Scandy listens to One-Punch's conversation with the guards Then follows the others. "Simple magic protections could protect a barefoot assailant, but also any number of things, even undeath." She muses.
Kromdor discovers that the fire is, in fact, very hot. It is, in fact, quite warm in the cold, lonely tower.
One of the guards scratches his chin thoughtfully at Kromdor's question. "Not often, to be honest, though he often would pretend to be sleepy. Usually he tried to sneak over to his brother's room, and play with the baby most nights. You should see how Master Byron would fuss over Master Clement. He absolutely loves..." He pauses, clears his throat, and corrects himself with a sadness in his voice. "Loved that baby. Not quite sure how he did it. Since that child was born, Master Byron must've snuck out of his room and into the baby's...half a dozen times or so! I swear, that child's got some kind of blessing from the gods or some such...or he did...well.." He pauses again and frowns. "Or so we thought. So we were used to him pretending to go to bed early."
Scandy looks at the guard like he just emitted a offensive smell. "It didn't occur to you that the prince vanishing and reappearing from inside a locked and guarded room...without being noticed...might be something you should volunteer right up front?" Scandy shakes her head in disbelief. Walking back into the room, she looks around again, this time looking for a secret door.
When she finally finds the switch in the fireplace, She triggers it and walks past the illusionary fire.
Kromdor, standing to the side of Scandy while she berates the guard, rolls his eyes in an exaggerated way, being sure the guard can see it. When she strides back to the room, the orc leans in conspiratorially to say "What she means of course is, thank you for that help. Sometimes those thinky types get confused about the etiquette of such things. You've been more helpful just now that anyone else so far in this investigation." With a wink and a nod, the orc turns to follow Scandy as she examines the fireplace.
He's just about to warn her that the fire is not only hot, but also smokey when she finds the brick that triggers the rotation. With a shrug Kromodor follows Scandy through the passage.
Lavinia peers down at the ground far below, nodding at Flarghin’s assessment. At the dwarf’s prompting, Lavinia unpacks a coil of rope and opens the tower window. She firmly sets the rope’s grapnel in the bottom corner of the window frame before tossing the rest out of it. Hopping up onto the sill, she grabs the rope in one hand and casually swings out into the crisp pre-dawn air, slowly making her way down the tower wall as she inspects the strange holes that have been cut into its surface. When she reaches the bottom she doesn’t touch the ground, instead looping the excess rope around her waist and tying it tight behind her back with one hand. She then lets go and hangs, suspended a foot or two off the ground, and studies the snow-covered turf for any signs of the presumed assassin's coming or going.
The guard contorts his face in disgust at Scandy's comment, and spits on the ground. "F**# you, b~$+!. We told the damn king, and he said not to worry about it. And you know what? I think he's calling us. Don't you?"
The other guard nods, looks at the orc, and shrugs. "Maybe you should keep your 'thinky' b~@$# in check, then? Or are you just her big meaty lover puppet to pull on strings and calm the 'simple' folk? Yep. Definitely the king calling us, and telling us to leave your annoying ungrateful asses alone."
They head down the tower stairs after slamming the door shut in your face.
The minute Lavinia opens the window you can feel the cold breeze of the morning air. It's looking to be an even more brisk day than you previously supposed. When she climbs out of the window, instantly the alarm starts going off wildly. The guards, at this point, however, don't seem to be heeding the call, and you suppose the two annoyed with the party have told the others not to bother at this juncture. Eventually one of you shouts the password, as Lavinia seems focused on her work.
She notices two things...one, that the marks in the stone appear to be not of any tool she's ever seen. Almost clawlike. Two, she sees a confusion of footsteps at the bottom of the tower's outside in the snow. It seems like a battle, or a dance, or...something...was going on, and a single set of human footprints, barely perceptible leads off to the north.
Flarghin rounds the corner of the wall and proceeds to laugh heartily at the sight of Lavinia, and then smiles widely and assists her tracking, comparing notes. "Damnit girl, I told ye when I met ye that ye had a gift, dinnae? Now I can track a rat through a forest in a wind storm, but Lavie m'girl, I'm pretty sure ya could follow a mouse through a sewer in a s#$! storm!"
Scandy's exploration into the tunnel through the illusion leads to a squat, stone-lined chamber that seems to spiral down below the stairs of the tower. Oddly enough, unlike when Lavinia exited the window, entering the tunnel did not appear to trigger the alarm.
Her foot appears to step on just the wrong block as she's walking, however, and a vent opens above her, releasing a white gas. It seems a pleasant, cloying scent, and she is suddenly reminded of just how tired she is.
The tunnel is lined with sconces every floor downward, each with a continual flame spell illuminating the way. The entire floor seems to be made of cobblestones, many of which look like the one Scandy stepped upon.
Anyone exploring the tunnel needs to make a DC20 Perception to see future traps, as they seem spaced out in random stones, if failed, DC 15 Fortitude - failure leads you to fall unconscious for 1 hour, success is just Fatigue for an hour.
Disabling the traps is a DC 20, but failure by 5 or more activates the gas. You can take 10 once you've successfully figured out how to disable the traps.
"Well now, they seem overly tetchy for what I'd expect from royal guards, but I suppose it's a stressful time, and at least we got some good information out of them." The orc doesn't seem too bothered by the departure or their anger. Despite their complaints, he had thanked them after all and guarding tends to be a grating, thankless job.
After seeing Scandy open the passage, Kromdor does stick his head out of the window and wave to get get Lavinia's attention. In his most inconspicuous voice that will travel to the ground he shout-whispers "Found something of interest up here. Checking it out with Scandy, but let Flaghrin know there's a passage from the room." The orc then says the command word one more time to turn off the alarm.
With that, Kromdor turns and follows Scandy through the illusion just in time to see her activate the trap. He moves forward to assist, but holds back as her shoulders simply slump a bit. "You OK there Scandy? Looks like they've got at least a little protection in this tunnel which speaks a bit better of their security measures. Mind if I take a quick look?" After waiting for Scandy to move out of the way, Kromdor looks carefully where she had been standing to see if he can locate the stone she stepped on to activate the trap.
Failing to see the stone, but knowing it's there somewhere, Kromdor pulls out his lucerne hammer, and uses it to systematically press down on all the stones in the general area where Scandy stepped. He does this from the greatest distance the polearm will allow, trying to active the trap again and judge both how far the mist reaches and how long it stays around (assuming it can be activated a second time so quickly.)
Scandy looks back at Kromdor, after the guards storm out and slam the door. "So emotional. You'd think it was the first time they've ever been called idiots." She begins to move down the passage. "I mean, It had to have come up before. Their parents. Their instructors."
A sudden burst from the trap causes Scandy cough and curse, "Damnit Scandy. Pay attention." She finds herself a bit groggy. At least, the trap wasn't deadly. She returns her attention to One-Punch "Poor bastards. Do they really think that the King will keep them in service after they've done such a bang up job guarding his first born. I wouldn't be surprised if the queen trumps up evidence to get them executed. Why have any loose ends?"
Scandy pauses a moment as a spell washes over her body.
Scandy easily sees the other traps after being so up close and personal with the first one.
Scandy's magical enhancements help to illuminate each of the cobbles that is a trigger - the distinction is slight, but the trigger cobbles rest a bit higher than the rest. Following the gearing mechanism, she manages to point out where Kromdor can jam his hammer, preventing it's movement.
As the two head through the tunnels down to the main area, you come to a crossroads at the base of the castle. In soft white chalk, at about a halfling or human child's height, an arrow points to the right and has "BROTHER ROOM" written in large letters - the path you came from seems to be labeled "BACK TO ROOM", while the leftern tunnel seems to branch into further pathways - and the only label on this tunnel left seems to say "NO".
Kromdor looks about at the various tunnels and nods. "So someone was clever enough to make sure the kid wouldn't get lost down here. Wonder how he had the traps marked and if he took any sprays to the face figuring them out. Or maybe he was just too light to set them off. Reckon he had help or he worked this system out all out on his own?"
Peering down the tunnel marked 'no' Kromdor scratches his chin. "So what do you think, Scandy? Should we get the others here before we journey deeper into the secret veins of a royal palace or do you want to head in now. I don't recon there'd be any fresh trails, but it'd be good to see how often this path gets used. Seems we found a way in that doesn't set off an alarm, so it's got to be at least as good a guess as the window for how an assassin would get in. Looks like a bunch of rocks to me, but if you can suss it out any tracks that'd be fine. If not, that Lavinia'd probably be the one to take a look."
Scandy nods to Kromdor. "Yeah, they seem more like instructions than a kid marking directions himself." She says with a weary smirk. "You are so bright." She pats his arm. "Best to keep it under wraps. The more your enemies underestimate you...the more advantage you can take."
Scandy gives a long yawn as Kromdor talks of regrouping or going forward. "Yes, regrouping would be the best move. You know, keep the Baron up to date." She smiles. And follows the Orc back to the murdered Prince's room.
Cassius leans over the window sill, watching as Lavinia descends the wall. Kromdor and Scandy had already found a secret door, and now this seemingly resourceful halfling woman was suspended in the air searching for prints.
“And what have you done? Nothing! Get yourself together Cassius, this isn’t amateur hour.” His thoughts raced through his mind as his cheeks blushed ever so slightly with embarrassment.
“Best let those two investigate the tunnel together; they seem familiar with each other and obviously work well together. Least I can do is make sure Lavinia’s hook doesn’t slip from this ledge.
"those three have been gone a bit? Should we catch back up with them?"
"By all means, feel free. I'll wait here for Lavinia, she may need a hand getting back up. I'm sure the others will come back for us if they find anything worthwhile."
When Kromdor makes his was back to the room he blinks in the brighter light of the princes bedchamber as he steps aside to let Scandy pass by. Looking about he spots Cassius looking down the open widow to the scene below and Rius making plans.
"So how's Lavinia making out down there? Finding anything interesting? We've got a tunnel with some traps and scribbles back here. Dunno what to make of it, but I reckon you and Scandy here can sort things out in short order if you put your heads together."
Once Lavinia returns to the room with the discoveries she has made, Scandy proposes possible action. The way that I see it, following the tracks is the most important. While we may not have another opportunity to explore the secret passage, I do not feel splitting the party up would be in anyone's best interests. I vote we follow the tracks.
Rius scratches his chin at the new information, "How long do we think the tracks will stay?
I'm loathe to discard either opportunity, but a secret tunnel- that is a thing of both rarity and purpose, no?"
Still leaning on the window sill, Cassius turns as Kromdor and Scandy enter. His eyebrows raise slightly at the mention of what they have discovered, then furrow as he begins to consider the options the group are now faced with.
“Lavinia has been down there for a while, and she’s pretty focused. Though she hasn’t said so, I think she’s managed to find something interesting. I agree with Scandy. At least now we know that there is a tunnel here, and it’s probably not going anywhere. I’m sure if we’re desperate to investigate it in future we can find our way back in here. Tracks will only last as long as the weather decides to hold, and if Lavinia has found anything I think we should pursue that lead first.’ he says, scratching at the rough stubble on his chin.
“Either way, I think we should take pains to conceal the entrance to this tunnel. The guards didn’t seem to know it existed, and we wouldn’t want any of our competitors stumbling upon it and cutting our grass.”
Cassius, Rius, Scandy and Kromdor manage to cover their tracks, closing the hidden tunnel and re-lighting the fire behind them. Eventually, despite a bit of disagreement, they make it down to Flarghin and Lavinia. The halfling woman points out the details of the tracks, exemplifying slight unnatural bends in the nearby branches, barely noticable footsteps that an untrained eye would glaze over, and more.
The tracks lead away from the city, and generally towards the west , towards the Bloodstone Pass between Vaasa and Damara. You continue following the tracks through the bitter cold as the sun rises above you, the wind whipping at your face as a chill moves down from the north.
Hours pass, and you trudge on, before the tracks bend off the trail towards the mountains just before reaching Bloodstone Village. The sun is beginning to set, and the town is roughly an hour's travel west yet...meanwhile the tracks move onward to the northwest now. Again, strangely enough, Lavinia finds these tracks surprisingly easier to follow on the main roads, as you're looking at bare feet - not halfling, but human-sized and shaped by her guess.
She's sure that the tracks have gone into the village at least at some point for whatever reason, but that they doubled back to this point and headed northwest afterwards into the mountains. It's possible you may gain on your quarry if you continue north, cutting out a portion of his or her journey, but the cold looks to grow worse with the falling sun, and you might garner information about your target in the town.
Flarghin pulls a flask from his hip, lowers his scarf of his parka from his mouth and takes a swig, offering a mouthful to any of the party who wants some. "This is an elusive bastard, ain't it?" He mutters. He pulls out a journal and begins taking notes in it, trying to map out your journey thus far on some of the pages. "Well, looks we've got two options here, folks. Town, or the mountains?"
Kromdor welcomes the flask, but is careful not to drain it before passing it to the next adventurer. The trail has been tough and the orc is tired, but after the drink he shakes it off and looks to the others to check their condition. "Cold work, this. How's everyone holding up?"
Scandy speaks up through chattering teeth, "I won't make it much farther without a rest and a fireplace. I vote town."
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"Aye, I could certainly use the chance to thaw out myself. This cold has me a little, ah, short of breath."
Lavinia follows the tracks without comment until their quarry's side-trip into the village is discovered.
"Could be going to town gets us someone who saw our prey. Could be it just gets us farther from 'em." Lavinia shrugs at the orc's question, obviously unfazed by the weather; at the others' responses, however, she nods agreement.
"Catchin' up won't be much good if most of us are frozen when it happens."
Cassius nods at Lavinia's words, taking the flask from Kromdor and sipping deeply before offering it back to the group. "Surely someone must've seen a barefoot person wander into town. I mean, that's not an every day occurrence in this weather, right?"
The group moves on to Bloodstone Village, a larger town than its name would suggest. Often a stopping point for adventurers crossing the double-gates into the Vaasa, Bloodstone Village has adequate supplies available, and a handful of decent inns.
You're able to stock up on any mundane gear you might need, and can take your time gathering information if you should so desire. You have just enough time before the sun sets to do one or the other before the shops close, per character. This is because you'll have to stop among multiple stores to find what you need, and traverse the bars and other gathering points to find your quarry, as the village itself has far too much foot traffic to determine exactly where he went in town.
Flarghin again has paid for your stay at the local inn, and has decided to pay to have the mounts and pack mules stabled while you are gone, since it appears mountain travel is in your near future.
Just outside of town Lavinia stops to take off her left boot and strip off her sock. Carefully placing her bare foot in the center of one of the tracks, she closes her eyes and concentrates on what she knows of her prey: their length of stride, gait, likely speed.
Tymora guide me.
Boot in hand, Lavinia does her best to follow the barefoot tracks through the mess of days worth of village traffic, working as much by instinct as by skill, hoping to point out likely places for her new associates to direct their inquiries.
Rius will pick up a cold weather outfit, 50 feet of rope, 10 pitons, and a sledge to drive them.
Scandy stops at the edge of town, she starts to blow hot air into her hands. She looks up the main road and start to wonder aloud. "The assassin has no fear or trepidation entering the town. Despite it's barefoot ability to shrug off the cold. He...or she would not need to sit by a fire and warm up before furthering their trek. He would need to look human or at least demi-human to not arouse suspicion. He would need to blend in. Illusion magic? Even if so, he would need to be humanoid in shape and size...Tiefling maybe?"
She starts walking slowly while still thinking out loud. "Provisions? I would be strong enough to use a tool to dig into a rock façade to climb. Would I not already be carrying provisions? Why enter the town when I am looking to escape quickly. What would draw me here?" The sorceress seems deep in thought as they move into the commercial center. " I'm heading to the Alchemist/Herbalist shop. Maybe the assailant used something alchemical to disable the Prince before killing him. Maybe, he was restocking."
Rius gathers his gear in the general store, wherein inquiries as to a barefoot man walking through town are met with general confusion. "You mean like a halfling? Yeah, we've plenty of those. What do you mean a barefoot human? In this weather? You've got to be kidding."
The shopkeep sells him his rope, clothes, pitons, etc, and just as he's leaving he stops the gnome. "Wait, there was a pair of folks...a woman and a man. The man kept complaining that his clothes didn't feel right. I offered to sell him a new set of boots, but the woman said to pay no mind, and they left. The man picked up some climbing gear, same as you, boy. The woman just seemed to keep an eye on him. Didn't get much of a look at them. The woman...I could tell it was a woman by her voice, you see...she wore a cloak, which I didn't think odd being so damn cold and all, but the man was dressed in light clothes that looked as if they could easily be disrobed. Damn near tear away, you know? Belt covered with more knives and daggers than he had actual clothes on his body. Strange as hell...I wanted to ask if he were okay, but the woman's look seemed to make me think asking questions was a bad idea."
Scandy's investigations into the alchemist's shop prove about as fruitful. Again, it comes to a woman and a man, but this time the alchemist can pointedly identify, "Yep, them two got some spell components. Nothing special, or out of the ordinary - anything I might sell a wizard or two. They bought a few other usual things as well - alchemist's fires, thunderstones, tindertwigs, tanglefoot bags you know...basic adventurer stuff. Can't say as either wasn't wearing shoes when they got in here, but the man sure didn't look comfortable wearing his. Kept itching one foot with the other. Oh....and...ahem..."
The alchemist coughs, nods towards a tip jar that seems half-full, and whistles congenially. There seems to be two bright platinum pieces on the top of the jar. "They were good tippers. And that's all I can remember right now. How well they tipped. It's amazing how well tips can affect one's memory."
When you get back to the inn, Flarghin is in the common room, writing a letter in his slow, deliberate, damn near illegible, but careful handwriting. When he sees you come in, he quickly folds the letter, slides it into an envelope, and slips it into his pocket. "Ain't nobody from out of town hit the inn since last night. Seems whoever it was slipped into town and out without bothering to rest fer the night. I've stabled the animals. Without proper training they're liable to be more of a problem than a help if we go climbin'."
He takes out five small packs and tosses them. "Full set of climbing gear for each of ya. Just in case. Got a potion of Endure Elements while I was at it. Only could afford one for each of us, though, so save it for when ya really need it." He pulls his hip flask and swigs at it until it's empty, then tosses it to the barkeep to fill up, along with a few silver.
"What'd you find out?"
Anyone else who went looking for information finds out that the mayor's son has gone missing just last night. He's a boy about the prince's age. There's wanted posters everywhere, but unlike a prince, the son of a mayor seems to only fetch a bounty of about 500gp, and there is no body left behind - simply a note that reads "Come Find Me - I know you're looking". This information plastered all over town, half of the town has already headed to the Vaasa gate, assuming the boy went fleeing into the dangerous frontier.
Scandy gives the alchemist a smirk. "Sloppy of her." She pulls out her purse and counts out six platinum pieces. They clink as they hit the wooden counter. She pulls one of the platinum pieces that their quarry left as a tip from the top of the jar with a handkerchief. "I'm buying this one from you."
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Scandy eyes the climbing pack with raised eyebrows. "Thanks." she says with an unthankful tone. She tosses the cloth wrapped coin with a small thud on the table before Flarghin. The assassin met his accomplice here. A spell slinger. I assume she stayed here while he did the dirty deed. That coin is hers. The King's Steward can use magics to discern her location should we fail to catch her. A little insurance. You owe me sixty by the way." She smiles at him.
Kromdor lets the others do the hunting for information, and instead mainly focuses on gathering supplies that might be of use. As he does so he chats with the shopkeepers that are willing to make small talk with an orc. Apparently most seem to think that he's just there because of some treasure or other and ask him if he's there for the bounty on the mayor's son. When he returns to the inn with the supplies stowed away he shares the information for the group.
"Seems quite the coincidence to have two children go missing at the same time, don't you think?"
Lavinia listens to the information the others have gathered.
"Could be the note was left by the boy for his father. Could be it was left by our prey for us. If so, it means an extra five hundred coin when we catch them." She mulls something over for a moment.
"Only saw one set of tracks heading into the mountains, not two. Why hide one and not the other? Maybe this witch left town some other way. Or maybe she never left at all."
After sharing what he learned at the general store with the others, Rius scratches his beard, "Aye, that is strange Lavinia. This whole thing is strange though. Whether you're abducting someone or working with them, why leave them freezing? Seems like this woman may be using magic of some time to control the other one?
Either way, the tracks into the mountains are still our best lead at this point, are they not?"
Cassius follows along with Kromdor, hoping to collect some extra supplies while keeping a finger to the pulse of the village. He asks around, trying to gather as much detail as he can surrounding the disappearance of the Mayor's son.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Upon returning to the inn with the others, he shares any information he may have discovered throughout the day.
"Probably." he replies with a nod towards Rius.
"I'm a little concerned that you're right too, Lavinia. If this 'witch' never left at all, we're going to have to keep an eye on our tails for the next leg of our journey. Flarghin, do you think it's worth our while to perhaps investigate the crime scene here also? I really don't want to lose our head start, unless you think we might find something of interest here in the village. What does your gut tell you?"
Scandy shrugs her shoulders. "With a mage, anything is possible. From flying to porting to skulking around here. If I were to bet, she is that assassin's manager, and she gave him his next set of instructions."
She walks over to the large fireplace and turns her back to it. The sorceress rubs her backside to massage in the heat. "The missing boy seems a bit too coincidental. I'd like to talk to the mayor whether we go or stay. I'm going to head over as soon as I get some feeling back in my legs."
Flarghin shrugs and digs in his belt pouch for the coin, and tosses half the amount to her. "Yer in this with us, lass. I've been payin' room, board, and for extra gear. Don't get too greedy on me." He smiles, winks, and laughs. "I'm sure you'll find the rest on the way, if not, give a receipt to that prissy Steward back at the castle."
He strokes his beard and looks at the rest of the group.
"A spellcaster, eh? Well, that makes more than a little sense. And two of them was somethin' I hadna considered. I mean, it's easier to do these kinds of things alone, if ya wanna get in, out, and keep quiet about it. Did a job, not a lethal one, just a quick little bounty, similar in and out style...much easier with a handful of scrolls alone while everyone's sleepin'."
Eventually you all retire to your rooms, and the next day comes. At the suggestion of multiple members of the group, you head towards the Mayor's house, but he has guards posted outside who don't seem to be allowing anyone in at the moment. There are multiple bounty hunters there with posters, trying to get details, but the guards seem to be turning everyone away who "Doesn't have the child with them."
Outside the mayor's house Kromdor watches the others try to negotiate with the guards, rubbing his chin and pulling the hood on his parka to cover his face just a bit more to stay warm. "So if you talkers think you can get more out of those guards, or past them to the mayor that's fine with me, but barring that I'm thinking that our path forward is to follow the tracks we've got. We're missing a set of them for the woman, but tracking her down in town with no lead strikes me as hard. We also know that we're more likely than before walking into a trap now, but maybe that also means there's something to find. I'll follow your lead as you've thought this out some since last night I'm sure, but my gut says that our answer isn't here in town, but rather out there in the cold somewhere."
Lavinia nods in agreement with the orc, standing aside to let the humans and the musician try their hands - or their words - on the guards.
The guard Scandy hands the paper to looks over the writ, and he smiles politely. "Just a moment, ma'am. I will go speak with him. If you all could wait here."
The other bounty hunters grumble and complain, and eventually the group of guards gets them to scatter by calling in more men and threatening to have people thrown in stocks.
During this exchange, Flarghin remains silent, glaring at a somewhat short elf with a shaved head among the bounty hunters with a strange weapon at his side most of you are unfamiliar with.
The elf returns the glare the entire time, unflinching, before walking away when the guards disperse the group.
A middle aged man with a moustache of nearly dwarven proportions walks out, and ushers you into his house. His lower floor of his home apparently functions as a makeshift city hall, and he gives a weak smile. "Emissaries of the king, I see. I'm sorry to keep you waiting. I...experienced a loss recently, so you see, I...well I'm not trying to say I am not doing my work, sirs and madams, but, well, you know, grief has it's way. Since Julius went missing, I'm just so flustered, and every bounty hunter wants to ask the same questions, and I don't know how many times I can answer 'I tucked him in, read him a story, I woke up, and the boy was gone with the note in his bed!' Making me relive the entire experience..." He sighs and shakes his head. His shoulders are hunched, and he looks just exhausted, with bags under his eyes. "But you said something about sedition? We're all loyal here. Paid our taxes and everything, even reported the surplus from the mine!"
Scandy looks sympathetically at the distraught father. She provides introductions to everyone in the group including herself "I'm sorry for your troubles Mayor ." She looks around the room drinking in the details of the moderately furnished city hall. "No one has accused you of any malfeasance. I have no doubt that you are a faithful servant to the crown. However, the timing and unknown circumstances of your son's disappearance begs our attention for reasons we can't go into. I hope you understand."
She walks forward to the assembly table and removes her glove. She drags her hand along the polished wooden surface and continues. "We realize the inconvenience, but could you go over the story again. Was there anything different that night than other nights? No matter how minor. Did you wake normally or did something wake you? We'd like to see the note, and also see your son's room, if possible."
After the elf has moved on, Kromdor leans over to Flarghin to ask, "Any specific reason to worry about the elf with the funny looking stick there? You seem to disapprove for of him for some reason. Was it him or the stick?"
Flarghin shakes his head at Kromdor. "He's nobody to worry about. Ain't his weapon." He seems to remain brief on the subject, and brushes it off as you head into speak with Mayor Kriswall.
Kriswall shrugs and repeats his story to Scandy. He didn't wake normally, and in fact was surprised, as his son normally would bound into his room and jump on the bed to wake him up. As a single father they were very close, and he's not sure anything would cause the boy to run away. You're lead into the room, and it seems reasonably normal, though...
...you definitely notice the latch in the window of the second floor was forced open. It was a decent job of rigging it back up to look repaired, afterwards. As before, there are claw marks at the wall, though the floor outside has been far too covered from foot-travel to indicate much outside. The mayor's house seems to see a good amount of foot-travel. The security is obviously beefed up now, but from description, Mayor Kriswall only kept a couple guards posted at night.
"I'm just a politician. We're not poor, but we're not like a merchant family, and the city's wealth is kept in a secure vault near the mines. I didn't see why anyone would have cause to harm Julius. He's a sweet child, really. Gets along with everyone he meets. Even that quiet boy from the castle, when the Steward came to handle some paperwork about the surplus. I thought it was strange she'd bring a child, but she said he was a page boy who didn't usually play with other children often due to his duties, and when she heard I had a son his age, she brought him. Julius and him must've spent six or seven hours playing knight and barbarian." He pauses, his eyes open. "Oh no. He didn't hurt that child, did he? I told them not to play rough. I swear, my boy isn't seditious, ma'am! Please tell me you didn't take him! Oh, please..." His eyes start welling up with tears, and he's looking rather pitiful now.
The sorcerer begins to fit the pieces together. The missing head, The hidden passage with instruction on the walls, The assassin's knowledge to avoid the alarms...Scandalous' skin begins to crawl as suspicion of what Lady Quiren had done. A mother would be prepared to do all manner of evil to protect her child, but what Scandy suspected was depraved. She turns away from the mayor as if she was inspecting the room, but she was in fact, hiding her face so that it would not betray her. "No, your boy is a fine lad." She walks over to the child's closet, and pretends to inspect his clothes.
This may sound like an odd question, and sometimes parents hide a child's lineage due to the nasty prejudices of some...but it is vital that you be honest with us." Steeling herself, and in a stoic manner she looks at the grief stricken father. "Does your boy carry some elven blood in his veins?"
Rius mutters to himself, "That certainly puts things into a different light."
Mayor Kriswall seems puzzled at this. "No, ma'am. No, my late wife was a human, same as me." He pauses and thinks a moment. "Oh, but the child playing with him did. A half-elf, to my knowledge. I thought him human at first...but you know, the ears and all are a dead giveaway. He had long hair and a hat covering it up when I saw him, but after they left Julius asked me why Thomas...yes, I believe that was his name...why Thomas had pointy ears."
His eyes widen at her questioning, as the gears start to move. "Oh no. Is there another child missing? That's awful! Oh...oh my...oh by Selune and Lathander's light, oh no...That means he didn't just run off."
Scandalous visibly relaxes. She smiles. She points at the closet. "I was just noticing your boy seemed a bit taller than I would have expected. It was just curiosity." She lies. She hated such behavior in others, and she hated to do it now. But it was far safer for both the mayor and themselves that he stay in the dark.
She gently grabs and rubs Kriswall's shoulder. "Don't let your imagination run away with worry. You have been very helpful. I'm sure your son is just out on a little adventure...but I don't think your unfortunate troubles involves our investigation." Scandy looks at the others and nods to the exit. "Please forgive our intrusion. We'll make sure the crown hears about your loyal service and aid. Good day."