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Seeing the messy, gooey mass land squarely on the half-orc, Badriyah lets out a quick whoop of success. "Haha. Gotcha, you big brute. That'll teach.....uh oh!" She shouts enthusiastically, only to have triumph turn to fear again as Kusk easily breaks free and sends his club swinging toward her.
With the breeze from Kusk's club still fresh on her face, she takes advantage of the miss by ducking back and running after the others.
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"Hrmm... well that went abysmally. At least we got what we came for though... myesss... I suspect the magistrate would be disinclined to accept a visit from us at this time of night, so I would recommend lying low and getting a good night's rest before presenting our findings. In fact if I may be so bold, I suspect it would be best if I present our findings in my more... human guise while most of you do your best to remain unseen. Or at least covered in concealing attire."
Marcus helps his compatriots ditch their disguises, including Lady Finley's habit and returns to his human form. He takes his finery back out of his pack, putting on his slim cape and jewelry and clearing his throat, allowing his more 'proper' tone to carry through.
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Breathing heavily and clutching her still sore and likely cracked ribs, Badriyah nods along with Marcus' advice. "Agreed...." She says with a wince. "We...we...should rid ourselves of these disguises....cough... and slip back to the inn to see if....we've found anything worth this trouble.
"We may even want.....to wait a couple of days before going to the magistrate. The more distance we can put between ourselves and the nights events....the better."
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"I feel confident that my role in all of this will take some time to reveal. I'm sure any intelligent watchman will be able to put 2 and 2 together at some point, but for now I believe that if I act as the public face of this investigation we will have sufficient cover to finish the job quickly and... hrmmm... mostly effectively. Honestly the longer we hold onto these documents the more likely we encounter trouble. The sooner we wash our hands of this mess the better in my opinion..."
Marcus scratches his chin, somewhat vexed by the stubble that has grown in the last couple of days. "Perhaps tomorrow morning I shall get a feel for the situation... see how many of of were recognized. In the afternoon those of us who are not at risk of immediate incarceration can pay the Magistrate a visit with our evidence in hand. The rest will have to stick to disguises and lurking in shadows I'm afraid... myessss."
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Once back out of disguise and back at the inn, the group finds themselves gathered in one of their rented rooms to check out the documents from the safe (as the common room is closed for the night). The ledger records a long series of payments vaguely labeled as 'gifts' to various naval officers, spanning the course of a year. The second document is the deed to the chandlery, showing that ownership officially transferred to Earl Vernisant over a year ago.
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Well, the ledger seems relevant, the deed less so. I agree that you're in the best position to deliver these now, Marcus. Giovanni analyzes the documents for consistencies and abnormalities before he hands them over to Marcus.
Giovanni checks see if this is the ledger is in the handwriting of the Earl based on the signature on the deed.
Giovanni will also try to authenticate the deed itself.
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Giovanni seems satisfied that the ledger is most likely the Earl's. He's satisfied by the deed's authority, but finds it odd that the chandlery, the prized institution of Patrician Adimare and his family, would have recently become owned by the Earl. It didn't seem that Patrician Adimare was aware of this when you spoke to him at length about it.
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Marcus furrows his brow, still a bit unnerved by how their investigation nearly ended. "I fear that presenting this information to anyone other than the Magistrate will merely increase our chances of being caught by Vernisant's men. I will admit though, it would make me feel more at peace if we were able to get Adimare's assistance, but the original documents, including deed, will need to be presented to the Magistrate. I am however willing to make a courtesy visit in the morning to our friend, the Patrician, before handing in the evidence. Once that has been done we must make all haste back to the museum report in."
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Badriyah returns to the room after getting cleaned up and dressed in her normal, more conservative attire, including her dark red pashmina loosely wrapped to cover her head, neck and shoulders. Reading through the documents again she leans back with a heavy sigh.
"Well he's clearly bought off a decent portion of the local navy." She says nodding at Lady Finley's assessment. "This deed concerns me. Either it is a well done fake and Adimare doesn't know about it, or the old man my have lied to us. Perhaps even set us up." She shakes her head in slight disbelief. "He seemed so genuine though. I can't believe he's in league with the Earl. But we should talk to him first, before we see the magistrate. Assuming he doesn't know about the deed, then he can strengthen our case by declaring it a forgery and making a claim directly to her."
With a nod to Marcus' suggestion, she adds, "If we avoid the main chandlery, we should be able to reach Adimare without trouble. But you are right, while I'd rather wait to let things die down a bit, the sooner we do this the better. This information about the navy is troubling and someone else should know, especially with this big event the Earl is planning."
"But I don't like the idea of any of us moving around alone, we should at least stick in pairs just in case something happens."
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Lovissa laughs heartily. "Oh, it's not just you, Lady Finley! They'll be on the lookout for me, as well. Kusk got a good look at me, and I'm a memorable woman."
She smiles, apparently considering this a good thing.
"So, who is it, then? Marcus will visit Adimare as a courtesy, and then we all will visit the Magistrate?"
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"I do believe that would be the best option. After that, straight back to the museum. I would recommend that you all keep close, but stick to alleys and concealed locations. Wear concealing clothing, and keep Lady Finley completely out of sight. I suspect she'll draw the most attention... no offense to you Lovissa. If I require aid, I shall give a signal."
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Marcus, attired in his noble's finery (and human), makes his way from the inn to the chandlery in the morning while the rest of the group rests out of sight. The scene at the chandlery, however, doesn't bode well.
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"Burned...." Badriyah says softly. "But there was no fire when we left?" Concern marks her features, and she shudders. "We should be careful of the magistrate, we're probably being blamed for the fire and Adimare may not be our friend any longer. He expressly said not to damage the building."
"I wonder if we should check with curator Reviamo first, before going to the magistrate?"
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Lovissa slams her hand on the table in anger. To think! ME! A simple vandal! Hah! More absurd words were never spoken!" She crosses her arms. "Poor Adimare! To have ones ancestral holdings burnt to the ground... Such dishonour is hard to bear..."
After a moment of grim contemplation, Lovissa nods. "The Earl uses coward's tools. But, your plan, Giovanni... It could work. I can cross reference the paperwork while some of you pay a visit to the Magistrate. Let us see if the Earl's underhandedness can be unmasked by his own hand."
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Before leaving with Marcus to meet the magistrate, Badriyah slips the magic pearl she found in the chandlery into a small pouch.
"I found this at the chandlery while we were trying to stop the alarm and open the safe." She says, handing the pouch to Lady Finley. "It's probably better if you or Lovissa hold onto this. I don't think it ties into our investigation, but it is magical and might be of some value. I was going to give it to Adimare or the curator, thinking it might belong to either of them. But since it is technically stolen, I'd rather not have it on me when we try to see the magistrate. Just in case they search Marcus or I."
She sighs heavily and draws her scarf up over her head to cover her hair and much of the lower half of her face. "Well, if everyone is ready, then I guess it's time get going."
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Moving efficiently and looking over their shoulders more than once, the Keleshite and the human-esque Taldan make their way with all haste to the Ridonport Courthouse. Asking for Magistrate Tantriano produces a harried-appearing legal aide.
"Yes? I'm Magistrate Tantriano's legal secretary, Falsith. She's in session this morning. Can I help---" Her expression changes when Badriyah unwinds her scarf from her face. "Oh. It's you, um, I'm sorry with names, but Magistrate Tantriano was quite clear that she wanted to be interrupted if you or your group returned to speak to her. Would you follow me to her chambers, please?"
Falsith leads you to the magistrate's waiting room, just outside of her office. "I won't be long," she promises, and leaves you two alone.
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Badriyah nods at the aide, noticing her harried look and sudden change of attitude when she recognizes them. She watches for any sign that might indicate the aide is less than sincere, but can't really calm her own nerves enough to focus her efforts properly.
After the aide leaves them alone she sits down and whispers to Marcus, "I'm not sure it bodes well that the magistrate is so eager to see us. This whole business around the chandlery could just have been one big setup to get us out of the picture."
Putting her head back and rubbing her tired eyes with one hand while letting out another heavy sigh. "I guess we'll know in a little bit either way."
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"I really hope this isn't going to go horribly wrong..."
Marcus makes a check around the room, ensuring that there are, in fact, unlocked methods of egress, but refrains from going through anything else in the room. For the moment he still considers the Magistrate to be an ally and wishes to afford her a certain degree of respect.
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Within ten minutes, Magistrate Tantriano arrives in her chambers. She gives the two of you a raised eyebrow as she enters, then closes and locks the door behind her.
"Tragedy has befallen our town this morning, it would seem. The chandlery has burnt down. I've had a visit this morning from the city guard captain, interested in questioning some 'outsiders' who were named as 'persons of interest' in the case. I assured him that if anything - person or otherwise - were to turn up of interest that I would contact him promptly. So tell me," she says, poised at her desk, "are you here with some thing of interest, or are you yourselves the interesting thing?"
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Back at the inn, the other three (Giovanni, Lady Finley, and Lovissa) impatiently wait, trapped in their room for fear of being seen. The window to the room is open a crack to let air into the somewhat claustrophobia-inducing room, and as one of you (or all of you) peer out at the day passing along freely under your noses, a silver raven flies into your room.
The silver raven lands on a bedpost and begins to speak in a female voice.
"Friends," the voice emanates from the open beak of the raven, "I ask for your urgent help. Vernisant’s guards have arrived this morning and have started rearranging the museum’s main room for some kind of special event celebrating a new holiday called “Birthright Day” that the Earl has just proclaimed. I worry that there's some ulterior motive to this display; people are beginning to gather outside of the museum. I believe I have heard that the Earl is due to arrive at noon to give a speech. I thought you should know."
The raven vanishes in a puff of silver smoke.