kabal found the cloak, Bree set off creeping around the building before returning with a report of the number and locations of each window and door leading into this building, as well as any windows that are across from windows in adjacent buildings. She also notes the roof type, and the ease of access to the roof.
She eyes the newcomers with her normal sense of aloofness and says nothing. Crossing her arms beneath her breasts, hands resting a scant inch from a blade on either side.
The giant of a man looks at the cloak, then over to the house
Dat is nuttin' of our concern. We are Zincher's men, but Smeed...he has made deals wit Croat, so we can't help ye. Ye be Win'er eh? he pokes the stern aasimar with a brawny index finger and goes on Me boss likeys ye, dat's good. Ye are big an' I dun't wanna have te fightcha, heh.
With that he turns around and urges his men to leave the scene.
@ Bree:
All windows of the house are barred, but on the back is another iron door.
Kabal jaw bunched and his brow furrowed at the mention of Croat.
Does he mean that this guy works for Croat? So despite what Croat said he's sought retribution? That means we're going into this house and cracking some skulls. Any protests or better ideas before I kick this door in?
Bree watches as the men walk away. To Kabal she says, "I doubt it is likely that we will find Larur, dead or alive, in this building... and I don't think you'll be able to kick that door down. Maybe the lot of you together."
"Yeah, tha' door looks righ' solid, don't think even big Winter'd get through it. If Larur ain't 'ere where else can we look for 'im? Anyone know where 'e went when 'e weren't at the Goblin? 'ad 'is own place or summat? I'd been shivved in a kidney I'd wanna get somewhere I knew afore all m'blood fell out, 'e didn't turn up at t'Goblin so mayhap 'e 'oled up somewhere else"
Kabal nodded at his shield mates logic.
We've got time to find him. This kind of wound is certain death without a holy man's touch but it can take quite some time to actually die from. Depending of course on Larur's will to survive. bad news and good news. He should be leaking like a stuck pig so there might be a blood trail. But where did it start from?
Perception to look for blood on the street -
Bah! Im not seeing anything. We should split up a bit to widen the search.
"Perhaps a proprietor of a nearby business saw or heard something."
Sebastian will reconnoiter the nearby shops asking for news.
Winter looks at the big fellow..."Well I can't make head or tail of who works for whom, or who owns what turf, and I am thankfull of your neutrality."
Winter turns his attention to the house.
"Solid doors, solid walls...no doubt. Wonder how strong he made his roof though? If this man has rebuked us so rudely, a bloodied cloak found next to his premises, and no one is set to intervene either way then I believe it is time for us to press our case."
Winter knocks once more.
"This is your last and final warning to open your door and answer our questions regarding our lost ally. Evidence has just been found that looks rather poorly upon you"
He turns then to his allies, "I suppose we must press our case directly then, I intend to put a hole through his roof."
Well Ill be...I wouldve bet 200 crowns that I wouldve never saw that in my life. We better cover the back in case this rat decides to flee his hole.
Kabal will run towards the back of the tenement.
Bree's eyes also scourer the area searching out signs of Larur's struggle, when she hears Winter's suggestion about putting a hole in the roof. Her eyes raise to study him, and her head is tilted to the right in curiosity as all of the times such an ability could have come in use rush through her head.
"Put a hole in the roof? With what? Do you have, like a saw or something? I'm pretty sure I can get up there, I might need a boost..." Bree turns and eyes the roof, seeming to very much like the idea of putting a hole in someone's roof.
Winter looks at Bree, "With my foot of course"
With a flash, Winter is replaced by his now familiar oversized form. Towering at just shy of thirteen feet tall, he lifts up anyone wishing to get up on one side the roof before moving up there himself carefully.
Climb
With 1200Lbs, or half a ton of flesh and steel in one spot, Winter begins stomping up and down in his part of the roof intent on busting a big hole through it.
Bree giggles while jumping up and down, clapping her hands for just a second with a look of childish delight before she seems to realize what it is she has just done. Looking completely abashed and shocked at herself, her eyes grow wide and she brings a hand up covering her mouth. Pulling the hood to her cloak up with the other, and refusing eye contact with the party.
As Winter enlarges himself, there is a moment of awe and puzzlement on the faces of all bystanders, then as he climbs the roof and begins to smash it, first calls for Gendarmes are heard.
The roof of the house was made to resist hailstorms, thunderstorms, lightnings, even heavy loads of snow, but surely not a giant's foot, so with a cracking noise it gives in and Winter tumbles into the living room where a shrieking rat-faced man sits next to an ugly pet baboon.
Lymas smeed calls frantically for help while cursing you simultaneously and pleading that he is innocent of whatever you think he has done.
Sebastian walks back up from having no luck with the neighbors and sees the spectacle of Winter on the roof.
He turns to the others, "So he's not writing this guy a letter?"
Looking around the alley, "It is possible the money changer is telling the truth. A bit odd to have a man attacked on your doorstep and leave evidence of that attack. Why not invite him in to conduct the transaction, then dispatch him. I am just afraid we don't know all of what is going on here and Winter may have put his foot in it this time. A man not answered his door is not a reason to stomp his house down..." He turns to Bree and tries to look into her cloaked face, "..Is it? I am not from Riddleport, so perhaps this goes on all the time."
To answer Sebastian's question, "Home invasions, yes. Giants stomping on roofs, no." Before she can stop herself another giggle bubbles forth from her mouth.
If Bree was able to find a way up previously, then she takes that way, if not, she asks Kabal for a boost. Her plan is to get inside and get the door opened for the others while Winter and Sable occupy the man's attention.
Kabal was getting worried after he heard the rumble of what could only been Winter crashing through the roof of the money lenders abode. He was relieved when Bree came around the corner and listened appreciatively to her plan. He quickly made a saddle with his hands and as her foot stepped into it he asked -
Ready lass? Up you go!
and with that he heaved straight up
Strength check -
and launched the local girl with tremendous force!
Bree lands next to Winter, Smeed and his baboon. The small man is still shouting frantically
Tell Saul, all his debts are paid for, I don't want any trouble with him, I'm so sorry, please, mister giant, don't stomp on me!
Bree makes her way to the hole and tells giant Winter to see if Sable needs help up the rest of the way. She begins by looking for the clearest place to land, and then examines the route she must take to get there. If it is a clean break, and a clean drop, Bree will hand down into the hole from her hands before rocking her body back and forth to get the momentum she needs. Once she has that momentum, she flings herself forward into a roll, flipping in the air before landing on her feet.
[If it is not a clean break, and there are boards that she can move across, one to the other to get herself closer to the ground, she will take that route instead.]
Once on her feet, and assured no one is moving to attack her she moves to the door and begins unlocking it.
Smeed affirms you in your doings now every inch the loquacious servant
Oh yes, you have to unfasten that bolt, yes, see - now the door is open and all your friends can come in, heh!
"You now have a big hole because you refused to open a smaller one when I asked nicely, and so now I am giving you a chance of not repeating the same mistake twice. Listen very carefully, my friend is missing, a man who has helped put food on my table and a roof over my head was sent to you with a pile of money, and now his bloodied cloak is in your garbage and he is missing. I asked you to open the door and talk about it and you rudely refused us and would not speak. Now you can open the smaller hole under your nose and tell me what I need to know about it"
Winter seems quite upset, its pretty clear he had a soft spot for Larur, and is not talking well to a bloodied cloak.
The man's expression now is a mixture of puzzlement and fear
What, who, what? Larur? Saul's Larur? Haven't seen him for ages, I swear mister giant, please believe me, I don't know anything of his whereabouts!
Outside, the whistling of the Gendarmes has ended before they have arrived...
|
"If you have not seen Larur, then our dear friend at least made it to the porch of your coop. Have you anything you can tell us to aid in our flight?"
Sable will pull out a small pouch of coin and toss it at Smeed's feet.
"There isn't much there, but if your hands are clean of Larur then these coins will help fix your nest. If your talons have dipped into this situation, however, more than your roof will be full of holes."
Kabal had been pacing the alley when he heard the bolt on the door being thrown. He could also hear the whistles and sound of boots thudding coming from the Gendarmes.
Well hell, isnt this day just getting better and better?..
He kept his hands clear of any weapons and took up position in front of the open door as they arrived.
Instead of the Gendarmes, a group of burly half-orcs arrives (about 15) and you can recognize some among them, you have also spotted during the raid on the Goblin.
Now that they see you, they seem unsure what to do, waiting in a distance of about 30m.
@ Sable:
You can't discern whether this man speaks the truth or not.
What? He came here? We didn't speak, really mister scarecrow, not even exchanged a word!
Quickdraw to unsheath my falcata.
Intimidate -
Strap up in there! More of Croats little piggies have shown up!
As he hears that Smeed listens up
Oh yes, did I meantion that I'm Mr. Croat's banker? He surely does not like to see you stumble into the house where all his money is kept, all his treasures, gems and jewels!
The baboon rolls his eyes and facepalms...
|
|
What? He came here? We didn't speak, really mister scarecrow, not even exchanged a word!
Sable looks to Smeed. "You miserable stork. Flee, if you think your feathers are faster than ours, but I go so weary of dealing with thesed tusked vultures."
Sable kneels, and using his feral speech, he says to the baboon,
Gripping his sickle, Sable looks to the others. "Shall we stretch our talons or give our beaks a chance to talk this out?"
Sebastian takes the time during the treats and accusations to look around as much as he can. He is looking for any blood stains.
If there were any, they must now be below all the rubble...
Half as a way to keep herself from rolling around on the floor laughing at Sable's new nickname, Bree loads her crossbow and steps outside aiming it at the crowd of half-orcs.
"One step closer, and you'll have a bolt in ya."
Winter sees that the man is well in hand with people asking the right questions, and perhaps his temper might be a bit high with the heady mix of his missing friend, a sign he might be dead, and the rudeness and derision this man showed at him when questioned.
"I came here for answers and my missing friend, we are not thieves and murderers but rather we are concerned citizens in a city with few laws and fewer enforcers, you can explain to Croat why it is your roof fell in. Had you just answered the door and spoken to us in earnest then I'd have had no reason to believe you were hiding my friends body in here."
With that he moves out into the street to see Croats men.
"Who's in charge there?" Winter walks a little closer, sword in hand but not pointing to anyone... relaxed but ready to defend.
To whoever is 'identified', or to the crowd if not.
"We have not come to rob Croats banker, we have come to investigate a missing member of staff who was sent to Smeed with a large sum of gold. It is no secret that Croat and Vankaskerin have a strange relationship, but this man is now dead, and his bloodied possessions found in the garbage next to that building... Smeed refused to talk to us, and I believed our man might well be inside, or his murderer, so I took action. There is no need for more blood, as I would have peace, the better gardens grow when provided sunshine and quiet to prosper, but killing people out of hand brings cold winds and dark clouds."
One of the half-orcs in the streets courageously raises his hand as you ask who was in charge
OK, house broken, no problem, we no problem, we no trouble, you go, all good!
It dawns on you that his courage might source in his utter stupidity...
"Yes, we will be going very shortly. Thank you"
Winter smiles and gives Kabal a wink as he goes back to the house to get to the bottom of his missing friend, and whether this loanshark knows anything.
"I suppose Kabal, that this man could be innocent enough as well. Larur wasn't the fiercest fighter I've met, and a lone man carrying five hundred pieces of gold down to a lender in this area is a man with five hundred reasons to be killed. Even more likely if people knew who he was and where he was coming from... his burden would be easy enough to deduce. Perhaps Croat did it as payback, perhaps it was Clegg who did it and framed this man so we would be giving Croat a kick in the guts while Clegg profited. Regardless though, I must confess a deep disappointment woth Saul if he sent one of his charges here with so many coins on such an errand with no escort, it seems unfathomably thoughtless"
"Maybe we need to look to Larurs place for any evidence... but he was wearing a cloak when he got stabbed, and you put on a cloak to go out. He wouldn't have been wearing it at home"
Kabal shook his head at their predicament.
Youre right Winter. What I dont understand is....hmmm..how to put this? As much as Saul values coin; why in the nine hells would he send Larur alone carrying so much of it? Sure a lone man draws less attention but Saul has too many enemies and Larur has to be well known as his confidant. Its not adding up.
"Perhaps a few weeks of peace has seen Saul relax his guard. Just because you clear a wolf away from your farm for a while does not mean it wont soon be back, indeed it usually will be, just far hungrier than it was before. Saul could have asked us to accompany such a large payment, indeed I am shocked that he didn't, especially knowing he was sending just one of his men into Croats realm."
Kabals scowl deepened and his brow furrowed even further.
So what now? None of us know where Larur lived so that sounds like a wild cockatrice chase. If we cant find a blood trail soon then he's dead...if he aint already...