First, a small velvet bag containing a handful of gems.
Second, a key without a label but with a distinctive symbol stamped into the head (a dagger dripping a drop of some liquid falling off the tip on one side and a number- 414- on the other).
Third, a note tucked into an inside pocket. The handwritten note says 'Trollskull Manor, Trollskull Alley. Early. Tell them you're meeting me.'
People are distracted but there are enough people around that someone is going to notice Illendur going through the pockets of a body sitting out in the open on the ground. If you want to try to be sneaky about it, you can roll Stealth or Sleight of Hand, let's say DC 13. Otherwise when the Guard shows up you will probably have to explain what you were doing stealing from a dead guy.
Nope Not Sneaky at all...
Illendur checks the Gnome's possessions, Anyone know this man? He's probably the target, we're going to get to the bottom of this!
Ash began to rush over to the boy before remembering himself. With a bit more caution, he approached the boy, telegraphing his presence.
"Are you all right? Where are your parents?"
He crouched nearby, and smiled without showing his teeth. "They call me Ash. What's your name?"
Zander had originally found himself simply standing in the middle of the square, as J'r-V'zz populated the "plot" map in his head.
It didn't look good, but there also did not seem to be any further attack imminent.
"If only I could fly," he thought yet again, "I could see where the attack came from, and look for fleeing attackers."
"Yes," came the dry, irritated mental voice of his companion, "and then do what? Fall upon them from above, alone?"
If Zander's face could show emotion, he would have frowned. But rather than respond, he simply started looking around for likely angles of attack.
"Based on the diameter of the markings on the ground, from what angle would such a fireball need to have originated?"
"The point of origin would have to be beyond my current sensory range," J'r-V'zz responded, almost instantly. "As such, and given a spherical zone of impact, the possibilities are too numerous for a projection of any statistical likelihood above any other."
Zander nodded. His crystalline companion was not one to hesitate in admitting such things - at least, not in a combat zone.
Well then.
If any direction was as likely as another, it wouldn't hurt to start checking from above, would it?
With that decision made, Zander headed to the wall of the Stickee and Sweet shop and began climbing.
Nope Not Sneaky at all...
Illendur checks the Gnome's possessions, Anyone know this man? He's probably the target, we're going to get to the bottom of this!
Bluff, Nonchalant Thuggery? = 10
No one responded to Illendur's question, though several of the people helping the wounded looked over to see who the nobleman was talking about. Vincent Trench, in particular, seemed to take a close look at the dead gnome as he provided first aid to another victim.
Ash began to rush over to the boy before remembering himself. With a bit more caution, he approached the boy, telegraphing his presence.
"Are you all right? Where are your parents?"
He crouched nearby, and smiled without showing his teeth. "They call me Ash. What's your name?"
"M... Martem, sir," he said between sniffles. "Have you seen my ma?" Closer up, Martem was definitely clutching something in his hand. Some kind of chain, or maybe a necklace?
With that decision made, Zander headed to the wall of the Stickee and Sweet shop and began climbing.
[dice=Climbing]1d20+8
With the assistance of a well placed water barrel and downspout, Zander easily clambered up onto the roof of Stickee and Sweet.
"So much for after-breakfast cheese tasting eh? I hope these folks know I'm not a surgeon, but it's ok Peekee, we've... umm... got this, yes?"
Looking to her chicken, she gave the bird a nervous pat and exchanged winks with it, before hurrying off to find whatever blankets and fresh water they had around here.
Goggh started ferrying stable but unconscious victims over to the Manor and others started directing the walking wounded inside for help and in a manner of minutes Trollskull Manor's ground floor was full of hurt, soot-covered people sitting in every available chair and laying on every open patch of floor.
"Let's get you somewhere safe while we find her, okay? Follow me, I'll take you where the people are. Can you walk?"
Ash kept his voice as soothing as he could.
As Goggh brought in the wounded and Jixel treated them, Idrassa busied herself helping as best she could. She pulled out whatever supplies she could find, and provided water so that the injured could drink and clean the ashes from their faces. She refused to let herself be sickened by the sight of all the blood and burns, though she found herself looking away from the carnage whenever her self-imposed duties did not require her focus elsewhere.
"Let's get you somewhere safe while we find her, okay? Follow me, I'll take you where the people are. Can you walk?"
Ash kept his voice as soothing as he could.
Martem nodded, apparently trusting this nice adult. With his free hand, Martem reached out to take Ash's hand and allowed the shifter to lead him to Trollskull Manor.
With that decision made, Zander headed to the wall of the Stickee and Sweet shop and began climbing.With the assistance of a well placed water barrel and downspout, Zander easily clambered up onto the roof of Stickee and Sweet.
If Zander had been one of the investigators in the serial stories that were printed in the weekly broadsheets, his eyes would have narrowed, and a thoughtful look crossed his features.
As it was, the golden Warforged simply stood, looking down at the tracks, wondering what they meant.
After a few moments, he checked the window.
If Zander had been one of the investigators in the serial stories that were printed in the weekly broadsheets, his eyes would have narrowed, and a thoughtful look crossed his features.
As it was, the golden Warforged simply stood, looking down at the tracks, wondering what they meant.
After a few moments, he checked the window.
Zander found himself looking into the living quarters of Miss Toffel, the elderly owner of the sweets shop on the ground floor. She wasn't in the room at the moment and as far as the warforged could tell the window was locked from the inside. There were probably ways someone could lock a window from the outside but it was more likely that whoever had been hiding on the roof had neither emerged from nor entered into the building.
The warforged had no skill at tracking and even if he had, following hard soled boots across shingles and tile roofs would have been a noteworthy accomplishment. However, giving the faint marks a second look- and interpreting the fact that those signs didn't appear on the west or south sides of the dormer- Zander calculated that whoever had been up here likely came from the east or the north and had left in one of those directions as well.
Floxin grimaced. It was probably the closest he could get to a ferocious frown in his wounded condition. "I don't know who did it, and if I find out before you and the Guard does you're never gonna find their bodies," he growled.
Declan nodded, satisfied that Floxin didn't have anything to do with the blast and just wanted out of there before the authorities arrived. He could understand that much. He turned back to the carnage of the blast, letting Floxin slip away.
The Trollskullers were already triaging the wounded, and Declan was glad their little group was so efficient. They could question the survivors in due course, if they needed to. But Declan's eyes were focused on the dead.
There was definitely some collateral damage, but he was looking or something that didn't belong. The possible target of the blast. Among the locals, and a few of what looked like Floxin's associates (the source of his ire, no doubt), was an individual Declan didn't expect to see deep in the alleys. He gravitated to the well-to-do elderly woman and examined the decedent critically.
Jixel had never imagined their tavern becoming a hospital, but the transformation happened very quickly! Hurrying about, the ratfolk checked on each of the arrivals, thankful for Idrassa's help in making folks as comfortable as might be possible. Thus far, nobody had been carted in who looked to be too close to breathing their last tastes of air. All were stable at least, complete with a pulse. Now she just needed to move around them, one at a time.
"I really hope these folks are used to... well, less traditional forms of healing."
That said, she pulled a length of bone from her bag of "things", it was a straight and skinny one possibly from some species of bird. Eyeing her familiar, Jixel then asked the chicken very politely...
"We will, yes? This is one of those times? The thing you taught me long ago."
A cluck of approval, and she got to work, her healing routine one of standing beside each patient and waving the bone over them.
"We are broken yet we fly, we may stumble although try, oh being so oh avian pecked, I hereby call on the healer's hex..."
There was definitely some collateral damage, but he was looking or something that didn't belong. The possible target of the blast. Among the locals, and a few of what looked like Floxin's associates (the source of his ire, no doubt), was an individual Declan didn't expect to see deep in the alleys. He gravitated to the well-to-do elderly woman and examined the decedent critically.
As far as Declan could tell, the elderly woman wasn't wearing anything that called her out as a member of a specific noble house- no crests or signet ring he could find- but her clothes had been of quality material and were finely tailored. She wasn't carrying a shopping bag like the younger victims were- they were likely servants out to buy fresh produce for the day, requiring a bag- but she did have a small coinpurse on her.
Her papers are here, in an elegant leather wallet. There is an illusory likeness of her along with an extra fancy House Sivis arcane notarization. Her name was Marianne ir'Massalan- Massalan Villa is only a block away from Trollskull Manor to the west down Delzorin Street.
She had a random assortment of coins on her: 7 platinum dragons, 23 gold galifars, 68 silver sovereigns, and just a couple copper crowns. Whoever she was, she was rich if she was casually carrying around nearly a normal person's entire year's salary.
Sadly, it looked like she had just been out for a walk in the cool morning air and ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Sadly, it looked like she had just been out for a walk in the cool morning air and ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Declan made a face as his prior assumptions got corrected. He sat on his haunches and glanced around, sucking his teeth in thought. Someone was the target. If not one of these, then maybe one of the survivors.
Noting Illendur nearby, he stood, surreptitiously slipping the Sivis woman's purse under his leathers. If anything, it could be a later follow-up. The house of Scribing would likely want to know what happened to their member.
"We should probably interview the survivors," Declan said to the other half-elf.
In a matter of seconds, the Trollskullers had reacted to an explosion, helped to gather the wounded, and investigated a number of suspicious persons and locations. Other folks of merit had also reacted quickly to the bombing- the druid, detective, and alchemist most prominent among them- to minimize the harm to the wounded and mitigate the damage to the neighborhood. So when the official response showed up they had little to do but cordon off the area.
As the Trollskullers returned to the tavern-cum-infirmary, the first squad of Knight Phantoms was just flying in overhead, some ignoring the Alley's high walls entirely on winged boots and others thundering in from the south on phantom steeds that passed harmlessly around and through wounded and helper alike as they spread out to close off the exits to Trollskull Alley. In truth, the Aundairian elite's response time was remarkable- less than a handful of minutes to from explosion to arriving on scene was impressively fast.
With the worst of the wounded already stabilized and tended to by Jixel and Peekee, the group had a moment to catch their breath and take stock.
1) Martem's necklace.
2) Note and key on the dead gnome.
Supposition:
A) Zander's observations on the roof.
B) Declan's encounter with Floxin.
Illendur nods, seeing no obvious threat, and begins working the crowd, seeing what he can learn. Knowing he'll be able to debrief the minotaur later, he asks around. Excuse me, can you recall what happened just before the blast?
Ash, meanwhile, was growing a bit worried about finding Martem's parents, but doing his best to hide that from the child. Doing his best to keep the kid entertained and not worried or scared, he glanced at the necklace the boy was clutching while the shifter procured some food.
"What's that, Martem? Is that your mother's?"
Illendur nods, seeing no obvious threat, and begins working the crowd, seeing what he can learn. Knowing he'll be able to debrief the minotaur later, he asks around. Excuse me, can you recall what happened just before the blast?
Seeing Illendur working the crowd with his questions about the blast, Idrassa appeared nearby offering liquid comfort that was just a bit stronger than she had provided the other victims and offering a reassuring smile that communicated trust and safety.
Between Illendur and Idrassa, the two of them found that most people hadn't seen anything of note before the blast. Most folks' first indication that anything was happening had been the explosion itself. A couple of the more astute marketgoers said they had seen something on the rooftops at the east end of the Alley.
One woman, badly burned, concussed, and with her fine clothes ruined where they had been burned on the front, had seen more. ""I tell you, it was not a man. More like a puppet shaped like a man. A puppet without strings. It was on the rooftop. It hurled something into the crowd below that caused the explosion. I saw those halflings burned alive! I saw them!"
Another, a young man in servant's clothes who wasn't hurt but had escorted a hurt young woman in, had seen something else. "There was a warforged looting the bodies right after the explosion. It went through one of the bodies' pockets and scrambled up onto the roof." Questioned further, he went on to describe a small, slightly built construct made of copper and wood, fashioned with a Van D@$$ beard, wearing a red robe and a cavalier's hat with a feather. "You could see the gears and everything whirring away under its chest plate."
While philosophers disagree on whether they are sentient, they are clearly able to respond to stimuli, adapt to unexpected situations, and communicate. Perhaps most importantly, they are not covered by the warforged provisions of the Treaty of Thronehold and are therefore still considered property.
For some reason, Throneport actually contains a multitude of clockwork constructs, with nimblewrights as the most advanced and obvious. There are several places that specialize in clockwork artificery, with the House of Inspired Hands in Sea Ward the best known and most renowned.
Ash, meanwhile, was growing a bit worried about finding Martem's parents, but doing his best to hide that from the child. Doing his best to keep the kid entertained and not worried or scared, he glanced at the necklace the boy was clutching while the shifter procured some food.
"What's that, Martem? Is that your mother's?"
Martem clutched the necklace to his chest. "It will be when she comes to get me! I found it and I'm gonna give it to her when she gets here." As he already had a dozen times, the young boy looked at the door again, hoping he would catch her walking in.
Declan simply watched the proceedings while Illendur and Idrassa worked the crowd. He may have been "high born" of a sort, but he still wasn't a crowds sort of person.
While they talked, he glanced to the boy Ash was speaking to, and the necklace he was protectively clutching.
Declan shrugged, it didn't seem important at the moment. What did, however, was the intel Illendur and Idrassa were collecting. Pushing himself off the wall, Declan joined the pair and listened in.
"A nimblewright?" Declan said immediately, his arms uncrossing. He was familiar with the clockwork constructs from his school days. He glanced to the others, "It will have a master. We may be able to take that description to one of the workshops to divine an owner."
Ah, so it is acting under someone's direction? Someone wanted to blow up the market? Illendur replies, That's a pretty specific description - should be easy enough to track down? the half-elf says.
Idrassa noted the child holding the valuable necklace. Though she did not consider attempting to take it from him, her instincts from years of grifting meant she attempted to tally its value by habit.
"A nimblewright?" Declan said immediately, his arms uncrossing. He was familiar with the clockwork constructs from his school days. He glanced to the others, "It will have a master. We may be able to take that description to one of the workshops to divine an owner."
Idrassa's attention was drawn back to events, and she pushed aside her momentary flash of avarice.
"I know a few artificers who do...unconventional work," she commented, thinking of some high-minded craftspeople who were far too committed to their art to bother with trivialities such as guild certificates and patent rights. "I could make a few inquiries."
Illendur follows Idrassa, asking questions of people, and describing the very specific description he was given for the nimblewright.
Idrassa tried not to let her eyes bulge at the sight of the necklace. She suspected it was probably the most expensive piece of jewelry she had seen since leaving Passage. The grifter in her lunged forward and she tried to choke it down. She sensed her new friends would not approve of taking something like that from a child to keep for herself. A tiny part of her screamed that if she got her hands on the necklace she did not need these new friends nearly so badly.
She called a mental truce, deciding to get her hands on the necklace and then decide whether to steal it or return it for a reward. And how much of the proceeds from either should be shared with the child and the other Trollskullers.
Idrassa approached Martem and crouched down beside him, coming eye level to him. "Martem," she said, having overheard the name a moment before and filed it away. "That necklace you are holding is very expensive. Very, very expensive. And someone is going to come looking for it. They might ask the Watch for help finding it. If you are holding it when the Watch comes, they might think you stole it."
She gave the child a concerned look. "If you give it to your mother, and they see it on her, they might think she stole it, too. You can't just pick up something that up and carry it around." She held out her hand. "Let me find out who it belongs to. I'll make sure they know you found it and did the right thing."
She did not know if she was lying, but that was not important. It was only important that Martem did not think she was.
Martem had looked unconvinced at first but as soon as Idrassa mentioned his mother possibly getting in trouble he nodded and held out the necklace to give it to this responsible, caring adult. "I didn't steal it, I promise! Somebody dropped it in the rain barrel I ducked behind!" He looked up beseechingly at Ash, then back at Idrassa. "I swear to all the Host! My mom hasn't even seen it yet!"
Zander had been distracted by the recognition of the nimblewright, and what that might mean.
J'r-V'zz, on the other hand, had been continually processing the room. When Idrassa stood up with the necklace in hand, Zander's sentient crystalline companion jerked the warforged's attention back to the situation at hand.
"Rain barrel?" Zander repeated, "Which rain barrel? There were many around the square."
"Don't worry, I'm sure your mom won't be in any trouble now..." Ash attempted to reassure the boy, patting his shoulder; but his eyes were on Idrassa. Where was she going with this?
Surely not.
He smiled at Martem. "But it's important that someone may have lost it. Do you remember who it was? What they looked like? Anyway, there's no reason to worry now. In fact, I don't know anyone better than Idrassa here to help explain matters. She'll help us find your parents, lickety split, and we'll explain everything."
He nodded at Idrassa, inviting her to do something miraculous, or at least to help find Martem's parents and smooth things over.
Martem shook his head. "I didn't see who did it! I was playing hide and seek with the other kids around the square then there was the big explosion and I was okay and I looked out to see what happened and there was a plop and I looked and saw somebody had dropped the necklace in there." He looked at Zander. "Over by the candy shop, the one right in the corner of the square. It's a good hiding place but everybody knows it so eventually they'll come find you."
Scurrying around in the manner that a rat might make haste, Jixel had kept on treating the stream of injured souls making their way through the doors. She had faith that her companions would be our there following leads and collecting vital information. Actually, this gave the ratfolk lass an idea. It felt kind of mean... but the best time to ask favors was right after potentially saving someone's life, right? Or at least post pain-alleviation. Thus, she started asking a few of less rattled-looking patients a couple of questions.
"Oh dear, did you see anything strange before this all happened? Have you heard of anything similar happening around here, I'm quite new to the city? Can you think of anyone with a bone to pick with our friendly community in these parts?"
Things like that...
Jixel gets a few of the same stories as Idrassa and Illendur- glimpses of a nimblewright on the rooftop of Stickee and Sweet throwing something into the crowd and then looting one of the bodies before running off.
While the Trollskullers and other Alley residents tended to the wounded, the Aundairian Knights Phantom and regular soldiers cordoned off Trollskull Alley, allowing no one in and no one out. Less than 10 minutes after the explosion happened, the Alley was locked down. Impressive response time, if you hadn't already been standing at the scene of the crime.
Twenty minutes after the explosion, a small contingent of the City Watch arrives to investigate the scene. An older human in a rumpled suit quietly takes charge of the investigation, inspecting the scene closely and jotting down notes in a small notebook. As the detective looks over the scene of the explosion his escort fans out to knock on doors and question witnesses.
Eventually, about half an hour after the blast, the detective finally shows up at Trollskull Manor. The disheveled looking man knocks on the inside of the Manor's open door with an apologetic smile on his face. "Uh, excuse me. Don't let me get in the way but can I ask a few questions?"
Illendur looks up from where he was, Yes sir, come on in. We're just trying to keep everyone alive here.
Jixel nodded in agreement with Illendur, and having pretty much all the patients under control meant that the ratfolk could finally have a quick break. All that running around and hexing of folks was exhausting! She pulled up a chair at their table, and offered one to the latest visitor.
"Please sit mister, its been such a busy and horrible day for everyone! How are the investigations going?"
She wasn't ready to compare notes just yet, but wanted to be accommodating for this official. Perhaps this was a good time to... get into the good books, or at least the slightly less criminal ones.
Idrassa hid a frown at the watchman's entrance. She had been hoping Martem's parents would make an appearance before the authorities did, and that they would cart him off before Idrassa needed to conceal information about the necklace. Could she trust him to keep silent?
As Jixel greeted the watchman, Idrassa took advantage of the momentary distraction to slip over to Martem. She knelt beside him, keeping her body language casual, as if she were simply checking on the child. But her eyes met his with earnest seriousness.
"Martem," she said. "If the watchman talks to you, tell him everything else truthfully, but don't mention the necklace, OK? If he takes it, he won't give you a reward for it. We need to find the owner for that."
It wasn't a lie, she reflected. She just hadn't decided yet if she were going to make that happen. She moved on quickly, not wanting to give the child time to argue. She judged he was more likely to comply if he had unanswered questions.
The man gave Jixel a distracted smile. "I've had better mornings, to be honest. I'm just asking people if they noticed anything odd before the explosion." He looked around at all the recovering wounded. "It's a nice thing you're doing here. Good neighbors in this neighborhood. Nice place."
He looked from Jixel to Illendur. "So, where were you when the explosion happened?"
"Martem," she said. "If the watchman talks to you, tell him everything else truthfully, but don't mention the necklace, OK? If he takes it, he won't give you a reward for it. We need to find the owner for that."
It wasn't a lie, she reflected. She just hadn't decided yet if she were going to make that happen. She moved on quickly, not wanting to give the child time to argue. She judged he was more likely to comply if he had unanswered questions.
Martem nodded at Idrassa. He clearly trusted her. How good of a liar, even by omission, he might turn out to be remained to be seen. He asked quietly "Has anybody seen my mom yet?"
Martem nodded at Idrassa. He clearly trusted her. How good of a liar, even by omission, he might turn out to be remained to be seen. He asked quietly "Has anybody seen my mom yet?"
Idrassa shook her head. "No," she told the child. "But if you tell me what she looks like, I'll go and look for her now."
The young woman had been hoping a desperate mother would come staggering off the street looking for her son. The fact that she had not meant it was time to start looking for her among the dead. Idrassa kept her smile easy, but her heart ached for what was to come.
Zander stepped up behind Illendur and Jixel, giving the rumpled-looking humanoid an inscrutable look. Then again, as his face was unable to change expression, most of Zander's looks were inscrutable for most people.
"We were at various locations within the Manor," he provided, "is that somehow significant?"
"Could be, could be." The investigator nodded. He looked around the crowded tavern floor and, seeing how crowded it was inside, took Jixel's offered seat. "Anything might be significant. You never know when a small detail might turn out to be significant."
"You were all within the Manor, you say?" The disheveled watchman looked from Zander to Jixel to Illendur, his gaze only briefly passing over Idrassa, Ash, Declan, and Goggh, who hadn't addressed him but were clearly staff rather than victims. "I noticed the windows all face west or south, except for that tower room. Was anyone up there when the explosion happened?"
Illendur gestures expansively, I'm unsure, several of us were reviewing the books down here, and rushed outside to help when it happened. Have you learned anything? This is bad for business, and our bar manager was almost killed by whomever orchestrated this attack. he indicates Goggh with a gesture.
Idrassa collected the description of Martem's parents from the child, slipped over and waited patiently for the watchman to answer Illendur's question. When he was finished, she inserted herself in the conversation.
"Excuse me," she offered. "Officer, I'm sorry to have to ask, but...do you know if people are gathering bodies somewhere? The boy over there," she nodded to Martem, "Is looking for his mother. She has not yet come looking for him and it's possible...I mean..." Idrassa found herself genuinely pained as she trailed off. "I just want to rule things out." She concluded.
Jixel sat for a moment with the Officer, but her eyes were always wandering over the array of patients, making sure that she hadn't forgotten to treat anyone, or might have missed something. She let her friends chat with the official visitor for now. Idrassa's concerns in particular made the ratfolk wince a bit. A deep-seated maternal instinct kind of kicked in, and she couldn't help herself from wondering if... should the worst have happened... if... they should...
Ash hurriedly hustled the boy away, ostensibly in search of a pastry - no need to alarm him... yet.
Kneeling by him, he asked, "Martem, do you have anything of your mother's? Could I see?"
Declan didn't get involved. Instead he busied himself helping the injured. It wasn't just healing they needed, but things like blankets and tea. He busied himself with these mundane tasks while the others with more... diplomatic miens talked to the detective.
He had seen enough of those sorts of investigators to know they had uncanny skills to suss out oddities. And he had enough oddities to make things... complicated. So, he did his best to just fade into the background.
"I was present atop the tower," Zander offered, "but I did not see anything, only heard the sound of the explosion."