Khamul continues to listen in...
Pug shakes his head. ”Not really. They were fine things, if I do say so myself, but no, he only wanted the strange locks. This was, hmm.. about ten months ago. They shipped out with a caravan that was loaded with building supplies meant for their manor near the coast.”
From what you can tell, Pug is being as honest as he can be. He doesn’t believe you have accused him of anything, so he maintains his air of innocence.
”You have an odd fascination with these undead birds. Perhaps you should not be speaking with me, but a friend of mine just south of Sandpoint. Cai is his name.”
Pug shakes his head. ”Not really. They were fine things, if I do say so myself, but no, he only wanted the strange locks. This was, hmm.. about ten months ago. They shipped out with a caravan that was loaded with building supplies meant for their manor near the coast.”
"Did you not deal with any middle man or woman, to arrange for this business you conducted? Perhaps someone here in the city?"
”You have an odd fascination with these undead birds. Perhaps you should not be speaking with me, but a friend of mine just south of Sandpoint. Cai is his name.”
"We have met this Cai you have talked about, and he has gotten into some serious trouble with the Sheriff in Sandpoint - what is the nature of your friendship with him?"
Pug shrugs. ”I prefer a personal touch to my work. I get better business that way. I did hire some porters though, you know, to carry all the cages to the caravan and I had some apprentices help me with some of the menial work, but no middle men really. Sometimes Lord Foxglove had a woman with him though, comely little thing really. Didn’t say much, but she seemed to whisper to him a lot.”
when you ask about Cai, Pug starts to turn a bit defensive. ”Well, I usually don’t go blabbing to everyone about who I am friends with. I told you simply because I was being polite and I have a bit of respect for the law, but if you’re going to keep prying, well, that’s not respectful at all. If Cai has gotten into trouble with you, that is no business of mine. I was just thinking that he knows an awful lot about the undead and so he might help you in some way.”
Khamul keeps hiding and listening...
"I do not understand why I am being disrespectful in asking about the nature of your relationship, with someone being investigated for necromancy by the sheriff in Sandpoint?" - he shrugged - "It is simple procedure when crimes are being investigated" - the half-orc added - "In any case, I would be more interested in knowing if you can provide a description of this woman, who accompanied Foxglove? And then I will be out of your hair"
Pug ignores the jab and sits back, rubbing his ample chin. ”She was mousy, brown curls, I think she works at the guild house, you know, where they set up new businesses in town. Maisie, I think he called her.”
"Very well" - Grenz nods - "Thank you for the answers to my questions. A good day to you Master Pug" - then turns to leave.
Khamul fumes as he realizes that Grenz has forgotten to make a distraction for him to sneak out. Thinking quickly, he grabs a knick-knack from one of the shelves, and flips it into the back to the store to make a noise. When (if) Pug turns to investigate, Khamul tries to slip out the door...
3 ranks +3 trained + 4 Dex+4 Small+1 Trait-1 ACP
A sudden noise from the back of the shop draws Pug’s attention. ”Yes, yes, be on your way then.”
Soon, Grenz is joined outside by Khamul.
As we walk away, Khamul pigoenholes Grenz: "So, we found out he's pal's with Cai the necromancer... and he claims to be just an innocent business owner. Do you buy the story?" He pauses to let Grenz answer and the leans in close to ask in a whisper "All right, you still haven't told me. What's your plan for dealing with 'Lord Foxglove'?"
"For starters I was thinking we could check on this Maisie girl - and maybe she can be persuaded to give us more details about Foxglove"
"We can go do that now, but I still want to hear what your plan for tonight is... Do you know where this guild house is, or do we need to call on our little friends again?"
"Still don't have a plan for tonight" - Grenz smiled.
Grenz gets a gimlet stare: "Your lack of plan disturbs me. Especially when you veto mine."
"Well, all your plans involve breaking and entering" - Grenz chuckled as they moved along - "That disturbs me"
"Cheap shot and untrue besides; sometimes my plans are as simple as go home and get some rest. You vetoed that one too... So get your thinking cap on and come up with something ..."
"I do have a plan - we go look for Maisie" - he replied with a grin.
Khamul looks pensive and says :"Heh, maybe we don't have to look for 'Maisie'; that description we got would fit Maeve, Ironbriar's clerk pretty well... Not sure how we would go about verifying that though. But if it's true, I don't think we want to go back to the Guildhouse and start asking about for 'Maisie'. It would surely get back to Maeve, and she'd wonder what's up, and likely report it to 'Lord Foxglove'...
He flashes a lopsided grin and continues "Which, if we are skipping 'go look for Maisie', brings us back to 'what's your plan for tonight?'"
"You're right" - Grenz nodded at Khamul - "It seems our only lead is that faceless thing which may be in the Foxglove house" - Grenz pondered - "But we do not have any proof which would allow us to convince any authority to accompany us there" - he added - "We can go to the city guard with our claim, and see what they have to say to that. Do we have any document from Hemlock proving our 'investigation' is legal somehow?"
Khamul shakes his head "Mayor Kendra's have a laissez-passer isn't gonna cut much mustard here in Magnimar... " He pauses to think a bit and continues "But 'Lord Foxglove' is reputed to be dead right. If we told someone - maybe not the guard, but someone reputable - that we'd met something impersonating the dead Lord Foxglove, could we get someone to come and check it out with us?"
"I don't know anyone reputable anywhere, and definitely not in Magnimar" - Grenz shrugged - "But we can try going to the closest guard post"
"Well, whatever we do, I need to do a little shopping... If we are going to subdue the impersonator, I want appropriate tools."
A short side trip to the market, yields appropriate tools for subdual. . Then Khamul finds himself an appropriate location and channels a champion spirit...
Chores completed, he proposes "All right, let's head to the Alabaster quarter, and get dinner. That gives us an excuse to get past the guard posts. Then we hang around, dodging the patrols, until the witching hour, when we go a-visiting..."
With a shrug, Grenz decided to acquiesce and follow Khamul's plan - "Looks like you were right all along, and breaking and entering is the solution here"
As he and Grenz head off to dinner, Khamul replies With a smirk: "Let's not forget assault and kidnapping as well..."
Starday, 26 Lamashan 4707, 11:21pm. 39 degrees, Light Breeze with Short Gusts, Outside Foxglove Townhouse, Alabaster District, Magnimar.
You spend some time eating in a fairly decent establishment in the Alabaster District, something called the Grouse House. While not the finest of places, it fits your budget and the patrons there do not seem to mind that you are not dressed in the fineries that most of this districts’ inhabitants wear.
Once the place closes, at around 10pm, you make your way outside with the rest of the crowd. You meander about, making sure to avoid the nightly patrols and lantern bearers as you wend your way towards the Foxglove Townhouse. The difficult part is waiting for the right time to approach, especially in the chill air of the night.
Eventually, the latest of the city watch leaves their rounds and all that is left are those that watch the other townhouses and manses of the Alabaster District. Luckily, the gates outside the Foxglove place do not have lit lanterns around them and considering their disrepair, they are not locked. However, the front door itself is quite locked and you have only a few minutes before another patrol comes around. Now to figure out how to get in…
Khamul links himself with Grenz for psychic communication , and then he drifts into the house grounds like a shadow, senses on high alert...
3 ranks +3 trained + 4 Dex+4 Small+1 Trait-1 ACP
5 ranks +3 trained+1 Trait +4 racial (danger detection)
As he goes, he recalls the inside of the house, that they had inspected the night before and subvocalizes to Grenz: "Around the corner, there was a sitting room with a window. Nobody should be in at this time of night. We'll jimmy it and go in that way."
After rounding the corner (out of sight from the street), he pauses to examine the house with psychic sense and then centers himself for the work to come .
He silently slips up to the sitting room window. He hadn't spotted any trap on the window when he searched the room last night, but he checks conscientiously anyways...
5 ranks +3 trained+1 Trait +4 racial (danger detection)
Then he quietly sets to work with his burglars tools...
5 ranks +3 trained +4 Dex+1 Trait+2 MW Tools
Khamul slips quietly around the side of the house, out of sight of the street and the front gates of most of the other manses along the way. After a thorough scan, he notes that other than the window being locked and shuttered, there are no magical means of protection on the home. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is yet to be determined. Slipping his tools inside the cracks in the casing, Khamul jimmys the latch until he hears a satisfying click as it moves out of place. Delicately pushing the shutters open a hair, he hears nothing but his own breathing and Grenz just behind him.
Grenz follows close on Khamul's heels, keeping an eye out for trouble.
Slick as a weasel, Khamul is up and in... He pauses, and then sneaks to the interior door, where he listens carefully again.
3 ranks +3 trained + 4 Dex+4 Small+1 Trait-1 ACP
5 ranks +3 trained+1 Trait +4 racial (danger detection)
He proceeds this way (listen, sneak and then listen again) through the silent mansion (presumably with Grenz following ), first objective: 'Lord Foxglove's' bedroom. Where after a focusing breath he listens at the door, then checks the latch for traps. (If he finds any, he tries to disarm them.) Then he sneaks inside, where he expects to find an empty room...
5 ranks +3 trained+1 Trait +4 racial (danger detection) +1 guidance
5 ranks +3 trained +4 Dex+1 Trait+2 MW Tools +1 guidance
3 ranks +3 trained + 4 Dex+4 Small+1 Trait-1 ACP +1 guidance
Khamul picks his way through the maze that is the Foxglove Townhouse at night. Even with the little ambient light from the random lantern bearers that pass every ten to fifteen minutes, the place is completely dark. Luckily, Khamul has excellent senses, as does the spirit within him.
Eventually the pair find their way outside the bedroom of Lord Foxglove. While no traps or other deterrent devices were found along the path here, this door has a rather ornate lock on it. While Khamul is good with his hands and his tools are top notch, the dark surrounding him makes it rather difficult to see what he is doing. He also knows that shedding light in an otherwise dark house is never a good idea when you don’t want to get caught. Fortunately, Khamul does notice the extra precaution put on this door. Should someone attempt to unlock with without precise instruments, there is a sharp needle poised to strike the unwary thief. So far, the spring is still taut.
Despite Khamul’s lack of vision, he manages to not make too much racket in the empty house. His companion, even with the vision of his orcish blood, manages to find every piece of silverware, candlestick, low bench and upturned rug corner that he can. As he comes up behind Khamul, he can hear the sound of someone else moving about the house by the creaking of floorboards. You estimate about three minutes before whomever it is arrives.
"Bigguns! mutters Khamul (he sounds rather disgusted), as he hears Grenz's racket, and then the floorboards start creaking.
He reaches inside himself and calls upon dark power... Then taking a breath to focus himself, he pulls out his tools and sets to work on the trap. Thankfully, as this isn't going to be a sneak back out job, he can just spring it safely, rather than having to disarm it properly...
After taking care of the trap, he moves on to the lock itself.
vs DC 10
+2 Charisma
rounds
5 ranks +3 trained +4 Dex+1 Trait+2 MW tools +1 guidance
5 ranks +3 trained +4 Dex+1 Trait+2 MW tools
Khamul, breathing a sigh of relief that he has a bit of time, focuses on the task at hand. With a tiny click, the needle springs harmlessly forward. A few more clicks later and the lock is opened. Khamul can freely enter the Lord’s bed chamber.
Khamul gently slips the door to the Lord's chamber open, and looks about the room... He expects there to be no one sleeping in the lord's bed...
3 ranks +3 trained + 4 Dex+4 Small+1 Trait-1 ACP
5 ranks +3 trained+1 Trait +4 racial (danger detection)
Grenz stays close to Khamul, on alert and ready in case they are jumped or attacked.
You slip into the room as quickly as you can, scanning for anything out of the ordinary. The bed is made up and looks as if no one has slept in it for some time. However, you note that the wardrobe is opened and quite a few articles of clothing are lying in or around it. While you are looking, you can hear someone approaching slowly, their footsteps advancing cautiously along the old woodboards. You continue to look and spot what appears to be a journal on a writing desk and several pages have been marked by tearing the corners. There is also a sizable amount of spilled ink next to it, yet the quill appears to be missing. The searcher is just down the hallway now.
Khamul's eyes rake the room, confirming his suspicions; no sleeping lord here. He slips inside, and after Grenz joins him, he closes the door to a crack . He whispers to Grenz "Hide where it won't spot you from the door. I'm bait. I kick off the ambush. When it comes after me, jump it from behind..."
Leaving Grenz to handle his business, Khamul whips over to the window, opening the curtains to let as much moonlight into the room as possible. If there is a convenient candle and striker on the writing desk, he lights it... .
Then he picks a spot on the far wall, away from the door, where the bed will impede an immediate charge from the doorway. He sets his snag net and his sap on a side table, ready to be grabbed up and used. Loading a soft stone into his sling staff he takes a deep breath to focus and waits for the enemy to come...
When he hears steps coming down the hallway outside the room, he calls on the dark might contained inside him . As soon as the searcher opens the door, Khamul whips his slingstaff around and fires...
vs DC 10
+2 Charisma
+4 Dex
+3 Bab +3 Spirit Bonus +4 dex +1 Enhancement+1 PBS +1 guidance +1 profane
+1 str +3 spirit bonus +3 seance bonus+1 enhancement+1 pbs+1 profane
Grenz nods at Khamul and looks for a hiding place.
He waits a few more seconds for their quarry to come closer, then suddenly feels divine energy brimming within, which almost unconsciously manifests as a blessing which falls upon the two companions.
With a smile to Khamul, the half-orc flexed his trained muscles, and stood at the ready.
The seconds tick by as you await the approach of the one searching for you. You hear the creaking of the wood as it gets nearer. Khamul’s inner demon decides to see what the halfling can do on his own. For his part, Khamul steadies his slinging arm and prepares to fire. Grenz does his best to wait so he can jump in and grab it from behind.
You hear the unsheathing of a blade as it approaches the door. A hand starts pushing the door open slowly and as soon as it sees Khamul’s silhouette in the window, a dagger flies towards Khamul. At the same time, Khamul’s stone sails perfectly towards its head, hitting it squarely between the eyes, which seems to almost squish inwards, causing it to stagger back, nearly into Grenz’s arms.
+4 (Dex) +6 (Armor) +1 enhancement (armor)+1 (Size)+1 profane
Khamul smoothly evades the flying blade, which sinks into the window frame behind him...