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The fire in Harrowstone--Mrs. Hawkran was there. Do you know anything about her? Why was she in the prison during the riots? Please, if you know anything--it's important.
Riots? To be honest, even that's news to me. I always thought the prison burned by accident. But Luramin might know some more... She replaces the ledger on the shelf and then leads Lem back out to another room in the building, where Luramin is busy filling in a ledger of his own. Quess relays Lem's request.
You find Quess in the shop room, minutely examining some of the items that you assume to be magical. She replaces the necklace in her hands in the display case, closes and locks it, and then takes the painting, turning it over to see the back of the frame over which the canvas is stretched. Here, she holds the painting out for Lem to see. There is a number written on the inside of the frame. Just let me look this up. She hands the painting back to Lem and makes her way back down the hall. Come along if you like. This time, she unlocks and opens a different door, this one obviously a study of some description, with windows. She moves over to a bookshelf, trailing a finger along the spines of various tomes before selecting one and placing it on a table. She flips a few pages. Hmm...here...ah. There it-- She stops. When she turns around to look back at Lem, waiting patiently with the painting in her hands, she appears troubled. Here, she says. Look for yourself. Number: 54687 - Size: 16" × 22" - Type: oil on canvas - Subject: portrait, Varisian(?) woman, seated, brushing hair--Hawkran's wife? - Artist: unknown - Year: ca. 4660 - Providence: retrieved from Hawkran residence after fire I think you may be looking at the late Mrs. Hawkran, Quess suggests.
Certainly. Quess takes a minute or two to show Lem where the appropriate stack begins--starting about forty years ago and working backwards--and then steps back. There is a pause where they look at each other, and then Quess speaks in a rush. Master Longbarrow, while I don't doubt at all that you are indeed looking for a painting for a reason, I am not quite sure I understand how you can expect a painting from a shrine to Desna to have ended up here. Almost everything in this collection is a painting of someone who was born, lived, and died in Ravengro. How would a portrait have made it from here to your shrine and back again in such recent memory? If you don't wish to answer, then that is your prerogative...but I admit I am rather confused as to how this could be the right place for you to look.
As the divine light blooms across the ceiling, Lem can see the room is stacked full of paintings, all carefully kept in racks. Many of them are covered in canvas. As he turns around he can also see that Quess is blushing furiously. I--um--I'm sorry, I didn't-- She swallows, takes a deep breath and tries again. I didn't mean that I doubted your capabilities or position. I'm sorry if you took it that way. It's just that while I've spent years examining enchanted items, and have worked out how to use some of them, I thought you would be more...efficient. I can only get this wand to work less than half the time. I just didn't want to keep you waiting is all. She swallows again, trying to regain her poise. Shall we? She gestures into the storeroom. ### After Quess has given Lem a five-minute primer on handling the artwork, she tries to help him narrow down his search. A young Varisian woman with a red brooch...do you know anything else? Like when it might have been painted? These pieces of art are ordered by the time we acquired them rather than the time they were painted, but that would at least give you a particular area to search in.
Pleased to meet you Miss Quess, Master Luramin. Yes, I would very much like to see any artwork that you have available. Forgive me, I'm getting on in years, but at one of the Lady's shrines some years past I saw a painting. It was of a young Varisian woman, with a red brooch around her neck. Yesterday I had a dream about that painting and, while it may be nothing, I would be a bit hypocritical if I didn't consider the possibility that it may be a portent from Desna, wouldn't you agree? So, shall we? GM rolls:
Quess and Luramin look at each other and shrug. Quess gestures to a door at the back of the showroom. Follow me, won't you? The artwork is my area of expertise. She leads you through the door, pausing only at the threshold to turn around and call out to Luramin to remind him to clean the cabinets. You pass several doors down a hallway toward the back of the building. Eventually, Quess stops before one, takes a keyring from her pocket, and unlocks and then opens the door. The windowless room is dark, but Quess takes a wand from another pocket and proffers it to Lem. Here, she says, if you're a priest, you'll be able to use this. It always takes me a few tries to make it work. Taking the wand, Lem sees that it is a wand of light*. Cast it on the ceiling, Quess suggests. *:
The woman recovers first. Lem, was it? she says as she strides across the floor, her skirts swishing around her feet as she moves. I'm Quess--this is my...partner, Luramin. She holds out a hand. You want to see the art collection?
Come now, the woman responds with mirth in her voice. We're doing fine. Midsummer. That's final. Now, are you going to clean the cabinets like I asked?
Pish posh, the woman responds. Whether they can afford it or not, we should take pride in our displays. If it doesn't sell before midsummer, I'll send word to Lepidstadt. |
