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" We need to bring him to justice and swiftly. If this continues, we will have to face a king or such for the theft of a throne!" "Indeed. If you two are amenable we'll accept this man's offer and take the lamps in exchange for returning his ruby. At this rate I'd expect a large mob of victims to form..."
"I think the gem was taken by the same man you're after." Shaking his head at the answer he dreaded, "By the Gods this fiend is a one-man crime wave!"
" So you have a ruby that needs to be retrieved, and you still charge us? Perhaps in light of paying you full price, we give you a discount on the return of said gem?" Castisa ventures forth, making an even better counter offer to the man in hopes of securing better positioning for them."I'm not charging you if you return the gem," said Anaste. "I'd like the gem back, since it belongs to my wife. I will be grateful for the return of the gem and I will give you what you need." "Any idea who has the gem, who took it, when it was taken?"
Leonidas waits to see if Castisa has more luck in bargaining with Anaste.
"Ten drakma," says the vendor. "I'm Anaste." "Greetings Anaste, I am Leonidas. Ten drakma eh? Would you settle for eight drakma? And as my friend here suggested we should get a better price since we're buying more than one."
Leonidas steps up to the stall with the lamps and asks, "How much for a couple of oil lamps?"
"your description has given us much help, when we find this guy we will make sure he is payed his dues for the harm inflicted upon you" "Indeed!"
Condolences on your loss. Take your time coming back.
Happy Birthday!
" We also have made a grave err. Slave, which of you was beaten? Perhaps that would give us even more information to this man. One who beats his own slaves may not be rare, but to be another's... rumors will abound of him."A young, eighteen year old slave raises her hand. "I was the one beaten." "Do you remember anything about this foul thug? He's a thief so any little detail or mannerism may help us locate him. He'll feel the wrath of justice when we do."
"Have you thought of oil lamps?" a slave comments. "I did not. Thank you that's a wonderful suggestion."
" I am not really well seeing at night, but I think it best. Perhaps someone is able to gather some small lights?" "I have torches but they would give away our presence."
"I'm more inclined towards the night, but I will follow your lead" "Catch the scoundrel sleeping eh? Sounds good. How are we for light sources?"
" I say go to his house, find out where he is first, then go from there. A thief needs not rest, he should keep running." "Agreed. But when should we go to his house? Early or late?"
"He bought it 'off the shelf'," Xeno explained. "Custom orders take time, and it was like he was in a hurry, after beating my slave.""She refused his advances," Xeno said. "I'm sure he was in a hurry. He stole a magical blade blessed by Athena and sold your sword to the Orc Embassy claiming it was the magical blade. You might want to double check the coins he gave you for your blade; they could be fake too."
"She refused his advances," Xeno said. "Such outrageous behavior! He should be beaten and not with a stick. Did this Carno man buy this sword 'off the shelf' or was it a custom order?"
"Do you happen to recall who you sold it too? We are in need of information to locate the person who bought this. They have stolen from one man and cheated another group by selling this sword as a substitute for an enchanted blade." Tiasis enquiresXenos thinks, "I sold it to a man who called himself Carno. He wore red, a red scarf. He also made one of my slaves feel terrible." "What did he do to make one of your slaves feel terrible?"
"Now, I have arrived," says Xeno. "Now, is there something you need?" "Yes we need your assistance as we are investigating a serious matter: Theft of a divinely-blessed sword. We were directed here by the Temple of Athena as the priest inspected this sword:" Leonidas presents the xiphos the party obtained from the Orc Embassy. "and determined the quality suggested it came from your forge. Did you forge this blade?"
Leonidas looks lost in a trace admiring all of the weapons and armor on exhibit...
Leonidas nods and waits...sort of patiently. He does peek around to see what's available for sale.
"Good find Leonidas, looks like we've found our smithy" Tiasis says clapping Leonidas on the back as he walks towards the building "Let's hope so and hope he might have some answers instead of even more questions." Leonidas enters the smithy to see if there's anyone at work.
Leonidas checks the maps and then the various signs until he locates Zeno's forge.
Leonidas follows the directions provided by the priest and responds to Castisa, "It would be nice to be rewarded but seeing justice done is reward enough in itself."
"Thank you for your insight and assistance!" To the others he says, "Back on the march eh?"
"A march around Phaeselis isn't quite the level of training I'm used to but it will have to suffice. Where is Zeno's forge located?"
"It could be a test, yes," said the priest. "The oracle at the temple of Zeus might know more." "Which master smith in Phaeselis could have made this sword? I'd rather rule out a local connection before traveling farther afield."
"I Understand the thief needed to make or present a forgery that would pass a basic level of scrutiny but the amount of time spent and the level of craftsmanship required...it does feel 'off' to me. Plus why present such a finely made blade that would be easily discovered as a forgery by someone who could detect it is not, in fact, magical." Turning to address Castisa, Leonidas says, "Yes I've had that feeling ever since Asterios or Aristocles hired us for this task. This feels like some kind of test like Hercule's Twelve Labors."
" If I may interject gentlemen, it seems our issues with the thief have affected many, not just us. We need him, not more harmed innocents. Though how to get him I am unsure. Any one have any ideas? " "I planned on asking for help at the Temple with what few clues Talun and Aristocles/Asterious gave us about the thief. Especially that rather vague and mysterious 'riddle' the diviners gave Aristocles/Asterious with the hopes someone has knowledge of its meaning."
The priest returns. "It's normal steel, although it's of curious workmanship," he says, "it never was enchanted." "Could you elaborate what you mean when you describe it as 'curious workmanship'?" To Tiasis he says, "We don't know yet the problem is with the orcs. Even Talun said they didn't get what they paid for."
"It never is," said the priest. "Call me Xenos. Would you still like me to divine if it's enchanted or not?" "Might as well; I hope to be surprised."
"I thought you were going to say that; otherwise this mission would've been too easy."
The priest comes to Leonidas. "Have you been here long?" he asks. "No but I wouldn't mind if I had been. It's always a blessing to return to the Temple. But we do have business with the Temple. A sword with a special connection to Athena was recently stolen. We've been hired by the former owner to track down both the sword and the thief. The thief even managed to get the Orcish embassy involved with the situation. The embassy gave us the sword and we've brought here to authenticate it - or discover that the orcs didn't pay for what they thought they were getting." Leonidas carefully draws the sword and presents it to the priest.
Leonidas stops to pray at the altar.
When done admiring the bridge Leonidas leads the others to the Temple of Athena.
"Beautiful bridge isn't it?" Leonidas remarks to his two companions.
As you near the bridge, you find that its made of marble and has dolphins carved on it.
As you leave the Embassy and head back into the city, the beautiful temple of Athena is not that far from the Embassy. You just need to get across the river. Leonidas tells the others, "We may as well go to the Temple of Athena and get their appraisal of the sword. I have a bad feeling it's not going to be legitimate."
As you leave the Embassy and head back into the city, the beautiful temple of Athena is not that far from the Embassy. You just need to get across the river.
"Yes," said Talun. "It is magnificent. But it's not ours to begin with. Although we have good smiths, we don't want to copy this blade." "I understand. We'll take it to the Temple to verify it's the correct blade. With a thief one can never be too sure."
After an hour, he presents you with a gleaming steel Xiphos. "This is the sword I believe," says Talun. Leonidas takes the sword reverently and examines it, "It is a magnificent blade. I can see why the owner is so eager to have it returned!"
" This mystery seems to be of a clear sort, and we shall endeavor to ensure everything is properly done. The final question we may have that can help, where did you met this person at, and any name he may have given you?""We met him in the Persian sector," Talun explains. "He called himself Philemon." "Thank you for the information, hopefully it will help lead us to this thief."
"have you guys tried to find the thief yourselves, if the sword isn't what you bargained for anyways?" Tiasis asks, feeling kind of skeptical of the whole situation "The owner of the sword has had no luck in finding him either. I wonder if he's having help in this endeavor."
Talun then replied, "He wore a yellow tunic with blue trim. Good sandals made of good leather. He had short hair, and was clean shaven. His hair was black and he had green eyes." "We'll add that to our list of clues about this thief."
"I could ask you to find the original thief, and get our money back," says Talun. "We certainly intend on finding the original thief. Such outrageous acts cannot go unpunished in a society governed by laws. And a religious heirloom no less! An insult to Athena that should not be allowed to stand." If his companions have no objections Leonidas will begin filling out the requisite forms.
And Castisa gives voice to what Leonidas is thinking!
Talun produces a form that is both in Hellenic (common), and Orcish. "You just need to fill out the Hellenic side," he says. Leonidas shares the form with his two companions as he reads it hoping three minds are better than one at spotting any issues.
"We knew it wasn't what the person sold it to us, so we placed it in the vault," Talun explained. "To get it back, you have to fill out a requisition form.""Yes, we have it," said Talun. "Unfortunately, we knew that it was enchanted, so we placed it in our vault." "Certainly, where is the form?" |
