It may have been on a lamp post, the door of a public outhouse, a tavern's bulletin board, or a passing rumour in a far off land. The Magnimar City Watch is creating a new investigative unit, dedicated to those crimes and mysteries beyond the scope of the standard City Watchman. Adventurers on retainer by the City Watch and the Lord-Mayor. Guaranteed income of 5 gold coins a week plus living expenses! Interviews begin at 9 am sharp on Oathday, the 2nd of Rova, 4710 AR at the Pediment Building in Magnimar. See Captain Ilar Percival.
So bright and early on that morning, you arrive. The Pediment Building has all the appearances of being invaded given the amount of armour and steel shown.
Captain Percival is an older gentleman, his uniform is crisp and clean, with the bright links of his chain shirt peeking out from underneath. His office is sparse and plain, a soldier's office, with simple if comfortable furniture. He quickly sizes each of you up in turn with his steely blue eyes peering from beneath bushy grey eyebrows. He asks you about your pasts, your abilities, what you think you would add to the team. Once you've talked about yourselves for awhile, he thanks you for coming, takes down your contact information, and brings in the next candidate. You head back to wherever you are staying with promises that you'll be contacted, if accepted, tomorrow morning at 7.
You wait out the evening and bright and early, as promised and hoped for, a City Watchman shows up at your residence with an invitation back to the Pediment building. You got the job!
45 minutes later, you find yourselves sitting in a small waiting area with five other individuals, the other successful applicants. An officer tells you that Captain Percival has been delayed, and he'll be with you shortly.
Awgin stood against the wall and looked at the five others and sized them up. They didn't look so tough, but he knew how looks could be deceiving. So this is the team the Captain was talking about. I wonder which one will start talking first. There's always somebody that has to 'break the ice'. I'm betting the halfling. They're pretty chatty. Or mr-stick-up-his-but will come over to show how he's not intimidated by the big bad orc.
He continues to wait and to watch.
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Erodel quietly waits, though it seems hard for the young man to keep a grin off of his face as his gaze darts around the room looking at his surroundings and what he assumes to be his new companions.
A small halfling woman wearing a dark brown dress and a hat of feathers and dandelions wanders over to a painting on the wall. The painting depicts the Magnimar harbour. She tilts her head up to stare at it and stands there for a minute or so silently. "I had an apple at breakfast today," she announces to no one in particular, still staring at the painting.
A Watchman comes in with a tray of muffins and danishes, while another brings a carafe of coffee and a tray of cups.
"Captain Percival shouldn't be more than a few minutes," the man announces to the room before withdrawing.
Awgin hurries to get a share of the pastries and drink. He takes a few of each, eating quickly and gulping down the coffee.
The door opens to allow a young man clad in leathers and a chain shirt under a City Watch tabard to enter. He's carrying a halberd. A dagger and club are looped to his belt and a long quiver on his back holds three javelins. His black hair, dark eyes, and strong nose proclaim Cheliaxian descent. He's breathing loudly. Perhaps he's been running.
"Am I late to meet Cap'n Percival?" he asks anxiously. Before anyone can answer he's scooped up a pair of pastries and poured half of the milk in the small pitcher into his cup, without coffee.
"Oh, there it is!" Laya exclaims. She turns away from the painting and goes over to the food. "That one took me longer than most." She reaches up and grabs a muffin from the table.
The quiet wispy-haired gentleman eases his way out of a chair and moves slowly to the tray selecting a muffin. As the watchman enters the room he finishes chewing the first bite and replies, "No, they've just brought refreshments. The wait shant be much longer, I'm sure. Take a seat with us." He carefully sits again, deep in thought as he eats.
"Owls don't eat pasty," the halfling repeats softly. "I wonder why that is. I mean, it's obvious why they don't make pastries themselves, but when the pastries are already here, why don't they eat them? Do they just not like the taste? Or are we just anti-anthropomorphizing them? In the wild, there are no naturally occurring pastries, so naturally, owls don't eat any and therefore we just assume that they wouldn't eat any when they're not in the wild. After all, pastries are people food and owls aren't people. A bit mean of us, really." She bites into her muffing and chews thoughtfully for a moment.
"Then again," she says, "if these were the only pastries I had to choose from, I'd stick with mice, too." She takes another bite and swallows. "I'll have to have a word with Captain Percival about where to get good muffins."
A few moments later, the door opens again to admit Captain Ilar Percival, followed by a younger man carrying an armful of scrolls. He takes note of your presence and nods. "Ah, good, you're all here." Turning back to the younger man, he says, "Timmins, ha-"
"Have the Watchmen secure the scene. Nobody goes in or out of that building until they arrive," the younger man says in perfect time with the Captain. "Right away, sir," Timmins adds, then ducks out after depositing the scrolls onto a table.
"It's good to see all of you," the Captain continues once Timmins has left. He pours himself a cup of coffee, reaches for a pastry, and seeing the trays empty, merely shrugs and wanders over to a chair. "I assume this means you all accept the position. I'm sure you have tons of questions, and I'll try to answer as many as I can. I wasn't planning on having you start until Sunday, but there's a bit of a situation brewing which is exactly for what this division was created, so we can't afford to wait. I'll take you over to see the old garrison building that we've refitted for your unit, where you'll be staying and taking your meals, and then it'll be straight into the field."
"We do have a few minutes for your questions, however, so fire away."
Heward sizes up the other occupants of the room.
The halforc and the younger man look like they could handle themselves in a fight, but the man is a little lightly armed. The fat man looks like he couldn't punch his way out of a paper bag, but with the owl -- he's got to be a caster. The older wispy-haired guy, he's got to be a caster too. The halfling, she's a little odd, but that's all right. Halflings are always welcome with Heward.
No doubt they all possessed hidden talents that would be advantageous to the team. Heward wondered what his own talent was.
***
The captain's arrival and news are simultaneously exciting and unnerving. Heward scoops up his halberd. "Ready when you are, sir!"
Inwardly he groans. Did I really just say that? I must sound like the greenest cadet ever to join the watch. I should just keep my mouth shut.
Awgin moves to stand protectively near the Captain. "Lead on, Captain."]
The halfling's eyes widen slightly. "Oh, a diviner!" She hands Calatin the rest of her muffin.
"I'm Laya," she tells everyone. "I figure things out. I investigate the past and contemplate the future, sometimes foretell it. That's about it really. Oh, and Captain Percival, I do have a question. Where did you get these pastries from? There's a really excellent bakery just two blocks from here called the Fluffy Muffin. You should really consider buying your pastries from there instead."
"I'm here to provide.." Awgin begins gruffly, but then notices the concern and maybe disappointment on the Captain's face. He clears his throat and begins again. "I guess I'm here because Captain Percival would rather I work for him than against him. You see, I know how to be nice until it's time not to be nice and when I'm not nice I tend to break stuff, like people."
"Heward Wallas. I've been a member of the watch for three years .... I mostly wa- patrol in Silver Shore, " he draws a breath as if to say more, frowns, then says to Awgin, "Sorry, I didn't catch your name."
Awgin pauses as he looks over the watchman. He takes a breath and says, "I am known as Awgin. I'm from Underbridge."
"I shall let Timmins know about the muffins, Laya," Captain Percival says, "I'm sorry they were not to your liking. They seem to have disappeared nonetheless." His eyes flit over to the rotund diviner and briefly crinkle in amusement before he becomes all-business again.
"If you don't have any questions about your pay and other mundane matters of employment, then just be assured that we here at the Watch are not out to take advantage of you or your skills. Some of you have had encounters with the Watch before - encounters on both sides of the law - while others of you are new to us. All that is in the past now. I would not be so crass as to say that this unit may in fact need the skillset of a person accustomed to operating outside the law . . . take that as you will. All of you have been given commissions with the Watch and assigned the rank of Inspector, a new designation which falls above corporal (the basic Watchman) and sergeant. Some of the Watch may be a bit confused in the beginning, trying to figure out where to place you - hopefully we can integrate this new unit with minimal complications. Here are your badges - they will grant you access to several parts of the city, including this building. If you lose it or it gets stolen, let us know immediately."
"Since there seems to be no more breakfast, perhaps we can continue this discussion on foot. Allow me to show you your new building."
Captain Percival drains the last of his coffee and leads the way out of the waiting room and the building. A few short blocks later (well, maybe ten or so, and not necessarily short), you arrive at a square, two-storey garrison building, with the MSI logo above the main door. You enter into a small reception area. Behind the desk, you see a matronly, grandmotherly woman, her white hair pulled back in a tight bun. She looks up and smiles. "Why Ilar. Good morning to you. These must be our new recruits."
"They are indeed, Mrs. Brigglespan." He introduces the lot of you to Mrs. Lona Brigglespan, your secretary and receptionist, who returns all greetings warmly.
"Have a look about the place," Percival says. "Some furnishings and supplies are in place. The alchemy labs are to the right, the autopsy room near the back."
There are three little offices along the west wall.
There is a kitchen to the east of the central set of stairs. Those stairs go up to Level 2 (other map). The other set of stairs go down into the cells (no map for that part yet).
The autopsy room is the one with the three silvery tables. Some sort of magic seems to be at work keeping that room and the one east of it unnaturally cold.
The labs are the two rooms along the south wall with furnaces. There are no tables as of yet.
The room with the big table would seem to be the officer's mess.
The tiny rooms on the Level 2 map are privies. Pipes run out the wall and down to the sewer below the building.
There are no windows or skylights. Light is provided by a mix of everburning torches and oil lamps. There are permanent day light spells in the autopsy room and alchemy labs (with a cloth cover to shut off or mute the light if desired).
Rooms without furniture on the map are completely empty, and can be used however you wish.
You also have a MSI Unit One marked coach with two horses at your disposal (though no driver). Mrs. Brigglespan seems to be the only staff on the premises.
Captain Percival will tell you that in addition to your pay, you also have the privilege of looting bodies of bad guys, provided the stuff you find is of unknown ownership, and a sincere effort to locate its owner(s) results in failure. Also, any "evil" magic gear (stuff that radiates an aura with a detect evil spell is illegal in Magnimar and must be destroyed (not that it doesn't get bought and traded for all the time, but officially, it's not allowed).
Awgin pauses as he looks over the watchman. He takes a breath and says, "I am known as Awgin. I'm from Underbridge."
"Figures. Tough neighborhood. You're probably handy with that flail."
***
On the walk over to the new digs, Heward tries speaking to Laya in awkwardly accented halfling.
***
At the office Heward is careful to speak politely when introducing himself to Mrs. Brigglespan. In his first week with the watch he learned the first rule of working in a bureaucracy: Never piss off the secretaries.
On the walk over to the new digs, Heward tries speaking to Laya in awkwardly accented halfling. ** spoiler omitted **
Laya looks momentarily surprised by Heward's words. She looks up at him.
At the MSI building, Laya turns to Captain Percival. "This was an old garrison building, you say?" she asks. "What garrison was stationed here and where are they now?"
Halfling speakers:
Awgin only grunts in response to Heward's comment about his weapon skill.
Once at the building, Awgin claims a room by tossing down his meager possessions. "Do the doors lock?'
While walking Markiv speaks up himself, "My name is Markiv Goldroth. I am a studier of the occult and extra-planar. Ours is not the only world that exists and it has taken my family generations to peel back the curtain which many outsiders part as easily as a Tien paper wall."
After the trek to the barracks he appears to be winded. "Thank goodness for the coach. Mayhaps we should put a driver on retainer. There are parts of town an unmanned coach wouldn't stay unmanned for long." He nods to the secretary, "Hello, ma'am. Be a pleasure seeing you daily."
The old man takes a brief look through the building and returns to the front. "It seems we'll likely be spending quite awhile here, best to make it comfortable." From his robes he retrieves pouch and counts out fifteen gold coins. "Mrs. Brigglespan, a lady such as yourself must surely have an extended family. Do you know anyone who would like a job driving and caring for the coach, and another individual to clean and cook. I would hate to think of chores like those taking away from our work. This should be enough for two weeks of pay. I trust you can handle these matters?"
"Alas, Mr. Goldroth, my late husband and I never had any children. I've always thought of the Watch as my family. If you'd like me to find you a brave and decent fellow to man your coach for you, however, I'm sure I can find somebody both capable and discrete. The same for looking after the place. Put your money away, though. Give me five minutes with Ilar, and the MSI budget will find itself with a bit extra for such things." She pats Markiv on the cheek and goes to check on Calatin. After taking his temperature, she points at Heward. "There's some cool water from the pump in the kitchen. Go fetch a pitcher, would you dearie?"
Markiv pockets his money and thanks the matronly sectretary before turning to the captain, "Captain, how far away is this situation you mentioned? I think once Calatin is rested we should head out immediately. Is there anything you can tell us about it now? Any chance of violance occurring?"
Heward wanders back through the office, trying a couple doors until he finds the kitchen. A few moments later he returns with a pitcher of water and a pair of goblets.
"Well, if you're that eager to get started..."
Captain Percival leads the way down to the dining room and sits at the table. "I don't believe any of you live in or around the district of Naos, so you probably are unaware of the collapse of the West Naos Market. It was a building which housed several upscale businesses that inexplicably collapsed in the wee hours of the morning several days ago. It was a newish building, less than fifty years old, so a good deal of mystery surrounds it's collapse. The Office of City Planners launched an investigation, but as no one was hurt, the City Watch has stayed out of it."
"That would be the end of it, except early this morning, another building collapsed - Irefoot Hall - again, a collection of upscale businesses, and this time, a man was killed. The businesses of Irefoot Hall had contracted the services of Guards and Wards, a private security firm, one of which was the presence of a night guard, who was killed in the collapse. With the death, the City Watch automatically gets on the case, and because of the suspicious nature of the collapse, compared with the other one three days previous, well, that's the kind of thing for which this Unit was created. Your first assignment is to figure out what caused these collapses, if they are related, and ensure that there are no more."
"Do you know if the City Planners had any architects or engineers investigate the previous collapse? Perhaps there is a report available we might use to compare with today's accident," muses Markiv.
"The poor night guard," Laya says. "May Pharasma judge his soul justly."
She climbs awkwardly onto a chair and then onto the table itself. Standing there, she turns to face Captain Percival. "Mister Goldroth makes a good suggestion. We could also use the original plans of the buildings themselves. Also, was the night guard wearing any clothes or carrying any belongings? It would be good to see those. Oh, and a list of all the businesses that operated in both buildings. Oh, and details of this security firm. Who runs it, location of their head office, that sort of thing." She pauses for a moment in thought, then nods. "That should be about it."
She starts to turn away, but then stops and says, "Oh! Silly me! The night guard's name and family information. We'll need those. And finally, are there any inns near either building?"
"Sounds to me like someone is sending a message. We should talk to whoever owns the buildings. They're probably involved in some shady dealings."
Heward sags a little when he hears the nature of their first investigation. Building collapses? I don't think I'll be much use on this one. Better keep quiet so I don't say something stupid.
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"Sounds to me like someone is sending a message. We should talk to whoever owns the buildings. They're probably involved in some shady dealings."
"Sounds like a good idea, though when we talk to this person we should make a point to not sound accusatory. You know how the old saying goes....getting more flys with honey than vinegar."
"That's right. All I know is intimidation. I could not possibly be subtle. And don't tell me that's not what you meant, cause it was. Don't worry, though, when it's time to give Gorum his due, I'll take the lumps. That is what I do. I will not, however, be insulted and looked down on by anyone on this team. If you can't see me as a person with more to contribute than a body between you and danger, I walk right now."
As the flurry of questions comes in, Captain Percival's face relaxes into a content and satisfied smile. As the questions continue to come in, he starts to look a bit overwhelmed, and holds his hands up for a respite, especially as things look like they may soon come to blows.
"Okay, okay, let's all just relax, and have nobody (he looks at both Erodel and Awgin) making any snap judgements about anybody! Let me see if I can get all of these questions answered. The City Planner's Office does have an investigator - Thora Rumblemountain, I believe her name is. She should still be at the West Naos Market this morning, although she may make an appearance at Irefoot Hall. She doesn't work with us, you understand, but the Planner's Office is pretty good about liasoning with us."
"The Office itself is locating in the Civic Building in Keystone. They may have plans to both buildings, as they are less than fifty years old. The Planner's Office isn't much older, so they only have plans of buildings that were built or seriously renovated within that time frame."
"As for a common owner, I'm afraid that's a dead end. West Naos Market was owned by the City (technically, the rent was paid to the Council of Ushers, but they have nothing to do with the building directly. Irespan Hall was owned jointly by the five businesses it housed, and none of the owners are on the Council."
"As for the businesses both buildings contained, I do have that information for you/" He thumbs through a few of his scrolls, then hands one of them to Laya.
The West Naos Market housed the following businesses: Precious Stones (a jewelery shop owned by Ira Mellisor, Mulinar Prest (Attorney at Law), Gallery Lucas (an art gallery dedicated to sculpture owned by Meritoni Lucas), Triffan’s Antiques and Finery (owned by Triffan Marblecutter), Garrus Minkmartin (Attorney at Law), and Folio Five (a book shop owned by Thill Merryfoot).
The Irefoot Hall housed the following businesses: Madame Yvana’s (boutique of fine silk dresses), All That Glitters (Gem store owned by Magda Smirtrova), the Cherished Chelish (an antique shop specializing in antiques from the time of the Chelish invasion owned by Rav Kinmin), Leaps and Spells (the office of Master Trintarian, a wizard who specializes in selling teleports and other spellcasting services to the public), and Kovesna’s (an outlet for gold works fashioned by several of the city’s goldsmiths).
"The night watchman," Percival continues, consulting his notes, "was named Brynder Flynn. I don't know anything else about him, though I'm sure you could learn more from the people at Guards and Wards." He gives you the address to Guards and Wards' head office, located in Naos.
He takes a deep breath. "I think that about covers your questions. I don't know if the buildings were built and/or maintained by the same person or persons, nor do I know the name of the owner of Guards and Wards, but I have every confidence you will by the end of the day."
He gives you the addresses of the two collapsed buildings (I have a map of Magnimar showing their locations, but I can't post it from work), then stands to leave. "I have great confidence that you can have this matter solved in short order. Our greatest fear is that we have a pattern here. Two incidents are not enough to confirm a pattern, of course, and I would caution you not to blind yourselves to important clues by looking for a pattern that may or may not exist. That being said, if another building is due to collapse in three days' time, it would be good if you could prevent that from happening."
Awgin is about to respond when he's silenced by the Captain's words.
"I'm going to Guards and Wards. Anyone want to come with?" Awgin tucks his badge into one of his pockets.
[ooc]What does the MSI logo look like? I'll purchase a hat and have the logo put on it."[/b]
"Guards and Wards sounds like a good place to start," Laya says to Awgin. "I'll come with you." She jumps down from the table and onto a chair, then jumps down to the floor.
On the walk to Guards and Wards, she spends the time studying the scroll given to her by Captain Percival, committing all the businesses and owners to memory. She's so engrossed in that that she pays little attention to other people on the streets and has a number of near collisions, generally followed by angry comments of "Watch where you're going!" from the people she almost collides with.
Heward looks at Laya and Awgin make ready to leave. He'd prefer to stay with the halfling in case of trouble but Awgin can probably handle anything.
The Cheliaxian watchman decides to wait and go with another party if the group is splitting up.
"The guard was likely just a bistander. Might have saw something, but was probably asleep. I'm going to talk with this Rumblemountain. Buildings don't just fall down, and if she's an expert she'll have spotted what happened the first time, be it termites or hacksaws," says Goldroth as the others eagerly set off to the security firm.
So we have Laya and Awgin heading to the Guards and Wards head office, Markiv going to the West Naos Market, Erodel going to Irefoot Hall, and Heward is undecided. That just leaves Calatin.
Didn't anybody ever teach you folks to never, EVER split up a party!? :D