"Alright Lucina. I'm evaluating your fitness for combat. I need a report on your mission and readiness status. Now! Verbal will do."
”Cap’n!” Lucina barked, performing another exemplary salute to the now-presumed officer. ”Corporal Lucina Cruzgar, 4th brigade, 2nd battalion, 4th company! Here to hold the line against Cryan counteroffensive! We took some casualties in the last attack, but we are all itching for more, Sir. We may be missing some bits, but not the important ones – leaner and meaner, as they say, Sir!” Lucian said, grinning as he showed his three-fingered hand to Erix. ”Not to worry, Sir. We’ll hold ‘till the Redcloaks get here to push the rabble away. And we’ll make sure the damn Flamers know who got the job done at the end – let them sit all pretty on that knoll of theirs and "guard our flank" – we don’t need them to get the job done, Sir!”
I vote we send Volin to Phin's and we hang out at Corlina's and wait for the murderer.
If that's the plan, let's get it in RP format, shall we? And please explain how exactly you'll get Volin to Phin's place? Directions alone? One or more of yuo escort him there? Call him an aircab? Something else?
Phin watched the scene unfold realizing that she was the only one in the room who hadn't been damaged somehow by the war. She may have her own demons to deal with but at least she wasn't trapped by hers. Although maybe hiding from them wasn't the best solution either. Still, at least hiding was her choice.
At least they now knew that Lucian wasn't the source of the three-fingered bloody handprint. Who knew that there'd be more than one maimed weirdo running amok.
Phin caught Erix's eye, "Captain, I think it's time to leave the Corporeal to his work. You have pressing matters elsewhere and we really must be going."
Alua couldn't get out of Lucina's home quickly enough. No matter what the painter said, she knew there was something hinky about that hand, and like the spirits, she didn't want to be anywhere near it.
They walked back to Volin's, and she watched Phin take the elf back to her place. Remembering her pillow fight with Phin, Alua found herself suddenly blushing fiercely.
As they headed back to Roctar and Corlina's, Alua stopped at a few market stalls and picked up some meat pies, some root vegetable skewers, and honey buns for everybody. Thus provisioned for dinner, Sebastian, Alua and Erix knocked on Roctar's door and prepared for a stakeout/ambush.
"As you say, Adjutant. " Erix snapped "As you were, Corporal Cruzgar."
Once outside he turned to the others "So, do we think it was him? He does have the look of a dangerous man."
"As you say, Adjutant. " Erix snapped "As you were, Corporal Cruzgar."
Once outside he turned to the others "So, do we think it was him? He does have the look of a dangerous man."
Alua shook her head, hair flying. "No, his hands are too big, and the wrong fingers are missing. He surely is dangerous. But do you think he would have been capable of slipping into their houses undetected and performing such precise murder? I think he lives mostly in his head these days." She shuddered - his head was not a nice place to live.
Sebastian nodded at Alua's understanding of the situation, "I agree. It could not have been him. He could not pull this off in his current situation."
He looked worried, "So we are pretty sure of the next targets. Can we do anything to protect them?"
He added, "I hate using them for a trap but I think it's really, really worth considering..."
So... you all go to Volin's, Phin picks him up and leads him back to her home, leaves him there with orders to stay put and joins the others at Roctar and Corlina's?
Phin will be away an hour and a half on her trip, as a rough estimate.
During this time, the rest of you stay inside with R&C? And plan what to do next, since the lot of you can't fit in that small apartment for an extended time? Not comfortably, at least, since just sitting in the living room gets quite crowded.
Is this about right? If it's not, please tell me where I'äm wrong, as I'm about to close the turn and write what happens next...
Sebastian asked again, "I hate breaking up the group, but it would make sense for Phin to take Volin to her place and have Erix trail Phin just in case Phin and Volin get attacked."
He turned to Alua, "You and I should remain 'close', not sure where' to Roctar and Corlina."
"Give me your thoughts."
Erix looked at Sebastian for a moment. "Alright. As long as Phin can convince him to come with her, of course." He looked askance at Phin "Not sure I want them alone, though."
He paused, then continued. "Make a lot more tactical sense to put them all together. Otherwise we risk being attacked with only half our force present."
Different opinions are fine, as long as you make a decision eventually :-) Otherwise it's hard for me to advance the plot.
I think mine is an OOC concern more than anything. Splitting the party (and being prepared to run away!) but leaving Volin in his house means the killer is less likely to decide to wait.
On the other hand, a split party potentially means having half the players waiting (weeks?) for the other half.
I do agree that splitting the party is always a pain, and doing it for a long time (as in, spending days to babysit people in two different locations) is worse. Please don't go for that ;^)
But Phin escorting Volin to her home and coming back isn't an issue (at least this time, she's not going to be jumped by a bloodthirsty killer).
But if you want to find a somewhat larger place to put both yourselves and the three victims-to-be... well, you do know of at least one rather larger apartment that is currently vacant of living occupants and that you already have a key for...
Erix might have actual experience of tracking trackers, so let's say that you can get Volin escorted to Phin's without issues. But keeping him there for an extended period might not be effective - the killer will keep tabs of their victims, and if they discover one is away they'll take steps to figure out where... they might or might not succeed, but if something happens it's out of your hands, with the lot of you guarding the loving couple.
As a side note, this is where the wheels come off the adventure... it lays out a quite detailed timeline of what will happen to whom and when, but as soon as the players start poking at things and making moves of their own, all the pre-written plans go out of the window and the killer starts winging it.
Actually, I'm not sure if Phin did ever decided where she lived, but I'll assume it's one of the less reputable districts. Also, I will assume Phin intends to return later in the day, to check up on Volin and inform him of how things are planned to proceed from there.
Game on! Make some real decisions and things will happen ;^)
Unless you meant that you'll stake out R&C's place until the killer strikes? That will certainly lead somewhere, but it'll be a bit tricky to find a place you can wait for who knows how long, be able to see at least something (the best you could do would be the residential tower's this level's entrance unless you hang out in the inside hallways in a very suspicious fashion) and be close enough to hear screams and such if the killer slips past you anyway.
Is there any place where somebody could keep an eye on the window(s)? The killer seems to have a penchant for entering that way. Maybe Phin and her great climbing skills can be on the patio next door or something? Alua will insist that the rest of them be inside R&Cs house, especially once night comes. We should have one of us at each window and one at the door.
Alua will take position at the most likely entrance, and will have Sanctuary ready to cast, so that if the killer comes that way she can hopefully block them.
Umm... windows, maybe, but they are on the small side. As this is Sharn, you should think of the towers as apartment buildings - closer to a mile high, some of them, and even these less grand structures do reach up to the upper districts. You can watch the front door, but there are more than one and since there are dozens of apartments in this tower, if not a hundred, and perhaps a few small businesses, there are a lot of people going in and out over the course of a normal day.
There might well be a balcony in one of the adjacent apartments. The apartment might even be empty if you write good enough a story of sneaking up there. R&C's apartment didn't rate one, but you could get from a neighbouring balcony through their living room window with a reasonable climb/jump check, but of course, if you really screw such a roll... well, the ground can be very far down in this city.
Action 1:
As soon as they got out to the street, Phin linked her arm through Volin's and led the way through the streets at a casual pace towards her modest home. "Hope you don't mind but I don't want this to appear as a protection detail but more friendly."
She kept her eyes moving to survey their surroundings as she made small talk with Volin. "So what do you do now? Do you still work with animals?"
About halfway to their destination she casually asked, "So, you and Corlina, huh?" She felt his arm stiffen as they walked, "Don't worry, she only told me. I assume that she was the distraction you were talking about earlier? She mentioned that she saw someone climbing out of Borgo's room last night when she had been visiting you. Did you see anything unusual too?"
When the got to her place, Phin got Volin settled as best she could. "I don't think I should have to tell you to stay put but I'm telling you to stay here and don't leave. Don't open the door for any reason. I can always get in and will never knock. Not only do you have a psychopath hunting you but this is also not the best neighbourhood. I'll be back later today with more of a plan. For now, I need to return to the others. Do you need anything before I go?"
Phin made sure that she left her place unnoticed. Back on the street she circled around a bit until she spotted Erix. She signalled him that it was time to go and met back up with him a few blocks later so that they could head back to Alua and Sebastian.
When they were all back together again, Phin asked, "So are we going to wait for the killer to come after Roctar and Corlina? Their place is a little small for all of us. Maybe we can take them, and even Volin, to Svans. His place would be big enough for all of us, right?"
"Well, as long as they're not using magic to find the targets I think he might be okay."
"Hmm" Erix looks thoughtful "I like it. Combat in enclosed areas leads to accidents. Also means we don't risk wrecking their apartment. Might clue the killer in, though. Best bet is to make it look like they're in hiding there, and just did a terrible job of it. Leave a note at their other place. Make it look like they're staging to leave the city - create some urgency. 'Get them now or chase them a thousand miles' type situation."
"Of course we probably need some sort of permission to take over someone's house and risk wrecking it?" Erix asks as much as tells "Given by definition we're going to need to report this to the guard."
Sebastian nodded, "No, I think that's the best plan we have so far. Let's convince Roctar and Corlina to go Svans. We can all stay in the apartment."
He looked at Erix, "We don't need permission. Svan had no relatives. We have the keys, and no one is going to mind."
The investigator went inside to tell the couple what their plans were, hoping they would agree.
Alua had started taking out her snacks, but upon hearing that they were going back to Svan's, she put them away again. "Wouldn't it be better if the killer didn't know we know about..." she started, but she trailed off. A strange, orange spirit grabbed her scarf and drifted off down an alley with it. It took her longer than it should have to retrieve it, and she'd completely lost her train of thought by then. Any way, Boss is the strategy guy she reminded herself.
As soon as they got out to the street, Phin linked her arm through Volin's and led the way through the streets at a casual pace towards her modest home. "Hope you don't mind but I don't want this to appear as a protection detail but more friendly."
Volin didn’t need to be convinced, and readily offered his arm in a gentlemanly fashion, looking, if anything, flattered to have such a flower of female beauty by his side.
She kept her eyes moving to survey their surroundings as she made small talk with Volin. "So what do you do now? Do you still work with animals?"
”Yes, although it’s nothing as grand as before,” Volin said, sighing theatrically. ”Would you believe I’m reduced to training pets, of all things? Dogs, cats, birds, lizards… nothing compared to dinosaurs, but it’s work, at least. And plenty of people are willing to pay a decent sum for someone to house-train their little four-legged friends, teach them to fetch and sit and beg.”
”But enough about me,” he said, eager to distract himself from his immediate troubles. ”So, what makes a lady like yourself turn to chasing criminals?”
About halfway to their destination she casually asked, "So, you and Corlina, huh?" She felt his arm stiffen as they walked, "Don't worry, she only told me. I assume that she was the distraction you were talking about earlier? She mentioned that she saw someone climbing out of Borgo's room last night when she had been visiting you. Did you see anything unusual too?"
”She did? No, and she didn’t mention anything to me about it,” Volin said, appearing genuinely surprised. ”And if she told you herself… yes. We have been seeing each other for years, now. Since a few weeks before the… incident.”
When the got to her place, Phin got Volin settled as best she could. "I don't think I should have to tell you to stay put but I'm telling you to stay here and don't leave. Don't open the door for any reason. I can always get in and will never knock. Not only do you have a psychopath hunting you but this is also not the best neighbourhood. I'll be back later today with more of a plan. For now, I need to return to the others. Do you need anything before I go?"
”No, I’m good – I doubt I’ll have much of an appetite for the rest of the day either,” the elf sighed, finding himself a chair and sitting down heavily. ”Just don’t forget me here. Please.”
The investigator went inside to tell the couple what their plans were, hoping they would agree.
The strongman and the dancer proved remarkably easy to persuade, the two of them having had enough time to mull over the frightening situation they found themselves in. By now, locking themselves up with a group of people hired specifically to handle the case seemed like a good idea. The two of them needed some time to pack – mostly Corlina, who to her husband’s bemusement insisted on taking a fair share of her whole wardrobe with her.
And plenty of people are willing to pay a decent sum for someone to house-train their little four-legged friends, teach them to fetch and sit and beg.”
”But enough about me,” he said, eager to distract himself from his immediate troubles. ”So, what makes a lady like yourself turn to chasing criminals?”
Phin's musical laugh had a slight edge to it, "Plenty of people treat their four-legged children better than their two-legged ones. You may not feel it to be rewarding but it'll definitely pay for a decent lifestyle."
Now it was Phin's turn to feel uncomfortable as the spotlight was turned on her, "I highly doubt you'll be calling me a lady when you see where I live. I don't make it a habit of chasing criminals. I work for ir'Brock Inquisitive Agency and this is the case that fell into our laps. I could just have easily been finding a lost pet or someone's lost ID."
We have been seeing each other for years, now. Since a few weeks before the… incident.”
"And Roctar has no idea? I mean, how is your relationship with him? Or don't you talk much?"
”Just don’t forget me here. Please.”
Phin smiled, "No chance of that happening. I'll have to sleep sometime."
"And Roctar has no idea? I mean, how is your relationship with him? Or don't you talk much?"
”No, he doesn’t know. Doesn’t even suspect. If he did, he would have tried to tear my head – or other parts – off by now. Might have succeeded, too. He’s not the smartest of fighters, but he’s strong,” Volin said, shaking his head. ”It’s funny, really. For a man so jealous of his wife, he’s got some huge blind spots. “
The walk to Svans ir’Klimansor’s apartment was uneventful, with Erix once again trailing back to watch out for people showing unhealthy amount of interest in you and the people you were escorting. The task was not easy, what with Sharn’s busy streets and the veteran did notice nothing too untoward – the few gazes that fell on your party seemed only idly curious, not malicious. Alua, on the other hand, was at one point startled by something, but when peering around to find the cause of her discomfort saw nothing and determined it had to have been one of the spirits that haunted her that had sought her attention.
Once inside, with the door locked behind you – the much unused lock gave you a bit of trouble but eventually gave up and bent to your will – your two potential victims relaxed a bit. Corlina started off rather timid but her curiosity soon got the better of her and she distracted herself exploring her once-friend’s worldly possessions, while Roctar remained somewhat uneasy and avoided poking his head in where he wasn’t invited to. The day passed peacefully enough, although at one point Corlina’s sudden scream of terror brought you all running into the room with Svans’s art collection, but it quickly turned out she was in no danger and had only introduced herself to The Painting. It was unanimously decided that the cloth covering the horrible, facinating masterpiece would be staying on from then on.
As evening came, nothing exciting had happened, and the needs of your bodies began making themselves heard over the constant pressure of impending danger. Unfortunately, as you had already established, Svans’s kitchen and larder were both in woeful state – the art dealer’s cooking skills had clearly been challenged even by the task of making a sandwich and thus the man had made no attempt to stock his stores with much in the way of food.
Sebastian sighed as he remembered the sorry state of the security of the apartment. At least, they wouldn't leave the door unlocked.
He took a quick order for food and tried to find someone to get them something to eat.
Good point... her latest point spoke about "snacks" but earlier she did write about buying a bit more substantian set of goods.
As for knowing Changelings... not impossible, but do note that they are one of the most oppressed and reviled species on Khorvaire, so befriending not one but two in this one city, having them open up and reveal their species to you is not exactly a minor feat. Add to that intentionally putting them in harm's way to play the part of a killer's victims...
"You know what I don't understand?" Alua asked the room suddenly, after it had been quiet for a while. "Why the flour? Where's that coming from? What are we missing with that clue? And why was Drummer torn apart, while the other two were killed quick and clean?" To Roctar and Corlina, she asked, "Do you remember anybody ever having trouble with Drummer?"
Erix did his best to stay accepting. 'I know this is hard on them, and they have no training, but...' A lifetime of military training had long taught him to keep boring watches while discomforted. Watching the civilians fail to stay alert, while it was their lives on the line, was frustrating.
Quietly he lurked in the dark behind the coat rack in the shadow of the door. Anyone coming in or out that way was in for a shock.
Closer to afternoon after Phin came back. But since you did post earlier you'd be buying more than just a snack let us say the food situation is sorted out for the rest of the day.
And with skill checks, 20 is just a number, much like 19. No special significance attached ;^)
Postal service it totally a thing, or perhaps courier services, one should say, since there's no government institution that handles such deliveries. House Orien runs the Couriers Guild and Transportation Guild, whose services include some rather flashy methods like teleporting packets for the highly-paying customer. Sharn has its own, internal, services as well.
Phin kept patrolling near the entrance to the balcony since that was the way the killer had accessed Svans the first time. With everyone gathered in the living room she said, "I think we all know that we can't hole up here forever. At some point we'll need to draw the killer out. I also don't like the idea of Volin being by himself. Sure he's stashed somewhere where he won't readily be found but I still don't like it."
She studied Corlina and Roctar with a measured look before glancing over at Erix who was lurking by the door. "Erix and I could possibly pose as Corlina and Roctar. In the dark I think we look similar enough. We would just have to borrow clothes. In the meantime, they can stay here and we get someone from the Watch to look after them." The rogue shrugs, "That's all I got. Anyone with a better idea to draw the killer out rather than waiting for them to strike?"
"Someone goes back. Goes in. Gets something they Corlina might have needed, looking like they're trying to sneak. Then they come back." Erix shrugs "Got to tell you, not sure I want this guy getting the drop on me thinking I'm Roctar. I'm good, but a dagger to the spinal cord'll kill me just fine."
Phin has decent Disguise skill and could help make up Erix as well. That sounds reasonable. Also, Erix's letter trick is certainly doable, someone just has to go out to the nearest Courier office to drop the message and pay a couple coppers. But will you do it if you try to get the killer hit on the disguised duo?
I'm kinda feeling Fabian's pain here a bit... planning is well and good (and I certainly love to do it when I'm the player), and as long as planning takes the format of IC posts its good, but eventually, I do need some actual plans that you are going to do and not just what you might do ;^)
I've got to admit, I'm feeling quite lost. I had thought the plan was just to hang out in R&C's apartment and wait for the killer, then capture him. Now we're at Svan's, and there are a lot of convoluted ideas floating around, and both Alua and I are confused. I'm not really sure how making the killer think that R&C have left is going to help catch him. However, I fully admit that this sort of planning isn't my forte, so I'm going to take a backseat in the planning process instead of muddying the waters. Alua will do whatever Sebastian tells her to. I'll just say that at some point she stopped by the office to get her armour and mace, as she doesn't usually have them with her.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Sebastian shrugged, "Look, we'll all just stay here at Svan's apartment for the time being. Let's spend the night here and see what happens."
He turned to Phin, "Volin should be safe at your place, and we can check on him in the morning."
I want two people up on watch at all times. One by the door and another by the balcony/window. If he comes, we'll catch him. If not, we'll reshuffle tomorrow morning."
He then munched on whatever Alua had brought to eat and readied himself to take the first watch..
Thank you, that sounds like a plan (particularly as it comes from the boss) and will allow me to advance time a bit. Will write a post when I have few spare moments...
Thank you, that sounds like a plan (particularly as it comes from the boss) and will allow me to advance time a bit. Will write a post when I have few spare moments...
Sebastian shrugged, "Look, we'll all just stay here at Svan's apartment for the time being. Let's spend the night here and see what happens."
He turned to Phin, "Volin should be safe at your place, and we can check on him in the morning."
I want two people up on watch at all times. One by the door and another by the balcony/window. If he comes, we'll catch him. If not, we'll reshuffle tomorrow morning."
He then munched on whatever Alua had brought to eat and readied himself to take the first watch..
Phin nodded as Sebastian gave them directions. "I can take watch for the first half of the night when it's darkest. I don't need much light to see. The light from Sharn should be enough."
"If the killer thinks that Corlina and Roctar have left town and are out of their reach, they'll for sure go after Volin. That may be something to consider as well if we want to draw the killer out."
"Done then. I've got pretty good night vision too. Happy to keep watch with Phin, but I suggest we have everyone do staggered watches. Sleep armed and armoured." Erix agreed