Will have to remember to get a small bag of that for later. I have a few leshy friends. They might like the exotic fare. They complain about always having dog, cattle, or horse patties.
Inside, the building is packed with shovels, pitchforks, buckets, and other tools, plus bags and crates of animal feed and an open-topped cistern full of water.
At the moment, it’s occupied by a single injured gnomish man holding a pitchfork.
Afternoon. Aeric will nod his head. Agents of Edgewatch to try and settle this disturbance. Can you tell us what did that to you, and if you know of any other creatures that have escaped? Would you prefer to stay here, come with us, or just make a statement at a later time? You seem to be in no immediate danger, and there might be more that needs us.
"Oh thank goodness. My name is Remy and I'm the zookeeper.
I had just finished filling the water for the animals in the main building and I was about to start feeding them their dinner. Then out if nowhere Rusty attacked me... then he went on a rampage feeding on the bars of several enclosures. I did my best to protect the patrons and then holed up in here waiting for you all to arrive. They could all be out depending on how much Rusty managed to eat."
Roscoe will move up into the room, Yeah we encountered Rusty, we also found an owlbear, a cockatrice, a giant viper and 2 other creatures I am not 100% sure what they were, I was a bit distracted when we encountered them. Do you know what other animals we need to be looking for? Also the name is Roscoe, Roscoe Talbot.
"Theres a lot of animals in all the different cages and I didn't really see what happened after I hid in here. I don't know which ones are out or not. Once everything here is calmed down I can help you look at what cages are empty and give you a list of whats still out there. What happened to the animals you found?! You didn't kill them, did you?!"
No the animals are simply incapacitated. We can show you were they all are, there are no animals that we have seen in the vincinity at the moment. Also the viper attacked the penguins, we stopped the viper but not before some of them have died. There still is a very scared one out there tho.
Remy's eyes well up with tears as he replies, "Thank you for sparing them! They really are nice animals... they haven't been a problem before today and are usually very docile. They're like family to me." and he shakes each of the Agents hands vigorously if they allow him to. "I'll be fine to stay here and nurse my wounds if you can get things out there under control. I'm so sorry this happened and that you have to do this."
Roscoe will shake his hand.
We will do everything in our power to get everything under control and will come back to you when we are finished.
Roscoe will look at the rest of the group. Let's go finish this Agents.
Sounds good. Aeric opens the other set of doors.
The doors on the western end of this side of the building are latched so as to be exit-only, with “No Entrance” painted on their outer face.
Aeric points to a small collection of tools. Do we want to take the time to try and open this, break it down, or move to another set of doors?
Before we break it down let me try something. It's been a while since I have tried this.
Rocky will take theives tools out of her pockets and attempt to pick the lock
Rocky doesn't seem to make any progress in opening the door.
That seems tough. I doubt I could have done much better. Perhaps we should try a different door. I would prefer the one at the other end, so we can sweep the building without worrying too much about getting pounced from behind.
Aeric will move to the door, wait for others, and then try to enter at the other end of the complex.
Aeric passes close enough to some of the open air cage carts to get a better view of the occupants. Various creatures fill these rolling cages, many of them howling and agitated behind the bars of their enclosures. A statue of a monkey leans out of one cage, stone arm extended between the bars. These carts contain the zoo’s less fantastical creatures, gathered from all across the Inner Sea region. Current residents include raccoons, toucans, a giant porcupine, meerkats, an archaeopteryx, and a carbunckle () according to their signage. The statue is a monkey who likely reached through the bars for the escaped cockatrice and got turned to stone.
The two wagons to the south aren't open air. The one to the west has an unusually large set of double doors and is labeled "Veterinarian". The one to the east is labeled "Manager".
Before we go in why don't we look in the other 2 carts here and the one on the far west side we never looked in. Just to make sure we got everything out here before we go in.
Sounds reasonable
Roscoe notices that the "carbunckle" is really just an iguana with a gem glued to its forehead.
There is nothing of note in the cart to the far west.
An unusually large set of double doors leads to this wooden wagon. Inside, a low, oversized metal operating table takes up most of the center of the windowless space. Cabinets, assorted surgical implements, and a few high bookshelves with slim leather-bound volumes line three of the walls. A fold-down bunk occupies the west wall over a large trunk. The whole place is spotlessly clean and reeks of strong spirits.
You spend a few moment searching for clues and discover:
This is the home and operating theater of the meticulous Minera Frum, a middle-aged human woman from Cheliax and the menagerie’s resident veterinarian. From this wagon, Frum maintained the health of the zoo’s creatures and—to a lesser degree—its workers. She adored her bestial charges; the only thing she cared about more than the animals was her not-so-secret affair with Archibald Knight. A diary hidden under the clothes in the trunk records their liaisons in scandalous, clinical detail.
The books on the shelves include both Minera’s own notes on the zoo’s animal entertainers, plus treatises on the anatomy and treatment of various unusual creatures. Spending a few minutes reading through the materials here allows the agents to easily identify the abilities and weaknesses of the zoo’s animals without the need to roll a check to Recall Knowledge.
The various cupboards are full of items useful in the care and treating of creatures both magical and mundane.
These include five minor healing potions, a wand of command, a dose of salve of antiparalysis, a vial of lesser antidote and another of lesser antiplague, a scroll of charm, and a scroll of speak with animals.
Well this is a good find and these potions are definitely going to come in handy. Good thing we found all these juicy secrets and the information on the animals will be very handy. Let's go to the Managers tent to see if he is in and we can have a chat.
The wooden door to this wagon is locked. ()
The wagon also has two reinforced windows which are shuttered closed. ()
There is no answer at the door.
Should we go inside to check for things or should we come back to this?
Mason motions towards the wagon door.
"After you Aeric."
Agents of Edgewatch! Going to try and come in for a health and wellfare inspection unless we hear in a calm voice that everything is fine. After waiting a moment, he shrugs and gets out the tools.
Aeric gets to work on the lock which pops open after the second check.
The inside of this wagon is a cluttered office, its walls and furniture covered in old bills, annotated maps of nations around the Inner Sea region, and books featuring illustrations of various strange creatures. A narrow foldout bed stands against one wall, while a large wooden desk fills the rest of the space.
The various papers here represent the mundane business matters of running the menagerie, while the books scattered about are (mostly accurate) guides to different animals and magical beasts. The maps are covered with Archibald’s notations showing the menagerie’s past and future venues.
looks like someone hasn't been here in quite some time. Judging from the dust I would say a week or so. That seems off for a place like this
"Agreed. This is the managers space, for it to have been unused in that time, especially with the festival, it is quite odd indeed. Lots of options as to what or why, but mostly just speculation yet."
Did we find any of his things in the other trailer? Maybe he shacked up with the vet. Other choice would be to check the animal food stores. Missing man, and an almost justifiable motive.
It is a bit weird that all the dust is here but let's grab these letters and stuff. Then we can check this last place and maybe find the manager in there.
Mason gives his bow a tentative pull of the string and gestures towards the door.
”Lets finish this. Be careful everyone.”
Mason hears what sounds like voices from the other side of the doors.
Agents of Edgewatch! Going to try and come in and check on the animals. If you could stay calm and possibly help return them to their cages, it would be appreciated. After waiting a moment, he opens the doors.
The doors rattle but don't budge as if there is something blocking from the other side. The Agents hear a few cries and a panicked shriek. Then a muffled voice rises from the other side, "We aren't opening up until we know its safe and we don't care who you claim to be!"
Well, it is nice to hear a voice instead of a roar or snarl, that's for sure! At least it sounds like you are currently safe. I just got here as a reinforcement. Let on of my partners tell you about what has been handled.
We are the Edgewatch and I assure you out here it is safe. We have taken care of Rusty, the owlbear, a cocktrice, 2 hyenas, a giant viper. All of the small animals are still in their cages in the carts.
There's some muffled conversation behind the door the Agents hear, "Alright we're opening the door." After some scrapping sounds the door opens. This small room is stiflingly warm thanks to a large stove in the northeast corner. Double doors leading out to the north and west have been barricaded with heavy pieces of wood stripped from a climbing structure shaped like a jungle tree. To the east, the bars of a large cage with back walls painted to resemble a jungle scene have been rusted through. To the south, several small glass cases contain snakes that hiss and lunge ineffectually at the glass.
Inside the exhibit are half a dozen zoo patrons as well as two human aprentice zookeepers, one male and one female, who introduce themselves as Raisa and Telomand. They tell the Agents how they ushered these patron into the giant viper exhibit once they realized there was an problem. The zookeepers soon begin babbling about how none of this would have happened if Mr. Knight were still here. It was an open secret among the staff that the zoo’s owner, Archibald Knight, was carrying on an illicit affair with the zoo’s veterinarian, Minera Frum. Nobody cared much, but the pair slipped off for a tryst a week ago and disappeared, leaving the remaining staff illequipped to keep things running. While the staff are concerned about the pair’s disappearance—they’ve never been gone for more than an evening before— they’re also furious at being abandoned and seem desperate to make the Edgewatch understand that the blame for the current disaster belongs entirely to their absentee bosses.
I see the doors to the north there have been barricaded, is there something in there that needs to be taken care of?
We found the elf zookeeper, Remy, in the wagon by the main exit. You might also want to get with him and get some of those cages fixed. The animals are incapacitated right now, but would feel better if we could get them in a proper cage before they wake up.
”Aye, as my colleges said, we’ve managed to subdue several of them, but they won’t stay that way forever. The sooner they can get caged up, the better. The grounds outside seem secure for the moment, let’s keep it that way.
He pauses briefly before giving a sad smile, As for your missing owner and vet, that is troubling, but not the priority at the moment. We can try to track them down once everything is contained again. Which of you worked closest with the vet?”.
Whoever steps forward, Mason will hold out the book detailing their info and care. ”Someone will need to look after them until she is able to return, and this may be useful to that end.”
Neither aprentice steps forward but Raisa says she will hold onto it until she can give it to Remy.
Telomand says that the rust monster ate the locks which allowed the animals to get free. He thinks they may be able to rig up some temporary means to lock the animals in until a permanent solution can be found.
They tell Roscoe that they barricaded the doors to prevent anything wandering around from coming in, but nothing was on the other side of the door when they closed it. They aren't sure if that has changed. And they aren't interested in finding out either. They don't want you to open the doors until they have a chance to gather their things and leave.
One of the patrons here, a human man named Nils, begs the Edgewatch to locate his son Jerov, who became separated from him amid the chaos. He provides a description.
The group tells you they will relocate with Remy to answer any additional questions you may have for them once the compund is secured and then they depart.
Mason nods and gives them all time to leave the room, then sets up a very basic barricade, just in case something is in the room beyond and tries to escape.