GM Fuzzfoot's AP: Giantslayer

Game Master PJP

Derrik will allows the locals to talk with the smith, listening in but moving over towards Mouser.

"We both appear to be strangers to this town. I detect that you have upset Ana by your use of the Hope Knife but I agree that all weapons are to be used not kept tucked away. I am starting to understand the significance of it all."

Derrik will walk around the shop and have a look at the wares that are available.

"this town is formidable, the hope knife is their symbol. I can see how they lasted so long against such a horde."

Mouser looks up at Derrik and seems surprised the human is talking to him.

"You're just visiting town are you, Longshanks? I am from around here...sort of. I was actually born nearby, I think. My family has been orc slaves for a few generations. Rather than torture and kill them, they keep my family as cooks. I ended up escaping through some beginner's luck with a blade."

He looks down at the hopeknife again. "Anyway, I've lived here a while...I have a distant relative that lives in town. But I haven't really been a part of the town, if you catch my meaning. Anyway, just last week I got suckered into joining the militia. So maybe I missed the whole part about killing myself with this knife."

The half-orc responds. "Sorry, no. Urnsul did work here... briefly."

Seeing Somer, she smiles. "Hello, my friend. What's that receipt you have there? Let me see... yes, of course. Rodrick's hopeknife. It should be around here somewhere... let me get it."

After a few minutes searching for the knife, Sara comes up empty-handed. “I’ll bet that clumsy oaf Urnsul put it somewhere before she up and quit the other day; it’s hard to get good help. I’ll let you know if I find the blade.”

Intrigued Somer follows up since he has some relationship with Sara.

"Well Sara that is interesting and brings a couple other questions. You said Urnsul worked her briefly, was she from town and when did she leave?"

"There have been a few, um, strangers around town of late causing trouble for a few of us. I am sure there is no connection but you know how it is, everything looks suspicious when you are looking for problems."

He says this last line with a bit of dismissive snort to imply he is being paranoid.

"Would also you happen to know how we get ahold of her?" Ana says. "As for his Hopeknife, did Rodrick say why he was ordering one, or why he needed that sort of superscription on it?"

Ana hands starts to reach for Rodrick's Hopeknife, but she decides to leave it in her pack. Why am I being so suspicious? Ana chides herself.

"I get the feeling that you won't need the knife to end your life, I will be with you to help keep you alive and the rest here as well. Maybe after we figure this out you can show me around town and help me get to know the town?"

Derrik walks up to Sara,

"Good day ma'am, I am Derrik Nular of Last Wall, when did your other smith quit? Yesterday night was interesting and I am just wonder if they are linked?"

Balmir approaches Sara and adds his questions to the conversation, "Don't you think it was odd that Rodrik would be asking for a new hopeknife? Did you wonder what happened to his first one?"

Mouser waits for a response to his companions' questions. Though he has many of his own, he says "We will need to add Urnsul to our list of people to talk to, along with Brinya. Do you know where we might find Urnsul?"

"I don't. I never knew where she was staying, she has only been with me for a short time, and she just disappeared a few days ago."

One side of Mouser's mouth twists into a smirk. "This is just leading to more questions than answers," he says. "The case of the missing blacksmith. Let's go visit Brinya and see if she knows anything."

"Could you describe her to us? Again I am sure it is nothing but strange things have been happening so a stranger leaving town quickly right before is disquieting."

"Also had the engraving been completed on the kniff?"

"I am sorry to ask so many questions, sometimes my brain just gets moving I guess."

Tam scribbles down notes about the mysterious missing blacksmith in his journal.

"Urnsul was supposed to add the inscription. Until I can find it, I cannot say if she completed the task or not."

She gives a basic description of Urnsul.

"So Urnsul disappears without notice, and a stranger appears at the Ramblehouse at the same time. And the knife is connected to both," Ana mutters, thinking out loud. "We need to find Urnsul if we want to get to the bottom of this. Might as well head to our next designation then. Thank you, Sara."

Onward to the girlfriend, then?

"Thank you Sara. If more comes to mind do you mind if we stop back?"

When they move on Somer will speak with Mouser.

"Thank you for the help on this Mouser. As I have mentioned I am very out of practice with my rapier and you seem quite proficient. If you wouldn't mind a little friendly practice in our off time might be helpful."

thinking for a moment more

"Just to be clear I am talking about my sword play, not the spells I use in conjunction."

"So now we are moving to Brinya? Does her family live around here somewhere?"

Mouser looks up at Somer as they try to find their way toward Brinya's place.

"I don't have super-sized folk ask me for advise much, but am always in favor of some swordplay. My favorite combat technique is, when the big guy comes at you, run directly between his legs. He's not expecting that, and it gets him every time. While there, aim for the back of the knee, the inner thigh, or best of all, the groin. This shuts down a big opponent and turns his size into a disadvantage. I can show you if you want," he says.

After some time asking around, you are able to determine that Brinya Kelver occupies humble rooms in a boarding house just northwest of the Commons (area D).

Somer and Tam - recall, there were some potions among the assassins gear...

Thank you that did not make my notes. I think with PbP I am going to need better notes.

Still speaking with Mouser as they travel to the boarding house.

"Not a bad strategy, though I would probably need to be facing a giant, of all outlandish things, for that to work for me. Mostly I would like to learn more swordplay so I am not always reliant on magic to get me out of situations."

"You are probably use to dealing with larger foes but the size difference would be a challenge for me I am sure."

"You know, this assassin probably had to get supplies for his alchemical works," says Tam. "We might also look into where in town you could buy that kind of stuff."

"The Apothecary would be a good place to visit. Does anyone recognize the assassins from town?"

"Ok. I know the place where Brinya lives. Let's go there, go there, and see if we can talk to her."

No one recognized the assassins. It is likely that they were not from Trunau.

You make your way to the boarding house and ask for Brinya. She comes into the common room where you are waiting, and says "Hello? Can I help you?"

Feeling nervous at seeing the half-orc, Ana edges to the back of the group lets the others handle this conversation.

Mouser, hesitant after his last few attempts to talk to big folk backfired, waves and attempts a smile.

"We are sorry to hear about Rodrick. He saved me last week from an incident involving some apples. Someone thought I stole them, which wasn't true, but anyway Rodrick really helped me out of a tough situation. Anyway, he was a good guy. Sorry to hear about him. I understand you had been seeing each other...is that true?"

diplomacy aid: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10 My diplomacy rolls...wow. Make this an aid for someone else. Next level it's a class skill...it will get better, I hope!

Luckily, you don't need a diplomacy role here...

"Yes, that is true. I'm sorry - why are you asking my such a thing?"

I hope she knows he is dead.

"I'm sure you have heard what happened to him, right?"

If no, I'll take a different route, but if she says she knows he's dead...

"We...don't think it was a suicide. We have found a lot of evidence that points a different way. We wanted to run it past you."

"Of course, I know he is.... it's all my fault! I shouldn't have... wait, what? What do you mean by a different way? I was told that he used his... well, my... hopeknife?"

Mouser tries to be sympathetic.

"This isn't your fault, and we don't think he killed himself. In fact, we are looking for your help to find the killer. He had some poison in his system. What's more, a human checked into the inn just for that night and was gone by morning and paid with a fist-full of gold. And strangely, as soon as we started investigating this, we were attacked...a couple of times, I might add. So, we wanted to see if you know anything that might help us get to the bottom of this. Has anything...different been happening?"

"Different? Well, he did keep mentioning some investigation he was conducting, but never would give me details. You know, he wrote often in his journal... maybe he kept some notes? He wrote such beautiful poems and stories... oh, my poor Rodrick!"

"We never did find a journal," Mouser responds. "Do you know where he might have kept that? Aside from that, there was a hope knife that was going to be engraved...do you know anything about that?"

Despite her plan to stay quiet, Ana's ears perked up as the half-orc spoke, even as her stomach flipped. "Wait, did you say 'your hopeknife'?" Had they already...

I am afraid I don't know where his journal may be if he didn't have it with him. He did not give it to me..."

"There’s his room in the Ramblehouse, but Rodrik also frequently went to Sanctuary to work on his writing. He always said he had a “thoughtful muse” there, but he never elaborated. I always just assumed he was finding solace in devotion to Iomedae. Now, I wonder if there really was someone at the church— someone who might know more about what happened to him, or worse, betrayed him!"

Looking at Anabella, she says "Yes, of course. We exchanged Hopeknives... I have his, and he had mine."

"May we see the one he gave you?" Mouser asks.

Derrik will listen patiently as the towns folk converse, not knowing Brinya and not wanting to alarm her. He will pull out a note book and jot down what she is saying to hopefully be able to find some use to it later.

"A muse? I will have to talk to the high priestess about who Rodrick came to see at the Sanctuary."

She shows you her hopeknife, which is inscribed with "Brinya, my love, you are always in my heart."

So then, this knife is...

Ana pulls out the Hopeknife Rodrick had. "This...this is the Hopeknife Rodrick had on him when he was found. Is this yours? It doesn't have any inscription, but there was a receipt for an inscription in the room. Do you know anything about this?"

"Maybe this is a different knife...not yours?" Mouser says by way of follow up.

"This is not my knife. He said he lost my knife, and I told him I didn't want to talk to him until he remedied that... if I only knew!"

"We also have found a receipt for a new hope knife that was being made by Sara Moringhawk. That must have been a replacement."

"This is might be a pointless question since the knife was lost but did he mention any circumstances around its loss? Maybe working in his function of commander?"

"He lost the knife, you told him to find it but he choose to have a new one made instead? Seems odd, I agree with Somer that there has to be something to the loss of the hopeknife."

"Why wouldn't you talk to him until he found the hopeknife?" Mouser asks. "How long has that been since you spoke with him?"

"Oh, we spoke alright. About that, and his refusing to tell his father about us, and then his father finding out anyway, and just ... oh... I wish I knew it was going to be the last time I got to talk to him...."

She breaks down into sobs.

Balmir frowns at the sobbing half-orc. "Ok. So this is all so confusing. How many, how many hopeknives are we talking about now?"

"What? Well, I have this hopeknife, that used to belong to Rodrick. Rodrick had my hopeknife, although he said he lost it. And there is this one here, which I have never seen before."

Does that help?

"And then this receipt for an inscription was for what? Did your hopeknife that you gave Rodrik have an inscription on it?"

I think that helps.

Excellent question Balmir. I thought of that two nights ago and then.... beer.

Somer continues to listen in nodding here and there but really thinking.

Day two of no wine. Maybe there is a middle ground between some wine and some getting back in fighting shape.

"Yes, my hopeknife that I gave to Reodrick was inscribed with 'For Rodrick, my love'. This one just has a blank area."

"So he he did lose it and hope to replace it."

Derrik will move off the wall and stretch his legs.

"I think next we head to the Sanctuary, talk to the High Priestess."