"I have already said. Food. I will trade food that I will buy from this vendor's stand and give it to you, and you will give me information about the Festival. That is how this will work."
Jeremy looks at the vendor with a questioning expression on his face, as if to ask for confirmation that he is being clear.
"Oh, right, food. I suppose eating is a thing. That people do." Vee considered, kicking there feet. "I'll tell you what I've guessed about one test, if you wanna know, but I'm not gonna lie - it's educated guess work."
"It's a deal."
Jeremy motions to the vendor, selecting a meal's worth of what's on offer for both himself and for Vee.
Taking the food, the gnome asks around a mouthful, "Alrif, wiff wun du yuu wunna knuw aboot?"
Jeremy pulls a chunk of meat off of the skewer he holds in his hand. He tilts his head back and gives the meat several open-mouth chews until it is masticated enough to slide down his gullet.
After he swallows, he replies, "What can you tell me about the Test of Grace?"
"Mmm," Vee said, swallowing, "That's a difficult one. I don't really know much about that one. What I think it's about is a kinda test of character, maybe even mixed in with another test? I dunno. I think the key will 'don't be terrible' and it'll probably be fine."
"Hmm," Jeremy replies. "You're right, that isn't much. Have you figured out anything interesting about the Test of Knowledge?"
As the sun reaches its zenith Guildmaster Black returns to the stage. "I hope you're all ready. Because you have until dawn, win or lose. I will be seeing you all soon. Traditionally, there's a horn about now, but I'm not great at tradition, so Catastrophe, if you could?"
A large, purple-hued Wyvern stomps onto the stage, its saddle black leather trimmed with silver and saddlebags bulging. The creature seems to smirk, a rather disquieting look for such a creature, and with a deep inhalation roars out over the crowd.
The Test has begun.
-----
The noon sun is warm and the streets relatively clear, making travel a simple matter, and the store you seek is not difficult to find. Somehow, the shop gives the feeling of being ancient, which seems impossible given that most of the city is still being built. The solid, wide storefront has thick glass, too cloudy and small to allow more than an outline of the items within. A large, varnished sign with seared letters reads 'The Great Wyrm's Horde' above the door.
"Well, if it's a store, at this time of the day it should be open and interested in attracting customers," Shada reasons.
She opens (hopefully) the door to the establishment.
Zandora follows her in.
Jeremy also enters the store, spear in hand, ready to be tested. He inhales deeply through his nostrils, hoping he can detect the scent of something that might hint of any danger.
The main room is dominated by a large glass and oak counter, with glass display cases around the side of the room. The items inside are intriguing, but the prices are best described as 'eye watering'. Four suits of armour watch over the room impassively, and weapons hang on the walls, gleaming in the glowing lamplight. Behind the counter, a Kobold with Sapphire Blue scales in an impressive robe watches the party. "Welcome, welcome. Are you here to shop, or to investigate?" The kobold's eyes twinkle in bemusement.
A single door leads out of the room behind the counter.
At the kobold's question, Zandora smiles and says
Err, both? Can you tell us a little bit about the merchandise? Specifically the four suits of armor, but we'd like to hear your whole spiel if you have the time. Always good to get all the information possible. I'm Zandora by the way. Pleased to meet you.
(add 10 if he recognizes me as nobility, add 10 if he is attracted to me)
"Both is acceptable!" The Kobold gave a toothy grin and hopped down from the step they seemed to be and came around the front. Although short they are richly robed and impressive looking. "I am known by the grandiose title of Guildmaster Blue," he said, winking, "But between you and me I find it a bit much. Perhaps when the title has been mine a while longer it will feel more me. Ured Malachek suits me more, so please, call me Ured."
He bowed with a flurish to the group as a whole. "Feel free to peruse my wares and ask questions as you will. When you are ready we shall go to the back. I'm afraid there has been a terrible murder that I need your help solving."
Greetings, Ured. Guildmaster, impressive.
Zandora started to look around when invited, but when the murder is mentioned, she says
A murder, indeed? Are the clues in the back only, or did the murderers come through here?
She is guessing right now that the murder is a fake murder and just a test, but even so, mentally, a murder takes precedence over perusing the wares.
"Oh, we're quite confident the culprit is still in the building," Ured said cheerfully. "There's no way out the back without me dropping the barrier outback, and I was of course here, so it is very unlikely."
"Alas, poor Azana, my lovely assistant. Struck down in her prime, and while getting her vital tasks down." Despite the words the kobold's tone was wry, less than subtly hinting that the murder was indeed the test.
Ah, okay then. You are the top of the suspect list so far. Please don't leave town. We'll check out the scene and work on getting justice for poor Azana.
Having played along at approximately the same level the storekeeper was playing this, Zandora proceeds into the back, curious about whatever challenge is ahead.
Ashmerain follows along, ready for the challenge.
Hmmm. Murder, Shada thought. She'd killed before, certainly, but she was unaccustomed to looking at it as an investigator. It would be much easier her to deceive others to avoid penalty for the crime than it would be to figure out who did it. Nevertheless, the ways of chance were fickle. Perhaps she'd chance upon insight the others did not.
Shada also follows Zandora, our defacto leader, seemingly.
"Aren't you concerned for your own safety, being left in the store with a murderer?" Jeremy asks Ured as he leads the group to the back.
"I'm probably the weakest of the Guildmasters, it is true," Ured said cheerfully as he led the group through to the next room (2). "But that is a relative thing. As these things go I am...not without my defences. Especially here, in my own shop." Pushing open the door, Ured stepped in and made a dramatic gesture. "Behold! The scene of the crime."
The Workshop has several places for the creation of items of power, with a forge dominating half the wall to the north. Neat racks of tools line the other surfaces, but the most obvious thing is the fallen woman in the centre of the room. She is surrounded by mess, fallen tools, materials and soot from the forge.
Ured Malachek sighs dramatically. "This is my assistant, Azana, cruelly struck down." He gestured to the centre of the room. "Your test is to find out who killed my dear, sweet assistant and who has put me out by having to spend days, maybe even weeks, training another."
"Hey!" The corpse said in a quiet, muffled voice.
"This is how the test will work," The kobold continued with a glance at the body, "There is evidence of this terrible crime throughout my shop. You are free to go anywhere, check everything, to find them. My two other associates, Valeria and Almena, are here and in their rooms. Feel free to interview them both. You will need three pieces of evidence and the correct answer to pass. Questions?"
If she is surrounded by soot from the forge, can we see anything like footprints?
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Shada does indeed note some sooty footprints leading to the door to the north of the room.
Ashmerain's keen magical senses notify him that the assistant is, without any sort of doubt, alive. He smirks slightly.
He spots the footprints as well and says to Shada, "It might be prudent to speak with the associate in the north room. A good starting point."
Zandora smiles when the corpse speaks.
Perhaps a speak with dead spell would be appropriate here she jokes, but when Ashmerain suggests they speak with a certain associate, she goes along with his idea.
Jeremy peers closer at the body.
"How was she struck down? What killed her?" He looks for any evidence to answer his own questions.
He turns to Cathirix and mentions, "She isn't really dead. We are to pretend she is as part of the test."
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"My assistants are in their rooms, upstairs. The stairwell is to the North." Ured coughed. "And, yes, an ability to speak with the dead would work here. Needless to say, a certain level of suspension of disbelief is required here. It turns out that actually murdering people for a test is frowned upon, so we must make do."
Zandora takes a closer looks at the body and the mess around her, trying to determine if anything seems unusual or out of place, say perhaps the murder weapon or something to indicate a motive.
Once she is done, she walks carefully to the north staircase, trying to avoid messing up any potential evidence.
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O.O
The wound is surprisingly realistic, a wide, deep thrust. Blood has stopped pouring, but it's clear that none of the weapons here would make the same shape.
Zandora opens the door into what looks to be a storeroom. Racks of items and part complete items dominate this room, with boxes of raw materials leaving only small paths through the mass, primarily between the doors to the North and South.
Zandora scans the storeroom for something that would match the wound pattern.
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There is nothing in the store room that looks like a murder weapon, but the trail of footprints does continue to the north door.
Not seeing anything particularly helpful about the wound, Jeremy gives up and follows the others.
Not seeing anything, Zandora proceeds to the north.
The hallway to the north goes in a variety of directions, but it's easy enough to find the stairwell - the footprints head right to them. The stairs head up, a large glass window allowing light into the stairwell. The footprints run both up the stairs and to a small door underneath the stairs.
Zandora decides to try the small door first.
Shada stands off to the side. She knew this was a test, but just in case someone jumped out, she wanted to be able to "gently" place a leg between them and Zandora.
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The stair cupboard is a store room, full of what looks like gardening gear and supplies. A pair of shears have been half-hidden behind a pair of boots, the blades clearly bloodied.
"Well, that's...curious. The murder weapon, potentially? I mean, one normally doesn't shear things that bleed."
Zandora nods.
Agreed. Likely the murder weapon. Taking a pair of gardening gloves from the supplies, she carefully removes the shears without touching them and messing up their magical aura. Hopefully the fictitious authorities would take note that she wasn't destroying evidence. After moving them to a safe place, she returns to the group and if they haven't gone up the stairwell yet, she will start up first. If they have, then she follows.[/b]
The stairwell - and the footprint on it - are simple enough to follow. The second floor looks much like the first, although the layout is obviously different. The sooty footprints lead to the West, and through a door (room 14).
Zandora moves forward, pausing outside door 14 to wait for everyone to get ready for possible combat... though this was a test and she hoped they wouldn't actually have to fight. Best to proceed as though it were all real though, just in case.
She also takes a good look at the door before she opens it, just in case the suspect, fearing being cornered, had set up some kind of a trap.
Shada looks as well, though she was far from the most perceptive person when it comes to such things.
Intelligence/2=17: