Sarrissa reaches up and touches the tip of her spear summoning her internal light and embedding it in the spear head. She moves cautiously over to the open door and glances outside, looking for anyone in sight or tracks on the ground. Once satisfied that there is no immediate danger, she will attempt to close and lock or bar the door.
Sarrissa & Aran: Outside the night is silent, you see no one in the yard. Across the way there is a stable with closed doors, but there are no lights inside.
Closing the door you find that the latch has been broken. Taking a closer look you see tool marks all around where the key would normally go in the lock. From the inside you are able to push a security bar across to seal the entry, but the lock will have to be replaced is Sonod wants to lock and unlock the door from the outside.
Fenlin, Raivin, & Titania: Sonod looks at you quizzically about the grappling hook. "But they can't have. I would have heard the glass break for sure. Well, unless they used that wand thing on the glass. Was there broken glass in the hall? How did they get the window open? It can only be done from the inside...unless you break out the glass."
Raivin, having been asked the question, you remember that the window was swung out and there was no broken glass in the hall.
Fen heads over to the window to look for how they accessed the room and any other clues. If there is no broken glass, would the tools they had on hand allow them to unlock the window from the outside?
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Aran, upon hearing the situation with the window, offers, "One of them must have broke in through the kitchen and opened the window from the inside. That wand must have masked any noise they made."
Holding up the items they found, Aran asks Sonod, "Sir, do you mind if we use these to wake up the prisoner for questioning?
He will use the smelling salts on the unconscious fellow (after ensuring he's securely tied of course) if Sonod agrees.
Sonod nods, thinking it through.
"Possible. Or they came up together but set up the window escape route in case they needed to leave quickly." He chuckles morbidly to himself. "I guess they didn't leave quickly enough huh?"
"Well, it's all the same in the end I guess. Anyways, yes, of course you can use the smelling salts. It's what I sent you down there for! 'Course, I don't think you will need more than one of those things. A whiff from one vial could wake up my old gram, and she's been dead these 10 years."
After Aran has tied him securely to one of the bedposts, he uncorks one vial of the smelling salts, bringing a sharp scent of cleaning solvent to the air. He waves it under the brigand's nose.
"Hrgh...Hrgh...Hagh...Poeu...hmmm."
His eyes flicker slightly, and he starts taking deeper breaths, trying to clear the irritant. He presses against his bindings. His eyes open fully, although there is a haze over them, like a man just coming awake after a poor night's sleep. He starts to form words, but they are slurred and nearly incoherent. Hard consonants seem beyond him right at this moment.
"Whassis? Why'jue jo tha? I shoulj be jead. Berrer off jead."
"That can be arranged, but first, who hired you?" Sarrissa didn't really expect an answer, but someone had to ask the question. This was no chance attack. They were no thieves looking for a quick score. These were hired men given a direction. In reality, there was probably very little they would learn from this man, but they knew enough. They knew that someone was aware of who they were, where they were staying, and when to strike. All of this information pointed back at the butler, or so she thought.
The man spits some blood out of the side of his mouth, just barely managing to miss Sarrissa's feet. He seems to be approaching coherence a little bit more. "I don't have to answer to no point ear. What I dos my business. Yous caught me doing it. Good for yous. Bad for me. Worse for Ranto over there."
He hooks his chin over to indicate his companion. The sudden movement of his head seems to have been a bad idea though as he groans in pain.
"Where are the other two? Wait, let me guess. Ranto here was the brains of your little outfit. Point ear. Wow, that must have strained that tiny little human brain of yours. Where does the smoke come out now?"
"Other two? Whatchoo talkin bout tree blood? Just me an Ranto get dis job. They don't assign more to a proovin."
The brigand looks at the elf defiantly, but the slowly turns his head down.
"Werent spose t tell none bout the proovin. No I real dead."
He turns his face up to Aran, for the first time there is fear in his face.
"Put yer point ear witch on a leash man. She make me say things that will kill me."
Raivin wanders over to the severed arm he removed from its owner previously. He picks it up and gestures with it as he threatens the former attacker. He rubs his temple with his other hand.
I got a headache from this one hittin' me with a stick as I slept. He died quickly. You won't.
Sarrissa took a bow. "Tree blood? Thank you, that is a very nice compliment. Now, who were you trying to prove yourself too? Obviously that won't be happening. I mean, you really couldn't have done a worse job trying to prove your worth. You botched the job, got caught, got your partner here killed. I'm sure even you can realize that how precarious your position is. I bet your friends won't like loose ends. You're as good as dead. So why don't you just tell us everything, and I'll even give you a few coin to get out of town."
The man stares at Raivin, fear shining in his eyes.
"You're crazy. All of you are crazy! I can't run. They find me man. They've made sure they can always find me. But if I don't say anything else maybe they will forgive me, or take pity, or something."
Imagining this conversation going round and round, Fen whispers to Titania,"Can't you just charm him? It would really speed things up."
"Okay, so what did they do to you to make sure they can always find you? I mean I don't see a rope tied to your foot or anything. Did they take some of your blood? Or maybe a hair? Your favorite tooth? What?"
Tess whispers back to Fenlin
"I can, but we only get one shot and if he resists he might finds methods of counter measures for later.
But since I have no other methods, I might as well."
Tess Casts Charm person (Will DC: 14) on the Ruffian.
"I imagine it's the tattoo. Either something in the ink, or some kind of sigil is incorporated, like a wizards arcane mark."
If that's true, I got a couple of ideas.
The tough looks in surprise at Fenlin
"Thas what they said, that the they could find us with these tattoos."
He tries to shimmy further away from Raivin, grunting in the process. The ropes do not give him much room to move.
"Now look here, I am rather attached to this hand if you don't mind. I would rather you not go lopping it off like poor Ranto there.
Look. The Journey tol' us if we didn't want to be Favors no more then we would need to do a proovin. Thas' how you become Errands. We came here tonight looking for our mark. When tha' halfling over there started making a fuss about you we thought you was landed or sumthin. Must have sumthin worthwhile on yous. The Journey tol' us you was the mark. We jus had to get in, take yur stuff, an yur heads if necessary, and then get out without anyone else in the inn knowing.
I don think the Journey realized you would such hard marks.
Now hows about you let me go, and I just take my chances with the brothers. Maybe theys take pity on me when they hear what you did to Ranto."
Fenlin, as you listen you realize that Journey, Favor, and Errand must be ranks in the organization. Given that these apparently low ranking members of the organization were Favors you would venture to guess that a Journey is some type of lieutenant.
"Oh dear. It seems I am to blame for all this trouble. I must be more careful when others may be listening. Can't trust the patrons in my own inn. What is this world coming to?"
"Letting you go is not an option. You broke in with the intent to steal and if need be, murder. While we are not going to kill you in cold blood, you will still stand to the town's justice. The constable will decide what is to happen to you."
"You made the decision to join 'The Wanderers', now you have to reap what you sow. I cannot imagine they will be looking to help you at all. At least you have some time to reflect on what you did, your friend here went to the beyond without such an opportunity. I am certain his soul will lament whatever tortures the afterlife will grant. You have a chance here to make a change. When you are done here, go back to your village and take up a trade. It is said most people do not recognize an opportunity because it wears dirty clothes and looks like work. It's not too late. You have your life, keep it, and try harder to live it."
"I will. If given the chance I promise I will!"
You believe him, although you know that it is a hard path he will have to walk if he is going to live an 'honest' life.
"Thank you for resolving this mess. But look at the time, you no doubt want to head back to bed. If one of you will help me get this beast of a man into another room where I can secure him until the constabulary arrive I will leave you be for the night."
Amateurs.
Raivin is yet unconvinced.
Wait wait wait. You jus' said you couldn't run cuzza' the tattoo. Now we're to buy you's changed your ways cuz this one talked to ya nicely? You're either lyin' or your stupid enough to be a threat anyway.
"I don't know about the rest of you but I still need my beauty sleep. Perhaps we can turn him over to the appropriate authority and finish preparing for our journey now?"
Sarrissa stands up and stretches before moving over to return her spear to it's former resting place in the corner. She sits down on the couch and begins to rub her neck.
Look, I'm jus trying to find a way to get outta this alive mate. Turn me over to the authorities, jus please don't kill me...and let me have a fighting chance of avoiding the brothers or sumthin.
He looks in a panic. He may not completely turn over a new leaf, but he is certainly willing to do what it takes to extricate himself from this situation with his hide intact.
After the group is alone, Fen points out,"If they did not pick us out until we got here, then I wonder who was following us on the road."
Ravin waves it off.
Long as they wake someone else up with a board to the head.
With Raivin's help Sonod moves the brigand and his dead friend into another room down the hall and secures the door from the outside.
"Well...have a nice rest of your evening. I am going to stay in the hall for tonight until one of the kitchen boys arrives. Tomorrow will be a long day, but I doubt I could sleep again even if I tried."
The party beds back down and the watch schedule resumes.
When Fenlin wakes Sarrissa to relieve him she peeks out the door into the hall and indeed sees Sonod sitting in the middle of the hallway, sure to catch anyone else creeping around this evening. Assuming they wake him that is, his snores are nearly loud enough to hear through the door.
The rest of the evening passes without incident.
***
When you all awake in the morning you find sunlight pouring in through the windows and the sounds of a city waking up coming from below. It seems you have slept a little longer than you anticipated. Raivin, Fenlin, Aran, & Sarrissa, you all rise and stretch, but it doesn't take you very long to realize that Titania is not in the room.
You rush to the door and throw it open, to see her standing in the hallway, conversing quietly with Jacob.
His eyes rise in surprise when you all burst through the door.
"Oh dear. I apologize, we were trying so hard to let you sleep. But it is for the best I suppose, let's go back inside."
He walks into the room that has been your resting place for the evening, grimacing at the blood stains that still remain on the floor. The bear rug is certainly going to have to be replaced.
Sitting down on a clean section of the coach he addresses the whole party. "I had planned on leaving your supplies and the letters, but when Sonod told me what happened last night I felt it best that I consult with you myself.
To the business of the supplies first. I was able to find just about everything on the list. Sadly none of the master's acquaintances had a wand of cure light wounds with exactly 10 charges remaining. The best we could do was what the lady Ambrosia was best able to recollect as 8, but her record keeping has apparently been a little shody. She only charged you the value of an 8, but who knows, it could have more!
Everything else should be in order though. It is all waiting for you downstairs in the cart, which Sonod has secured in the barn. And here are the letters of introduction promised both to the young master and the mayor of the town you are headed to. Hopefully you will find those helpful.
Now then, tell me about what happened last night. Sonod said something about the Wanderers? They are an unsavory bunch, but I did not realize they had a chapter operating here in Wellspring."
Fen gives a detailed account of what happened, including Titania's 'bird'.
As he goes over the story, he checks for any reactions from Jacob to see if the man has any ulterior motives.
Jacob listens attentively to your story. He seems more concerned by the report of someone watching you leave the Gransby house than by the attack.
"Well I am glad you were able to subdue your attackers. I will follow up with the Constable Major and ensure that proper actions are taken. He will take a keener interest if it implies that the attack was foisted against Master Gransby's agents.
The Master will no doubt be interested in hearing that the Wanderers are expanding their business ventures. It probably means we will be hiring more guards for future shipments.
But by far the most concerning news is that of this 'bird' you say watched you leaving the house last night. The Master said that he felt like there were forces arrayed against him, which is why I delivered to you the admonission to not talk to anyone of our business. I figured he was just being paranoid though, as is common amoungst the aged wealthy.
You did not get a good look at him you say? That is unfortunate. I will have to ask around I suppose."
Watching Jacob's responses you get the sense that he is more to the Gransby house that just the head butler. He certainly has motivations and goals that he has not disclosed to you, but you feel they are probably in-line with the family's desires, rather than being some kind of betrayer in their midst.
"Well, I have a busy day ahead of me, and you all should probably be looking towards getting on the road. Be sure to have some of Sonod's gooseberry crumpets before you leave. They are simply heaven."
"Sonod, would you happen to have any gooseberry crumptets? They sound delightful." Sarrissa packs up her gear and straps her pack on. "So, a quick breakfast before we're off?"
Raivin says nothing, takes all the crumpets he can get his oversized hands on, and leaves.
After many goodbyes, and a good helping of crumpets, scones, and other breakfast pastries, the party quickly finds itself outside next to their wagon, guiding the horse towards the city gates.
The crumpets are indeed delicious, although Raivin, you find the gooseberries in yours to perhaps be a little bit to tart.
You find that everything you requested is in order. You have rations to last both the party and the horse for 10 days, and water that should last that long as well. It should give you more than enough time to reach Kivud's Pass and begin your searching. You will probably need to replenish supplies for the journey back, depending on how long you stay in town.
You find the wand of cure light wounds and the two letters in one of the horses' saddlebags, as promised. After throwing your extra suits of armor and the armaments that you have gathered onto the cart you head towards the city gates.
***
After several hours of travel, you find that the road is mostly empty. You have seen a few traveler's going the other way, to Wellspring, but you have not passed anyone or had anyone pass you that was going the same direction as you.
You guys have about 8 hours of travel to while away. The day is clear, the lands is flat, you find yourself on an open prairie. You are fairly certain you aren't being followed, since you have pretty clear sightlines from your position to the horizon. It would be hard to hide a tail in lands like this.
How do you guys pass the time during your first day of travel? Feel free to have conversations or whatever.
Fen takes out some pipeweed and tamps it down. He is a little introspective.
After last night, I think I can trust these people. Well, here goes nothing.
He lights his pipe and takes a long settling draw, slowly blowing it out,"I feel it's probably safe enough now to mention that our employer was supposed to have a meeting after we left his estate last night. No idea where it was to be, the only detail I heard was the title Archmage, but no name. There are three practitioners in the city. Gilmore, Wendelyn and Stondylus. The first is an artificer and makes powder and magical equipment. They call Wendelyn 'The Witch of Welstyer'. Whether or not she is a real witch I know not, however she does have the ability to brew potions. The last is supposedly a necromancer. He usually stays out of town, but his proximity puts him on the list of possibilities."
"That is interesting. Do you think this has to do with our supplies? Otherwise I'm not sure how it is relevant. Do you think that one of these is responsible for the missing news of the son? Or perhaps the Wanderers?"
Sarrissa spends most of her time either walking next to the horse or guiding it from the cart. She occasionally whistles to break the silence, but otherwise is more focused on the road ahead, watching for snakes or tracks or even people approaching from ahead.
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"That is interesting," says Aran to Fenlin. "Tell me. How did you come across such knowledge? You must be a great spy of some sort."
Aran, in moments of silence, seizes the opportunity to tell fantastic stories about heroes of old and hard-fought battles. If he senses the moment right (meaning he wore them down with boring history stuff), he transitions to stories of the great deeds of Ragathiel, the General of Vengeance. Perhaps he'll get a converter or two?
If all grow tired of his stories, he wanders a little off the path, looking for signs of game or food to add to their stores or maybe useful herbs and such.
Looking at the monk, he chuckles,"No Aran, not a spy. Just observant. I pay attention to my surroundings for cues and clues to find insights. Think of it as reverse meditation."
Looking to the elf, "I'm not certain if it has anything to do with the missing Stephan Gransby, but it would seem to be a coincidence if the meeting just happened to be last night. In matters such as this, I hold little belief random acts being unrelated. However, I admit if there is a connection to The Wanderers, I cannot see it yet."
As the afternoon unfolds, the atheist has a friendly debate with the monk on the philosophy of praying to deities. Fen agrees to their existence, he just questions why anyone should bend a knee to entities who show no concern to those who worship them.
Fen tries to rope Raivin, Titania and Sarrissa into the conversation as well.
Raivin could not be less interested in theology. He has more to say about the Archmage though.
What do we do with that intel? If'n we don't know how his conversation relates to his missing son, I don't see how it's any more important than knowing what his favorite color is. He's a rich man. Rich men have meetings. Archmages prolly have meetings too.
"Well, I honestly don't know what to do with the information right now, or what it means. However, the man's son is missing and he has a connection to an Archmage. If he has access to a wizard, then why hire us? It leads to several questions we are as yet unprepared to answer. I just thought it fair to alert you to the meeting, so we all have a better idea of the man we are working for and the events he is involved with."
He looks back to Aran,"Now then, back to this simplified concept of Deities as cats playing a game of chess. You see, praying to them is like talking to a cat, they just do not care. They do what they want, when they want with no concern, or concept, of others. They just play with all the pieces on the board..." and on it goes.
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Aran looks towards Raivin with a look of concern. "I don't know much about spellcasting costs but perhaps we're cheaper than hiring someone to magically find his son? Even if Master Granby has access to powerful spells, he might just keep that as a backup in case we fail."
Turning back towards Fen, Aran smiles as he says, "That is not a accurate anaology at all. If what you say were true, then clerics would not receive the gifts of spells and paladins would have no repercussions for thier misdeeds. But that is not the case. You can see the gods involvement in our lives everyday."
"You make good points Fenlin. Thank you for sharing that information. To me, this all speaks to involvement by someone inside the house. The father himself, possibly the butler, or another staff member. They why, well I have no idea about the why yet."
Sarrissa couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of cats granting divine powers. As if a fish's head would earn you an atonement. "Careful there Fenlin. Insulting a cat never got one killed. I personally have never witnessed any divine intervention so I would agree with you for the most part, although I haven't seen any dragons either but I'm almost sure those exist."