Eldin watches from the alley mouth as Tyndal approaches the guards – and then stares in surprise as they usher him through the doorway. While some members of the group choose to accompany the warrior, Eldin decides to stay and watch – for any sign of foul play by the guards, or anyone else approaching.
Harven also remains behind with the priest of Fharlanghn, figuring that he would look even more out of place than the priest.
Following the entrance of the two men into the complex, the guards place the keg out of sight, just inside the double doors, then replace the bar over the doors and resume their former posts.
Depending on how long the party watches, a fresh pair of guards eventually relieve the initial trio. The new watchmen brighten noticeably when the veteran guard quietly indicates the position of Tyndal’s cask.
"So we're looking for tunnels? I guess we can check the back end of the place, the guard did direct us there"
Tyndal, while being on his guard, will head to the back of the compound, using the guard's directions. He's assuming that this is where the last bunch went, which included Vanthus.
Terin is walking beside Tyndal, chatting about things that co-workers chat about, trying to look like what the guards expect us to look like while trying to take in the surrounding area.
Looks as if it is just the two of you, though I haven't heard from Anders or Seann yet.
The two of you walk casually around the compound, noting scorch marks and repairs in some areas of the stone boundary. An aged, rotten leather ball lies forgotten in the grass, where some child undoubtedly flung it by accident from the opposite side of the wall. The warehouse displays no outward sign of being anything but an ordinary building, and you locate but the one entryway.
If anything happens, Tyndal, the Nature itself will come to my aid to slow any pursuit. No hero stuff. Let's just go in, see what we see, and flee if too much trouble comes our way. Alright?
"Sounds good to me."
Tyndal readies his shield and then attempts to open the service door.
Looks as if it is just the two of you, though I haven't heard from Anders or Seann yet.
Seann snaps out of his hangover-induced blank stare and moves toward the door. He swings his spear from walking stick-mode to weapon-mode, ready for ...whatever.
The door sticks a little, then pops open with a shuddering groan, spraying dust motes that drift gently back to the ground in the midday radiance. The inside of the building complex is unlit, and the portal yawns into darkness.
From what little you can see from the daylight streaming through the open door, the warehouse is full of neatly stacked crates, most stamped with the Arabani crest and various import / export tariffs. Several unobstructed lanes run between the stacks of crates.
The complex seems efficiently kept and often used.
The remaining party members observe a few townsfolk pass by, including a juggling mime and a small gaggle of children arguing over how to split a bit of candy.
The guards, enjoying the subtle breeze of the day, disappear regularly to receive morale lifts from the barrel just inside the complex doors. You spot one of them wave at something inside the walled depot, then return to his post.
You overhear bits and pieces of their conversation:
...privy...sucked under...
...monsters...sewer....
Figuring that most of the folks that work here are human, Tyndal will look around for a lamp or lantern and light it. Once we have light, he will being looking for tunnels etc.
I see fairly well in this meager light, let me see what I can spot (6 not much.).
If we need light, I can produce a flame with but a short phrase. Shirak Manus.
Tyndal's search reveals three things: A small cache of half-full oil lamps by the doorway, evidence at least one other has traveled this way recently, and the fact some of the goods stored within the warehouse are very exotic.
Tyndal’s palm light illuminates your surroundings. Two paths stretch out before you into the warehouse, leading to the left or right.
“They’ve been gone a while – or at least it seems like a while,” Eldin remarks softly to Harven and Anders, a little worry creeping into his voice. “Do you think they’re alright? It doesn’t look like an alarm has been raised … What do you think, keep waiting here? Or I could go and talk to the guards… I think I’ll go and talk to the guards.”
A few more townsfolk pass on their way to here or there, but none of them appear to be out of place (assuming you consider mimes an everyday thing).
The replacement guards seem roughly about the same age. A sandy haired mid 30’s man and woman you consider could easily be brother and sister lean comfortably against the stone wall, dressed in matching Arabani marked leather armor, with short swords sheathed against their outer thighs.
The woman eyes Eldin warily as he approaches, but makes no overtly threatening moves. “Afternoon,” the male of the pair says, giving Eldin a perfunctory head nod. “Something we can do for you?”
Hey Tyndal, I suggest you grab a lantern, and light it. My hand will go out if we meet up with any opposition as I will use the flames to burn any who would harm us, and I would hate for you to be left lightless in a battle.
Tyndal nods and lights one of the lamps.
"Right is always right" He begins heading down the right passageway.
Seann tightens his grip on his spear and follows Tyndal down the passage to the right.
...followed by Terin, bringing up the rear.
Eldin shades his eyes against the glare of the bright sunshine as he approaches the guards. “The gods’ blessings upon you on this over-warm day,” he greets them, raising his hand in greeting – and to show them that he holds no weapon other than the ash staff he grips with his other.
“A hot day for guard duty, and a hot day to be out walking. Do you suppose I could rest a while in the shade of your doorway – and perhaps you could spare a drink for a foot-sore follower of Fharlanghn? I notice you have cups to hand there…”
As the trio wends their way through the warehouse, they pass aisle upon aisle of neatly stacked crates of imperishable goods. It would appear the right hand fork you embarked upon contains export materials from Sassarine. The crates wait silently for shipment, bills of lading tacked neatly to the front, awaiting signatures and bearing the names of numerous distant locations.
While passing the rear of the complex (it would seem the path is a circular route around the warehouse, left specifically bereft of cargo), you come upon two rooms, each with a closed wooden door and sign. One sign displays the Arabani crest, the other a pair stick figures, male and female. A slightly unclean odor emanates from under the door with the stick figures.
Eldin’s unthreatening manner wins over the pair of guards, who fill a mug of beer for him and strike up a little conversation.
“A good day to be on the road, and not standing in one place overlong,” says the female sentry. Up close, she looks even more alike to the man beside her, so much so that you are certain now they are brother and sister, and though her features are a little softer, she is no less muscular than her counterpart.
“Still, not a bad lot, this post. Stand around; make sure boxes don’t go wandering off. Beats reeking of fish or drowning on a ship,” responds the male. “I’m Jera, this is my big sister Neri. What brings you to the arse-end of the Arabani estate this fine day, good priest?”
Anders snaps out of his odd reverie as Eldin goes walking toward the guard. He realizes he's been having another one of his "moments" and tries to actually focus on thinking (not a strong suit for Anders).
He begins to wander slowly around the neighborhood, trying to judge just where in the distrcit the Arabani (nee Vanderboren) compound is located, especially in realtion to the nearby waterways.
A few of the things Anders sees in his roving:
An occult bookstore.
A moneylenders, across a short wooden bridge.
A discarded hourglass, broken and missing sand.
In the distance, off to your left, you see the Arabani manor rising into the Sassarine skyline.
More of those damnable mimes. Where could they be coming from?
Anders is fairly convinced he is somewhere on the Eastern end of the Merchant District.
“Well, met Jera and Neri,” Eldin takes a sip of his beer, and nods in appreciation. “Truth to tell, I did not choose to walk this road today totally at random,” he continues. “I have recently had some dealings with the Vanderboren family, and am led to understand that their ancestral holdings were in this district. One of the scions of that family – a young man by the name of Vanthus – has not been seen in several weeks, and his family is concerned. I had a thought that he might have come to the area of his old family holdings, out of nostalgia, or for some other reason.”
The priest takes another sip of his beer, and shrugs. “A foolish thought perhaps, that I would run into him in a city of this size.”
“Seems like it always big news when some spoiled rich brat runs off,” Neri comments dryly. “No offense if they’re friends of yours, mind you.”
“That’s what happens when you drink on duty!,” quips Jera, simultaneously elbowing his sister in the ribs. “Truth be told we’re missing a few around here too.”
He leans in and continues conspiratorially, “I don’t know about any Vanderborens; we were hired on recently as extra security. Seems a few workers have gone missing here. No trade goods missing, just a worker, here or there, gone without a trace.”
“Oh please,” Neri exhales huffily. “We all know they just got picked off by some press gang, or fell off the dock drunk. Next you’ll be jabbering about sewer monsters again.”
“The cleanout crews as well?,” Jera retorts. “The first couple was bad enough, but then a full outfit came in, with a little boat no less; only one comes back out, wouldn’t even talk about it. The stinky one, oiy, he smelled worse going in than coming out, he’s gone too. Now this last group, I hear they were pretty heavily armed. One of them tried to buy his way out of going with the booze you’re drinking!”
At this, Neri just shakes her head and says, “You’re a nutter; but you are right about that stink-beast. Real secret squirrel, that one. If there are monsters in the sewer, they don’t have a lick of sense, if they ate him. At any rate, we’ve got solid work, and they’re talking about putting up a guard outbuilding.”
Jera chuckles a bit and declares, “I hope it has a chamber pot!”
Tyndal will open the door with the crest first. He has an idea that the other is the privy and while we are looking for tunnels, he is praying that the privy is not the way there.
Backing up Tyndal....
Tyndal jiggles the handle, but the door refuses to budge.
"Force it. I've had latrine duty more than I care to remember...lets try the office first"
url=http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=1311277]Str check to force door (1d20+3=19)[/url]
More of those damnable mimes. Where could they be coming from?
I say we just take our time and search the office (taking 20), we need to decide if we want to leave someone outside the room to keep watch or inside with us so as to hope to avoid attention. And for the Gods' sakes, lets try to keep it down!
All RUINING the atmosphere of our perfect little village.[/ooc]
Tyndal steps hard into the wooden door with his shoulder. The door shudders and recoils, but eventually yields under pressure. The wood snaps around the lock, and the door moves forward, leaving the mechanism behind it, still attached to the frame.
On the other side of the (now) open doorway is a small, cluttered room, consisting of an oaken desk with chair, a lightly stained settee, and copious logbooks scattered everywhere. Your entry startles a mouse snacking on a forgotten biscuit, which looks up and then scampers away into a small hole in the wall. The room has a musty smell about it.
I say we just take our time and search the office (taking 20)
After searching a few of the logbooks, looking through each and every one of them seems futile; they are all just so much gibberish. Likely it is a closed accounting system for House Arabani .
One of the two drawers of the oaken desk refuses to open . The drawer that opens readily contains a brass key, a hastily scrawled note, and several pieces of chalk.
The note reads, "Find out who hired all these sewer workers. Do we owe someone money?"
The key does not turn when (if) you try the drawer on the other side of the desk.
lets try to keep it down!
Luckily, the distance to the gate and the stone walls work in your favor, and the sentries remain blissfully unaware you are ransacking the office instead of unclogging the privy.
Tyndal will root around, looking for anything containing references to Vanderboren, Vanthus, or Lotus Dragons.
Lowering his voice, Tyndal says, "You want to crack open the desk or get moving on? Looks like the visitors was heading to the privy."
Tyndal groans, while pocketing the key and chalk.
*Whispering* You have the crowbar! Force the drawer!
Seann leafs through a few of the papers, attempting to find any information related to the matters at hand.
"Oh yeah! I have one of those."
Tyndal pulls out his crowbar and begins wrenching open the desk drawer.
“Yes, a dozen people a day likely go missing in a city this size, but few pay much attention until it is a noble,” Eldin agrees with Neri, nodding sagely.
“Now Jera, you mentioned a very smelly man, along with a crew with a small boat – by chance, the other members of this cleanup crew – did they include a blonde man with a beard, and a confidant – or arrogant – swagger to his step? And a rather crazed looking man with a foul temper?” Eldin repeats the descriptions of Vanthus and Penkus given to them by Panchi. If asked how he might know these people, or why he is asking, Eldin replies; “I am an adventurer as well as a cleric; in my line of work one comes across many folk, both honourable and unsavoury.”
“But to more pressing issues,” he continues. “Forgive me if I pry, but you mentioned that there is a cleanup crew within at the moment, to deal with these ‘sewer monsters’? While there are always stories in this city of unsavoury things dwelling in the canals and sewers, it is rare indeed for such beasts to prey on more than the feeble or unway … I have a fear …
“If I am correct in my perception, this depot here is built on the lands once occupied by the Vanderboren manor that I spoke to you of earlier … now, I have heard that there was a series of old tunnels and catacombs built below said manor house; for what purpose I cannot surely say, but you know that many of the noble families are in the habit of interring their dead in such catacombs … unfortunately, such places are often not properly consecrated and tragically become infested with spirits and undead.
“I am troubled. This cleanup crew, if they are armed warriors as you describe, they may be ill-equipped to deal with such dangers! Worse, they could stir things up that may spread beyond the confines of the catacombs.
Eldin looks squarely at the brother and sister. “I would not ask you to be derelict in your guarding duties … but I am a cleric, and am trained to deal with undead and monsters. Some of my adventuring companions are in the neighbourhood for a similar purpose to myself. If you give me some minutes to collect them, I could enter the compound and offer assistance to your cleanup crew?”
Eldin leaves. And Anders leaves. Harven is left on his own.
As Eldinn engages the guards in conversation, Harven attempts to stealthily move closer. Both to hear the conversation better, and also to judge if he could sneak his way in.
Anders takes note of the broken hourglass and the occult bookstore. Not for any particular reason, just that they were the things that stuck in his brain.
He mutters to himself "What's with all the mimes?" No one else is nearby to her him. He doesn't even hear himself.
Suddenly he is struck by the bridge to the moneylender. He finds himself wondering if there might be some kind of tunnel hidden under the bridge. He starts examining the bridge and the embankment, trying to evaluate how difficult it would be to get a look under the bridge, without going for a swim for his troubles.
Seann leafs through a few of the papers, attempting to find any information related to the matters at hand.
The ledgers consist of multiple columns, tracking goods incoming and outgoing, as well as payments made or received. Improbably, none of the destination names are known to you, or in monetary values you recognize.
Tyndal pulls out his crowbar and begins wrenching open the desk drawer.
The desk drawer wrenches open under the assault of Tyndal’s prybar, wood splintering. Peering within the drawer, you find a wooden box filled with coins, and a payroll ledger. From the time log, you discern the majority of activity at the warehouse occurs in the evening, and the workers are due to be paid for the month at the end of this week.
Eldin repeats the descriptions of Vanthus and Penkus given to them by Panchi.
“That certainly does sound like them,” Jera confirms.
His sister continues, “We weren’t on duty that day, but word gets around among the guards, especially with the strange folks they’ve been hiring to keep up the place.”
If you give me some minutes to collect them, I could enter the compound and offer assistance to your cleanup crew?”
Jera and Neri converse quietly for a few moments before coming to a consensus. Finishing each other’s sentences, they tell you hastily, “We can’t leave the gate unguarded, you understand. If someone were to come by and not see us here, we’d be hitting the bricks again for sure!”
“We’re taking a big chance as it is, just letting you in. You seem like an honest man, but...” Neri pauses ominously, “If you and your friends don’t come out, we’ve never seen you before in our lives. Still, if you can do anything about the disappearing workers, maybe we could put in a good word for you with our employers!”
“Sorry,” adds Jera, drawing a line in the dirt with his shoe. At the same time, his cheeks redden a little with embarrassment.
Harven attempts to stealthily move closer. Both to hear the conversation better, and also to judge if he could sneak his way in.
As Harvin creeps closer, using the shadows in the lee of the wall to shield him, he picks up the end of Eldin’s conversation with the twins. He is certain he could sneak over the wall undetected while they are otherwise engaged.
"What's with all the mimes?"
trying to evaluate how difficult it would be to get a look under the bridge
There is little space between arch and sea, though if you were to really squeeze and cling tight to the woodwork it might be achievable.
Harven, seizing the opportunity, attempts to sneak into the compound while the guards are distracted. Once inside, he will try to find a position where he can get Eldin's attention without alerting the guards.