Sebastian tried to keep his face straight as he gently took the ingredients, except the chicken, from Erix, "How about you concentrate on the coffee. Ask Daen if you're going to use anything from his kitchen."
He put the ingredients down, "I'll cook dinner tonight but wait, let's see what the letter says."
He cleared his throat, his eyes glittered as he read the letter, "OK, it is about a murder and it's from Sergeant Viduk. You know the warforged that still thinks he's a good cop."
He looked around at everyone gathered, "He wants us at the Watch station in Oakbridge at our earliest convenience. This sounds serious."
Sebastian openly smiled, 'This could be it guys. This could be our big break. Let's go first thing tomorrow morning. Are you all coming or are you otherwise busy?"
tag?
Erix is only to happy to hand the ingredients over. "For the big break, Sure. Sunrise?" He smiles broadly "About time we got a break. I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain about not enough crime in Sharn."
"I am planning to do murder most fowl in a moment though, then consume the evidence. I bought dinner! Figured I'd do a chicken pot pie, like the old days...
Phin grinned and got to her feet. She moved over to Erix, reached up, and ruffled his hair like one would a child, "Murder most fowl indeed. Good to see you again." She gave him an appraising look, "You don't look like you're eating enough. You can have part of my share of the meal tonight." Even though Erix appeared older from an outsider's perspective, Phin would forever see the little boy she had kept safe while teaching him to survive on the streets. It was hard to believe he had gotten so big.
This could be it guys. This could be our big break. Let's go first thing tomorrow morning. Are you all coming or are you otherwise busy?"
Phin made a noise that was part snort and part laugh, "That's what you said about the missing diplomat case and that murdered merchant case and that kidnapping which turned out to be a spoiled rich kid who thought it a lark to live on the streets for awhile." She looked at Erix's chicken, "I'm not counting any chickens until they're hatched. But...of course I'm coming. Someone needs to keep you guys out of trouble." .
She cocked her head at Sebastian, "And when did you become an optimist? Are you feeling ok?"
Alua sat silently at her desk for a few minutes, mildly appalled at her joyous reaction to the news of murder. I just knew that Sebastian would be pleased, so it was just a proactive reaction to his reaction. Before he had it. I think?
Having confused herself, Alua turned her attention back to the group. Sebastian was taking the dinner ingredients from Erix. Alua didn't know what the others had against Erix's cooking - it was better than what she'd had in the army (after all, the cook, Buttons, got his name from one of his favourite ingredients), and it was heartier than what she received at Temple.
"I can be here in the morning." After all, she only volunteered at Temple, and didn't have specific hours she needed to be there. And after the horrors of the lift disaster today, she felt justified in taking a morning off.
Looking at Phin, she said, "Maybe I can crash with you tonight? Then we can walk here together in the morning?" The elf was usually pretty nice, and happy to let her sleep in a corner of her small apartment.
Maybe I can crash with you tonight? Then we can walk here together in the morning?"
Phin nodded at Alua's request. The girl was an odd one but wasn't overly nosy so the rogue felt comfortable enough with having her crash with her. "I haven't had a guest in a very long time. I hope you're ok with the floor because there's barely room for me in my place."
"I am planning to do murder most fowl in a moment though, then consume the evidence. I bought dinner! Figured I'd do a chicken pot pie, like the old days...Phin grinned and got to her feet. She moved over to Erix, reached up, and ruffled his hair like one would a child, "Murder most fowl indeed. Good to see you again." She gave him an appraising look, "You don't look like you're eating enough. You can have part of my share of the meal tonight." Even though Erix appeared older from an outsider's perspective, Phin would forever see the little boy she had kept safe while teaching him to survive on the streets. It was hard to believe he had gotten so big.
"Yes Aunty Phin." Erix rolled his eyes, but grinned.
'Everything else changed, but 'Aunty' Phin stayed the same.' There'd been a time, when he was young, that that had frustrated him. He'd been desperate for Phin to see him as a man, and not just a taller boy. He winced a little now, when he thought of it, and was glad he'd never had the guts to confront her with it. Decades in the army, watching friends die, or wither, or just change into someone else had cured him of that. Phin was a constant, something you could lean your back against and trust it to be there in a month, a year, a decade, or even - he guessed - a decade.
The smile went away. He'd stopped finding gray hairs in his beard. There were still plenty left in his hair, but... 'Maybe I'm going to find out just how constant she is.'
Daryl couldn’t close his eyes.
It was a strange feeling, to always see. To always notice what was going on around him. Daryl stared at his hands. The black armor was different than most of the other warforged he’d seen. The others were mostly metal, but his armor looked more akin to wood. Harder though, of course. Much.
The words floated through his mind, repeating over and over like a mantra. He wanted to block them out. To stop the constant stream. But he couldn’t. Of course, when spoken, the words had power. That had surprised Daryl the first time he’d spoken them aloud.
He flexed his fingers. They creaked, the armor rubbing against the structure underneath. The others were filtering into the office. He heard them speaking, could see them walk in through his peripheral vision. They were laughing, joking.
The words continued. A language he didn’t understand. He wanted them to stop. He wanted to close his eyes. To sleep. To truly sleep. But he couldn’t. This was as close as he got.
One of his first memories was of Daen’s face. Daen had explained how he’d found Daryl – wandering the streets, incoherent, disoriented, and half-dead. He’d repaired Daryl. Called him Daryl as it was the only sound the warforged had made in his fugue state.
Except for the screaming. Apparently, Daryl had done that…a lot.
The words concluded…the cadence trailing off like a passing musician. Usually, Daryl would “wake” at this point. But the others were all around, talking, laughing.
Daryl liked them enough. He didn’t feel very strongly about much, and these people were no different. Some were clearly more trustworthy than others, but none seemed outright dangerous. Daen wanted to be part of the agency, and that was enough for Daryl. What else would he do while he waited for his memories to return? This was as good a distraction as anything.
He lifted his head. As he glanced around the room, numbers came unbidden to his mind. Tunic, 3 silver, leather armor, 10 gold…on and on. He didn’t know why he knew the value of things, but he did. If this skill was a connection to his past, he could find no clue.
Alua was holding up a note (heavy paper, wax seal, likely from someone with money). A job. That would make them happy. Erix was holding a thrashing chicken (1 gold…though this one was a little small, he’d value it slightly less). That would fill their bellies. Good. Sebastian would be hopeful, and the others would complain less when he wasn’t listening.
Alua started as he stood, her hair catching in her eyelashes as she whipped her head toward him. Jumpy, that one.
“’Earliest convenience’ is now,” Daryl’s voice wavered slightly, as if the mechanisms in his body that created it were misaligned. Daen had assured him that wasn’t how his voice worked, but Daryl wasn’t sure. Other warforged didn’t sound like him.
She cocked her head at Sebastian, "And when did you become an optimist? Are you feeling ok?"
Sebastian harrumphed, "It must be all of you rubbing off on me."
He smiled at Erix, "Not you buddy. You're still the dour-faced badass I met back in the front lines. And that's a good thing."
Sebastian added, "I've been listening to the crazy man in the market. You know how he talks how the world tends towards balance and... he may be right. And if that's the case then my luck needs to change because it's sucked for a long time now."
He quickly dismissed it, "Erix, get that chicken ready and I'll start working on the veggies."
“’Earliest convenience’ is now,” Daryl’s voice wavered slightly, as if the mechanisms in his body that created it were misaligned. Daen had assured him that wasn’t how his voice worked, but Daryl wasn’t sure. Other warforged didn’t sound like him.
Sebastian was still startled when the 'forged moved or spoke but Daen trusted him and that was good enough for him. Still, the thought that he was going to 'come undone' lingered in his thoughts because that wouldn't be a pretty sight.
He naturally slowed down his speech when talking to him, "Yes, technically you are right but when people write at your earliest convenience, they expect others to take little bit of time. Otherwise they would say 'right away'."
Then Sebastian remembered that Sergeant Viduk was a warforged so it was hard to know what he meant.
He opened his mouth, closed it, and concluded, "First thing tomorrow morning, that's when we will go."
He diffused the situation, "Phin, anything interesting on your end? Any potential clients?"
Excellent... you are posting enough that you barely need a GM around! My evil scheme is bearing juicy fruit ;^)
Anyways, thank you for the wonderful work, folks, I think I can get the next post out Wednesday my time, to take you to Oakbridge and introduce you to the basics of the case at hand.
He opened his mouth, closed it, and concluded, "First thing tomorrow morning, that's when we will go."
Daryl's head rotated slightly toward the front of the agency. No light was coming in from outside. He'd lost track fo time again. How long had he been 'resting'?
I'll send a PM, but I'll post it here too. I left a lot of the background rather broad incase Jussi wanted to utilize it. I figured I would fill in the exact details and update it as we went along. But Daen is here after his master died in an accident that left him scarred (not that you can see it) and somewhat ostratrazised from the local artificer community. Unless Jussi sends us something privately, I'll plan on putting together a few more details into my character's backstory under Daen.
Yes Aunty Phin." Erix rolled his eyes, but grinned.
She squeezed his arm affectionately before pushing him towards the kitchen, "Now go kill that chicken. Do it like I taught you to minimize blood spurting everywhere. If it works on people, it'll work on an animal."
Phin, anything interesting on your end? Any potential clients?
Phin shakes her head, her long hair dancing around her waist as she did so. "I've been at the tavern more this last week than in the Upper Levels and that clientele wouldn't be able to pay even if they had a case."
A mischievous gleam found its way into her eyes. "Although I could always help to generate clients by making sure things go missing so that you can find them. There are a lot of rich people who have pets who would pay more to get them back than they would their children." There was an acidic edge to her voice that suggested there was some history there. "I guess we can see how this murder pans out before running down any other cases."
Almost got the post going, so I'll take this moment to remind ye all of a couple little things:
- posting in 3rd person, past tense please, unless you are posting character thoughts, as those should be expected to go in 1st person, present tense
- please include (if you haven't already) a section all of its own under your character alias about your character's appearance... no need to keep it up-to-date every time you change clothes, but please describe what your char looks like in normal street wear and stuff about hair and eye colours, visible marks and tattoos, eyecatching jewellery and so forth... a first impression will affect how some NPCs initially react to you, and if I can't find with a single glance how you looked those reactions won't happen so much
- this wiki is full of useful Sharn information, some of it at least common knowledge to every citizen (like the names and most general description of the various city districts)... some of the smaller details might be behind Knowledge: Local rolls or privledged information, so don't assume you know EVERYTHING printed there. Also, while a lot of the stuff comes word-for-word from Sharn - City of Towers some things are custom content for the campaign the wiki apparently existed to support, so I might not use every single thing printed there. Still, that wiki beats reading the old 3.5ed book!
By the way, the turn summary is already 12 pages without Erix's action one post and ANYTHING new I'm about to add... whoa... I just hope I won't totally foul the dialogue as I try to figure out which part goes where...
"Thorn. Tarsdale. Markharm. There's been an incident on Bridge 18. You're up."
Erix put down the book he'd borrowed from a girl in class, careful to put it down on a part of the table still clean and dry. Within ten seconds he, Tarsdale and Markham were at the door. If they were being called out, then this was urgent. It was always urgent. If it wasn't urgent there were easier and cheaper ways than calling out The Specialists.
The edge of the tower didn't even have a safety rail - just a series of zip lines spiralling out into the darkness. This was the worst part. Erix led the way, his night-vision so superb it almost eclipsed his day-vision. Quickly he checked the label, each to one of the nineteen bridges they supported. Eighteen's rope was damn near vertical - this was not going to be a fun trip. He latched the hook to the right zip line, got a running start and leaped out into space, trusting to engineering, magic, and an extremely generous insurance policy to keep him alive. Behind him he heard the grunt as Tarsdale did the same, the line thrumming like that of an instrument. Markham, comparatively, barely made an impression.
The night slipped past them, speeding up and up until they passed the glowstone marker. A second later Markham's spell kicked in, and their speed dropped back down to something approaching survivable.
He could hear the noise already. Smell the blood. This was going to be a bad one. 'Someone waited too long to call use out. Probably' he grimaced 'Some overconfident guard thought he could deal with it himself. The good gods save us from enthusiastic amateurs.'
He felt the impact in his ankles, knees and hips. It drove the breath from his lungs as he hit the ground, absorbing the impact as he'd been trained to do. Even as he rose, even as he heard Tarsdale hit the ground behind him, he was taking in the scene. By the time Markham had hit, they'd seen him - and the cheers had begun.
The upper crust wanted everything fresh. They also didn't want to see tradesmen or smell animals, and they weren't willing to get their milk teleported up. As a result every morning between 2 am and 6 am there was a rush to get fresh supplies across the bridges, fast enough for the bridges to be cleaned and prepped to look beautiful for the hoity-toits the next day.
Bridges were supposed to be wide enough to take a wagon going each way - and wagons were limited to being only half a bridge width. In theory a stream of wagons and carts could travel at a good clip each way, shuttling a days worth of supplies up and a days worth of waste down in a four hour period. In practice wagoneers pushed the margin, packing their wagons so hard they spilled over. Normally not a problem so long as the overfill was soft - but every now and then two idiots clipped each other with something hard enough to twist a wagon. Soon as that happened you got a pile up. A pile up on a bridge up to half a mile above the ground, with no room to get cranes or horses in. A mistake could - and had - sent supplies or animals over the edge - down onto the streets below.
Add in an ever increasing number of tired, angry drivers who hadn't pushed the loads (at least according to them) and you had all the ingredients for a riot. Riots that had destroyed wagons, killed people and worse - annoyed the nobility.
A situation like that needed specialists. Erix - when he took the potion that activated the changes made to him - could lift 1200 pounds. Tarsdale was a full orc - technically the throwback kid of two half orcs - and could do the same without any potions. Markham was an on call sorceror with a few spells, one of which let him turn people into giants. With that on them, and working together, Tarsdale and Thorn had once managed to lift six thousand pounds. Enough to lift a wagon, stagger enough to turn it straight, and get a traffic jam straightened up.
Once.
Once per night - twice in a pinch, though that meant using potions - they could take a screwup and unscrew it. The service wasn't cheap, but the line of wagoneers seeing them turn up to set the bridge straight knew that they weren't paying, they were about to be able to move, and they were getting a free show you'd normally need to line up at a carnival to see.
One day Eric or Tarsdale was going to break a bone, or Markham was going to screw up on the feather fall and they'd all get pancaked, but for now they were heroes.
I think it's quite enjoyable as it is, but if you are unsure, I think I'll wrap up the turn in 10 hours or so, so if you want to redo it, that's your timetable ;^)
Turn 001 - Murder in Oakbridge
Game on!
Sebastian wiped back his strands of long hair, long wet hair as he came inside the awning to protect himself from the rain. He smiled at the boy working to make a living and turned to the elven girl, "Phin, help out this young entrepreneur and buy him a newspaper. It's good for business to stay informed."
Sebastian was nodding way before the sergeant asked if he would take the case. He would of course ask about the pay and other matters but he wanted to make it very clear that they would, no... that they would solve, this case.
"Count us in, of course, and we'll solve this and make you look good."
He added, "We'll need information on the victim, and we'll also want to see the crime scene. How soon can you arrange that?
Sebastian wanted to set things clear, "A couple of housekeeping questions. How much is the pay? And do we let people know that we are working for you?"
Sebastian was just curious, "So sergeant, when do you plan to retire and what will you do in retirement?"
Action 2
Alua watched the boy's newspapers flap about in the breeze, wondering if it was really just wind, or if mischievous spirits were trying to make one fly away. Sometimes the air seemed thick with spirits, and sometimes her eyes played tricks on her. Right now she could only see the living, and was grateful for it. Maybe she was getting better.
Action 3
Alua perched on the edge of a chair, took out her notebook and pencil, and sat poised, ready to take notes. She nodded wisely as the Warforged spoke, jotting down what she deemed important.
She paused as Sebastian asked his questions, ready to write the answers down.
Action 2:
Phin, help out this young entrepreneur and buy him a newspaper. It's good for business to stay informed."
She lifted one of her eyebrows, "You leave your belt pouch at home again, Boss?"
She pulls out three coppers, "Will you take three? That one is all crumpled and not really worth the full price."
Action 3:
Sebastian had the crime scene covered with his question so Phin asked about the victim. "What's this art dealer's name? And where is the body now? I assume that it isn't still lying in the street under his balcony, correct?"
The elf leaned against the wall since there was no chair to sit in, "We'd like to see your initial report."
Action 2
She pulls out three coppers, "Will you take three? That one is all crumpled and not really worth the full price."
”Four, for the pretty lady,” the kid countered, displaying a smile full of crooked teeth.
Action 3
He added, "We'll need information on the victim, and we'll also want to see the crime scene. How soon can you arrange that?
Sebastian had the crime scene covered with his question so Phin asked about the victim. "What's this art dealer's name? And where is the body now? I assume that it isn't still lying in the street under his balcony, correct?"
The elf leaned against the wall since there was no chair to sit in, "We'd like to see your initial report."
”Right to the point – good. Let’s see then,” Sergeant Viduk nodded, reaching out for a rather slim folder on his desk. ”Not much to go by yet – hence our need for specialists to figure things out. The dead man was one Svans ir’Klimansor. Dealt in art as I already mentioned, and at least judging by his apartment made good money. Single, no close relations – judging by the fact no-one’s come to ask for his body yet, as far as I know. Didn’t cause the kind of trouble that got the Watch involved. Fell off his balcony, or was pushed. Hit a bridge some 20 feet below, nearly landed on someone, apparently. Made quite the scene, that’s for sure. Mind you, a couple feet to the left and he’d have missed the bridge altogether… wouldn’t have been enough left to bury if he had gone down all the way to the bottom.”
”The body’s been taken by the Church, and I left strict instructions for the Flamers not to torch it before someone comes to take a look,” he went on, dropping the folder back on the table and gesturing at Phin that she was welcome to take a look if she doubted his thoroughness. ”As for the crime scene, you can go there as soon as you want – I’ll have the key on me right now.”
Sebastian wanted to set things clear, "A couple of housekeeping questions. How much is the pay? And do we let people know that we are working for you?"
”You’d like to know about that, right,” Viduk sighed – with the constant wheeze in his voice, you were finding out he could sigh like champion. ”This Watch post is not made of money, but I have put aside for emergencies like this that I can pay you 300 Galifars for the job – assuming you find the one who did it, or produce compelling evidence it was a suicide or an accident. And do it before the boys and girls up the food chain decide to take the case off all our hands.”
”And I already have a document prepared to prove the bearer is working for the Watch,” the ‘forged said, gesturing at another folder on his desk. ”Only need our signatures and the Watch seal to make it official. One copy only, mind you, and it doesn’t give you the authority of a Watch officer, so don’t try to pretend it does – I’d get to hear about it, sooner or later. But it will give you leave to haunt the crime scene, and I’ll let the boys know you are working for us for the time being, so they don’t put you in chains the moment you start harassing people with questions.”
Sebastian was just curious, "So sergeant, when do you plan to retire and what will you do in retirement?"
The ‘forged was about to answer, paused, cocked his head and sighed. ”Tell you what. Figure out this case and ask me again – Host knows, I might even answer at that point.”
Action 2
She pulls out three coppers, "Will you take three? That one is all crumpled and not really worth the full price."”Four, for the pretty lady,” the kid countered, displaying a smile full of crooked teeth.
"Heh. Kid's smooth." Erix chuckled, moving past. "Can I look at the pictures when you're done?"
He held up a hand in a pacifying gesture before the watch guards had gotten past puffing up to demand he check his weapons. Carefully he unlatched the multiple belts holding his 'glaive' - a massive series of counter rotating saw blades he'd salvaged from a massive broken 'Forged during the war - to his back. "Am I going to need to get a receipt when I check this in, or are you going to be good to remember it?"
Action 3
”Right to the point – good. Let’s see then,” Sergeant Viduk nodded, reaching out for a rather slim folder on his desk. ”Not much to go by yet – hence our need for specialists to figure things out. The dead man was one Svans ir’Klimansor. Dealt in art as I already mentioned, and at least judging by his apartment made good money. Single, no close relations – judging by the fact no-one’s come to ask for his body yet, as far as I know. Didn’t cause the kind of trouble that got the Watch involved. Fell off his balcony, or was pushed. Hit a bridge some 20 feet below, nearly landed on someone, apparently. Made quite the scene, that’s for sure. Mind you, a couple feet to the left and he’d have missed the bridge altogether… wouldn’t have been enough left to bury if he had gone down all the way to the bottom.””The body’s been taken by the Church, and I left strict instructions for the Flamers not to torch it before someone comes to take a look,” he went on, dropping the folder back on the table and gesturing at Phin that she was welcome to take a look if she doubted his thoroughness. ”As for the crime scene, you can go there as soon as you want...
"Longer you leave a track, colder the trail gets." Erix said wisely. In truth he had little clue if it held in a city, let alone to an investigation, but he remembered Phin telling him the longer since you pulled a job the less likely you were to get caught. "Any chance you can have one of the watch who caught this take us over and brief us?"
Action 2:
Four, for the pretty lady,
Phin kept her face all business and handed over the four crowns, "Deal." She took the paper from the boy and held it up for whoever was able to snag it from her grasp first. She specifically looked challengingly at Sebastian and Erix, "Who wants to get informed first?"
Fell off his balcony, or was pushed. Hit a bridge some 20 feet below, nearly landed on someone, apparently. Made quite the scene, that’s for sure. Mind you, a couple feet to the left and he’d have missed the bridge altogether… wouldn’t have been enough left to bury if he had gone down all the way to the bottom.”
Phin picked up the folder that the Sergeant had motioned to, "So there's at least one witness. Is all of the information about the witnesses in here? Was where the body landed marked somehow either physically on the street or measurements given in the report? It may help us determine whether he jumped or was pushed. Although if I had pushed him, I would have made sure that he missed the bridge."
"Longer you leave a track, colder the trail gets."
Phin looked approvingly over at her prodigy, "Erix is right. We need to take a look at the crime scene before doing anything else. Although the body is important as well but he's not going anywhere, right?"
Action 2:
Four, for the pretty lady,Phin kept her face all business and handed over the four crowns, "Deal." She took the paper from the boy and held it up for whoever was able to snag it from her grasp first. She specifically looked challengingly at Sebastian and Erix, "Who wants to get informed first?"
Sebastian's eyebrows arched, "Phin! You should be ashamed of yourself. Did you just gyp the paperboy? Shame on you. Like me, your profits depend heavily on tips."
He quipped as he shook his head, "Tsk, tsk. Cheap. Cheap."
Sebastian continued to nod to everything the 'forged sergeant said, "Yep, OK. Yes, like my colleagues here say, it is imperative that we see the crime scene before anything else is disturbed."
He added, "Any chance we can have an advance?" He desperately thought why he would need an advance other than to make this week's loan payment. "Er... we might need to some money to help loosen up some tongues if you know what I mean..."
Action 3
He held up a hand in a pacifying gesture before the watch guards had gotten past puffing up to demand he check his weapons. Carefully he unlatched the multiple belts holding his 'glaive' - a massive series of counter rotating saw blades he'd salvaged from a massive broken 'Forged during the war - to his back. "Am I going to need to get a receipt when I check this in, or are you going to be good to remember it?"
”Umm… remember the weapon who came here with its man? I think we can just about manage,” one nervous-looking Watchman hazarded as he accepted the monstrosity of mayhem. ”What do you even do with this thing? Hunt the big lizards on the Talenta Plains or something?”
"Longer you leave a track, colder the trail gets."[/b] Erix said wisely. In truth he had little clue if it held in a city, let alone to an investigation, but he remembered Phin telling him the longer since you pulled a job the less likely you were to get caught. "Any chance you can have one of the watch who caught this take us over and brief us?"
”Sure, he’s here at the moment,” Viduk said, then squeezed past the crowd to reach the door, poked his head through. ”Watchman Roole!” the Sergeant bellowed, and a few moments later a lean young man jogged over.
”These gentle sirs and ladies will be assisting us with the ir’Klimansor matter,” the ‘forged said. ”Hang around for a bit, they’ll have some questions for you about the body. And you might as well show them the scene and where to find the dead man’s apartment while you are at it.”
”Yes, Sarge,” the young Watchman answered promptly, then marched back to his desk to wait for the pleasure of the Inquisitives.
Phin picked up the folder that the Sergeant had motioned to, "So there's at least one witness. Is all of the information about the witnesses in here? Was where the body landed marked somehow either physically on the street or measurements given in the report? It may help us determine whether he jumped or was pushed. Although if I had pushed him, I would have made sure that he missed the bridge."
”A witness. One who stuck around until Watchman Roole heard the screams and got there,” Viduk said. ”Hans Enorn, carpenter’s apprentice, stays at the Bluebird Inn. You should find him there once he gets off work, but from what he told Roole, he didn’t see much – not before the sack of meat hit the pavement a few yards in front of him. But don’t take my word for it.”
”As to the place he landed… no, it wasn’t marked. It was on a major bridge, and I’d have had to try and close it off for traffic, and that order would have been obeyed just as long as there were a couple of my lads with truncheons keeping people away from it. I prefer not to fight battles I know I’m going to lose. Roole can help you reconstruct the scene once you get there, as well as he can remember. He’s a bright enough a lad, and this was one sight he won’t be forgetting in a hurry.”
He added, "Any chance we can have an advance?" He desperately thought why he would need an advance other than to make this week's loan payment. "Er... we might need to some money to help loosen up some tongues if you know what I mean..."
”That rough, eh?” Viduk sighed, then rummaged in a desk drawer, his hand coming back with a handful of mixed coins. ”This is off the petty cash, so I expect you’ll make short work of the case and I can just deduct it from your reward money,” the ‘forged said,
Knowledge came unbidden to Daryl’s mind. Fernia is waning
and will soon be remote… Fire spells wouldn’t work as well… Why did he know this?
He watched as the others interacted with the small boy. They spoke to each other with such ease. As if they were all such old friends. Some of them were? Daryl couldn’t remember. Some definitely seemed to have preferences for others. Plus, there were…other evidence? How close they stood to each other, the timbre of their voice versus how they spoke to strangers…others. Little evidences like brushstrokes on a painting revealing the expertise of the artist.
Why did he know that?
The streets were too crowded, too many people around. When Daryl was working in the markets, he tolerated all the people. But he avoided such crowds as much as possible. Was it his size? He was small by Warforged standards, but so much larger than most of the others. But no…that didn’t seem to be it. There was just a part of him that longed to be outside…in the woods…alone…running…
It wasn’t a memory. He couldn’t picture it. But he felt it. Like a piece of him was missing or…neglected?
Daen had hung back with him as they traveled. Daen has spoken of…things. Daryl hadn’t paid much attention. The artificer perhaps knew how uncomfortable Daryl felt, or maybe he just preferred the company of a machine. It didn’t matter. Apparently, Daryl also had a preference for one in the group. Apparently.
“My skills might best be utilized at the apartment.” Daryl said. The office was too small to hold all of them and he had been forced to stay on the other side of the doorway for most of the conversation. The Warforged black-armored face and glowing purple eyes dipped into the office from the other side.
The warforged stepped forward, the others pushing to the side to make room. His large cloak hung off his shoulders like a tarp over a cart. “We should consider bringing something approximately the same weight as the dead to experiment with the amount of force needed to land where he did. This may provide the evidence we need to exclude certain assumptions.”
Action 1
Alua looked around Phin's apartment - it was small, but she liked it. Homier than the shared dorm at Temple. "It's nice," she said, meaning it.
Phin gave her a blanket and an "pillow" (more of a rag-filled bag, but at least it was clean), and Alua tried fluffing it up. Clumsy as she was, she managed to squirt it out of her hands. Contrary to the laws of physics, the pillow flew across the room and pelted Phin in the back of the head. Hands flying to her mouth in embarrassment, Alua squealed in surprise. "Sorry!"
tag Phin
”These gentle sirs and ladies will be assisting us with the ir’Klimansor matter,” the ‘forged said.
Alua looked around, confused, wondering where the gentle sirs and ladies were...after all, there wasn't much room in here, and she was sure she'd have noticed them by now. She caught Phin's eye, and the elf gestured to the group of them. Alua snorted laugher - gentle? Them? The Warforged sergeant was sure to be disappointed if that's what he was expecting.
The machine-man was still talking, so Alua quickly jotted down more notes.
"Phin! You should be ashamed of yourself. Did you just gyp the paperboy? Shame on you. Like me, your profits depend heavily on tips."
He quipped as he shook his head, "Tsk, tsk. Cheap. Cheap."
Phin looked at Sebastian blandly, "I will not be guilted by the likes of you. There is always room for negotiations and any amount of coin that can be saved may mean your body parts stay exactly where they're supposed to be. Did the boy look upset or think I was cheating him? No. So I would drop it if I were you."
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Phin gave her a blanket and an "pillow" (more of a rag-filled bag, but at least it was clean), and Alua tried fluffing it up. Clumsy as she was, she managed to squirt it out of her hands. Contrary to the laws of physics, the pillow flew across the room and pelted Phin in the back of the head. Hands flying to her mouth in embarrassment, Alua squealed in surprise. "Sorry!"
"What the f...!" Phin exclaimed as she whipped around, having been hit unexpectedly. "What are you playing at? She picked up the pillow from the floor and walked slowly towards Alua, grabbing her own pillow along the way. "You seem a little old for a pillow fight but you are my guest so I guess I can oblige. But you really shouldn't have given up your weapon." Phin grins mischievously, "This will probably hurt you more than it will me."
With Phin's quick reflexes, Alua barely saw the double pillow assault coming. The rogue pelted her with both pillows before releasing one of them so that Alua could defend herself. "Let's see what you got, kid."
Roole can help you reconstruct the scene once you get there, as well as he can remember. He’s a bright enough a lad, and this was one sight he won’t be forgetting in a hurry.
Phin half-rolled her eyes, "I guess that's something but a busy bridge means lots of feet trampling any possible clues."
She looked at the others, "So I guess crime scene first, witness interrogation second, and then analyzing the body? Unless we split up, of course."
About being armed on the streets:
- Weapons need to be peace-bonded to prevent them being used quickly. Daggers and knives an exception, since those are tools as well as weapons. Except except if you carry a dozen of them or something, in which case reason should prevail and all but one be bound. For something like spears and axes, I'd think having a sheath for the blade that's bound on is more reasonable than trying to tie a spear across someone's back. As to what people with with warhammers and the like... well, if you figure that out, please share it with me. Perhaps you wrap them in cotton or something, to cushion the blows?
- As for armor, light armors are OK, mediums are a bit iffy, and heavy armors will most certainly get the guards interested in you, since there's very little reason to walk the streets dressed for war than being ready to cause trouble. And as I have said, the Watch doesn't appreciate citizens being more heavily armed than the guards are and will step in.
- And there are plenty of bad apples in the Watch who might use someone carrying too much hardware as an excurse to harass them, or confiscate the stuff and sell it for their own benefit, or something similar.
- Also, some districts have more severe limitations... Upper Tavick’s Landing for example requires anyone bearing arms (beyond that one dagger or knife you might use to cut your food with) to buy a license. That's 5G a month. Or to cast spells outside private property. That's 10G a month.
Yeah, that *can* make GM's life really difficult if one of the places people split to involves danger and the other doesn't... means half the party gets to play a couple weeks of combat rounds while the other might have nothing to do, since the fighting party only uses a couple minutes of game time over a couple weeks of real time.
She looked at the others, "So I guess crime scene first, witness interrogation second, and then analyzing the body? Unless we split up, of course."
The warforged stepped forward, the others pushing to the side to make room. His large cloak hung off his shoulders like a tarp over a cart. “We should consider bringing something approximately the same weight as the dead to experiment with the amount of force needed to land where he did. This may provide the evidence we need to exclude certain assumptions.”
Sebastian shook his head slowly, "While I think your logic is sound, I don't think that throwing a 150 lbs something onto a busy bridge is the way to go."
He shrugged, "Not yet anyways. There are other avenues of investigation that take precedence at this time."
She looked at the others, "So I guess crime scene first, witness interrogation second, and then analyzing the body? Unless we split up, of course."
Sebastian now nodded, "Yep, I think Phin has the right of it and in the correct order."
The investigator pocketed the meager coins he was given, adjusted his rapier, and motioned for the young Watch member, "We're ready to go if you are ready to take us there..."
Daen is yet to post, but since we need to move I'll take you to the crime scene tomorrow.
While I think your logic is sound, I don't think that throwing a 150 lbs something onto a busy bridge is the way to go."
Phin looked disappointed, "Awwww. You never let us have any fun. Throwing pig carcasses off the balcony that we could procure from a butchers would have been quite interesting and probably very informative."
She nodded at Daryl, "Good thinking. Maybe next time."
Turn 002 - The First Crime Scene
Game on!
A little something about Sharn architecture, since I don't really think the pictures do justice to some of the descriptions... There are few in the way of conventional buildings in Sharn (more on the upper districts, as there is more flat surfaces on the tops of the massive towers). Most of the apartments/warehouses/industry/businesses are built inside the walls of the towers.
And those are some large towers, with the biggest being 2500' wide at the bottom, narrowing to 600' at the tops, and hollow-cored. Streets run through the towers at various points, and balconies extend from them, both on the outside and on the inside, one assumes, to make good use of the open space inside. Most of the apartments and all are hollowed into the thick walls... there are some interesting speculative articles out there how much space there really ought to be in the City (given that official maps allow one to count the towers, and since the dimensions of the largest ones are known, the sizes of the smaller ones can be extrapolated). Now, even allowing for the magically-hardened stone and the effect of the manifest zone that prevents the weight of the towers from crushing them, I imagine there still needs to be plenty of solid rock in the towers to keep them structurally sound, so the walls between apartments are very, very thick indeed.
Is there any point to this? Well, I just want to share the way I see the City (since that affects some of the assumptions I'm making along the way), and one such assumption is that a neighbor needs to have VERY good ears to hear what happens in the apartment next door, unless there is a conveniently-placed open door or window to allow sound to travel. Just in case you end up thinking along those lines.
Erix looked at the guard, paused, and decided to use a version of the truth. "Wood. This thing will turn logs into firewood in about two seconds. I'll show you later, if you like. You have to use it to believe it. More seriously, it does come in handy on Adventures from time to time." '...though not for actual fighting' "You interested in joining the guild, Watchman...?" Erix left a gap for the watchman to fill him in.
"Well. This is where you psychics and thinkers earn your keep. Anything you can pick up from the blood? Work out if he was pushed or fell by working out the path he took as he fell?" He grinned "If you need someone to climb a measuring thread up to the balcony I bet Auntie would be happy to volunteer."
Sebastian kept feeding small bits of information to Roole; it was always good to have someone in the Watch be their friend.
He kept looking towards Alua, the more charismatic of the group, to try and goad her into keeping the officer interested and attentive, "Talk to him. I'm sure he would like to have the ear of someone like you. He may have good information on this case or other cases."
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Once at the crime scene, he once more turned to Alua. her skills at healing would surely come in handy here. "Well, can you make anything from the blood?"
He asked Daen to join in, "What about you? Anything? Do we need to take a sample for further testing or something?"
Sebastian then carefully looked at scene to see if there was anything that could be construed as clue...
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If you are doing something actively, I think you, the players should roll. But I will roll for passive stuff, something you might notice but aren't actively looking for, like spotting someone keeping an eye on you. Depending on the situation, I may suggest what someone in the party should roll for extra information, and may or may not provide DCs to aim for.
Oh, and come combat time, I'll roll for initiatives. That seems to work out well in your games, after all.
Persuasion Check that profburns isn't a bad guy (+5 situational bonus) despite not yet updating his stats (rolling with a disadvantage):
Daryl slowly scanned the area looking at each of buildings and businesses. He followed the line of the building up toward the balcony.
Action 4:
As the paraded through the streets on their way to the crime scene, Phin kept a watchful eye on their surroundings, analyzing everything as someone who may attempt some light burglary. Potential escape routes, how easy would it be to gain access, lighting, anything that may be helpful if this proved to be a murder and not a horrible accident.
When they arrived at the bridge and Roole pointed out the point of impact, she asked, "How did the body land? Face first, on their back, something else?"
She looked up at the balcony that the Watchman had pointed out, trying to judge distance.
If you need someone to climb a measuring thread up to the balcony I bet Auntie would be happy to volunteer."
Phin smacked Erix playfully on the shoulder, "Not in the daytime. You know I prefer to do my climbing at night. Besides, lowering a measuring thread from the balcony would involve less risk and get similar results."
While some of the others investigated where the body landed, Phin searched the surrounding area - the bridge, alleys, litter in the street that may have been overlooked.