"It shouldn't take too long, and if we do uncover anything interesting, I'd like to have as many heads as I can get figuring it out." Orin replies
"And we're still on the edge of town there anyway."
"Fair enough. Let's go talk to a butler."
The group takes their leave of the Dragon, heading southeast towards the river. The rain had begun in earnest now, and was coming down in sheets, bringing about an early twilight as the stormy skies blocked out the sun.
The guard on the bridge had been increased since the attack, and the four individuals there stand a little straighter as you all approach, having received word that Orin was acting Sheriff until Hemlock returned. As joyful as it was to patrol the town when you were itching to hunt down some goblins and deal with the problem, bridge duty was worse. You all knew -- you'd all been there. Standing in one place, forcing yourself to remain alert when almost nothing ever happened. It was the pinnacle of dull.
The poor kids on guard duty presently -- and they were just kids, to your eyes, not yet two decades of age by the look of it -- were drenched and miserable looking, but still alert. The goblin attack had renewed their dedication to the job, knowing that they could be ambushed if they let their guard down.
The road changed from bumpy cobblestone to smoothly laid brick as you turn onto Schooner Gulch Road, called by some the Richway, since the noble houses lived at the end of it. Each of the mansions had their own security forces out and about. Valdemar had two burly men on watch, and the Scarnetti's, true to form, had even more muscle keeping an eye out -- nearly a dozen milled about the grounds, ostensibly seeing to minor chores like chopping firewood. Kaijitsu Manor, smallest of the four, was unguarded upon your arrival.
"look sharp, men." Orin says with a stern, but approving look. "I know it's slow now, but if any trouble begins, we'll need all the warning we can get. It's a tough task, but we're counting on you."
--------------------------------
"Even with this miserable rain, the nobles are worried enough to have guards out and about." Orin muses.
"Yup, sharpness is the name of the game."
Nico says it in a neutral tone that makes it difficult to determine how serious she is. As she passes the two guards, she slips them each a small packet from the Rusty Dragon. Each contains a couple of think slices of buttered bread with smoked salmon sandwiched in between, wrapped in waxed paper.
Diego simply marches past the guards, paying little to no attention to the detail while uttering something under his breath. "Bridge duty sucks,"
After arriving at the estate, Diego looks over at Orin. "Are we going to enter the estate if he isn't here?"
The guards at the bridge go wide eyed at Nico's gift and nod their thanks quietly, giving Orin a salute and standing up a bit prouder after to leave.
The door opens to the estate and an incredibly old man stands there, mostly bald, his spine bent with age, his neck having to crane his head backwards to look up at the lot of you. "The master is away, I'm afraid." His voice is nasally, high pitched, and stronger than you expected from the look of him. "If you'd like to come out of the rain after your long walk, I can fetch some tea for your troubles."
Lief eyes the packages passed off to the bridge guards enviously.
nobody ever brought me sandwiches on bridge duty... though, I suppose I did get the occasional half-bottle of wine from a generous drunk stumbling home from one of the city's fine drinking establishments...
As the other guards stand proud at Orin's words, he gives them what might be the single most half-hearted salute in the long and largely meaningless history of obligatory salutes, then continues on towards the Richway.
"Tea would be great," Lief answers, stepping in out of the rain and doing his best to scrape some of the wetness off himself, "black, if you have it, two sugars. It's been a long day."
Diego accepts the offer to step in out of the rain, but passes on the tea. With a nod of apprehension, he finds a comfortable spot where he waits quietly for Orin to begin the conversation.
Nico takes the tea.
Alistair tries to think of the guards names and greets them as such if he recalls. Otherwise he asks, commends them for being alert and bids them farewell as the patrol departs.
"Encouragement," he says to the group, "Gotta give encouragement." Alistair says smiling even though rain sluices off his hat in all directions. "You know the great thing about a hat? Even in the rain when everything else is wet, you can have a dry head." He smiles again very proud of his hat even with its feather water plastered flat.
Orin holds up a hand, declining the tea. "We understand that master Kaijitsu is off on business, but it's actually you we've come to speak with. In our search for clues into the recent attack, we noticed an abandoned wagon." Orin says, motioning out the still-open door.
"Could you tell us if you've seen it before?"
Alistair recalls one of the guards' names, back on the bridge, and the boy beams at the recognition. You all get the sense that the southern gate into town will be much better guarded, all thanks to your simple actions.
At the manor house, you all step in to a comfortably furnished foyer, and Bertram takes your sopping wet cloaks and whatnot to hang them by the fire while you take tea. At Orin's question, he peers towards the wagon you towed here. "Yes," he says simply. He leads you into a reception room, where a number of comfortable sofas surround a low table, not yet elaborating on his answer as he leaves to fetch the tea.
You all sit there for five minutes or so, waiting.
When he returns, he's wheeling a small cart. A plate full of cakes and pastries accompanies the teapot. He sets cups and saucers out for each of you and begins to pour the tea, setting out a bowl of sugar cubes and a decanter of cream as well.
Finally, he clears his throat and continues. "The master mentioned that wagon being stolen, about a week ago. I'm sure he'll be grateful you've returned it."
"But he never came to report it stolen or ask for help finding it?"
It seems odd to Nico. From what she's seen of him, not only is Kaijitsu a complainer who would look for someone, like the Guard since he could easily locate them, to blame, he would also take a theft as a personal affront and let everyone around know how he's been abused.
"Have you noticed anyone in the house acting peculiar perhaps? The staff, guards, or Master Kaijitsu himself?" Alistair asks looking for a reaction.
Unsure about the old man's priorities, Diego decides to forgo any consumables. Instead, he continues to observe and listen.
Bertram helped himself to a half-seat, half-perch on the arm of an unoccupied chair. "I've served the Kaijitsu family since Lonjiku was a boy," he said, rather than answering. "Never, in all that time, have I spoken ill of a member of the household."
Alistair, you detect a hint of resignation to his voice, and get the feeling that he is trying to convince himself he should remain tight-lipped, but that he definitely knows something about something, and it's a secret he's not happy about keeping.
Jaymin offers the boys on the bridge encouraging pats on the shoulder as he goes by. Seeing the sandwiches get passed out, he cranes his neck to look in the bag. ”Got any more if those?” he asks as they move along the brick-paved road.
At the manor, he happily accepts whatever tea is presented to him but doesn’t sit do as to stain the furniture with his dampness.
"If you've seen something, it could be mighty helpful. It may even save a few lives." Alistair prompts.
Bertram sighs and rubs a hand over his wrinkled face. "The master has been...unwell, of late. Preoccupied. Making odd requests. And to depart for Magnimar...it's not much like him. He's never been what you might call a kind man, and old age has led him to alienate his own daughter, but something has been different the past few weeks. I've tried to dismiss it, but with you all here asking after the wagon he insisted I not report as stolen..." He shrugged helplessly.
"Sounds like a man under duress. Anything happen lately to stress him out more than usual? The family fortune threatened? Business slow? Possible blackmail?" Alistair asks hoping for a direction.
"The master does not share such concerns with me, and though I've been tempted on occasion, after a lifetime of service to his family, I've not gone snooping. If he's doing something that's gotten the attention of the law, however..." Bertram sighed. "You're welcome to have a look around. The master left in a bit of a hurry, and did not take everything with him. I can show you to his study, or his bedchambers. It is my sincere hope that it's all a misunderstanding, and you'll find something attesting to such."
"Shall we split up with some looking in the study and the others the bedroom?" Alistair suggests.
Diego looks over at Orin. "What do you think? A quick look around before we leave?'
Diego shifts his stance to accommodate the weight of his armor. With a bit of reluctance, he contributes a small observation. "By the way things look, I would venture to guess that he has gotten in over his head with something and fled to Magnimar. By resolving this issue, we could very well be saving his life in the balance. Hopefully it leaves the estate untarnished. We will do our best not to disturb the estate and use discretion with anything we find. No reason to bring the wrong kind of attention to the family if it can be avoided. "
As Nico mulls through the possibilities she can think of for why and how Kaijitsu Senior might have been involved in the goblin raid, the only thing that seems to stick well is the blackmail angle Alistair mentioned.
I don't see how Old Kaijitsu could be behind it. He might be able to organize things, but he's certainly not impressive. If the various goblin heroes can't manage it, he wouldn't be able to either. He could be working with or under someone, but given his pridefulness they'd almost have to be a human. Still can't think of any reason why he'd do it though, what could he possibly gain?"
Blackmailed into it would make more sense, and might explain his worries, which sounds real enough. Might be enough to make him think leaving town for a while is a good idea."
It could also be that the wagon was stolen and he didn't know until after the raid. Maybe he found it abandoned, thought it was used for it (he could have cleaned it of evidence) and meant to quietly take it back home without reporting it. Maybe he thought it would be an embarrassment somehow?"
Nico still can't make it all fit together well enough to be satisfied.
"I'll look through the study."
Nico first asks Bertram about visitors to the house. Blackmail would need to be initiated by someone, so someone who might be in a position to do it is what she's looking for.
"Absolutely anyone you can think of who came here going back a few months."
She then moves to be study to look at letters and books. Anything among the letter, like one off correspondences. If there's an accounting ledger or similar she'll try to figure out if he was losing money, or recorded any losses or gains that are unusually large. Farms do have to keep records too after all.
Taking his time, Diego performs a standard visual inspection of the common areas of the house as he makes his way towards the garden.
After reaching the outside grounds, he begins a more detailed inspection. As he begins Looking for footprints, wheel tracks, or anything hidden on the grounds, he takes extra care not to disturb the property unless absolutely necessary.
"I'll go through the bedroom. Master Bertram, if you would be so kind as to show me to his room?" Alistair asks.
In the room he goes through things in a methodical fashion. First he scans the room without touching anything. Then he begins to work his way around to the furniture clockwise from the door, searching each piece in turn for clues or hidden compartments.
With his cup of tea in one hand and a cranberry scone in the other, Lief wanders through the house looking at the artwork and other decorations that have been chosen for display. In particular, he looks for recurring themes or symbols that might hint at some connection to cultic beliefs or esoteric practices.
But once again his tiredness gets the best of him and he repeatedly ends up staring blankly at things.
Orin stays with the old caretaker while the others have a look around.
"Be mindful of whose home this is and gentle in your search."
Turning to their host, he says "Thank you for your patience, we certainly have no reason to suspect anything untoward from your master. But we must explore all possible leads."
Your search through his ledgers does not produce any strange expenses or windfalls. If money is involved, he hasn't recorded it.
You go out to the greenhouse out back, recalling idly that Longiku owns the Glassworks here in town, and thus is showing off his wares as well as his gardening skills with this addition to the home. The rows between the flowers and shrubs are paved with white gravel, not exactly the best at preserving footprints. It's gotten dark by this time, but there is a lantern lit next to the door and you use it to look around more carefully.
A faint glimmer catches your eye, reflecting the lantern light, near the door that leads out to the outdoor portion of the garden. A few shards of broken glass. Inspecting the panes nearby, the one beside the door handle appears to be a new replacement -- the mortar holding it in place is still white, not a weathered gray like its neighbors. Perhaps it had been an accident, but breaking this pane would have made it a simple matter to unlock and open the door, and gain entry to the estate.
You take a closer look. No hidden safe behind it, as was your first suspicion. The stitches look old, as dust has collected where thread rests upon canvas. But the backing -- you pull the painting free of its mount, and find the back of the portrait is open on one side, creating a thin pocket. Slipping your hand in, you find a letter:
-Dearest- Father,
Bet you hoped you'd never hear from me again, eh? Alas, but our old mistakes have a tendency to come back to haunt us. I went about things the wrong way at mother's funeral. I was so furious that you'd done it, I lost my cool and came off like a raving madman, and you were able to brush my accusations off as though I was grief stricken and not in my right mind.
Well this time I've got proof, dad. I can prove you pushed mom. Don't believe me? Well I can tie you to some shady dealings with the Sczarni, too. Like letting them dispose of 'evidence' in the furnace. So you're going to do something for me -- three somethings, to be specific, all of which must be done the night before the Swallowtail Festival. If you don't, I'm going to take you down like I should have years ago. Cooperate, and it'll stay our little secret... until I need you again, anyway.
First, you're going to arrange for the north gate to remain open that night. I don't care how to manage it, get it done. Secondly, you're to leave a ladder against the wall of the cemetery. And lastly, make sure no one is at the Glassworks that night.
See? None of that is too hard, eh pops? It goes without saying, tell anyone any of this, and I will ruin you, and savor every moment of it.
Tsuto
Bertram nods to Orin. "I'm not sure whether to hope you find nothing, or hope you do find something. I fear if nothing is going on, then my master might be mentally deteriorating in his old age." The statement was a bit ironic, as Bertram was surely two decades older than Lonjiku.
Diego dusts himself off a bit before reentering the main house, where he meets back up with the rest of the group. “Apparently, it looks like someone broke out a window in a locations that would have made gaining access to the estate possible. The window has since been replaced. Aside from that, I didn’t come across anything else worth mentioning.”
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Alistair returns to the sitting room. "Searched his room. I'm ready to go." Alistair says flatly.
Nico becomes thoughtful when Diego mentions the window.
"Bertrand, about two weeks ago did you answer the door and let anyone in? Does Kaijitsu ever answer the door? I'm talking about the evening when you mentioned hearing voices in his room."
Bertram shook his head at Nico. "Oh no miss, he would not have answered the door himself, no. And if I had let someone in, I'd not have been so puzzled about hearing the voices. No, I am certain that no one announced themselves, and the thought of someone coming in without doing so...well, it's why I was so quick to greet the lot of you. I've been wary ever since, and keeping a close watch on the grounds, best as I'm able."
Lief looks up from the cart where he's carefully selecting a second scone and reasons, "well, if the window was broken out to gain access that would certainly explain where the other voice was coming from, but whoever it was would've had to have known the place well enough to know they could get in that way, and if Lonjiku just fixed it himself without even telling his butler then it must have been someone that he wouldn't want anyone to know was here..."
"Not to be indelicate, Bertram," he continues looking back down at the cart, "but can you think of anyone who fits that description? Maybe some one who worked here long enough to know their way around and handled questionable or distasteful business for the Lord? Or, maybe some sczarni he had to pay protection money to but who were here long enough to case the place?"
"If it's really something like blackmail or threats, they may or may not have been in friendly terms" Nico adds.
Diego looks over at Alistair and nods as he follows the swashbuckler out of the estate. "Thank you for entertaining us Bertram. You have a restful night. Let us know if you have any further issues with people breaking into the estate." He states as he exits the building.
Bertram looked to Lief and frowned. "The Master does have a few... disreputable ties. He doesn't show them the garden, though, that's his private space, only family..." Bertram when quiet, and took on a thoughtful expression. Mururing to himself moreso than any of you, he mused, "Ah, but he wouldn't have come back. And if he had, the Master would have been shouting, and would have likely told me to fetch security."
He shook his head and realized he was being impolite, as he'd missed Diego's comment. "Your pardon. There was one other individual who would know the garden quite well -- Tsuto, Ameiko's half brother, born of her mother...but not the Master. However, they did not get on well, and Tsuto long ago left Sandpoint for greener pastures, with the Master all too happy to be rid of him. There was no love lost there."
"Bertram, thank you for your time and your indulgence. May you have a good evening." Alistair says once everyone appears ready to go. After they depart he speaks to his fellow patrolmen.
"I found a blackmail letter from Tsuto to Longiku. In the letter he claimed he knew Longiku killed his mother and that the older man was dealing with the Szcarni, apparently allowing them to burn evidence in the glassworks kilns. For his silence he demanded Longiku to find a way to leave the north gate to town open the night before the festival, to leave a ladder against the town wall in the cemetery, and to ensure no one was in the glassworks that night. It sounds like Tsuto could be our goblin master and Longiku a blackmailed pawn." If asked for the letter Alistair recommends they get to a drier area, assume the garrison, and then shows everyone the incriminating letter.
Orin is stunned nearly into a trance trying to process the news Alistair shares. So sure that the manor was a dead end, he had been too focused on not ruffling the feathers of a noble.
Get your head on straight, no one is above suspicion.
once his wits return, he contemplates the groups next steps.
"Excellent work, Alistair. I believe it would be wise to look around at the glassworks for further evidence. Your thoughts?" he asks, turning to the others.
"Are we intending to enter the Glass works without invitation or are we going to ask for permission?"
"We could pay a visit and ask to look around. If refused, I can dash back to the sheriff to get approval to do a forced inspection." Alistair offers.
"Sheriff Hemlock is likely already miles from town. As acting Sheriff, I will bear the responsibility of any fallout that comes from our entry. Asking for permission may tip off those involved." Orin responds.
"That's right, I totally forgot about the old man not being here."
Lief's shoulder's slump at the prospect of adding another activity to his already very long day. "We have to walk to past the Dragon on our way back into the city," he points out, "maybe we should at least stop and ask Ameiko if she knows anything about her half-brother being in the area?"
"She might be able to shed some insight into her brothers dealings and I'm thinking she might be able to grant access to the Glassworks. That is unless one of you think she might be involved for some reason."
"We've no reason to suspect her, but I think we should refrain from mentioning the Glassworks. Just a few questions about her brother, then we continue our search for physical evidence." Orin suggests.