Hmm's Murder's Mark of Crows -- I Only Have Pies for You! (Inactive)

Game Master Hmm

Ready to move into vault.

Turning to the guards
"Could you please tie him up and watch him to make sure that he doesn't escape? And do NOT hurt or kill him. He is worth more alive than dead"

Turning to Vralk, he speaks quietly
"You stay out here and watch things. Call out if he tries to escape or if somebody tries to harm him"

Stali watches as Rogi is tied up.

Once everyone is ready, he uses the key to finally open the vault door.

The guards tie up Rogi. As Stali opens the door to the interior vault, a figure stabs at him, ...

Short Sword: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11

...but she's clumsy, maybe disoriented by the sudden light into the vault. Stali dodges the attack easily. The figure is a nearly naked, skinny and bald female, her skin shifting to refect the interior of the vault.

"You're NOT taking me!" she screams.

ORDER: Hikaru, Andrietta, Sarano, Zakhar, General Chak, Gallako, Stali, Vralk

Hikaru, Andrietta and Sarano, you're up!

Startled, "Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh, ghost!" pointing at the creature, realizing though that it must be the same sort of creature as Rogi she'll stop and look at her, seeing if she is wounded or sick.

heal: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30

"Shhh, its okay, we won't hurt you."

Are you doing any other actions, Sarano?

Nah, I don't want to hurt her and I couldn't get her with a Color spray from this far away. . .nor do I want to be that person who uses their save or die as the first thing every combat!

"it's okay... we,won't hurt you if you just stop attacking us. Rogi told us about you and we just want to talk. Be at ease, little one." Hikaru declines to draw,his weapon, trying to calm the female skulk.

The grandmotherly one moves up a bit closer, starting to flank the very sneaky humanoid, keeping shield and blade arrayed in a defensive fashion, not lashing out at the newest opponent.

Move: 5' step to enter room. Had forgotten to move token with previous post to be standing next to Stali when he opened the door.

Standard Action: Fight Defensively (Current AC 22/T14)

"Please thrown down your weapon, dear. We don't want to hurt you." Yet.

Zakhar narrows her eyes and aims her blade right at Andrietta with fierce focus, but Andrietta's defensive moves pay off.

short sword: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

"I don't work with birds."

Acrobatics vs Andrietta: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22
Acrobatics vs Stali: 1d20 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 - 2 = 7

She successfully tumbles past Andrietta, but triggers an AoO from Stali as she goes past, and then the trapdoor activates again...

Reflex, Zakhar DC 20: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 5 + 2 = 15

...and she falls in to the pit trap.

"CRAP!"
Falling Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (2, 4) = 6

-- COMBAT OVER --

Well, that was short. What do you want to do next?

Grandmother she's QUICK! Bless your guidance and caution!

It's a tough trial for the grandmother. This is the sort of thing that happens to Evil people when they start getting Dumb. But to laugh at the misfortune of others...

Must. Not. Laugh. Must. Not. Laugh. Don't be mean.

Instead, her tone is sweetness and light with no hint of syrupy dripping words.

"Dear, you were saying something about not working with birds?

However, life is full of choices, and as painful as it would be to let you starve down there if that's your choice we really shouldn't get in the way of it, should we, dear?"

With the second skulk 'secured', we can pretty much examine the vault at our leisure, right?

Hikaru peers into the pit and sighs... nods at Andrietta.

He moves to enter the vault and examine the remaining contents and condition of the place. "I hope we can get out of here safely ourselves once we're done in here."

Stali looks down into the pit. "That looks like it hurt!"

I forgot to get my sword out this time. Need to be a bit more careful about that from now on.

Looking towards Agnes and the guards, he then says "I suppose we should get the sheriff now that we have two of them. Maybe she will talk to humans..." ...or have a sudden change in attitude.

He pauses a few moments before asking "Shall I shut the door until then?"

That should answer Hikaru's question.

"Wait!" She gets up pacing, and panicked. "Don't shut me in here!"

"Me only bird here. These Tengu, not bird. Do not insult bird!"

"Drop your weapons and agree to cooperate and we'll not leave you down there."

At this rate, we're going to run out of rope

"And after you get the girl out, see if you can wedge that trapdoor shut too so we don't fall in when we come out, thanks."

Stali's feathers ruffle slightly at Hikaru's comment.

"There is no need to damage the trap. First of all, Agnes" waving a talon in her direction "has already told us there is a switch inside the vault to disable it. Secondly, I have already demonstrated my ability to control it."

While you guys are discussing this, the trapdoor starts to automatically reset itself again.

"Nooooooo!"

Then it closes, and you can call hear a muffled, "Letmeout! Letmeout!" and frantic thumping against the walls of the cell.

The floor should be solid enough for you guys to cross now if you want to explore the vault.

Stali gets back out his tools quickly twists one into place, causing the trap door to open again. "Sounds like she wants to cooperate now."

Disable Device: 10 + 10 = 20

Looking down, he adds "Isn't that right, Zakhar?"

Hikaru enters the vault and looks around, but then realizes since he didn't see it before the robbery, he has no idea what might be missing. "It's a mess in here... how can we tell what could be gone when we don't know what was here in the first place."

Chak, on the other hand, can't help but laugh loudly at Zakhar's blunder.

"So, you are not quite so, clever, slick, and cunning as you first thought? Perhaps if you are willing to be forthright, honest, and sincere with us, you will not spend half the time in there as Rogi did."

"Hikaru, we have most of the records. We could see if anything in the records matches, corresponds to, and correlates with what is missing. But I suspect, reckon, and conjecture that they stole, absconded with and purloined those records."

Stali looks down at Zakhar and then over to Rogi.

"They don't seem to be carrying much. They obviously were not aware of the trap. Are you sure there is going to be anything missing?"

He pauses, then adds "Guess best way to find out is question her separately from Rogi and then look."

Putting her wand away, "Well lets not be mean, she was probably just scared and drug addled like Rogi,"

Agnes's eyes narrow as she watches Stali's deft hands work her pit trap. "You're a little too talented with those thieves tools. We have good records on what's left, you know."

Meanwhile, Zakhar looks up at all of you. "Yeah, whatever you want! Just let me out. Don't let the doors close on me again!" If questioned separately, she tells you a story remarkably similar to Rogi's, only with more snide comments about Kymeth and Onamae. "It's not like they care about us, but who else is gonna give us jobs? We were supposed to trash stuff, steal stuff, and bring survivors back to Ona."

After a bit, everyone realizes that everything from the vault is accounted for, despite several smashed cases. There are a few gems scattered on the floor of the pit where Rogi and Zakhar fell, but they weren't able to take anything out.

Is there anything else you want to investigate here?

sense motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 = 18

"She seems to honestly not like being shut up in a dark box... it is a bargaining point if nothing else."

"Don't worry, Agnes. We're already working on getting him back to the straight and narrow. Aren't we, Stali?"

The grandmother's tone is polite, genial.

"Sometimes folks who have learned hard things in life pick up skills that raise some feathers and eyebrows. As long as they're putting to the use of good and not back-sliding, that's perfectly fine."

Sense Motive(Zakhar): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Sense Motive, Agnes: 10 + 6 = 16
Sense Motive, Zakhar: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Stali replies to Agnes "One of the caravans that I scouted for didn't mind when those same skills prevented a rockfall trap. Might want to be careful about how quickly you judge someone."

Agnes freezes. "That's just what my Archie always said." Eyes brimming with tears, she wipes her face. "Alright, I'll give you your chance. You think you have everything you need for your investigation? Archie'd want me to clean this place up, get it running again."

___
Are you guys sending a runner for the Sheriff or meeting her back at the jail? Either way, I'm happy to move you forward.

Stali nods in reply to Agnes. "Fair enough!"

After picking up what they could in the vault, Stali goes over and opens a concealed panel. He flips a switch and then closes the panel again.

Looking to Hikaru, he says "The trap is deactivated." and then walks out and across the trap doors.

Gesturing towards the skulks, he says "Let's take these two to the sheriff."

Looking to Agnes and her guards, he adds "Let us know if you could use any more help. Your little trap provided us with several things to chase down."

He starts to leave, but pauses at the doorway. Looking back, he says "See if you can find someone to change the locks. With Archivan's keys still missing, you need to be careful! Might want to put bead curtains up in doorways."

We are off to see the sheriff!

Hikaru leaves with Stali, not trusting the trap not to reset in between their passages. "Well done ,Stali. and yes, let's go see the sheriff now. I'm sure she'll want to see these two and question them further."

"One other thing. One of the reasons that we first came to town was to recover a tiara that was here. Was it stolen or is still in the vault?

After that, lets all return to the sheriff"

"I think it was said it was no longer in the vault because Archie knew that emissaries were coming to claim it. I thought someone said it was one of the things stolen from the shop. Perhaps if we can find the tiara, we will find our perpetrator."

"Tiara? The pearl one? Yeah, I told your friend about that one." She gives Gallako an apologetic look. "It's one of the pieces I've got on my missing list now."

You catch the Sheriff just returning back to her offices at the jail. "Did you folks find anyth--" She breaks off as she notices the two tied-up skulks. "Never mind. I can see that you did. Why don't we go into the office, I'll set some tea on, and you can tell me all about it?"

She leads you inside, starts the tea, then looks at you expectantly.

At the shop

Now that the skulks have been secured, and the Vault investigated, Andrietta secures her blade and shield. On the way out she places a hand on the widow Walder's shoulder gently, looking into her eyes once more.

"Agnes, I'll be in town or nearby until this investigation is complete, and possibly longer. If you need someone to talk to, or share tea quietly over, let me know, dear. It's not easy. It never is. You're a survivor, you hear?"

At the Sheriff's

"I'm curious to see what sort of tea you have in mind, and keep an eye on these two. If you have a deputy or two you can trust, you may want to bring them in, as well. Having these two in custody is very much bound to draw some serious attention.

They weren't supposed to get caught and right now they're very much a 'loose end' that someone will want to clean up."

As tea is being prepared Barring Sheriff drugging us or sudden ambush syndrome Andrietta will inquire with a more subtle tone... "What do you know about the Braeton family, Sheriff?"

"The tea's Bergamot. But you still haven't explained to me who these two are, where you found them, or why I'm now holding two nearly naked... What are they, anyway?"

Then the Sheriff pauses, confused by Andrietta's question. "The Braeton's? What do you want to know about the Braeton's?"

Gesturing with one talon towards the prisoners, Stali says "That is Rogi and Zakhar, two skulks from the nearby tribe of them. Natural chameleons, they can blend in with most any color."

Picking up his tea cup, he then adds "Evidently, someone has been addicting them to something called Shiver and asking favors in return."

"They BAD people. They break into store to rob it. I'd NEVER break into a store."

Rob it? Yes. Break in? No

"They are part of the group responsible for robbing the Locked Box and killing the guard there. Although both of them denying actually killing the guard themselves.

They know nothing at all about the death of Mr. Walder. They WERE given the key by Onamae and Kymeth, 2 other skulks. Those other 2 must be connected with Walders death somehow."

After another sip of tea, Stali adds "Thank you for the tea."

With a gesture towards the prisoners, he then asks "Is there someplace we can lock them up? I'm sure you will want to question them yourself, but it might work better if you do that without them listening in to everything we found at The Locked Box."

The Sheriff nods. "I've got a couple of more secure cells in the back. Windowless."

At the word 'windowless', Zakhar panicks. "Nononono! Don't shut me up in there! Don't!"

"Get them out of here, will you? I'll talk to them later." The Sheriff nods to a couple of her deputies, who drag the two skulks in back.

Then Sheriff Feldane gets out her notebook. "Okay, so you found them in the Locked Box? Were they connected with this morning's robbery, or looting the place afterwards? And were they connected at all with either of the murders?" She sighs. "You say these skulks are connected with a nearby tribe. I haven't heard of such a tribe. Are you sure they're not affiliated with the circus in any way? The reason why I'm asking is that if any of the locals see something strange, the first thing they're going to think is 'Circus People.'"

Then she pauses again and rereads her notes. "They're addicted to shiver, you say? Ten, maybe even fifteen years ago, there was a big shiver problem in Korvosa. Then the brother of a major Szarni crimelord died of an overdose, and all of a sudden the shiver trade dried up over there. The rumor was that the families went in and personally eliminated the entire drug ring that was responsible." She frowns. "I'm not happy to see it anywhere near Ilsurian..." She taps her pen. "Wait a minute. That stuff is expensive. What's any of it doing over here?"

"I don't think we have any proof they're not affiliated with the circus, but since they are local it seems unlikely. As for the shiver, maybe someone has found a way to make it less expensive, or has enough access to it that it's worth having addicts willing to do anything for it, if you catch my drift."

"They were caught by a trap in The Locked Box, one in the floor trap and the other in the vault. The woman -- Zakhar -- seems afraid of the dark. I hope that the cell isn't dark."

"They were part of the robbery. According to them, Onamae brought the keys and they ran from the woods to the Locked Box. They told us where their village is supposed to be, but also were quite confident we wouldn't see them. Given how good they are at blending, they might be right."

Stali does his best to fill the sheriff in on everything they had learned from the two about the robbery. He also notes that it fits in with what they had found was stolen from the Locked Box -- the flashy items were stolen while some of the more valuable items were left behind.

"The thing that worries me the most is that evidently Onamae wanted to kill all the guards. She was surprised and evidently furious that three of them were missing. I don't understand it, but it seems to me that the intent was more one of murder than robbery."

Looking towards Andrietta, he then asks "So what is this about the Braeton's?" I must have missed something again. I saw the name all around town -- especially at the docks -- but why did she ask about it?

"Out of all the founding families of Ilsurian, they are the only ones to not have taken any sort of loan from Archivin in recent years, based on the available accounting log -- several pages were missing.

How is it that every other family in town pretty much has had loans with Archivin but the Braetons magically do not? If they weren't taking assistance from him, where WERE they getting it from?"

The grandmother pauses for a moment to let that sink in.

"We don't have quite enough evidence yet, but it looks like whoever is behind this was trying to set up Agnes for the murders as well, possibly on the off-chance that the 'carnival story' fell through."

"I think the next place we need to try and visit is the skulk place, unless you've got some insight to offer here? Any major projects recently? Any noticeable uptick in certain goods coming into town?"

Chak appeared to enjoy the tea, but kept looking around the table as if something was missing.

You may want to incarcerate, lock up, and jail the skulks in a dark room. The lack of windows being for the sake, benefit, and well-being of your guards as well as the skulks. If a guard walks by a cell, and cannot see the skulks because they are blending in, camouflaged with and concealed by the walls of the prison, your guard will be alarmed, and then if they open the cell to investigate, explore and look into the supposedly missing skulk, they could use the opportunity to escape, sneak out and flee or attack, ambush, and pounce on the guard.

Stali listens with curiosity as Andrietta explains her theory. Guess I may have needed to look at the ledgers more. Still, something doesn't sound quite right. Think I'll keep my beak shut for the moment, wait until we have more information.

When Chak suggests keeping the two skulk in dark cells, Stali shakes his head and says "No, you want light to have any chance of seeing them. I'm not sure if they can move while blending. Still, the warning about seemingly empty cells is a good one!"

"I also don't want Zakhar to panic. Seemed to me like she was really frightened of the dark." Stali's voice is full of concern for the prisoner.

"Was she frightened of the dark? or just being in a closed in space? Seems it was more like the latter to me, but it could be a bit of both."

Turning to Andrietta

"I think that you are jumping to conclusions a little. To suspect a family merely because they are wealthy and have not needed loans is more than a little bit of a stretch. Quite possibly they are merely efficient and good at what they do. I know that you don't have much of a mercantile background but I do and I assure you that being wealthy enough to not need a loan is neither a crime nor particularly unusual.

Right now we're just speculating. We need more evidence, not just theories. I suggest we try to track down the Shiver trade a little"

"Tea nice. Would go better with pie. You all talk too much. Lets DO something"