The Darkness ends, and as you check hear muffled sounds from within.
Arr but there is something odd about the door.
yout going to have to work that out
Still under the effect of the heightened senses spell, Lazastrahd quickly examines the door.
more than one sound, seems someone is gagged back there.
"Sounds like someone is behind this door." Lazastrahd remarks. Considering what just happened in the room, the drow takes a moment to investigate the door before opening.
there is something there but its magical
"I've found a magical trap on this door", Lazastrahd reported to the others. "One of you chaps think you can disarm it?"
"I shall try."
The drow investigator draws his rapier and makes several sweeping gesture with the blade over the door, and cast detect magic. Using his Eye of the Wondrous trait, Lazastrahd will attempt to identify then magical properties of the trap.
Yes there seems to have been a protection against evil spell from the other side.
Jixxe, growing impatient, walks up to the doors and opens them. If there is no trap whats the use in being so cautious.
"Oh. My mistake." Lazastrahd interjects. "The spell isn't evil, but protection against evil."
You can hear muffled sounds from inside again, they seem insistent.
Jixxe, growing impatient, walks up to the doors and opens them. If there is no trap whats the use in being so cautious.
You pull the door back to see 3 men tied up and gagged on the floor,They all look fine nobles in fine clothing. around them barrels of wax linked to the disarmed trap outside. As detect magic is on so you see that one of them seems concentrating on The spell on the door. He lets it end once he see who you are.
Warlock Bones surreptitiously hands Jixxe the cufflinks he got from one of these man's wives. "Nice job Jix! To the point, and without delay. This one's your show, go flaunt a bit to the nobles!" He gives the ratfolk a wink.
"Khardon, can you help me look for anything Helldrick might have left behind here?"
An investigator can obtain a single token in any of the following ways: a successful Sleight of Hand check against an unsuspecting target, a successful steal combat maneuver, or a successful Perception check (DC = 15 + the creature’s CR) to search an area his target occupied for at least 2 hours.
are you going to untie the men?
no traps Seljak
With there being no traps, Khardon went searching with Mr. Bones. He had full confidence in the others being more than capable of freeing the noblemen and talking with them. Too many voices, especially in a stressful situation, would just make the situation worse.
The three men introduce themselves and you see at once they are the missing husbands. Two of the rush off as soon as you tell them their wives are safe and below. But one says as they go.
He says in a nobles hoorty manner.
"Tell my wife I will be there soon my fellow lords. And thank the gods they are safe"
Then once they have gone, he fumbles with his suit pocket and pulls out his own Agents badge, showing it too you.
Then in a more common voice he says.
"Thank the gods your here lads, good the old lady sent someone. Lazastrah and Khardon you know me but not with this face. Right now tell me this, where is that %%^£* Helldrick?"
When you tell him what has happened and that Helldrick got away he seems a little miffed.
"Alright lads, check the rest of the building for any others who did not feel when the trouble started. Get the Crafters back to HQ before the knights show up. Once ya back I will fill you in once your get back to HQ. Right I best go meet the others. See you there in a day or two."
And with that he goes. You check the rest of the house but find nothing more but a book of Wax-Creatures designs and a few staff hiding in a celler.
As you leave with the crafters the Knights show up, by then the nobles are gone. You see the crucked watchmen meet them, as you slip away down a side street. By Dawn you get back the Agency HQ and are meet by others. Resting you will be called to a meeting at noon, but you can rest for now. You have 6 hours
Once Lazastrahd gets back to Agency Manor, the drow tries to get some sleep, but finds it difficult with so many new arcane formulae on his mind. So Lazastrahd forgoes his sleep, and writes down two new spells in his spellbook. Perhaps the wizardly sleuth gets a half hour of rest before the meeting.
Khardon congratulated his comrades as they made their way back home, doing so in a sincere manner. They had succeeded in a mission which he knew from experience would have baffled most watchmen. There was more work to be done, of course, but he felt confident that these were the right lads for the job.
Once back he went about cleaning his revolver, despite how tired he was. A firearm had to be properly maintained! After which he promptly took off his boots, his armor and outer layer of clothing, and fell asleep.
Warlock Bones would go to ask Faust what he knew about a guy named Helldrick. Upon his return, he'd show off his new friend.
"Hey everyone! Meet Buggles!" A strangely colored house centipede would wave a leg at anyone who bothered to listen to the strange man.
Faust looks where you look. He just grunts.
When asked about Helldrick he stops and thinks a moment.
"I knew a off Helldrick once, Horns an all, killed a load of working girls if you know what I mean, killed em in a bad way. But he was hung lad, strung up, cut into bits and burned. Right here in the cities may square. So this other Helldrick you meet, no idea."
If you ask him more he just says
"Best talk to her ladyship she knows all that stuff."
One by one a note is slipped under your door,
Meet in the lunch hall at 11:00
Agent M
One by one you head down to find the hall empty but for the man you meet last night. He is eating some Chicken. As you come in he shifts from, Human to Kitsune
"Come in lads, grab some food and drink and take a seat, we have this place for an hour."
Lazastrahd enters the dining hall and sits down to lunch with a barely audible grunt. The drow looks like he's being burning the midnight oil.
"Has anyone seen that nice lady who I sent here? Me and Buggles came up with an idea on how to help her."
He nods a sad nod.
"Well, she's off with the Healers at the temple, trying to make her mind whole once more, they say it's going to take time, and I'm sorry she out of bounds until they are done."
He takes and drink of his wine
"So then Gents your turn, give me a brake down of what happened, and keep it short, just the key points. We have a lot to get through today and I only have the hour"
There were children that we rescued and there were alchemical wax zombie that had to be destroyed. This Helldrick almost killed one of the Lord's and we ran into another agent that was there Jixxe says in a rushed drawl. That's the basics if you need more detail ask away.
With that Jixxe scampers to the food line and delicately chooses the most delectable pieces of meat from that heaped on platters. He turns his nose up at the vegetables and bread stuffs.
Daniel sits down and starts to eat. When asked what happened he says "Those wax monsters went crazy. When we found the control panel it looks like it was set so that the operator was attacked and then smashed. Once we saved the girl she let us know what she could about Helldrick but it wasn't much that was useful. She did lead us to the others that were imprisoned. He disappeared after making it dark. We don't know how he got out."
"Apparently there used to be a Helldrick in the city. Criminal tiefling too. But he's supposed to be dead. Wonder if this is an imitator." Warlock Bones says offhandedly, as he helps himself to as much potatoes as he can fit on one plate.
"I was the Agent you meet there,"
He waves his fork around his face.
"This can change and not be detected"
he then stands goes and gets some coffee and comes back.
"What you have said ties in with other reports."
"This is to not leave this room, but I was sent in to impersonate Lord Kirick, who we suspected of being part of a group called the 'corps d'elite" A bunch of Nobles who run just about all of the criminal businesses here in the city. A classic crime gang as you will. Lord Kirick area of business is the flesh trade, high end concubines to the rich and powerful. His... sorry my 'wife', one of the woman you saved is in fact one such concubine. But I not pretending to be this man to root out who he gets to sleep with who for money. I was under cover to find about 'corps d'elite's" operations."
He sipped his coffee then went on.
"It was starting to get some intel, when I was called to a meeting of some of the 'corps d'elite" last night. At long last my work was paying of. This party of horrors was in fact a meeting and demonstration. By this Helldrick and his crafting team, of their automata weapons. The 'corps d'elite" hoped to use them as assignation tools. Well it was a set up, this Helldrick just wanted us dead, setting up his crafters to take the fall for it. Luckly for us his plan went wrong when one of his crafters worked out what he was up too. And tried to stop him."
He looks expatriated
"This is what I don't get, if this was just a hit, just a means to take out some of the 'corps d'elite" and me with them. Why not just burn the place down, in fact a good poison would have done the trick. Why this mad complicated plat. There has to be more to all of this then just a hit. And that is where you come in. He seemed to want to make a point in using these Wax creations to kill us all. Let me show you this."
He reaches down and from next to his legs he brings up a box. Opening it his takes about a child's doll and a book.
"We found these two things at the Crafters work-shop. They where the only two things other than cash, given to the crafters by Helldrick. The book is full of designs for the Wax abominations, But the doll..."
He leans over and whispers in the dolls hear,
"Time to wake up."
The dolls eyes open and she looks around at you all.
"Hello, my name is Killie, would you like to play with me?"
M looks at you,
"Do you know what kind of doll this is?"
It's a soul powered Doll, band just about everywhere because, it has a gem in it that hold part of a soul, often created from someone's soul after they have been murdered. Evil Necromancy
Lazastrahd walks up to the table to examine the doll.
"It's a Soulbound doll. Sometimes called a soul-powered doll. A construct wherein a fragment of a soul us used to power the doll. Most times the soul of from someone murdered specifically to power the automaton."
I think that maybe the zombies were of such as well?Queries the ratman around a hunk of bacon just inserted into his maw.
"Why use wax golems? Maybe the man was just crazy? He certainly didn't strike me as being a particularly well adjusted tiefling, such as myself."
Warlock Bones entire mood changes when the doll is brought out. He stops lounging in his seat, and is is uncharacteristically serious as he examines the doll. "Yech. Soul Magic. Is there a reason that the agency suffers this thing to exist? We should free the fragment at once."
Warlock Bones returns to his usual state as he reclines again, his voice once again taking on the lackadaisical tone, but his eyes remain intensely focused on the doll. "I'd be happy to help you do that, if you don't know how. That sounds like a kid in there." Offhandedly he adds, "I'm sure you'll do the right thing here." The air behind Warlock Bones darkens and shifts, as Warlock Bones stabs at a bit of waffle.
M nods at the comments.
"Yes, Why wax? and are the Zombies like this Doll?, letting the soul out, all good questions and ones you'er going to have to find the answers too. Sorry, none of those are my areas, I'm a deep cover guy. Look I was told you were the brightest we have. I have had a word with the powers and you have been placed with me on this case so we get these answers. Now I am sorry but I have to go."
His face changes back to that of the Noble Lord you meet last night.
"The book will have to stays here, check it in with our Libation so it can be kept safe. He may be also able to tell you something about it. I think some of you know him. As for the Doll, well that you can take, Best keep it deactivated and unseen when it's alive. I hope you find a way to set it free. But it may also know things..."
Then to the doll he whispers
"Go to sleep Killie"
"I'm sleepy"
It says and then lies down as if to go to sleep and then is still as a doll.
"You should know the command words now, Well good luck. I will send word when we can meet again. He then heads to the door."
You can ask him one more thing before he departs back to his deep cover.
Khardon listened in silence. As he did so, he thought back to everything he knew about the corps d'elite. Information such as numbers, holdings, and whether he could remember any within whom they could talk to, or otherwise people with knowledge that could get them started. Looking into the nobility was always hard. Investigating a noble organization of criminals? That was downright deadly.
Thing is the corps d'elite is meant to be a myth, kind of monsters under the bed thing. But you remember this young guard, Butterworth was his name. He went around saying he had evidence they where real, that they really ran things behind the backs of everyone, in the halls of power, they had eyes everywhere and they controlled everything. Invisible monsters that would kill their enemies. All kinds of crazy stuff. You all thought he was nuts. In the end the powers that be had him shipped of the the city mad house. Where you think he still is.
"First thing firsts Let's make a trip to the city mad house. I know a lad that I used to serve with, talked about the corps d'elite too much for his own good and got committed. Gods knows if he's actually crazy or not, but I'd like to hear what he has to say before judging. If anyone would like to come with me, the company would be nice. For the company, and me safety. If we are really dealing with a group like this, then going anywhere alone is going to be dangerous."
He nodded back at Seljak. "Can take a look at the book in abit. But I'm sure that the others here are more than capable of deciphering it."
The drow rubs his tired eyes. "I'll go. I could use some fresh air."
The energy fades from Warlock Bones. He seems somewhat relived that his implied threat was ignored. "Hey don't look at me. I'm more of an occultist type than an accountant. I'll go with Khardon. Good to have someone who can take up a lot of attention with you when you want to be subtle yourself."
Safety and company are always good. I'll follow along.being interesting if this guy you know is the same one that I used to avoid because he asked to many questions of the wrong kind. jixxe quips in