"Yes, yes, see? Sanvil, I think that's a reasonable expectation - will you submit to a search?" The professor continues to affix Trett with an unbending, but not overtly hostile, gaze. "These aren't my things, so I can't speak for everyone, but is that an agreeable solution for all of you?"
Out of the corners of his perception, Varilien watches Trett's hands for any sign of attack.
Tiras remains silent, studying Trett intently.
Sanvil drops the blade and raises his hands up. "I have not taken any of your things. Feel free to search me, if you must. Though some of what I am carrying are my personal belongings. I would kindly request you leave those be"
"As for going down with you. Maybe, but I tend to prefer just an exchange of information in exchange for forgetting this incident"
As you search his body he seems to have a Magical Chain shirt, a nice Longsword, some strange roll of black material tightly bound, a small rod with a button on it, a variety of serums and liquids, 5 of those silver disks that are still shining, a spellbook, a pack of coins and silverdisks, and other odds and ends like waterskin.
Also found on him is a pin that at least one of you in the group would recognize as a Technic League pin.
You also find a strange slot on the back of his neck with something inside, looking to go inside his skull.
Ion Tape - Like electrical tape that when exposed to electricty gets hard
Zip Stick - A zipstick is a small pen-like device used to administer a small jolt of electricity. This jolt is enough to cause 1 point of nonlethal damage with a successful touch attack. A zipstick is used most often to activate or deactivate items that function on ion-bonding technology, such as ion tape.
Capacity 10
Usage 1
As you search his body, "If you let me keep my things and let me go, I would happily tell you what I know. Such as why everyone in the town is having headaches.. And maybe, just maybe, why the torch went out" He waits to let that sink in.. Seemingly aware you are looking through all of his personal items. Even finding the pin.
Keldor lowers his blade slightly.
"Those are harmless. Utility items really. Khonnir told me about such things in his letters."
Dirissa returns her hammer to her belt and smiles as if nothing had ever happened. "Ooo, we'd love to hear your ideas about the Torch. Oh yeah, the headaches, too. Hey, that's really neat!" she says pawing the little rod. "Umm... what's on your neck?"
As you look him over he lowers his hands.
"Ah this? Its something I picked up awhile ago. It's an augmentation of sorts. It increases my ability to understand technology.
He reaches back and a small chip like thing comes out of the slot. "When it is in the slot back there, I get a boost to my understanding of Technological items." He reaches back and slides it back in.
"As for the Torch. I have been investigating a man in town, Garmen Ulreth. He runs the local gambling hall. I think he has something to do with the torch going out. He, and a bunch of thugs, have been up to something in his old warehouse. I believe he thinks no one knows about this warehouse. There is something going on down there. I have not fully investigated yet."
"Again. If you let me go I can identify any of the items you find that are technological. I will offer this service free. Just don't report me, or my affiliation to the law."
"It boosts your brain?!" On the one hand, Dirissa is fascinated by this, but she's also somewhat unnerved by it. What's to stop someone from CONTROLLING your brain? She decides to give it more thought.
"Ulreth, huh? Where is this warehouse? I think we may have to pay him a little visit." She grins mischievously at the thought.
Keldor hesitates, his sword held casually now.
"If these thugs are doing something to harm the town, we should inform the authorities I think. Why not bring this to them Mr. Sanvil? Why us?"
"I guess that is a good question. Let me ask you a question, what law? Of the 4 Councilors in town, 1 you rescued, 1 hired you, and 1 casts Water Breathing on you every day. The last Councilor's husband was killed by those thugs, but can't do anything because of the law. YOU are the true law. You have been hired to figure out what happened to the Torch, have you not? Or is my intel bad? Plus I doubt the guards or milita can do much. Especially not raiding a "well liked" member of the town's private warehouse"
He coughs a bit, with a smile. "Look, you should check it out. If you can swing getting close to the outer wall any lingering headache you have gets worse. Whatever is causing it, is coming from inside. Sure seems weird that those headaches started as soon as the torch went out... The building is located on the east side of Black Hills, in the seedier part of town. Somewhat near the junkyard."
He lingers there. Letting you all decide.
"Where can such an augmentation be acquired?", Basil asks of Sanvil, ALMOST sounding excited, but clearly fascinated by the slot and it's function: "It would seem that significant portions of my long-term memory, as well as a few functional routines of my regular operation may be corrupted. This seems like an efficient way to make sure operation is stable and memory save."
"Ah this? I purchased it up in Starfall, but they found it in ruins like below this city. It took a surgeon to put it in."
"May I go? If you are to keep my affiliation out of other people's ears, I plan on staying in town and continuing my listening. You can generally find me down in the market." He turns toward a door, moking leaving. But waits to get the go ahead.
Keldor grimaces but nods and gestures to the door with his sword.
"Yes...go. While your knowledge of such technological things peaks my interest, your actions disgust me. In the end, you have successfully given us more important things to deal with...so please go. "
Keldor puts away his blade and sighs.
"We NEED to investigate this, but we should talk to Khonnir first. Agreed?"
Dirissa nods. "Sounds like a plan, Kel." Her voice lowers a bit as she moves up next to him. "Oh yeah, is it okay to call you Kel?"
Familiar with gnomes, Keldor smiles and ruffles the little barbarian's unkempt hair playfully.
"You can call me whatever you want, when you smile like that."
The professor has been standing in silence, eyes fixed on the man before him. Despite his focus, despite his mission, he allows himself several glances at the technological items taken from Sanvil's person.
Assuming Sanvil seems to be telling the truth throughout this whole conversation, Dorianathi is fine letting him go - with one additional topic to discuss.
"Before you leave, Trett, I must ask what the nature of your relationship with the Technic League is. Were they in the ones that installed your neck implant? Your pin identifies you as one of them, or as someone in allegiance with them. I must know." The typically lighthearted professor slowly takes on a grim visage as he embarks on this line of questioning.
You are pretty sure everything he said is true.
Sanvil turns to the elf, "Ah yes.. Well, for awhile I was an enforcer for The Technic League. A brute, but I wanted for more. I rose in the ranks. They sent me down here to learn more. To keep tabs on the activities and discoveries of new artifacts from around Numeria. With the torch going out I thought it was my opportunity to learn more and bring it back. I bought the neck implant myself, they didn't supply it for me.
Varilien is pretty sure Sanvil is greatly exaggerating his involvement with the League. You can tell he is making it sound even better than it is. You are pretty damn sure he a lackey of some kind, likely sent out to get out of the way on missions with very little import. Though upon thinking about it you do realize that the torch going out likely means more Technic league will start showing up, all with the same idea as Trett.
"I see," begins Varilien, "I'm sure in this capacity you've seen wonders unimaginable and made discoveries that would rival those at the center of the Starstone Cathedral."
"My goddess - Brigh, the whisper in the bronze - values discovery and intellect, and would want me to preserve yours." He raises his hammer and cups the head in both hands, staring with reverence at the holy markings symbolizing his diety. After a few moments, his head whips up suddenly, eyes once again fixated on Trett. "Yet as much as she loves discovery, she despises those who would steal such discoveries from others, or who would try to hide such knowledge from others. The League is known for such things." He grimaces at the word "known," hammering on the syllable.
"So this I ask of you: Do not report what you have learned of us to the League. Do not report what we have found. And do not attempt to steal from us, ever." He then slams the hammer down on the table, providing a thunderous punctuation. "If you can manage that, you can keep on seeing unimaginable wonders, and peerless discoveries, because we'll keep bringing them to you to look at. But most importantly to you, you can keep breathing." He stands defiantly facing Trett.
"Yes I have seen some mazing things" He starts, but as you continue he sits and listens.
Wish a start at the hammer hitting the table, "yes yes! Of course. I will not report back to them. If I did I would likely be shunned anyway. I doubt they would be happy with what has transpired here. If I try to continue my work, they might keep me out on missions such as this. But.. I mostly just want to keep my bones unbroken" He looks over at the hammer.
With that, the professor offers his hand to Sanvil in a gesture of good will.
"Great! I look forward to working with you in the future. Oh, and if you don't mind, let me know if any other League folks come into town, eh?" He finishes with a smile.
When Trett leaves, Varilien will tell the others, "Thank you for backing my play. I know you don't know me yet, but I have to follow my lady's teachings - can't waste a good intellect if at all possible. Of course, a lot of the time it's not possible, especially when the Technic League is involved..." He trails off with a meaningful silence.
"What did we need from Khonnir, Whist?", Basil asks of Keldor, trying to mimic Dirissas smile once they parted ways with Sanvil:
"I would have expected us to go back underground - or to the warehouse mentioned."
Keldor smiles back at Basil's attempt at familiarity, and nods.
"Permission and advice mostly. Regardless of what that man says, we are NOT this town's authority. Khonnir is part of that authority. We should inform HIM at least of what is going on and get his permission to handle this. He may even have a suggestion on how to handle this situation quickly."
"I think that would be best. I'm eager to learn more about why the torch has disappeared, but I don't want to go in blind if Baine can help us out." The professor clearly is responding to Whisthawk, but he gazes around the entire Foundry while he's talking, taking it all in.
"Darissa, what is this place?" he says after a few moments. "This is where you all... sleep? Work?"
Dirissa shrugs. "Well, we haven't spent that much time here. But yeah, it's a place to bunk. And yeah, to work if you want. It's pretty nice, actually."
You make your way to see Khonner at the temple. When you arrive Khonner is putting on his outer coat.
"Well, Looks like that last casting of Remove Disease removed whatever was causing the issues in my body. I am still a bit shakey, but I just need to head in every day for more restorations."
He shakes his head.. "Oh yeah! What happened? How is my home?"
Smiling broadly at Khonnir's new liveliness, Keldor responds in kind as he shakes his hand.
"Good and bad news I'm afraid my friend. We seek you counsel on some matter of urgency brought to us from a nefarious source, but it can't be ignored."
He will summarize the news for Khonnir, getting straight to the point and ask if he has any advice on how best to proceed since it is his home.
Khonner listens quietly, then thinks for a second. "Hmm. Well there really are Tecnic league agents everywhere. It is not too much of a surprise to find one here in the town attempting to take advantage of the situation. But it sounds like you took care of it as well as you could. He might even be a resource, if you can trust him. Thank you for not spreading blood over my home before I can head back."
He smiles a bit at that last comment, "As for the warehouse. You should check it out as soon as possible. I would attempt to be careful, though. You do not know if Sanvil is attempting to use you. Though it could be a good lead. I have always been slightly untrusting of Garmen. I would avoid going in with swords drawn, but be ready to draw them if the need arises. Figuring out what is causing these strange headaches might lead us to the issue with the Torch, as they did show up right at the same time."
At this Joram Kyte speaks up, "Hmm, I agree with Khonnir. We really can't resolve this Torch issue soon enough."
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From behind him, Dirissa pipes up, "Kel, don't forget to see if Khonnir can fix your rod for you." She doesn't even bother to hide her snickering.
Turning to Kel, ”Do you have some broken equipment that needs repairs?”
”oh I am also excited to hear about items you may have found. I can help identify things now that my brain is back to its old capacities.”
"We do have several items we need identified...although most of it we have already figured out what they do. We have a door we still need to open down below the Torch, but this device-control needs expert repair first."
At a quick look at the part, ”I think I can fix this... why don’t you give it to me and I will take care of this at my forge while you check out the warehouse. Might take a day, but it will be good to use my hands again. Build, or fix something substatial.”
He seems excited and starts walking the group back to the foundry.
"Could you also give us the authority needed to investigate the Warehouse? The technic league agent seemed to consider us the effective executive arm of Torch, instead of the militia or guard. Whist especially seemed to be concerned that no official transfer of such authoritative power had taken place previously. Will we need a voting majority of the judicative caste of Torch to bestow such a status as needed upon the members of our group?"
He laughs a little to himself, "Well from what Joram has told me you where hired to save me as well as get the torch lit. Speaking of, did you ever collect the reward for bringing me back? Dolga will likely forget till you bring it back up."
As you walk back to the Foundry, "You do not need voting majority. While I appreciate you checking in with me, you have been hired to get the torch relit. You can perform those duties as you see fit. I appreciate you checking in with me, though. I would still suggest avoiding going into the warehouse guns blazing. He points at Basil's weapon. "You are definitely allowed to investigate the place. This town is not filled with Abadar fanatics so don't worry about the law coming after you for going a bit overboard. Do what you have to do, and try not to cause too much of a stink in the process"
As you make your way to the foundry he goes straight into the forge building and starts getting it lit. Which takes awhile.
Val walks in, "Excuse me! Don't even say hi first?{/b]
Turning his head once one of the forges is starting to warm up, [b]"Oh sorry! I wanted to get started on this. Its nice to be home. While this is getting lit, shall we go make some food?"
Val smiles widly, "Sure thing. Lets go make something.. not metal.. in the kitchen"
He turns to you as he walks into the tavern, "Please. do what you can. I will be here if you need something identified"
Keldor nods and starts moving to the exit.
"Let's get prepped and look into these people. I should summon Gauntlet I think....just in case."
Once outside, Keldor begins his ritual to summon his Ediolon.
As you make your way to the Warehouse. It seems to be nestled in among a few other buildings. You approach from the south west. The building itself seems to be boarded up. Each set of doors is covered with planks of wood.
It seems to be a 2 story building, with larger double doors for loading and unloading at the bottom level. There are also 2 more exterior doors at the bottom level as well. You also see a set of stairs on the exterior of the building that end in doors at the second level.
Things do seem very quiet in this area of town. The building itself seems to be dead with activity.
"Maybe we should enter on the second level? Yon stairs call to me I think. I see no traps or lookouts yet."
Dirissa says warily, "Well, Khonnir said we shouldn't go in with our gums blazing, so I guess that means we shouldn't smile." Presented with a unique opportunity, Basil explains to Dirissa what the phrase 'GUNS blazing' means.
"Ah. Okay, that makes sense, too, I guess. So if we aren't charging in, I guess we can either sneak about a bit or simply knock on the door." She nods to Keldor. "We can start up there."
As you scope out the place, there does not seem to be any traps. But you do notice that the doors up the stairs are actually faking their boarded up status. A disguise. Though the door itself is still locked. The other doors around the building are actually boarded up though. You might be able to dismantle some of the boarded up ones as well. Or just break them down.
"Second floor sounds good to me," the professor pipes up. "Look, the boards there aren't even really barricading the door. It's a good bet that this is the actual entrance used by the gang. We should be cautious - when we get to the landing, I will check if any members are just beyond the door before we open it."
"Is there a specific reason we don't head towards the main entrance and knock?", Basil wonders, her firearm safely secured as per Khonnirs request, and a Longsword hanging in a sheath on her hip instead, with a light shield on her back.
Keldor leads the way to the stairs.
"The other entrances are really secured and sealed. The second floor is only disguised as such Basil. That's our best way unless one of us can fly? I say we knock and see who comes to the door. Tell them why we are here and see what they have to say for themselves. Sneaking in here seems...counter-productive to Khonnir's suggestion in my opinion. No 'guns blazing' really is soft on the details however."
"It seems rather unneeding of details, though? I suspected the building might be highly flammable, or objects easily damaged by the Shrapnel ejected from my gun - as such I should avoid blasting things with it."
She draws the longsword and affixes the shield on her forearm:"Luckily, I could clear up Dirissas misunderstanding with the Gums, and came prepared. No guns will blaze if we need to eliminate the current occupants."
Varilien scans the building through the door, but is not able to detect any evil, or other alignments through the door.
As Gauntlet knocks on the door. There is just silence. No one comes to the door.
I may have to drop out of this game, guys. I'm involved in a lot of online communities, and I would sometimes rather dedicate time to those rather than to this game. Hope you're understanding about this.
"Well, we were polite. Let's open it and check it out."
Brigh had graciously granted the professor her divine sight, yet after a short span no indication of potential threats had become apparent. He looks to the group after Gauntlet's knock is met with a similar silence, and as Dirissa calls for someone to open the door, he does so - slowly, and as quietly as he can.
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"Keldor, please advice: Would the situation be amusing, in a ironic way, if the boarded-up warehouse was empty and the technic league agent simply sent us here so he can steal all the interesting things he found and be off before we return?", Basil asks, while someone takes care of the lock. "Could be this place was truly abandoned, and some teenagers made themselves an entrance here for shenanigans their parents would not approve of, like demon worshipping, carnal relations, or lollygagging"
Keldor just looks at Basil for a moment contemplating, then responds.
"If I didn't know you by now Basil, I would worry about where your mind goes...such fantasies! Fascinating! No, I think if this place is empty, then we are either in luck to search for evidence with freedom, or this is a trap of some sort. Better let me and Gauntlet go in first, just in case?"