Larger amounts:
- Most of the local town businesses trade goods or money with the Locked Box in some form or other
- Cerius & Cico Cinna - new married couple, got a loan to build a house
- Edita Glicolabeo - daughter taking over farm for dead dad had to buy new livestock
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- The only other semi-private room on this floor is the Guard's quarters, but that is where the fourth guard was murdered. Would you like to use that room anyway?
Ejtehah approaches the guards with a concerned look on his face. If the guards do not mind he will guide them to the Guard's quarters where the fourth guard was murdered.
"Gentlemen, I truly believe that this tragic event shows how important your services are. A tragic loss of your friend as well! I would very much appreciate it to get your side of the story. You surely have seen and heard a lot about the potential threats to the recently deceased Mr. Walder! Can you please fill me in?"
Despite how kind you are to her, Agnes leaves a few of the minor details the Sheriff told you out, but you are pretty sure that is due to actual grieving and maybe a little racism rather than her trying to hide anything. Other than that her version lines up with what Feldane said.
Two cots and a bunk bed sit in the room. Footlockers are tucked underneath the cots to store personal belongings. A table and chairs are in the room’s center, a well-used deck of harrow cards on the tabletop. A large, rusty red blotch remains on the floor where the guard’s body was discovered - it's obvious Agnes tried to clean up the blood, but the floor is permanently stained.
The guards will periodically look at the blood stain nervously, but tell you almost verbatim what the Sheriff passed along, with a few minor variances that make you believe they are telling the truth rather than retelling a practiced story. They can't think of anyone who would want to hurt Mr. Walden. One guard in particular seems very emotionally upset by the death of his employer, and is especially defensive of him when discussing his potential enemies. "I don't know why anyone would want to hurt him! He was such a good man. Changed my life, he did, by giving me this here job when my parents died of plague and I got a bit... wild." He looks ashamed of his past behavior. "He only needed us guards to protects his money, not his person. No matter how nice of a person you are, someone is always money-hungry."
From your inspection, the books seem on the up and up. The Locked Box was a fairly successful business, but not to the point of taking advantage of his customers. At times when someone was in dire straits it appears he even took an occasional loss to support the community.
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With Mrs. Walder off talking to Magdelina, Professor Masaendri begins searching the office for anything hidden. I feel dirty. Spoiling the sanctity of a person's office is egregious to her (or it would have been to her, in her own office at the University), but an investigation must be thorough.
As she does so, she and Nilah compare observations. "Hmm... Well, one thing I've learned in all my years is that no one's perfect. This guy seems to be. There's something we're missing."
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While the others are inside talking with the guards and examining the house, Salmok remains outside. Somewhere along the line, he picked up a bowler hat and a pipe. "Elementary, " he says between smokes. The oread is on the lookout for any forced entry, any footprints, anything that looks out of place.
And the oread is having a blast pretending to be an investigator. He's actually not paying attention to his surroundings.
Are you familiar with the sentimental value of these items? Were any of them particularly contentious for the client to give up? Were any stolen in this incident?
Agnes smiles sadly at the misunderstanding. "No, everything is this office is my husband's personal items. Nothing appeared to be taken from this room, it's just as he left it."
Agnes finishes her interview with Magdelina, and dispassionately watches you finish searching the office. She isn't surprised you found nothing.|
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After talking to the guards Ejtehah joins lady Walder.
With a quiet voice he starts talking to her.
"Ms. Walder, I think you know that stories are already spreading in town. I can imagine that some would even accuse you. If there is anything that you have not told anyone, yet, now is the time!" he says and looks at her with friendly eyes.
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After talking to Ms. Walder, Ejtehah will check the office once more.
He will then join Salmok to check the outside for anything useful.
Map updated.
"By the way, when you're done with upstairs, we haven't opened the downstairs vault yet, so I don't know whether anything was taken from there or not - if the robbers had Archivin's key they could have gotten in. My key will open it as well. We were waiting for the Sheriff to return, but if you all are deputized...?
Mrs. Walder adds that she feels responsible for the death of the guard. "Normally we keep 2 on guard at all times, but I just wanted to find Walden as soon as possible so I sent the other 3 out to help find him! We haven't had an attempted robbery in.... oh, so long I forget. How was I to know?" She sniffs and pulls out a hanky to dab at her eyes.
Office:
The display case contains mementos of personal value rather than treasures: Walder family portraits, a signed copy of the town charter, a stuffed and mounted bear, a mounted reefclaw, and a boggard short spear. They haven't swept the office in some time, there is some dirt and miscellaneous debris accumulated in the corners, but nothing of note, just crumpled receipts and scraps of used wax.
Outside:
The path outside is too well-trafficked to find any clues there.
Main Showroom:
The glass cases are 4 feet high and individually locked, though some were smashed open by the skulks. Broken glass has been swept up into careful piles. Cross-referencing with Nilah's work on the accounting book, you can easily surmise that the contents of the cases represent objects left as security on loans defaulted upon, or simply sold. Most of the gems and jewelry the robbers left behind in their haste are worth 50 gp or less.
Once your are all satisfied with your investigations of this level, Agnes will open the center doors and lead the way down the stairs. She asks if anyone has a light, if not she will fetch the office lantern before heading downstairs.
This bare corridor leads to the double doors of the vault. A hook for a hanging lantern is mounted on the western wall at the base of the stairs, and underneath it is a single chair.
Agnes moves forward to the door, hangs the lantern, and uses her key to unlock the vault.
Beyond the heavy steel door, this darkened chamber is lined with shelves, including freestanding shelving in the center. There is ample room in the vault, but labeled boxes, bags, weapons, and armor are spread throughout.
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"Elementary" Salmok smokes his pipe while following Mr. Ejteheh inside. "This is getting exciting.". Salmok is really digging his new found calling as an investigator.
Once Agnes opens up the door, Salmok saunters in. He'll smoke his pipe and look about.
"Ah yes! I think I found something.". He moves over to some of the boxes, bags, weapons, and armors. "This man liked to be organized! Look at these labels. And weapons, armor too...."
I placed everyone generally in the marching order you chose, please place yourself where you would be when the first people walk into the vault.
Salmok doesn't see much, no one hears anything out of the ordinary. Anyone who wants to be the first 3 people in the vault can make a perception check to look for what might have been stolen.
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The Professor obliges with the request for a light by casting Light on her left hand. She holds it up as they descend the stairs, like a confident student with the correct answer to a question. Something catches her eye along the wall. "Wait! Look at this! There is a square gap in the grouting between these 4 tiles. Why, that's about 10' square, and about ten feet from the door. Suspicious..." She runs her lit hand along the outline, illuminating it for the group.
Agnes has already walked past the thing on the floor that you noticed, but when you point it out she will turn around and exclaim "Oh, that's our trap to catch anyone who shouldn't be in the Vault on their way back out. It's deactivated on your way in, it only triggers on your way out if you don't hit the bypass inside the vault. I'm sorry, I'm so flustered that completely slipped my mind!"
"It's a pit trap. It opens and you fall into a pit. I don't know if it was triggered last night or not. There's no alarm or anything. We can check if anyone got trapped in a side by triggering it to open"
"Well someone has to activate it by going into the vault and stepping on the pressure plate, then the pit trap opens if it senses weight on it."
Mrs. Walder nods to show her assent. The vault door starts to swing closed as you are all discussing, and Agnes turns around and uses her key again and it swings back open. "Sorry about that, it's on a timer. Don't worry though, you won't get locked in - the key works on both sides." She smiles reassuringly.
@Molvil & Nilah, are you okay with your positions?
Agnes opens the vault, Molvil points out the trap, Agnes explains the trap, someone places the chair, then as you are moving into position to trigger the trap...
...Magdelina places her weight on the pressure plate, and the floor drops out from under the chair. In the pit, you see... this guy (but injured).
He quickly says in common, "Hello-please-don't-hurt-me-the-trap-will-close-soon-get-me-out?" and proceeds to stand on the chair and reach up for the edge. The pit is 20 feet deep. He is not getting out without assistance.
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"Elementary.". Salmok takes a quick puff of his pipe. "Does anyone have rope? We need to get him out. Can we jam the trap so it doesn't close?" Then he turns to the man down in the pit. "We'll get you out soon. Are you injured or are you able to climb out? Or does someone need to come down there and help you?"
The nearly naked blue-grey male humanoid in the pit: "I'm just a bit hurt from the fall, I can climb up if I have something to hold on to."
Agnes is surprised to see such an exotic person in her trap! She explains to you all the resetting mechanism isn't very strong, it should stay open as long as you have one person one each side holding it.
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"Salmok, hold it open if you would, please. I'll be prepared with a spell to stall him if he tries to harm us or escape. I'm afraid I don't carry any rope. Oh, Mrs. Walder, please step back to safety if you would, and allow one of our colleagues to deal with this person." This old back can only manage so much weight, after all.
As you all stand and awkwardly stare at each other for a few seconds, you realize no one has a method for getting the man out of the pit.
Agnes gets over her shock and starts yelling questions at the man "Did you kill my Archivin? Do you know who did? You're staying in the pit until you answer my questions!" She looks to Salmok & Molvil on the far side and says "I am pretty sure there is an old rope in the office upstairs, I think in the bottom drawer of the desk? But I'm prefectly happy just leaving the robber in the pit forever." and spits in his general direction.
@Magdelina you are on the far side of the open pit. How are you getting across? Jumping? Asking Salmok to let go so the trap closes?
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Narrowing her eyes in irritation at her own group's lack of preparedness, the Professor nods curtly at Mrs. Walder. "I'll be right back. You down there: no sudden moves or they'll slam that trap door shut!" *I* don't carry rope because this old body can't handle the weight and I'm always light on coin. I *suppose* it might be wise for me to set aside some for that purpose, but I'd much rather spend it all on learning spells!
Soon enough she's back. "I am by no means strong enough to pull him out of the pit. Perhaps, since there are more of you on that side, you could manage better. Let me know when you're ready for me to toss the rope over there." Once given the word, she'll toss one end of the rope to the other side.
Molvil decides it is safe enough while he is stuck on the pit and runs upstairs to retrieve the rope, tossing it across the pit to Magdelina to lower down to the man. Through cooperation, you are able to finally get him out of the pit without risk to yourselves. Salmok lets go of the trap doors and Agnes confirms it should be deactivated now and safe to step on.
What do you do with him now?
He just stares at Nilah's sword impassively. But between Magdelina's good cop and Ejtehah's bad cop routine, he instantly becomes submissive.
"Please, I don't know much, but I'll answer all our your questions, just please don't hurt me!" He seems a bit twitchy.
"Innate Coercion: At 1st level, a mindwyrm mesmer gains a bonus equal to 1/2 his mesmerist level (minimum 1) on Intimidate checks. In addition, a mindwyrm mesmer never takes penalties on Intimidate checks for being smaller than his target."
Dominator (Belkzen Regional trait): "The blood of dominance runs thick in the savage home of orcs. You receive a +2 trait bonus on all attempts to demoralize an opponent in combat using the Intimidate skill."
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Salmok stands back in the shadows, leaning up against a wall, looking off to the distance. He takes a puff of his pipe. "We are just wondering why you were down there. It raises a lot of suspicion, don't you see? You're in a trap in the basement of a very important place. Lots of red flags.". Salmok tips his hat then looks directly at the creature. "So who are you and why were you down there?"