Defense of Brookside

Game Master caster4life

"If I may?, Túrion speaks up after listening for a while "There are many creatures with significantly more powerful senses than we possess. Say, even a simple dog can smell things much better than one of us could ever hope to. There are also many flowers or plants an extract of which can leave a very subtle, hard to remove - weeks at a time even if exposed to water and soap - and almost unidentifiable scent. Combine the two, and you could have a pass sytem. Train an animal or two to react to a certain scent only they can notice. Then mark each of us with either water or a diluted extract. Upon arrival, let the trained animals check us and see if the result matches. While there ARE magical ways to achieve a superior sense of scent, it remains hard to use the sense precisely for such subtle aspects, when one is not a creature naturally capable of such a feat. And even if they had means to identify which of us were marked, you could make it nigh impossible to identify the exact combination of extracts used to make that specific scent - making it hard for anybody pretending to bypass even if they notice the means."
He kneels and strokes Nelly behind her ears before continuing: "You could even do this hidden, mark people secretly with a prepared glass, or chair, and having the trained animal give a non-obvious sign upon noticing the smell on someone. It would, as Donald says, not be a perfect answer, but a rather simply, relatively inexpensive and non-magical concept. The best part - you can have an herbalist you trust prepare a good number of extracts, most of which you won't even use, then mix the remaining ones in a way only you know. So even going through that person won't help someone - you only need someone trustworthy to train the animals, or make sure they only have supervised access to the animals - so they they could not be trained to react to something else in the same way."

It was not strictly necessary, but he wanted to offer some solution from his area of expertise as well.

Regarding the widow mason...not sure if we want to tell her about speak with dead and get her consent...it may be the right thing to do and help him get justice for what was done to him. But she may also be instinctively defensive about it which would morally prevent us from pursuing that option.

Turick nods thoughtfully. "Very good. I will make arrangements for such a scent system." He seems to like the mundane aspect of it, as well as the fact that it is one of the simpler plans that he can understand so far. "In the meantime, I will provide each of you with a password. You will verify yourselves, collectively, by having each of you provide that password. Please do not share these passwords. It would be more difficult for an enemy to probe ALL of your minds."

The widow mason remains the main priority here. I think we're done with the security side-conversation.

"That is an excellent suggestion my lord. Might I possibly suggest an additional password we can use if we believe we have been compromised - as an 'ask for help' thing. If all my companions have been controlled to reveal the password and I have not I would be prepared to play along and attempt to warn you if I could do so smoothly and without automatically becoming 'burned'."
He hesitates "I believe our opponents have spent some time on ways to authenticate themselves. Other nefarious groups as well. One I have heard of is to take a simple item anyone might carry, break it in half and give half to each side. There is a cantrip to mend items that will only work if both halves are present. There is little chance people will think the snapped stay of a corset is a pass-object. Religious groups ofttimes use a formal pledge of allegiance repeated often. Whilst there is no guarantee that the one swearing means the oath, certain predominately evil entities take delight in using such a pledge to steal a soul when the infiltrator eventually dies."

"Further..." the Don realises that no-one is really interested and switches topic "We should complete out business and be away. Our esteemed Mrs Mason has agreed to stay with you for now, and I ask that you or your agents see if she can shed any more light on the topics at hand before we spirit her away to safety."
"Mrs Mason, might I ask if your husband was doing any other work, construction or design, after his comission from Cust? Many a talented architect has hidden hints and clues in some piece, indeed such hidden hints were all the rage at one point."
"Additionally, and I do hesitate to ask... where might your husband be interred? This odd illness smacks of poison or curse to me, and I have spells to detect such things, though I admit the time involved will be a complicating factor. If the spells work, and work well enough, and it is a rare poison or curse, then I might be able to get some actual evidence. On the other hand, while I am prepared to brave a crypt to solve a crime, I am reluctant to disturb your husband otherwise."

Security:

The viscount nods and secretly gives each of you two passwords, one legitimate and the other indicating that you fear you have been compromised.

The widow:

The widow's brow furrows at the idea. "Well my husband is interred in a cemetery for successful artisans and merchants just outside the walls of Bannerhold. As to hiding clues, that doesn't sound like his nature. But if you think it would be helpful, I'll point you to his last constructions." She gives you directions to a mansion and a bridge built after Baron Cust's mansion.

Anything else from her or do you guys have Turick put her in guarded hiding now?

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Mason," Melia says. "I'm sorry for your loss. With any luck, Baron Cust will answer for that -- among other things."

She listens carefully to the security conversation, agrees that the scent-based identification scheme sounds very clever, and takes careful mental note of her passwords.

"Going forward we'll try to avoid popping out of thin air in your garden," she adds. "It seems to make your guards nervous."

Let's go check out the architect's grave.

"Aye, what she said." Kazador agreed. "Now, let's get this mine dug."

"I wish to extend my apologies for the sudden nature of this whole event, both to you, Mrs, and to you, Viscount. I assure you it seemed the safest course of actions, despite the...friction it caused. We'll keep you updated as we learn more."
Túrion bows to the widow, and inclines his head towards Turick, then follows his allies to the door.

You say your goodbyes to the widow and the Viscount, both of whom appreciate your courtesy. After 25 minutes walk, you arrive at the cemetery in mid-morning. Headstones are tightly clustered together in a modest grass lot a stone's throw from a busy gate.

"So." the dapper Don says quietly, still in disguise, and after looking around "While identifying the plot would be sensible, I need to know how far we should proceed. I see four issues."
"First - visibility. Exhuming in daylight is not so impossible as one might think, so long as we look like people who would be liegitmately doing so, and the appropriate church officials believe our bona fides."
"Second - traceability. We will need to clean up after ourselves quite well if we do not want our estwhile employer to guess our actions."
"Third - optimality. Has the information given us by our recent informant brought to light anything more relevant?"
"Fourth - physicality. I'm an old man..." he coughs piteously a few times "and perhaps a younger - er, that is, more fit member - might be a better choice?"

"Or, per chance, I could call a few small earth elementals and ask them to retrieve the...uhm...parts we need.", Túrion suggests. "It won't be delicate or respectful, but it would be swift, I think. And I doubt most dead care about how they are handled. Some burial rites I read about would be outright cruel, otherwise."

The old man sighs "In which case, if they can retrieve the... target.: he pauses, then continues "can they take it somewhere nearby? This is not a fast ritual, and if the body is not intact we'll need to do some repairs, so somewhere with a little more privacy would be good. Additionally it does not last long. I'll only be able to ask - at most - somewhere around five or six questions. I suggest we work out the questions beforehaand, as I have heard of groups performing this ritual arguing about what follow up questions to ask for so long that the ritual expires before they ask a second."

"First things first," Melia says. "Let's find his headstone. And check for caretakers who may object. Once we know where he is we can work out the next steps. I wonder if Cust was paranoid enough to put traps or alarms on the grave? Or the coffin."

She sounds unhappy -- but resigned.

Perception: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (5) + 20 = 25

Seeking the grave and keeping an eye out for any caretakers.

Melia sees a small shed that is probably used by the caretaker(s) but no sign of them at the moment. It's not a large cemetery and the widow's instructions were clear. Melia finds the modest headstone, wilted flowers sitting at its foot, next to an elm tree.

"All right," she says. "There he is. Let's do this quickly and with as much respect as we can manage under the circumstances."

Leaving it to the casters to hash out the method.

EDIT: oh, and ...

She studies the grave site carefully, checking for alarms or traps, magical or otherwise.

Perception: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (1) + 20 = 21

Melia does not have trapfinding, so she can't find magical traps that way. But she has Detect Magic 1/day, and she's going to spend that to check for magical traps.

Melia detects neither trap nor magic.

Bump.

Back from vacation. Lets get moving...

"On second thought, rather than retrieve our target part by part, I think they should be able to lift up the coffin through the ground. There will be some resistance, some drag, but it would be significantly faster than digging. But keep an eye out regardless."

If nobody objects, Túrion will look around to make sure they are alone, and call a large Earth Elemental into being.
I think one large is better than several medium ones, as it should be able to cover most of the objects path by itself.
Having taken his chance to learn the basics of elemental languages from Fyrtor, he then addresses it:"There is a coffin - a wooden container with a corpse - a few feet below this grave. I want you to retrieve it to the surface without breaking it."

Agreed about moving forward!

The massive creature of stone and dirt nods its massive, blocky head and melts seamlessly into the earth below. Then it re-emerges with a massive eruption of earth as it shoves a coffin out of the ground, it's boards, compromised by rot, cracking and creaking with the strain. The damaged coffin now lies on the ground in front of you.

Túrion touches the coffin, casting another spell, letting it vanish from sight, then thanks the earth elemental and dismisses it.
Invisibility.
"We don't really have the option of mending things here. I'd suggest we spring for a new coffin and re-bury him after we are done. For now, if you'd be so kind, Kazador?"

Depending on how heavy it is, I may or may not be able to DD us out of here. So we may have to cautiously make our way with a damaged invisible coffing balanced mostly on a dwarf with people helping and stabilizing at back and front...

"Perhaps we might make use of that shed? We'd need to keep others away, but I shouldn't take thatlong to be done with this. I will, however, need to know what we want to ask. And, of course, we need the target to be... mostly intact." the Don shrugs, his persona starting to slip.

Coffin+body weighs 250 pounds.

350 max carry, not sure current gear weight, but armor is 80lbs, hammer is 14lbs. Approx 100, putting 250 at the limit.

Using telekenisis mastery which can lift 250 pounds for a minute

”Right. Let me try this.” Kazador said. Taking his hammer, he touched it to the coffin, and whispered in an ancient dialect of Dwarven. He kept at it, as the hammer changed shape, merging into the coffin, becoming one with it. Sweat forming on his brow he kept chanting under his breath as he walked towards the shed, the coffin moving along with them, seeming to glide through the ground as he went. When he finally got there he stopped chanting, and his hammer reformed outside of the coffin.

”Nay easy, but it’s done. Got it out of the way right quick, eh?”

"So far, so good," Melia says. "But we still have to ask our questions and then put him back."

"Five to six questions, you said? We should definitely spend one to verify his identity - make sure they did not swap the body, or claim his death prematurely while they still had use for him. One to see, if to the best of his knowledge, he was murdered. One about wether there is a secret room in the mansion - where it's located and how it was secured. If we got an extra question, maybe if he wants anything passed on to his wife.", Túrion considers what to ask.
That is just brainstorming, I did not think about that, so by all means refine or opt for different questions...

"Hmmm. Good questions. I expect his identity would become obvious through the questions though. The secret room is, perhaps, the first question. Good thought on asking for details. Given evidence of a murder might help us catch Cust if we can independently verify, but I doubt the man left traces..." the Don pauses walking for a moment, then shakes his head and continues.

"Aye, all make good points. So, we ready to do this? I've always heard that dead men tell no tales, so it be exciting to find that saying was a lie." Kazador said.

Bump!

The Don pulls out a battered pencil, a ragged scrap of paper, and starts to take notes.

"So how is this? Question 1 is 'what exactly did Cust have you build'?"

"Question 2: what do you think it was used for?"

"Question 3: what security measures do you believe exist to stop or detect entry?"

"Question 4: if you know of any evidence Cust has comitted a crime, where is it?"

"Question 5: what, if aything, do you wish you had told your wife before you died."

Melia reads over his shoulder and nods at each question.

"Looks fine to me," she says. "Come on, let's get him into the shed and out of public view."

She gently ushers people in that direction.

I'm going to roll with rule of two here, as usual.

You hustle into the shed and pry open the coffin. The architect's remains are nothing but bones with tattered clothes and a few bits of putrid flesh hanging off of them. But once the spell is cast, the flesh is restored to color and fills out, covering the bones. The man's eyes open and he looks blankly at the lot of you. His jaw creaks audibly as his mouth opens and he replies "Baron Cust had me build his Bannerhold mansion, complete with a secret room in the basement. They are for entertaining, living, and hiding his secrets. He has a guard and a lock on each door, a lock on each window, and I believe he hired a wizard to cast a trap on the secret room. Evidence would be in the Baron's office or secret room. My wife should know that she made every sunrise a gift and that I buried some gold under the yew tree, for emergencies." Then the flesh fades back to putrescence.

Melia nods, taking notes. "Thank you, Mr. Mason," she says just as the spirit fades.

"Well, that gives us some avenues to explore," she says to the others, "And a fair idea what to prepare for. Let's get Mr. Mason back in the ground and let him rest. Then we can consider our next move."

Any checks or spells or anything needed to put him back down, or can we move on?

Soon, the coffin is reburied. The ground has obviously been disturbed but you could leave now without being seen.

"Rest well, Mr. Mason," Mel says. "We'll take it from here. Come on, let's get going. I want to check out the Cust manor."

GM, could we just get an idea of how large the place is, what its immediate surroundings are like, obvious guards, etc?

Harold rats through his bag for a moment before procuring a pharasmin holy symbol, then spends a minute speaking quietly with eyes closed.
That done, he nods.

How many stories in the building? Two, like the Harcourt manor?

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (5) + 12 = 17

Melia spends a half hour casually passing by the place, keeping her eyes open. "Walled, with guarded gates at front and back," she reports to the group, "And guards at the doors of the house as well. Looks to be about the same size as Harcourt's place. No idea what the floor plan is like, of course."

"Do we know how loyal these guards are? I mean, are they personal retainers of his family? Or hired help that didn't make the cut for the city guard but is capable enough for standing around and being intimidating? If we could get one of them to cooperate, with magical compulsion or otherwise, that may deal with two issues - we'd have a basic floor plan, and a entry-point that would not raise an alarm."
He considers their options for a while, then continues:"Of course, I could try and remotely view the place. If we have time, I can spend a days alotment on trying to learn more - and I think Hal has some options, too, as he showed with the linen shop. But if we don't know what we're getting into, I'd prefer not to go in with only half a loadout of spells."

Yes, two floors. Do you guys want to try to gather information, cast divination spells, go bluff at a guard, etc?

Bump. Let's do something folks. Let me know if you need clarification/information from me on anything.

Harold, now comfortably back in his normal persona, sighs
"Alright. Time ta case the joint. We take it easy ta start. Two o' us - me 'n' someone else - walk past the place. Two o' us 'cos it makes it easier to explain what we're doin'. Need ta get within.. sixty feet, I reckon. Closer's good, though we'll need a good reason ta be close. I'll be checkin' for auras 'n' wards."
"Be good if we could go overhead as well. I c'n get me dragon ta do it, but he'll need ta be disguised. At 'bout a hundred fifty feet he won't see much detail, but lots'a things stick out from the air, so I reckon it's worth it. Anyone got a better way ta do it than a disguised dragon?"
"Meanwhile, I'll try ta find some bees nearby and cut a deal with 'em." he sighs again "On top o' Mr Mason that's gonna leave me pretty wiped - but you lot've never needed much from me in a fight, 'n' I've not got your stomach for killin' anyway."
"Turion, ya reckon ya could get some of your guys to do a quick underground check? Man like this gives me the feelin' he might just have a tunnel leadin' away underground so he can scarper if the law comes. Might also have a fancy way of pipin' water in or uh, other stuff out."
"Figure it'll take a while for the beetles ta get back. When they do I'll spend a while goin' through what they said. That'll get us a layout."
"Now at that point there's a couple places we could find ourselves."
"Best case there's an unwarded area we can just 'port to. If so, we wait until dark, then 'port in and out and back home for supper. Don't hold out much hope though"
"Next best is an underground tunnel, 'n' we can go in the out hole so ta speak."
"After that next is their defences are all ground based, so we go in at night from the air. Land on the roof, go down a chimney or some'in'. then we tiptoe around inside and use the layout I get from the bees to head straight for the secret room. I know someone used ta be a top flight burglar I c'n pro'lly tap."
"Gettin' a bit desperate, after that. I reckon at that point we stop, talk about what we've found, and maybe take a nap."

"Anyone want ta second the motion?"
and if someone does I'm happy to move straight into Hal's walkpast

"Agreed," Mel says. "I'll walk past with you. I'll follow your lead."

The old man smiles "Ha! Haven't been dancin' since..."
The smile fades into something else, then the wrinkled old face goes dead.
"Rich old man with a young nurse? Father and daughter? Either gives us a reason to stop if I'm 'short of breath'. If we look rich enough they may not want to bother us - but not so rich they'll try to help. Decent?"

"Rich old man with a young nurse. Sure." Melia takes a moment to change her appearance using her Hat of Disguise. Instead of a the bubbly Melia, she presents as a solemn young women with raven hair, a pale complexion, and subdued but recognizable nurse's outfit with crisp folds.

"Come along then, sir," she says. "It'll do you good to take some air. Better than sitting cooped up in your house, fretting over past failures."

"I was considering havine some scout beneath. The only problem I see is the actual size of the mansion. I have no idea how well elementals see, but they would need to be summoned out of sight, but on ground they can penetrate, head to the mansion proper, scout, return, and transfer what they learned before their time is over. That might cut it a bit close. I think scouting the underground is a decent call, but it might need to wait until we are ready to actually enter the compound."
I am assuming it also has a fenced yard/garden of decent size. If it's actually only like 30 feet from the road, by all means, I'll try and find a spot.

When Melia and Harold start their walk, Túrion is determined to at least stay nearby, if not close enough to blow their cover. So he "walks" Nelly, who disapproves of the very notion of being escorted on a scheduled toilet break, but otherwise plays along decently fine.
He remains in the general vicinity of the area, maybe circling close to the mansion on whereever it seems to be closest to the road.

There is an outer wall, a yard, and then the mansion. But the closest part of the mansion is indeed only 20 ft from the road.

Hal and Melia start walking past... The guard at the gate pays them no heed, as of yet.

Pull the trigger on whatever you like.

I haven't changed the avatar, but this is a throwaway rather than 'normal' Hal
Hal's garments shift, and he takes a moment to actually wash his face and comb his beard. Then, new persona roughly hewn out, he takes the "nurse's" arm, ostensibly to escort her, but not so subtly leaning on her for support.
"Need a damn brandy and a good cigar, m'girl. Damn doctor doesn't know what he's talking..."
The richly dressed old man breaks into a coughing fit, then half bends over trying to recover.
knowledge arcana: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (15) + 16 = 31 +2 possible if read spell traces applies. Do you want a disguise roll or something?

"Easy, sir," Nurse Mel says, supporting him.

Sorry Hal, what exactly is that roll? Did you cast identify or something before (or subtly while) walking down this road? I'm lost as to EXACTLY what you're doing so add a little more mechanical note in ooc or something.

In general, Hal's mentioning that he's in a fresh disguise is good for everyone to use, if making a new persona, disguise, etc. No need to make a new alias every time.

Ah - sorry, Hal has Soulsight Goggles. These let him see magical auras as if using arcane sight, but only withing 60ft. He can also see the identifying forces of incorporeal creatures due to the goggles. He also has See Beyond up should a perception check be needed.
Arcane sight will give you the aura of spell, and a spellcraft roll will tell you the school. Read Arcane Traces means he can get more info if he rolls well. I don't know how many auras there are yet though, and if you want to roll for him to recognise, then his roll is +23.
In this case I figure 'looking for wards' was probably the much harder knowledge:arcane's "Identify a spell effect that is in place". Happy for the roll to be different, but I wanted to kick something off. Also happy for you to roll in secret if there are dozens of auras.

With his goggles, Hal is able to determine that there is an alarm spell on the gate, on the front door, and a teleport trap spell inside the house.