Tinkerage looks surprised while Demain bursts out angrily "Owens caught wind of this somehow! SMC has leaked the information to the yokels all over, even Pentrefan!" Tinkerage breaks out of his stupor to hush his friend "No that can't be it. SMC only has guesses and they wouldn't leak them..." He considers a moment longer then seems to uneasily settle on a conclusion "Apparently old women say all manner of things. Coincidences are bound to occur." He turns to Teleri "She was likely describing the city clock." He looks somewhat less confident than he would like to be.
Teleri looks thoughtfully at the two of them. "She was old," Teleri says. "Old and frail. Her hair hung in white wisps. She was half-blind, and her hands and voice shook."
"But when she described this man to me, she sat up straight and tall and her eyes shone a blue so bright I couldn't look at them; and she spoke with a voice clearly not her own. Deep. Powerful. Masculine. The very rocks of the cave trembled as she described this man who knows the turning metal better than any other."
"When she was more herself, she had no knowledge of what she had said; but she told me it was the voice of Gozreh."
Teleri looks up at the moon. "I am not a particularly religious woman, gentlemen. But the gods exist. Half the factories in Dinas Diwydiant are powered by their acolytes."
"I do not pretend to know what is going on; but whatever it is, the gods have taken an interest. I am inclined to honor the request that I find and speak to this man. It is unwise to disappoint a god. They make truly terrible enemies."
Demain and Tinkerage are significantly impressed by Teleri's words. Demain shakes his head, not sure what to say. Tinkerage looks very conflicted for a few moments then says "Look, I am bound not to reveal company secrets but I since you have apparently received some important calling, I must say this: Your friend, Mr. Tunn, is in grave danger while he remains in Dinas Diwydiant. Not from my company. But seeking this person will draw him into danger still worse." Demain looks somewhat taken aback that Tinkerage shared this much but he merely shrugs "Come. Let us return to the ladies."
"Very well," Teleri says gravely. "I will not press you to betray any confidences. Thank you for the warning. Due to ... a highly unpleasant incident two days past, we are aware of the danger."
She accompanies the two men back to the ladies, and spends the balance of the evening engaged in pleasant discussion of gardens, fashion, and the latest gossip.
After some more chatting, the hour grows late and Mrs. Owens says her goodbyes then leads Teleri and Ives to the waiting carriage. On the ride home, she asks "Well! Did you enjoy yourselves? Teleri's story made quite the impression. And I heard that Mr. Tunn made himself a new friend." She winks at Ives. Soon, the carriage arrives back at the Owens residence. Mrs. Owens nods with a smile as she heads to bed "Well I am exhausted. Good night you two!"
Teleri prepares some tea and leads Ives to the sitting room on the first floor. "Well, I learned some things of interest this evening," she says, blowing on her tea to cool it. "It seems that some large machine has been secretly assembled recently. The Merchant's Guild is involved, and so are Peterson's Iron Works. There may be others as well, but SMC is not involved. I don't know what it does, but it's probably dangerous, and I suspect the project may have led to some unexpected results, which have made some of them ... nervous. It's definitely not the town clock."
She takes a sip of tea. "Oh, and Mr. Tinkerage warned me that you're in grave danger as long as you stay in the city, and that the danger will increase if we pry further into the matter. I think that part has been obvious since ... the other day, in that alley. It's a good thing you're so brave."
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"Why does Mr. Tinkerage even know that we are in danger? And why? We are a couple of nobodies..."
"Anyway, I learned that this machine is a really complicated "calculation machine" that calculated something that scared people. Amanda said it was so big that they don't keep it in the city. Maybe we should try to figure out if the Merchant's Guild or the iron works own any buildings outside the city?"
"I don't know how he knows," Teleri says. "I don't think he means us harm personally; but he clearly knows someone who does. In particular, he mentioned you as the one in danger. I find that puzzling. Until last week you'd never left the area of Pentrefan, and had spent most of your life out in the wilderness. Who could possibly know you here? Unless ... we are looking for this man because the blind seer gave us the words of Gozreh. Perhaps some other deity has passed information to someone here."
She shivers and frowns. "I don't like feeling like a pawn in a game between gods."
"Checking buildings is a good idea. We could go check the Land Registry Office. They have copies of the deeds of ownership for all the buildings in the city. But I don't know if that would extend to things in the countryside. The Registry Office only dates back about a century, and it's slowly been expanding. But out in the countryside the records are mostly recorded in manorial rolls, and those are scattered across the holdings of the nobles. There wasn't much centralized record-keeping before the reign of King Macsen, who was King Aeron's grandfather."
"Perhaps we could look at shipping? If the parts were made in foundries here in the city, somebody had to haul them where they were going. They might not know exactly what they were hauling, but they'd have to know where to pick it up and where to drop it off. Whether they'd tell us is another matter. Teamsters who get a reputation for blabbing about their business tend to wind up not having any more business."
She sighs. "Or we could ask SMC, I suppose. Mr. Demain blurted out that SMC must have spilled the beans, and then Mr. Tinkerage told him no, SMC had only suspicions. But that may still be more than we have to go on. And Mr. Owens said he might be able to arrange a position for me in the company ..."
After the party and their late-night discussion, Ives and Teleri find themselves ready to nod off and each head to their respective rooms. There, they sleep uneventfully through the night and wake the next day to find ample time on their hands to pursue their next goal.
Teleri spends the morning trying to figure out where Peterson's Iron Works has been shipping large packages of late by chatting with teamsters and wagoneers.
She learns little, has to gently deflect two different men who misinterpret her interest as a personal advance, and comes back to the Owens' place feeling fairly depressed.
Teleri seems to have lost something of her refined manners and keen social sense while in the wilderness but her good looks and reasonably friendly manner garner some limited information. Peterson's Iron Works have been shipping large packages to many locations, as one would expect. But only three of those locations are receiving developments. These are:
A warehouse owned by the Iron Works in the north of the city
A warehouse owned by the Iron Works on the Western outskirts of the city
A large wood-finishing center owned by a lumber baron
"Well, it was a bit on the frustrating side," Teleri reports to Ives, "But I got some information. Peterson's Iron Works have been shipping large packages to three spots; but two of those are warehouses owned by Peterson's themselves. The third is a wood-finishing center. I think we should check that one out first."
"I promise, no more shortcuts," Teleri says, wryly.
They make their way to the wood-finishing center and -- at Teleri's suggestion -- simply watch it from nearby for a while before approaching closely.
The wood-finishing center is a large, 10 year old brick building three stories high and 100 x 200 ft on the sides. There are a few windows on the second and third floors. It stands in an industrial neighborhood that has sprung up in the last few years and is quite busy. From the sounds of sawing and footsteps inside, it seems to be actively in use. No one stands on guard but workers pass in and out (often carrying finished boards to load onto wagons).
A man slips into the building along with some of the other workers. You recognize him as one of the cutpurses who assaulted you.
Teleri stiffens as she recognizes the man who stabbed her nearly to death a few days earlier.
Teleri raises a hand to start casting a spell, then hesitates. She lowers it, grabbing Ives by the arm instead. "Look," she whispers. "That's one of the thugs who attacked us in that alley. What's he doing here?"
She bites her lip. "Should we try to get inside, or wait and follow him when he comes back out?" she asks. "I was thinking we could just knock on the door and ask for a tour, but if the place is full of hired killers that might be a bad idea. And if we follow him, maybe we can find out who sent him and why."
There are occasional windows on the second and third floors. The entrance you stand outside is a loading dock for wagons. There is likely a business entrance around the corner to your left and an employee entrance around your corner to the right.
"Shush, not so loud," Teleri cautions. "All right, we'll wait until he comes out, follow him, and see if we can corner him alone. Then we can place him under citizen's arrest, flag down the closest watch officer and have him charged with attempted murder."
"I think there are two other exits. If I go over across the street there I think I can see two of them, and if you back up a bit you should be able to see me and the front door. If one of us sees him come out, we wave to the other so we can follow him. All right?"
The odd sentinels watch outside the building for about half an hour then the cutpurse exits the building and heads south on the road then cuts into an alley.
He walks quickly, as if greatly occupied with something.
Teleri waves urgently at Ives, signalling him to join her, and falls in walking behind the man, attempting to keep pace without revealing their presence.
Ives and Teleri slip quietly into the alley and get 10 feet behind the cutpurse, who is looking down, counting something in his purse.
Teleri extends her hands and casts her spell of sleep, noting with surprise that it comes somewhat faster to her than it had in past.
The surprised fellow drops like a rock as Teleri casts her spell on him.
"Ives, use his belt to secure his hands, please," Teleri says. "I'm going to tie his shoelaces together so he can't run effectively. Then we can walk him out can call the closest watchman."
She proceeds to do so, double-knotting his shoelaces together closely enough to restrict his stride.
Teleri winces. "Yes, being stabbed does make it significantly harder," she says wryly.
She looks down at the still-unconscious form of her former assailant, checking for any weapons.
She walks to the street and looks for a member of the guards.
"Yes, it is." Teleri agrees. "We could just thump him until he tells us what we want to know. It would be faster and -- I must admit -- more personally satisfying."
"But I don't want to be the kind of person who acts like that. I don't want to be" -- she shoots a narrow gaze at their prisoner -- "Like him."
"Besides," she goes on, "There are guards for a reason. Dealing with thugs like him is their job. They enforce the laws, and deal out punishments to those who break them. And -- from a purely practical view point -- we don't want them to conclude that we are the problem. I want the law on our side. Not arrayed against us. I can't even begin to tell you how much more complicated it would make our lives if both the guards and these criminals were out to get us."
"Oh!" she says, as if something has just occurred to her. "Also, I hereby inform you that we're placing you under citizen's arrest," she tells the unconscious thug. "I think that's required. I'm not sure if you have to be conscious at the time, but I'll be sure to tell you again once you wake up."
Teleri soon flags down a bewildered guard. Seeing the unconscious and bound ruffian, he exclaims "Well now what's all this?!"
"Good afternoon, officer," Teleri says, with a slight curtsy. "Four days ago, this thug and four of his friends assaulted me and my friend Mr. Tunn in broad daylight, for no readily apparent reason. I nearly died. Today, we just happened to come across him. We snuck up on him, knocked him out, and I have placed him under citizen's arrest. I brought him straight to you. I want to press charges of assault and attempted murder against him! And I'd like to find out from him where the others who assaulted us are so we can charge them, too! And figure out why!"
Although this declaration starts out calm and reasonable, Teleri's voice rises steadily in volume as it goes on. By the end she is red-faced and shouting. She breaks off and visibly struggles to control herself.
"Pray forgive my outburst, Officer," she goes on in a tight, controlled voice. "I've never been so scared in all my life as when this scum stabbed me. I want justice, and I want to know why they attacked us. That's all. That's all."
The guard steps back in surprise at Teleri's outburst, looking both concerned for Teleri and intimidated by her. He waves over another guard and states "Come with us to the nearest guardhouse and we'll sort this all out!" He and the other guard take up the front and rear, happy to let Ives carry the unconscious man as they head to the nearest law enforcement office.
"Mr. Tunn," Teleri says severely. "That is not an acceptable way to treat a captive. Not even one who tried to kill us."
1 shortsword
1 dagger
Potion of CLW
Acid (2)
Tanglefoot bag
Smokestick
75 gp
mwk stuffed leather
The cutpurse wakes up as his head hits the doorframe. "What the !?" He immediately begins struggling against Ives. The guards grab him by the shoulders and one says "Calm down, citizen! We'll have this sorted out soon!" The guard turns to Ives "He can walk now, out him down." They lead you and the would-be assassin into a room where a sergeant of the watch is completing some paperwork. When he looks up, the guard explains your apprehension and accusations. The cutpurse exclaims "This is ridiculous! They attacked me for no reason! I've never seen them before in my life!"
"Sergeant, the attack on Mr. Tunn and myself took place in broad daylight with a number of witnesses who immediately called the watch," Teleri says. "I suspect you could find some witnesses who may be able to identify this man as one of the perpetrators if you ask around." She goes on to give a precise description of where the attack took place so he can locate witnesses.
"Speaking of which, the responding officer -- Constable Kilgrove -- doubtless filed a report; and they may well have gotten a look at our assailants as well, who only scattered when the constables arrived. I suggest checking their report, and probably calling them in to take a look at him and see if they can identify him as one of the perpetrators."
Teleri turns towards the thug and lifts a hand -- not touching him, but moving as though she might. "You know something funny?" she asks him.
The thug just looks at her in puzzlement. "Drat," she says, lowering her hand.
"What was that all about?" Sergeant Sousa asks.
"During the fight I made one of the others burst out laughing -- it's an odd thing I can do," she says. "I was hoping he would flinch or something, revealing that he saw me do that. But evidently he wasn't paying attention. Or else he's just thick."
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"Never saw us before eh? Never SAW us before? Never saw US before? NEVER....saw.... US...BEFORE?"
Ives repeats the same words over and over again to delay while his mind whirled. Why am I in this city? I am boy of the woods! I don't know how to talk to these people...
"If you never saw us before... then how do I know...that you have a tattoo of your mother's name... on you left ankle!?!"
Ives grabs the mans trousers and forces them up, revealing absolutely no tattoo.
The sergeant recognizes Kilgrove's name amd sends a guard to get a copy if the report. He looks very unimpressed by Teleri's attempt to get the cutpurse to laugh and scowls somewhat. "See here, I won't have you getting aggressive with my prisoner!" When Ives grabs the prisoner's trousers to reveal no tattoo, the sergeant looks decidedly hostile toward your accusations.
Teleri frowns in disapproval at Ives' antics, but is fresh out of ideas. "Mr. Tunn, please take this seriously," Teleri says. "I know you were busy fighting off that half-orc and the caster woman while this one stabbed me nearly to death with the other two thugs, but surely you noticed something relevant to tell the sergeant."
The cutpurse jump back in feature but a guilty look crosses his face. The sergeant notes it, unsure what to conclude, but growls at Ives. "No more of that, I said."
The cutpurse looks Ives straight in the eye and responds "I haven't the slightest idea what you are talking about." The sergeant frowns as he considers this situation. A watchman arrives bearing the record of the attack on Ives and Teleri. The sergeant scans it then states "Look miss and young sir, I understand you've been through a traumatic experience. That and the fact that you haven't harmed this citizen incline me to let you off with a warning. Because there is no evidence besides your word connecting him to any illegal activity whatsoever." He turns to the cutpurse. "I am sorry for the inconvenience, citizen. You will of course be released immediately and your belongings will be returned to you."