Fiona cringes at the sleeping baboon before taking point and heading upstairs.
Thaddeus delicately walks around the baboon, following the more physically adept members upstairs.
The group head up the stairs, avoiding the snoozing baboon. They come up to a spartan landing with little of note in it aside from a door to the north which is closed.
"Hmm... Ah think somebody may wanna watch outside, Jus' in case he tries t'make a break through th'windows... Bofur?"
Mutt enters the building, his rage slowly fading, fatigue replacing it.
He stares at the sleeping baboon. He decides to raise his greataxe and bring it down.
Mutt decapitates the baboon. He then follows the rest of the team upstairs.
Mutt puts the nasty creature out of its nastier existence and follows the group upstairs to the landing. A door leads northwards from this otherwise empty area.
Variel nods at Fiona to open the door, ready to lash inside with his whip to trip Smeed.
Fiona tries the door to see if it's open.
Locked.
BANG!
Fiona swings at the door, and this one is far easier to open. She nails the handle perfectly and it flies open, revealing a filthy interior and a man with a crossbow. However, he slips and almost fires the bolt into his own foot!
"Damnit damnit! I'll kill all you bastards! To hell with you and your bastard boss!"
"Lymas Smeed, prepare to be judged."
*YAWN*
Lymas snarls as Variel charges up to him, and as he's about to draw a sword he sways... and collapses.
End of Combat
Fiona was about to run forward and try to wrestle the man to the ground, but Thaddeus' magic dropped him as easily as it did the baboon.
"...well, that works." She sets her earthbreaker aside. "Now, all we need to do is interrogate him."
"Best tie 'em up, first. Ah got some rope, if'n yeh need it."
Fiona nods and borrows Thaddeus' offered rope before proceeding to tie Smeed up.
Mutt frowns heavily, upset that he didn't get a swing at Smeed. He watches over everything silently and solemnly. He does his best to look intimidating.
The group tie up Lymas and a sharp slap from Mutt wakes him up. Tied up, Smeed looks miserably at the group. He's a hideous man, with piggy eyes, patchy hair, and a reek that comes only from a lifetime of dedication to squalor.
"Go ahead, do your worst! Damn thugs."
Thaddeus, not having the skill for interrogation, decides to check on the rest of the building. Though first he listens in at the door leading to the next room. Unlikely to be any thugs remaining, but best be cautious.
It is a bit comedic when Old Horn comes up and also puts the side of his head up against the door under Thaddeus.
Variel wraps the barbs of his whip around Smeed's neck, not so tightly that he can't speak, but so that he can feel them. Leaning in close with Mutt behind him, he says quietly, "Tell us what we need to know, and the Goddess will judge you quickly and with only the pain you deserve. Hold out, and you will regret it. Now, we found a piece of our friend Larur's clothing outside your building. Tell us why it was there and where we can find him. And while you're at it, pray he is still alive."
Fiona winces as Variel wraps his whip around the moneylender's neck. "He's serious, you know--we could have avoided all this if you just opened the door and let us in so we could talk, like civilized people."
Unfortunately, the sheer distaste visible on her face undermines her words.
...we don't need to kill him, do we? He's a wretched man, but he still provides a service to this city. At least, I think so...
Mutt growls at Smeed. "You better talk. I have a knack of cutting of the heads of things that p*** me off. And if I can't get your head, then I will break you."
Smeed looks at the group incredulously as they try to look as tough as possible.
"What the hell do you fools want?" he snaps. "Talk about what? If you're not here to kill me then what daft purpose do you have? I didn't kill no Larur I didn't."
Thaddeus listens at the door and hears nothing. He opens it up to reveal Lymas' living area and hearth. Everything is filthy with discarded bits of food and clothing around the place. A rank smell, worse than the streets of the city, permeates the area.
Smeed looks at the group incredulously as they try to look as tough as possible.
"What the hell do you fools want?" he snaps. "Talk about what? If you're not here to kill me then what daft purpose do you have? I didn't kill no Larur I didn't."
"When did you see him last? He has been here recently."
Lymas shakes his head firmly.
"I ain't seen no Larur neither. Trust me, I don't forget when someone shows up to pay out their debt. It's kinda my job."
Thaddeus, Old Horn, and Bofur go through Lymas' living space, looking for any place one would hide a dwarf-sized object.
Fiona scrutinizes Smeed's words. If he really has no idea who Larur is or where he was last, that'd be quite suspicious... he was the man Saul entrusted with the loan repayment, wasn't he?
Note to self--really ask Variel for help with reading people later... I wonder if it's like trying to figure out the meaning of song lyrics...
Mutt narrows his eyes at Smeed, judging him and his words.
Mutt growls out, "Are you being honest with us? If not..." He leaves the threat hanging in the air.
He looks at Fiona out of the corner of his eyes. 'I really should teach her how to be more intimidating. She's about as threatening as a kitten.'
Variel studies Smeed's face.
Damn, it's been a while since I have had to read human tells ... it's hard to decide whether to believe him.
Lymas is obviously terrified of Mutt and tries to shrink back but obviously can't.
"Okay, fine! I know who Larur is! Soft spoken dwarf fella. If you're in my business you don't tell nobody nothing, okay? But I didn't kill him. Why would I kill a guy paying me money when he still owes most of it?"
Thaddeus goes over the apartment carefully while Lymas whines to the group. Despite running a moneylenders he obviously does not keep too much on hand. Nonetheless Thaddeus does find a small locked chest tucked behind a pile of refuse which jingles enticingly when shaken.
Mutt growls. "Well, has he been here!? If he wasn't here, then why is his cloak by your back door, covered in blood!?"
Fiona winces. "Mutt..."
Unless the small locked chest is big enough to hide a dwarf, and/or the jingling sound coming from within is intermixed with the heavy thumping of a body being jostled in a container, Thaddeus has no interest in the chest and puts it back.
He is disheartened to find no obvious signs nor clue of Larur. At a bit of a loss, Thaddeus decides to look for Lymas' ledgers. While not a trained accountant, Thaddeus has had a bit of practice going over the Splithog Pauper's notes to at least get a general idea of how undesirable elements record transactions. Not that he's sure what he's looking for, but it's the best idea he has right now.
The group watch Smeed closely but he does not appear to be lying.
"How the hell should I know?" snaps Smeed as Mutt continues to press in. "Saul ain't paid me a copper on the loan since before he opened the casino. He had payments scheduled, blew every one of the damn things, and then sent that dwarf to pay off 50 gold. I ain't seen nothing since!"
"I thought you said you hadn't seen him at all. When did he come to pay the 50 gold?"
He was sent with 500 ... could Larur have just run off with the money?
Fiona starts pacing, one hand on the hilt of her earthbreaker and the other rubbing her shoulder.
So... Saul took out a loan on the Goblin, missed repaying it, then sent Larur off with a pittance to give to him?
I think we've been lied to.
When Fiona says his name, Mutt just turns his head to look at her. "What!?"
Mutt slings his greataxe on his shoulder and huffs. "If Larur hasn't been here and Smeed hasn't received payment, then... where is Larur?"
"Ease up. He's already terrified out of his mind." She folds her arms.
Smeed looks incredulously at the group.
"I don't know, and frankly if he's dead good riddance to one of Saul's cronies! So how about you untie me and let a legitimate businessman do his damn job!"
Thaddeus is astonished to find a lack of any serious paperwork here. There is a basic list of names with several X's written beside them. Numbers have been written down, scratched off, edited, and re-written alongside the names and X's so many times that it's difficult to keep track. It's clear, however, that thousands of gold have moved through this office, it's just that none of those thousands of gold appear to be here.
... Aside from the locked chest. Which doesn't surprise Thaddeus, really. Presumably, a moneylender would have some money on hand, and would keep it rather secured.
Thaddeus gives the names in the scattered papers a one-over, looking for Saul's name. Or Larur's. Or somebody familiar. He's not liking the idea that they broke into a man's house and killed his pet if he turns out to be... Well, 'innocent' is probably a bit too strong of a word, in this case.
As Thaddeus reads over the names it becomes apparent these are likely nicknames or codes rather than the names of people. "The Fox", "The Weasel", "Lying bastard 28sp 2 Gozran" - that sort of thing.
"I thought you said you hadn't seen him at all. When did he come to pay the 50 gold?"
Lymas sighs.
"I don't admit to nothing or knowing no one in my line of work, clear? Larur dropped off that paltry payment a few weeks back. Saul borrowed his money a couple months ago."
Mutt huffs, but lays off of Smeed.
When Smeed says that Larur already dropped off of the money, Mutt's brow raises. "Wait, the money was already dropped off? That's... odd. Then, why did Saul send Larur here? To drop off even more money, I assume?"
Thaddeus gets an idea, overhearing the interrogation. So, Saul borrowed the money a few months ago, and Larur made a payment a few weeks back. Thaddeus tries to cross-reference the admittedly vague times Lymas provided with the amounts he knows of. That is, a two-thousand gold piece loan, and either a five-hundred or fifty gold piece repayment. Hopefully there's some dates and times listed on the ledgers. Maybe he can make a guess as to the nicknames Lymas used for Saul.
Admittedly, this is putting a lot of stock in already rough, jumbled, barely coherent note-taking, but it helps pass the time, if nothing else.
"Saul didn't mention sending Larur with a partial payment. We might want to check with him on that. However, if Smeed is being truthful, Larur either was kidnapped by someone else or left on his own. It is possible the bit of his clothing we found is evidence of the former."
To Smeed he asks, "Do you know why Larur would have been in the alley behind your building, rather than coming to the front door?"
While the others question the low-life, Bofur does a pretty thorough search of the accommodations, opening drawers and cupboards, tapping on the backs to see if there are hidden compartments, prising open boxes and crates.
Smeed sighs miserably.
"Why the hell would I know? I ain't seen any of Saul's cronies in a while! Probably just got what was coming to him."
Bofur joins Thaddeus in his search and is unable to find too much.
Thaddeus goes over the papers multiple times, but he can't piece together any useful information, Smeed's notes being a jumbled mess.
Sighing in defeat, he heads over to the group clustered around Smeed.
"Welp, Bofur 'n Ah have gone over 'dis place top t'bottom. Can't find no sign of Larur anywhere. Ah've read through his notes, but dere such a mess it's a wonder he kin keep anythin' straight 'round here."