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Leppin feints left and then quickly somersaults to the right. Quickly standing, he scurries to a position under the tree and pulls out a small burlap package. He speaks a quick limerick, the package disappears, and a wide pool of grease appears underneath the branded bandit.
"Don't kill him!"
Mythryndyr attempts to fire another arrow at Ponytail, provoking an attack of opportunity.
Undeterred, Mythryndyr fires, but his target being engaged in combat with Myth throws off his shot.
Wisp-bot uncorks another blast of air.
Ponytail is buffeted and bleeding under the barrage the party has unleashed upon him, but he remains on his feet.
So Leppin not only makes his plea for nonlethal attacks, he magically summons an oil slick under Ponytail's feet.
Unfortunately, Ponytail is not only quite resilient, he is quick and light of foot. He curses you interlopers yet again, and attacks the archer.
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"Do you have any idea how futile it is now?" Leppin says to the brigand. "You're flailing your swords around in the air, standing in a pool of cooking grease, with a big, red, incriminating rune on your face. Even if you somehow escape, if you don't kill every single one of us, the sheriff is going to find you."
Having gained a little distance, Mythrndyr unleashes another arrow at Ponytail, and it strikes home. While heavily wounded, he remains on his feet.
Leppin's magic doesn't overcome his defenses this time, but the words still seem to enrage him nonetheless.
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Uuuh...he's already hurt...Don't want to see that blood again...he's done right? Is he giving up? Wait, why hasn't he dropped his weapon? With effectiveness matching his indecision, Wisp lashes the ponytailed man with wind, but does little more than provide a wonderful, soft blowing wind to show off the man's gorgeous locks.
Damn! He does have some nice hair.
Ponytail's hair gel is just stiff enough to resist Wisp's blast.
He sneers his defiance, "You stupid interlopers, ruining all our plans. You'll pay for that." He then raises his voice, "I'm sorry children, these vile fiends have thwarted my attempts to reach help! But until death's icy grip claims me, I will do all within my power to avenge your parents!"
Patros is conveniently within reach, so Ponytail attempts to see if that equates to within striking distance.
.
He looks at Brin with a smirk, that turns into a bloody grin when Myth's arrow misses his mark. Ponytail looks ready to hurl his next insult when Patros smacks him upside the head and literally wipes the grin off of his face and he collapses to the ground unconscious.
Each of you take a few deep calming breaths, most from exertion and the adrenaline now subsiding through your bodies, one from the attempt to keep from hurling, averting his eyes from the 2 arrows buried deep in ponytail's torso. You hear crying and wimpering coming from the open window above your heads.
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Myth walks up to the man, shaking his head. "I know not why we wanted to spare this man...he ambushed us and tried to kill us...he's obviously involved with the group framing the carnival...
He's unlikely to confess...you heard what he was telling those kids upstairs...when he comes to he'll blame us for this and the kids just may back his story...
We need to send for the Sheriff and tell our story before he can tell his..."
Myth searches the house to try to find survivors or any evidence implicating ponytail...
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Leppin begins climbing up the rope to the children's room. He looks over his shoulder and says to elf-blooded archer, "Even if he doesn't confess, it's a matter of appearance. We show up with a captured villain we claim is responsible for the murders or we show up with a dead citizen who can't refute us that we claim is responsible for the murders. I'll take my chances with the sheriff believing us over him. Not to mention, the mob wants justice, and they won't get it with a corpse."
He pauses midway up the rope. "Oh, Patros, you should probably wait outside with the captives."
With that, he finishes scurrying up the rope and tumbles amusingly into the children's room. "Sorry you had to hear all that," he says to the children. "I know you're scared and confused."
He kneels down and makes one of their dolls dance using a simple cantrip. "We're not here to hurt you. We came to chase away the bad men. Will you stay here with me while my friends look for your mother and father?"
When Leppin climbs through the window, the children begin to panic and attempt to crawl back through the wall in the corner out of sheer terror. But by the time Wisp walks into the door of their bedroom the cute little gnome and his antics have already begun to calm them down, and the little girl even lets out a small giggle at as her favorite doll begins to caper and dance.
While the non-threatening little folk calm the children the rest of the group binds up Ponytail and drags him into the foyer then fans out and searches the premises.
Clockwise from lower left (SW) corner:
On the first floor, you find parlor, dining room, larder and kitchen storage, kitchen (with exit doors to rear of manor), servants quarters, office and den. Most of the rooms seem undisturbed, with three exceptions:
In the servant's quarters you find an elderly couple dressed in servant's attire. The man clearly died trying to defend the woman.
The office has shelves and cases filled with family heirlooms and curio. It has clearly been searched in a rough manner, with paperwork strewn about the floor and desk. One metal scroll tube with a scrimshaw cap stands out amid the clutter on the desk. The cap is carved in the likeness of a turtleback ferryboat.
The den has a mostly empty decanter of whiskey left open, with 8 used small crystal glasses set haphazardly about the room.
Upstairs (again clockwise from SW):
Linen closet/storage,
Guest Bedroom,
Kids' Bedroom (with 2 children, a gnome and wayang)
Master bedroom,
2 more guest bedrooms,
washroom.
Other than the kids' room, the only other room upstairs with anything out of the ordinary is the master bedroom:
An oversized bed rests in the middle of the room, and two wardrobes face each other on opposites of the room. This room is a scene of macabre theatre. The rogues killed Arhaneem Braeton and his wife, Canalee, but then set them in poses. Canalee’s body sits on the floor with her arm and face draped on the bed. Arhaneem reclines in a chair, with his eyes closed as if resting. Rapiers, wet with sticky blood, hang from their limp grasps—as if they had been fighting and finally succumbed to their wounds.
Three of the Thugs have stabilized, and ponytail is unconscious due to final blow being non-lethal.
On Ponytail, you find:
2 potions that Brin's take ten craft alchemy identifies as cure light wounds
masterwork studded leather,
masterwork longsword,
masterwork short sword,
dagger
Grappling hook & knotted rope
from the thugs, you gather up 6 short swords, 10 daggers, 4 shortbows and 40 arrows, 4 sets of padded armor, 2 sets of leather armor. All of the clothes and armor are of local fashion, and there is little else of note.
Inside the scroll tube you find what appears to be the last will and testament of Arhaneem Braeton. In the event of Braeton’s death, his business is held in trust by the town council for Braeton’s two children. If there is cause to suggest the business may deteriorate before they come of age, the council has the option of selling the business on their behalf.
Even as Myth heads for the door, who should come bursting in but Sheriff Feldane herself. Myth does spot a couple of busybody neighbors lurking a safe distance behind the sheriff near the road.
As soon as the sheriff spies the bodies, her hand goes to the hilt of her blade and she cries out, "By Sarenrae's light, what happened here?"
Leppin and Wisp see the children cringe and move to hide under their beds at the raised voices.
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Seeing the Sheriff going for her blade, Myth quickly approaches, showing empty hands, trying to get a read on the Sheriff's mood and why she's quick to go to her sword...
"Ma'am, upon asking around at the last murder scene, we found the victim was employed by the Braetons. Since robberies took place at the last two victims residence or place of employment, we decided to investigate here...
The unconscious 'gentleman' with the ponytail there and his crew ambushed us...we assume he, or his organization, is behind the murders and robberies. As you can see, we did not kill all, even though they were trying to kill us...and frame us for their crimes. We found all residents here, except for two children, murdered by these rogues...
Do you know who the ponytailed fellow is? And where he might work?"
Myth noticed she appeared harried and stressed even before she spotted the bodies heaped in the foyer, and she reached for her weapon mostly as a defensive reaction.
"That's Borvius Monchello. And I recognize most of those men as his employees at Ilsurian Storage & Hauling. Their office is down at the docks. Even if Borvius had business here, there's no reason his workers would be here as well, especially armed. Not only is there no way you could've brought these bodies to the manor in broad daylight, those wounds are fresh. These men came here armed and up to no good." She pauses a moment to rub her chin. "I've heard that Arhaneem had rebuffed Borvius' attempts to buy his shipping business--Arhaneem controlled most of the shipping into and out of Ilsurian, especially via the docks. Could these be the real culprits in all the murders? While I can't be certain, their intent here is clear enough. I imagine their shipping offices would be the center of their illicit operations. But I haven't the manpower to deal with this right now. Most of my men are trying to quell the unrest that's spreading, and if I pull them out, violence will assuredly erupt between the circus- and townsfolk. Perhaps you could deal with that nest of vipers? I'll keep this quiet until I hear from you...and I'll free Almara as soon as I can, though I may keep her in protective custody until it's resolved. Be sure to look for evidence these scum were behind the other murders..."
She offers you a wand of CLW with 10 charges to aid you in your investigation of Ilsurian Storage and Hauling, and provides you with detailed directions to its location.
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of course, sherriff. We will do our best. Here, Myth...take this as a backup weapon...I'll hang on to this one. Take this as well... says Patros as he hands Myth the second potion and the finely crafted shortsword.[/ooc]i'm hanging on the the longsword as a backup to mine...handing Myth the clw potion and the shorty[/ooc]
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Myth bows. "Yes, ma'am, we'll take care of this and report back to you when it's cleaned up..."
Turning to his companions, he says, "We should go immediately before they learn of the results of this ambush..."
When the party is ready to go, Myth will scout ahead for a bit, checking out the perimeter of the Storage & Hauling building by the docks, looking for guards, entrances, etc...and concealing himself as best he can...
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Leppin sticks his head out from the children's doorway. "Ah. Would you all mind, um, covering up the casualties before we bring the children down? No reason the tots need to be seeing this sort of thing."
"I can make use of that wand if we're in need of it," the gnome offers helpfully. "...and me and my beautiful red hair will stay with the others this time."
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Brin complies with Leppin's request and covers the bodies with sheets from the bedrooms. "Sheriff, Myth mentioned that Borvious tried to frame us. For added details, I noticed that Borvious used magic to appear as our friend Patros here when he committed his crimes. As a result, the children may believe Patros is responsible for the atrocities befallen their parents. Please, do your best to take care of them, and when the time is right explain this to them."
Brin readies his mutagen, expecting further resistance once they reach the shipping offices.
Once the bodies are moved to a side room and covered, the Sheriff has one of the matronly neighbors she trusts come in and watch the children, who are kept in their room throughout.
It's late afternoon as you make your way down to the shadier part of the docks, which is shady indeed. Everything appears to be normal, with people going about their business. A small fishing boat is preparing to go out for a late afternoon run, a few common laborers are loading a small sloop. Leppin, Brin and Patros grab an outdoor table at a nearby watering hole--based on what the interior looks like, they merely make a show of sipping their cheap beverages without ever letting the glasses touch their lips...
Mythrydyr and Wisp work their way stealthily/casually around the warehouse. Nobody seems to notice or care. Ilsurian Storage and Hauling is a large 2-story wooden structure. There are 2 large bay double-doors, and one normal set of double doors on the front, facing the docks. There's one stout wooden door on the northeast corner of the building. The only windows are near the eaves of the roof, and are quite small--too small even for your gnome and wayang to squeeze through. All the doors are closed and there does not seem to be anyone posted on guard.
The NE door is locked.
It is broad daylight, and there are various townsfolk going about their business all around you. Not bustling crowds, but simply stooping and picking a lock to the backdoor of a warehouse would almost assuredly be noticed. Nobody's armed, other than run-of-the mill beltknives and the like. You don't see guards, or constables, etc. But there are plenty of people about.
You could wait until nightfall for shadows and darkness if you wanted to sneak in, but obviously Borvius and his crew would be expected to return before then (sunset is a few hours away). Or you could pick the lock and hope nobody takes any action, but the town's on edge, and you're outsiders working for a suspect carnival.
You enter the front office of the warehouse.
A desk and chair sit against the east wall, with additional chairs situated nearby. Wall lamps light the room. To the north of the desk is a single door leading deeper into the warehouse. A solitary man sits behind the desk, looking quite bored. When you walk in the door, he stands and smiles. "Gentlemen, how can we help you? Are you in need of storage...or hauling?"
"Unfortunately, Mr. Monchello isn't here right now. Perhaps you'd like to speak with my supervisor? I'd be happy to go get him for you..."
Myth gets the sense that he truly believes Mr. Monchello is not in the warehouse...and that he'd rather be anywhere else than alone in this room with you all. He moves quickly towards the door.
"Liar," Mythryndyr says. "Stop him."
The heavy leather workclothes he wears just manage to absorb Wisp's blast. He begins to feign indignance, but gives up and sneers defiantly at the party. The more perceptive among you see the panic in his eyes.
After Wisp unloads his blast, the door to the north opens a crack. Most of you briefly see a human dressed similarly to the receptionist who looks through the barely open door. He mutters a curse and slams the door closed.