She pauses for a moment and runs her hand over the slit in the bag. "No, not particularly. I - I'm not that upset about the money. I do worry about the community, especially if people keep turning on these strangers."
"I doubt we'll find the being responsible. I'm alright now and I'll inform the sheriff - oh, I hope it doesn't keep me from seeing the final show. I do want to see the sphinx perform!"
Seeing no nearby suspects and not particularly insistent on finding someone to place the blame on, the cleric leaves to meet with the sheriff. After having secured Wrecker back in his cage and healed him up, the lead zookeeper, the aging Taldan man, comes by, introduces himself as Berthold Flavian and offers a bag of fifty gold pieces as a reward - "A thank you for both preventing innocents from coming to harm and ensuring that our prize exhibit did not die. If you hear of anything that may help, please let me know. That panotti, Phardaen,can be a bit flexible with the truth."
Not too long later, the carnival announces the final show of the night in the big top. The final show of the evening announces a wide variety of festivities and keeps its promises. The large-eared man, announced as "Phardaen, a panotti from the unknown lands of Arcadia" flies around the big top, propelled only by his enormous ears. A sword-swallower takes center stage and astounds the crowd by swallowing a variety of blades; first a sinuous dagger, then a short sword and a scimitar, and ending the performance by swallowing an impressively large longsword. The crowd ooos, but is quickly cut off as the proprietor of the circus itself makes her entrance to a haze of dancing lights.
Mistress Almara Delisen, proprietress, introduces the show while dressed in a smart-looking black suit accented by black sequins. She carries a massive oiled black whip and grins at the crowd with a wildly crooked grin.
"Welcome, gentle ladies, gentle men, and all other gentle persons. This is the moment you've all been waiting for - the fearsome sphinx from distant Osirion! Born and raised in the desert, we have bound her in our service and present her for your illumination."
Music begins to swell from a man with an accordion as the darkened tent flaps in the back rise and the clang of a metal door opening sounds. The crowd holds it collective breath as the hulking creature prowls forward.
"Rest assured, this is perfectly safe! As you can see, I have been trained and have bound her to my will. She is a ferocious performing sphinx only barely held under the my magical control"
The rest of the show are astounding feats and tricks from the gynosphinx, as she jumps through flaming hoops and answers riddles asked by the proprietress. At one point, the sphinx breaks free from the ringmaster's control, flying over the heads of the stadiums, but she is quickly subdued. The creature is nothing like what the people of this town have seen before. She is the sole topic of conversation as the crowds disperse for the night and the tavern shuts down.
The Two Waters Inn that night is crowded as people eat and drink in a post-show haze. The noise from the common room echoes in the upper room and your chambers well into the early morning hours, disrupting those choosing to rest early. The morning crowd, as a result, is sparse in the morning, as many of the townfolk opt to nurse their hangovers and sleep later into the day.
As the flock make their way from their reserved rooms down into the common area, the innkeeper - Noria, she introduced herself as the previous evening - immediately approaches.
"It looks like you're in for a treat!" she says cheerfully. "The mistress of the carnival sent for you this morning. Must be a surprise - the carnival's opening late today, so you'll be one of the first in."
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"Oh! I, um, hope it's for something good..." Takashi murmurs.
He can't shake the feeling that there's something bad going on... he's also been keeping to himself the thought that he hopes the sphinx isn't real, because he wouldn't want to see such an obviously intelligent creature bound by some sort of magic. It felt... wrong, somehow.
He shakes the thought off for now, though. "I suppose we should go find out what she wants...?"
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Andoliesa enjoys the show, but like Takashi she feels uncomfortable with the gynosphinx's captivity. "I wonder why she wants to see us?"
-Posted with Wayfinder
The carnival grounds are unusually quiet this morning. Curious onlookers are turned away, a clear difference from the generally lax borders of the past few days. Several carnies pass by, dressed in duller colors than their performing costumes. They nod amicably at passerbys, but do not engage in much conversation.
The strongman Narthi greets you at the front entrance. I will escort you to the lady," he says with a nod. "I do hope you'll accept the job and we can right everything as soon as possible."
Mistress Delisen waits by her private wagon with adjourning canpoy. A circle of chairs surround a campfire over which boils a kettle. This morning, her attire is breeches and a plain coat - much simpler than her resplendent garb of the night before.
"Please have a seat," she says, pausing for you to do so. She pulls the kettle from the fire and pours the boiling water into a teapot. "Would any of you like some tea? We have some business to attend to. There's a job involved, if you're so interested."
Mistress Delisen pours the tea into a porcelain cup and hands it to Pazacku. The faint scent of honeysuckle and rose rises with the steam. She takes a few cautious sips of her own tea with closed eyes, and then sighs.
"I appreciate your efforts yesterday in the regrettable incident with our dragon. I fear I could also use your help with another matter. You may have heard there was a murder in town last night. The circumstances, I am told , implicate people from my circus-something I find very hard to accept. I'd like to contract you to represent the Umbra Carnival to determine who is really responsible and preserve our reputation."
"I see my summons traveled faster than gossip. Achivin Walder, the town's moneylender and owner of the Locked Box was murdered last night. The sheriff's already been by this morning - she claims that our sphinx was the murderer. This is, frankly, impossible - I'll be happy to share more details about that if you choose to investigate for you."
She shakes her head, "I don't believe Sheriff Feldane is an unjust woman, but I think she's under greater pressure to keep the peace than to find the guilty. After all, my people aren't her first concern. My belief is a third party investigation stands a better chance of clearing our good name than the local constabulary."
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Takashi's beak hung open in shock, too surprised by the revelation to ask for tea. He knew he'd see battle as a Pathfinder, but a murder...?
He took a moment to compose himself. "Umm... was Achivin robbed? Oh... that's probably something we have to ask the Sheriff. Will... do you think the Sheriff will be happy to have us help, or..." Takashi trailed off, already anticipating trouble.
"Yes, the sheriff and I agreed that an outside team would be best for this investigation; Your performance yesterday showed
me that you're capable people. And honestly, we don't have
many friends to choose from here. Perhaps as such a strange band yourself, you can understand."
"I'll leave it to the sheriff to brief you on the details and escort you to the crime scene. After all, I don't want to be accused of unduly influencing your opinion of the matter. You'll be able to investigate all of the circus as needed. I also have a letter drafted to send with you to the sheriff, identifying you as our chosen investigators. I recommend you meet with her as soon as possible, if you choose to accept this job. I can offer you all six hundred gold if you can find conclusive proof that the circus and its members were not involved."
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Tchucko mumbles to himself... "Six hundred gold..."
He then looks up at Mistress Delisen. "Is that 600 gold apiece? Or total? And how much do we get if we find conclusive proof that someone from the circus was involved?"
"Cause we wouldn't want to be 'unduly influenced', after all."
Tchucko caws a little to himself and looks at his fellow Tengus with a knowing nod.
She chuckles, "Six hundred gold for the entire team, which is one hundred gold apiece. I'm sure that you'll do a fine job, and I know for a fact that the murder could not have happened in the way the the sheriff thinks it did. It's, frankly, impossible. If you can't clear the circus's name, I'll reward you appropriately, depending on your performance in the investigation."
She excuses herself from a moment and retreats into her private wagon. When she returns, she carries a thick sealed letter addressed to Sheriff Feldane.
"That will let the sheriff know that you are my chosen team of investigators. I'll let the workers know to assist you here. I recommend that you check in with the sheriff once you are done with your tea."
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"I guess a hundred gold's nothing to shake a stick at."
Tchucko smiles at Mistress Delisen. "Looks like you've got a flock of tengu Pathfinders at your service."
Before they leave, he has one last question for the circus' leader. "Do you know if they suspect any particular member of the circus? Cause if so, we'd definitely want to speak with them to help establish an alibi."
"Yes, they claim it was our sphinx. I recommend you speak to the sheriff first - fresh eyes and all."
The sheriff is easily found at the local jail, reading over a rather large file at her desk. She snaps the files shut as the door opens and looks over the flock quickly, as though only a moment's glance tells her what she needs to know.
"Sherrif Feldane," she says as she stands and offers her hand for a handshake to Andoliesa. "What business can I assist you with? We're rather busy with some foul play, so make it quick."
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"We are here to assist with your, ah, fowl play, hehe, you know."
-Posted with Wayfinder
"Oh, I see," she says with another, more studied examination this time. "I apologize - I just didn't assume that there was a flock of tengu investigators around. I take it you have the necessary paperwork from the circus? Oh, very well then." She holds out her hand, this time to examine the paperwork indicating your employment with the circus.
"I will allow you to examine the crime scenes. While you are a third party team, the majority of the town will see you as representing the circus. With tensions as they are, I hope you understand that any misconduct on your part would make a bad situation worst. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
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The woman looks over the letter from the circus and smiles. She arranges a set of chairs in front of her desk and opens the file folder she had been reading from earlier.
"The victim was Archivin Walder, the town moneylender and sometimes pawnbroker who owns a local business called the Locked Box." Feldane pulls out a map of the town, with the Locked Box circled, a potential route from the circus to the Locked Box outlined, and a few notes of possible confirmed sightings of Walder by other townsfolk with times noted. "Walder was found mauled while walking to his home after the circus last night. Walder's wife, who went looking for her husband when he never came home, discovered the body. Agnes Walder begged her husband's four full-time guards who lived at the Locked Box for help."
"Three of them left their post to search, and one guard stayed behind to secure the office. Thieves, presumably in league with the creature that killed Walder, burst into the Locked Box, killed the remaining guard, and stole many easily carried valuables. The robbery was interrupted when the guards brought Walder's body to the office instead of his home, and they glimpsed two humanoid figures fleeing in the night. Upon finding the guard dead and the building burglarized, the three remaining guards secured the building until the they notified me."
"The cause of death is several large claw marks across the chest. The remaining guards and Walder's wife have come to the independent conclusion that the sphinx from the circus was responsible. However, I'm not too sure of this myself. The townsfolk don't take to kindly to Varisians - there's a pretty deep streak of racism against the travelling folk. One of the townsfolk took the liberty of providing me with this, for 'help in my investigation'.".
She pushes forward a list of names and descriptions of the carnival workers, heavily annotated with notes like "stared at my child - possible kidnapper?" and "has an unusual scarf - stolen?".
"I'd rather not see this situation devolve any further. The mood in town is sour. There are stories all over the place about a great four-legged beast flying over the town last night after the circus closed down, silhouetted against the moon. Of course, I'll be damned if I can find a single eyewitness who actually saw the sphinx. Now poor Walder is left dead in some bushes. It'd be one thing if these deaths were accidential, but the robbery angle
has people thinkin' of a Sczarni heist. I'm not proud to say this, but this stirs a lot of unworthy opinions about Varisians."
"You have my full cooperation and I can have one of my men take you to the site where Walder's body was found immediately. However," she sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose, "you're outsiders in town and I don't think any of you are Varisians - but I'd keep an eye out for anyone holding a grudge."
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It suddenly struck Takashi that they'd actually seen Archivin themselves, and he immediately started worrying about thieves trying to kill his friends and take the crown they'd picked up. He comforted himself with the thought that they were hardly incapable of defending themselves, and besides, it was probably just a coincidence. After all, if you were going to rob somewhere, a pawn shop was a good target... right? Though then why the murder? To draw the guards off?
Takashi shakes these thoughts off and refocuses on the Sheriff. "Umm... do we have a list of what the thieves stole? Though... that probably wouldn't help anything..."
He shakes he head again. "But we should probably look at the shop after looking at the... the... murder site, for more clues."
At least I know my way around shops... maybe I can actually help there!
"Luckily, Walder kept meticulous records. There are only a few items missing from the shop that weren't noted. I'm sure some of these hadn't been processed, but we at least have a place to start."
She retrieves from the file a list of missing items and a few copies of ledger pages. It notes mostly gems missing, as well as a magical dagger, several necklaces, rings, and a tiara.
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Andoliesa nods at the list of items. "An interesting list. I have an idea of how we might capture these thieves... But let us visit the sites."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Sheriff Feldane nods and says, "Look forward to working with you and solving this unpleasant business. Constable Ekrin," she says with a nod, "show these people around."[/]b
Constable Ekrin is a younger, slightly nervous woman with a prosthetic leg. As Feldane's command, she stands up straight and says, [b]"Yes, of course, right away. If you're ready, right this way."
Waiting to ensure the entire flock has made any desired preparations, she leads the group down one of the local roads to a rather deserted stretch.
"The victim's body was found in this ditch,"[ she says while checking a copy of the map, "at approximately midnight last night."
The area itself shows signs of struggle. In several areas, dried blood coats the grass and scraps of cloth lay scattered about.
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At the reveal of the tracks. Andoliesa nods sagely. "I believe the creature was framed, certainly."
-Posted with Wayfinder
The constable shakes her head. "Framed? I - well, document the evidence! I'll take you on to the Locked Box once you're done."
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"Yes, constable. Have a look at these paw-prints; not nearly deep or big enough to be made by the comparatively heavy gynosphinx, you know. And here, see how the ground around the paw prints has been swept to hide the prints of anyone else who was here."
-Posted with Wayfinder
"I - I see. Well, make a note, document it. The good ol' procedure, you know? Once you're done, I'll go ahead and take you on to the Locked Box."
As you arrive, lead by Constable Ekrin, two guards by the front of the house comfort a weeping woman.
Constable Ekrin gives a curt nod and says, "Agnes, I'm sorry to hear about your husband's death. These fine birds have been hired to investigate. Could you let them in? It's very important to us that we solve your husband's murder."
The woman gives a hicupping sob, before saying, "Dear Ionacu took Archivin to the church just a few minutes ago. We haven't been able to find his key. He keeps it - used to keep it on a strand of leather around his neck along with his wedding ring." She gives another sob. "Oh, I should've gone to the carnival with him. It just bothered me to think of him ogling that wing she-lion whatsit - all that prancin' about without a top on. But none a' that would matter if only Archie was still here with me!"
She pulls a plain shop key from her belt pouch and unlocks the door. Following you in, she states though tears, "This front room is the showcase."
Lamps illuminate this large showroom. Glass display cases, broken in a few places, line the walls, while two additional cases sit like islands in the center of the room. The cases contain an eclectic mix of valuables such as unusual tools, masterwork weapons, fine china, antiques and artwork. A set of merchant's scales rest on top of one of the display cases.
A double doors are set in the northern wall.
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At the reveal of the tracks, presumably not made by the Sphinx, Dekarin chuckles quietly.
"And so the mystery thickens! Perhaps our next stop shall shed a bit of light on who's actually responsible."
Dekarin admires the inside of the showroom, paying particular attention to the weapons, of course.
"You mentioned a key...it wasn't found with him? That means someone else has it, yes?"
"I could only imagine... Poor Archie."
"Archie loved us, me and the kids," Agnes says, running her hand over the display case. "Look at how much he loved them."
A large, rusty red blotch remains on the floor in the same location as the murdered guards's body was discovered.
Agnes, following in and watching carefully, says, [b]"Sorry for the mess - I tried to clean it up but, I think - oh, I think the floor is stained. Poor man."