Hal casts his eye quickly over the painting.
His first glance checks for auras or traces - a lesson learned early thanks to a run in with a rune in his early days.
The second takes in the depiction of the painting - the subject matter involved. A painting such as this typically depicted either myth, legend, or story.
The third glance appraised the craftsmanship of the work, the likely age, and signatures of famous artisans.
"Nice." he approves "Should be on a wall somewhere."
Char stares at the painting and ponders. Perhaps a local art forgery ring? Or theft? She racks her brain to think about potential illicit schemes involving art.
She also examines the painting carefully for any sign of tampering. Perhaps things concealed in the frame or behind the painting.
Túrion considers if the painting might have religious significance - he also has some experience with wolves, and attempts to pinpoint the likely origin or geographical area based on the species depicted and any noticeable plants in the setting.
Hal only determines that the painting looks very valuable and is quite a masterpiece. Char determines that it is a very famous work, the Revenge of Janice, depicting a tale from Old Feldnost but it seems very carefully preserved. Turion is able to confirm that one of the plants in the painting is known for growing in the Feldnost region. Char thinks there is something notable about the history of this specific painting...
The Revenge of Janice has been lost for ten years and was last known to be in the possession of the Lake noble family, now infamous for leading the Lakefire rebellion. The Lake's were known to have a great collection of precious art.
The Lakefire rebellion went poorly, at first, due to the lack of proper armaments. All major producers and sellers of arms and armor were terrified of conviction for treason if they sold to the Lakes and their allies. But suddenly, the Lakes were able to procure a great deal of arms and armor just before a major engagement on July 25th, 10 years ago, leading to the rebellion's greatest victory. King Stephen, Viscount Turick, and their troops rallied for a long campaign that culminated in decisive victory at the Battle of the Long Mile.
When the troops took Lake Manor, however, the art was nowhere to be found. The surviving second son of the family, Jean Lake, famously would not say where the art had gone before his execution. He only said that the art had been "the price of our bid to free ourselves from tyranny".
Túrion looks for a signature or a hint at the title, creation time, or sponsor of the painting, while musing: "Hm. Seems like it's a famous work. Weird that it would be in a cellar instead of an art gallery. I suspect the way it found it's way here may have been legally questionable - maybe if we could determine it's origin, that could help us work things out?"
"Art is not really my thing," Char says. She looks dubiously at it. In the background, past the fleeing wolf, she spots a snowbell blooming in the grass. "But ... I don't think this is a fake. And if it's real, why isn't he showing it off? Unless he stole it. Then showing it off would ID him as the crook. It would make perfect sense to hide it away down here while he looks for a way to sell it..."
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"Stolen? I'm not sure. Why keep it in his own home, secured, if he wants to sell it on.", Túrion muses some more, then looks at the other boxes. "And there's more. I think he intends to keep these. Maybe even acquired them proper, but he can't show them off, can't display them...but then why DID he get them?"
Túrion starts walking up and down, raising a finger:"Because he expected to be ABLE to show them. But things did not turn out that way. Say, you did extensive research on the local nobles, didn't you?", he suddenly claps in his hands:"It's all coming together...."
He returns to the painting, then does a quick estimate on the number of boxes: "We are looking for proof of treason, and I think we did. The Lakes, who instigated the Lakefire Rebellion, were famous art collectors! But after the war, their collection had vanished. It was gone. But that's not all! Knowing we were looking for something related to the rebellion, I studied it and major turning points - did you know that initially, they fared very poorly? All major suppliers of weaponry, armor, and generally goods of war were close to the crown, or at least within it's reach. No one wanted to bid their business empire on an uprising. Until July 25th, when a decisive battle turned into a humiliating defeat for the royal forces when the rebels managed to acquire sufficient equipment to properly outfit most of their troops - prior to the battle...what they plundered that day was enough to bring all of them up to standard. There was speculation of foreign influence, even Dwarfs or Elves were suspected of meddling when it showed no signs of non-human craftsmanship...but it could never be determined where the equipment had originated. I think - no, I'm all but certain - that we have found the payment for that shipment. Arming rebels during a insurrection, that qualifies as treason in this country, I'm pretty certain. And IF the rebels had won, not only would he have been in a prime position to be primary arms supplier henceforth - he would also have been able to openly display the paintings acquired. The victor writes history, so to say - it's always the same isn't it? If the rebels win it wasn't treason, it was a just cause. The question, then, is how to proceed from here? Let's see if there is more incriminating material? The bastard'll say he never even knew about the room and his enemies must have planted the evidence...I'm certain he is responsible, but maybe there's also some correspondence with the lakes he kept to 'proof' that he is the rightful owner? In case any distant relatives would try and claim part of their collection?"
"Of course!" Char says. "We knew we were looking for an old treason -- one dating back to the Lakefire Rebellion. Cust is an arms dealer. He supplied weapons to the Lake family, in exchange for their art collection. And yes; if the Lakes had won, they would have regarded Cust as a hero. But they lost, and thus he became a traitor."
"As for next steps," Char says, "I think we get out of here -- fast and quietly. We get back to Turick with one of the paintings, and then we come back with a detachment of his men to surround the place, kick in the door and arrest him. He may try to claim innocence, but this is definitely enough to get Turick moving. He lost soldiers in the Lakefire Rebellion -- cut down with weapons Cust supplied."
"I wonder if the Reaps found out later and blackmailed him? Or if he used them to deliver the weapons on the sly. Either way, this must be their handle on him."
She tries to fit the painting into her handy haversack, then shakes her head. "Opening's too small for the painting to fit," she says. "If we don't have a larger one, we'll just have to carry it."
There is a modest stack of empty crates in the corner of the room. They have been pried open and left in a heap but the majority of the crates are still sealed.
Hal nods his head to Turion "Makes sense." he agrees quietly, then nods one final time more decisibely "Nice deductin'."
"If we're gettin' out, I guess back the way we came? Seems a bit of a shame."
"What do you mean?" Char asks, walking over to the empty crates and checking them out.
Char notes tiny fibers of canvas in the empty crates, matching those of the canvases wrapped around the painting you found.
"What has he done with the rest of them?" Char wonders, looking at the empty crates. "There are definitely some missing."
"Well, this..." Hal gestures to the stack "Its worth... a lot. Retirement money, m'be. We're lettin' the King take it. Not even takin' one for oursel's. I know we gotta, but... shame. Still, treason's more likely to see 'em move then if some toff's sacrifcin' kids in his basement."
"I reckon he's sellin' 'em slow on the black market. Pro'lly how the Reaps found out. Wierd the crates are still 'ere... unless somethin' makes 'em identifiable?" Hal looks quickly for stamps and marks.
Harold notes an interesting grain to the wood.
The wood is wych elm, not grown much outside of the home district of the old Lake family.
"Huh. Yeah." Harold runs his hand over the grain "Wych elm. 'Less someone started a plantation, its local to the Lake family estate. We should take some paintings and boxes when we pi...leave."
Char looks excited. "Wych elm? I've heard that wood is great for bows. Most of the planks in these crates are long enough, and it's beautifully seasoned. I'll have to see if I can get a few pieces once we're done here."
Char tucks the small portrait into her bag, box and all. "Let's get out of here," she says. "I wish we could just teleport straight from this room to some back alley somewhere, and avoid risking raising the alarm on the way out. But we would need some way to suppress that pesky teleport trap, and I don't think we have anything that can do that."
Hal hesitates "Not safely." he agrees. "And I'd get over the fence 'fore we 'port, 'less we get caught."
You start filing out quickly, trying to be quiet.
Char takes the lead, trying to point out any creaky floor boards or similar to the others as they make their way back the way they came.
Kazador nodded. "Tainted gold is just that, tainted. While there is a fortune here, stealing any of it would just get us a trip to the gallows. Let's just take what we need to show a job well done. Who knows, mayhaps the crown will see fit to reward us in this when we be done." He said, looking at Turion with even more respect for putting all of the pieces together.
He went about as quietly as he could. His armor, enchanted as it was, allowed him to move with much less encumbrance than normal, but he was still far from being a scout.
As you make your way out, Kazador stumbles through the window with a thump. You hear quick footsteps and a key in the lock of the front gate. It's likely a guard coming to check on the noise!
As his heart dropped Hal realises they're about to get nicked. Quickly he looks around - and with a whispered curse realises there is little chance all four of them will make the wall before the guard sees someone. Someone needs to buy time.
Quickly he whispers "Close the window and play along!", and fiddles with his sleeves, his outfit warping into that of a city guard.
In a loud voice all the louder in the quiet of the garden he yells as he lays hands on one of his companions, and starts to drag them, 'coincidentally', in front of the gate.
Char blinks slightly, but closes the window, taps her heels together, and melts into the shadows, pulling out her bow as she goes.
If there was one thing that Kazad was not good at, it was sneaking. Between his stout stature, his sausage fingers, and the fact that he was wearing disguised plate armor, it did not seem like a good idea to rely on him. On the other hand, his armor was glammered, so it could take any appearance he wanted. He willed it to take the form of the livery of a city guard. Likewise, his glammered greathammer took the form of a much simpler one, the kind which a city guard would possibly be issued.
Túrion was just about to fade into invisibility when he realized the plan seemed to depend on a "criminal" caught red-handed.
With a sigh, he places his hands on the window as if working on it, then gently pushes one hand in Kazadors face trying to keep him at arms lenght, knowing full well that he could not stop the shorter, but much stronger Dwarf from approaching that way.
A Cust guard opens the gate and looks inside. Those who can see in the dim light see that he looks shocked at what's going on inside. "What on the Material?! What is going on here?" He draws a sword and approaches hesitantly but is still a good 20 feet away. "What's the city guard doing in here?!"
Concealed behind a bush, Char pays close attention to the unfolding scene. She nocks an arrow, but doesn't draw yet.
"Yeah, just what IS the city guard doing here? I was merely trying to prank my uncle. You, you remember me, right? I'm Sebastion Cust*, I've been here with my mother Ophelia* a few years ago. Tell them to unhand me at once!", Túrion addresses the guard with the sword, while struggling against the City Guard.
"Us? doinyourf-ingjobmate Why we're in pursuit of a criminal, mate. See this guy damaged city property, back before he jumped the fence, so we've got him on vandalism. Took us a while to catch up with him, but we did. Stopped him before anything untoward happened. Good thing, too. Reckon if you hadn't heard us yellin' you'd be none the wiser."
Trying to play the role, Kazador added "And let's not cause a spectacle, aye? Day's been long enough as it is."
The guard hems and haws. "Ah um... Yes. You better take him away then. If he's who he says he is, he can call in the morning." The dispute between the guard and the maybe-relative-of-a-noble was a little above this fellow's pay grade. He starts trying to shuffle you all out through the open gate while looking around, trying to figure out how three people got inside the wall without being noticed.
"This is preposterous. Having to deal with the guard like some...some...commoner. I object fiercly to this treatment. Mark my words, you will rue this day!", Túrion starts a rant, but does not physically object to being pushed towards the gate, seeing how based on build alone he is clearly inferior in terms of raw (physical) power.
Safe in the shadows of a bush, Char grins broadly and resists the urge to laugh. She waits to see that the others are safely out, then lingers a few moments longer to watch the guard and see what he does after escorting them out.
Once the guard has escorted the interlopers off the Cust property, he scratches his head then circles around the property, as if trying to find out how they got over the wall without him noticing.
The moment the gate is reached, Túrion pulls free from the weak grip (due to his compliance) guiding him forward and starts running. He rushes forward trying to vanish in the crowds.
Once he is safely away, he waits and reunites with the others:"Straight to Turick? I think they are not aware we were inside already, but time may still be of the essence..."
The old guard swears and does his best to break into a run, urging his companion to take the lead... until they're around enough corners they can rendezvous again.
"I reckon you're right, 'Bastian." Hal grins, then turns serious "Best case we bought time - no guard wants ta wake his boss o'er somethin' minor. Good chance it'll come up over breakfast but."
Char waits till the guard is out of sight, then slips over the wall, just one slightly darker shadow amongst the others.
She steps into an alley and drops the Char disguise, replacing it with Melia once more, then rejoins the others. "That was close," Melia says. "Yeah, straight to Turick. Cust is sure to find out about this incident. If we're lucky it won't happen till he wakes up. If we're unlucky, that guard will get worried and wake him. Either way, we don't have a lot of time before he's alerted."
"If he's as paranoid as I think he is, he'll immediately check on his secret room and discover that it's been messed with. We left footprints in the dust, and one of the pictures is missing. Plus the trap was disarmed. At that point he'd be a fool not to move everything, or destroy it, or maybe just decide the game is up and run while the running's good."
"So yeah. Straight to Turick. He fought at the Battle of Long Mile and lost a lot of men there. He'll definitely want the man who supplied the weapons that were used to kill his people."
When she gets a moment and a bit of light, she pulls out Count Aral's book and quickly writes in it: Infiltrated secret room in Cust manor basement. Nasty disintegration trap on the door. Found the Lake family's missing art collection there. Believe Cust supplied weapons for Lakefire Rebellion; paid in art. Informing Turick."
Turick has left word with his household so you don't face nearly as many barriers to waking him as anyone else might. He is soon awake and strapping on a sword. "Truly? This is horrible. I do not doubt the King will give me permission for an immediate raid. In the meantime, my men will watch Cust Manor. I do not want the Baron to flee." As he is about to leave, he turns "Do you wish to join me for the raid or do you have other matters to pursue?" He smiles wryly. "Do you have any other plans to turn Bannerhold upside down?" Regardless of your answer, he leaves in haste.
It seems Count Aral wakes early, or has trouble sleeping. He writes back to Mel an hour later I hope none of yours were disintegrated. This is consistent with my view of Cust. Is there a raid planned or should I call in my last favor with the King?
Melia writes back to Count Aral: We spotted the trap and disarmed it before anyone could be harmed. Viscount Turick has set his men to watch the estate and prevent Cust's escape. He is seeking permission from the King for an immediate raid, and expects it to be granted. Hold on to that favor.
"Hypothetically..." Hal starts carefully in his 'Don' persona "I was reading recently that the trouble with most 'commercial' anti-teleport wards is that the person who casts it has to leave it configurable by a third party - ie the owner. This means that certain components normally fixed into the vitus personae are left vulnerable. In theory with a few carefully placed glyphs one might be able to change the passwords and redirect the target destination to somewhere else. Given that Cust almost certainly has access to teleport, given he has thought to put up warding, that might be the best way to ensure he does not simply vanish and appear at his country estates." He looks thoughtful "Yes. I believe the research was done by the wizard Tina of Lles. I could probably put my hands on the paper fairly quickly."
"You mean ... we could trap him with his own trap?" Melia says, eyes lighting up. "That's so ... so fitting! Let's give it a go. And if the Viscount's men need assistance, we'll be available."
Kazador nodded. ”Removing the enemy’s preferred means of escape? Always useful. How long would this take? And I’ll help as I can.” He offered.