Tessirda looked at the child, and smiled. This was easier than she expected. "Why would I slay you? You've done nothing to me, and as far as i know came to this sanctuary with no bad intentions."
She paused, and offered a hand.
The boy smiles and shakes Tessirda's hand. "Thanks, " he says, "my name is Madrat." He looks at the Splithog Pauper as Uzés brings his body into the room. "He's dead then. Good, he said he was gonna kill me. I think he knew I was gonna rat him out."
He looks back up at Tessirda. "Belitas Kreun was his name, and he was a bad man."
"Yea, he was." says Maybell.
Eventually Zindit will gather you up and lead you downstairs then back up into the cloister where Kelne is.
One of the thugs is still alive, and there are two bound and knocked out prisoners and a relieved boy.
Eventually Zindit will gather you up and lead you downstairs then back up into the cloister where Kelne is.
One of the thugs is still alive, and there are two bound and knocked out prisoners and a relieved boy.
Tessirda looked over the two liberated people, and felt a little pride in what she did here. This wasn't petty revenge, and that was good, to her. "How was he involved with the actual priest? Was he in on this, or did the "Pauper" take advantage of him?" She tried to sound casual, but the she knew people... and the boy probably knew something. Including on just how she needed to talk to the priest again
Loot from the bodies and prisoners:
From Belitas:
Leather armor, magic dagger, 4 thunderstones, masterwork thieves' tools, key, 174 gp
From the half-orc:
Studded leather armor, masterwork morningstar, 8 gp
From the elf:
Studded leather armor, longsword, longbow
From Knuckles and 2 others:
Leather armor, rapier, 4 daggers, shortbow, 24 gp (total)
From the youth and 1 other:
Studded leather armor, shortsword, 20gp (total)
For a total of :
4 suits of studded leather armor
4 suits of lether armor
magic dagger
masterwork morningstar
longsword
3 rapiers
2 shortswords
12 daggers
longbow
3 shortbows
4 thunderstones
masterwork thieves' tools
226 gp
Rooms
Room 9 is a bunkroom that appears to have been occupied and contains nothing of interest.
Room 10 is geezer's room.
Room 12 is another formerly occupied bunkroom, this one contains a pile of bedding and a chair covered by blood shattered sheets. A disturbing collection of blood encrusted tools hangs on a wall, consisting of a pliers, garden shears, chisels, a hammer, a corkscrew, a straight razor, a fireplace poker and three branding irons.
Room 13 contains old mattresses stacked against the wall, and a wide chalk circle is drawn on the floor smeared with black ichor. Wine bottles and a half-eaten goose carcass are scattered about. A shelf holds three wooden boxes labeled "Spiker", "Jabs" and "Bugsy". Inside the boxes are cat-sized scorpions.
Room 14 is padlocked, but Zindit manages to open it. The room is remarkable clean compared to the others. Three wardrobe cases are under the bed. Two of the cases contain plain street clothing, while the third contains a masterwork disguise kit, a mirror and sealing wax. A secret compartment in the bottom of the third box contains dozens of papers written in shorthand, 3 potions, a wand, and a pouch of flayleaf.
Room 15 are unoccupied bunkrooms, one of which is the "morgue".
Room 16 is the bell tower. A crudely spaced ladder leads up to the belfry. A secret cache in the east wall contains 32 gp, 56 sp, 400 cp, a quartz short sword pommel, a silver anklet chain, a signet ring, an ornate brass candelabra, a bronze knocker in the shape of a dolphin, a folding marlin spike, a set of sailing charts in a leather tube and a magic feather.
Zindit's eye widened at the sight of the loot they came across during their search. She was painfully tempted to grab this and that, especially the strange jewelry, but she remembered where she was and felt as if the others' eyes were on her at all times, so she kept her fingers from lingering too long near any of it.
"This is all ours now, right?" she asked the others hopefully.
Zindit poked curiously at one of the thunderstones as the others gathered. She was wondering how they worked.
Zavos offers helpfully, "Well everyone, I'm not really sure what else we can accomplish here. Unless someone else has an idea, i suggest that we gather up the valuables and head back to the Goblin."
Zindit smiled at the prospect of taking all the shiny valuables back with them, but took care not to voice her agreement with Zavos. She looked at Tessirda, ready to agree with whatever she suggested.
Tessirda looked at the eager little gnome. She gave her a smile. "Let's call in the gentlemen at arms." She winked, and moved back to the entrance area. They'd probably conclude there was no harm done here.
Late she'd speak with the priest about her own role in the rebuilding of the sanctuary.
Zavos offers helpfully, "Well everyone, I'm not really sure what else we can accomplish here. Unless someone else has an idea, i suggest that we gather up the valuables and head back to the Goblin."
"Excellant idea, Zavos. I'm glad you thought of that!"
:-D
Moving forward:
You return to the Gold Goblin just before the night shift begins. That shift and the rest of the week pass uneventfully.
The long streak of small victories left Zindit unusually cheerful and energetic for a time as she returned to her duties at the Gold Goblin. She didn't even have nightmares again until the next night!
Aside from the suggestion that somebody check through the younger priest's room for anything untoward (suspicious wealth for instance), Kelne seems just as happy to leave the situation in the hands of the religious types.
Granted, he's not exactly achieving great things at the gaming hall, but at the very least, he's in a position to make sure things stay done.
On Moonday morning Saul gathers you all together in his office.
"We had a good week this past week and I want to thank all of you for a job well done. The Gold Goblin is well on its way back to making a good profit, which is good for all of us. Continue the good work. Oh, and see Larur to collect your pay for the week."
"Yes sir!" Zindit chirped with a wide grin. She felt like she was on top of the world when she went back to her duties. She already had enough money to keep herself fed for quite some time, no more rat for her! And the best part was, nobody here suspected her of anything! She was hiding in plain sight! She was finally starting to feel a little safe...
Amunyet collects her pay from Larur, and quickly settles back into her normal routine.
Amunyet's willing to try and identify the potions.
Zavos fails to identify either the feather or the wand. Two of the potions look and taste the same, having a bitter, acidic taste, and Zavos cannot tell what they are. The third has a sweet, metallic taste, and Zavos identifies it as a potion of shield of faith +3.
Zindit hovered behind those working on identifying the claimed goods, staring curiously at the items. Potions that make you climb like a spider? I could have used one of those... She rubbed her elbows, still sore from the fall back at the mission.
"MissAmunyet, don't Pharasma priests use daggers? You should have that one too!" she suggested eagerly, quick to take any opportunity to stay in the priestess' good graces.
Zindit hovered behind those working on identifying the claimed goods, staring curiously at the items. Potions that make you climb like a spider? I could have used one of those... She rubbed her elbows, still sore from the fall back at the mission.
"MissAmunyet, don't Pharasma priests use daggers? You should have that one too!" she suggested eagerly, quick to take any opportunity to stay in the priestess' good graces.
"Yes, we can, my friend. But I prefer my scimitar, and would likely use it only sparingly. Better it was in the hands of someone who would have more use. I also suggest we split the two spider climb potions between you and Zavos. Perhaps Kelne or Tessirda should take the shield of faith potion."
On Wealday of your second week at the Gold Goblin, Bojask approaches Kelne and says Saul would like to meet with all of you in his office. When you arrive there, you find him in a very worried state, nervously pacing back and forth.
"I am very worried about Larur," he says "I sent him on an errand last night and he has not returned. When he didn't show up for work this morning I sent someone to his apartment to check on him, but he is not there. In fact, the door was open and his apartment appears to have been burglarized."
He pauses for a moment, with a look of distaste on his face. "I am reluctant to, to admit it, but I had to secure some of the financing to start this business from a moneylender, one Lymas Smeed. The errand I sent Larur on was to deliver a payment to him, and I fear that his disappearance has something to do with it."
"Will you go out and see if you can find some sign of what happened to him? I will give you directions to Larur's apartment and Smeed's flat."
"Should we go to Larur's first?" Zindit asked, looking up at the others. She didn't seem overly worried, not realizing that her job was likely put at risk by Saul's current problem.
She was still fiddling with the potion she had been entrusted with. It was sorely tempting to try it out, just to see what it was like to climb on the ceiling. She had taken to opening the cap and sniffing it to see if she could get any effect that way, but to no avail.
"I could ask around, see what my various friends may have heard about Larur."
Gather Info (Diplomacy) if needed (1d20+8=15)
Tessirda looked thoughtful as she considered the situation. A lot of moneylenders were crooks and fully capable of taking an arm and leg into payment - but generally that was bad business, since arms and legs were not usually easily converted into coins. Still, this was a matter they'd definately need to check out. "I think we'll just have to pay this fellow a visit."
"Should we go to Larur's first?" Zindit asked, looking up at the others. She didn't seem overly worried, not realizing that her job was likely put at risk by Saul's current problem.
She was still fiddling with the potion she had been entrusted with. It was sorely tempting to try it out, just to see what it was like to climb on the ceiling. She had taken to opening the cap and sniffing it to see if she could get any effect that way, but to no avail.
Amunyet thinks for a moment, then says, "It sounds as though Saul has already checked Larur's apartment. Perhaps going directly to the destination (Lymas Smeed's dwelling), and then back along the route to end at Larur's, might bear more fruit."
"Indeed," Kelne says, "I wouldn't want him getting the idea there are people looking for him. Moneylenders can be paranoid enough at the best of times."
"Enough talk." Saul says "Go find Larur. Please."
Tessirda looked Saul over, something about the hurried tone not quite sitting right with her - but he maybe (hopefully) was merely concerned about his employee. She dediced having a look at this. "I think we'll see if he even arrived at that moneylender. Wait a second." There it was. He was delivering a payment. A sizable sum, most likely. Why didn't he have any support, someone to cover his back against a holdup?
"Who was with him when he delivered this payment? Did they return? That would be a good point to start."
"He went alone. Now go!"
Kelne frowns, not entirely trusting this brusque, urgent treatment. No, scratch that - he doesn't trust it at all. A couple of minutes to answer questions is vey unlikely to change anything at this point. He could chalk it up to nerves - Saul has, potentially, lost a large amount of money.
"That was rather foolish of him," he says mildly, "Given notice, I could have arranged an escort easily enough." He keeps an eye on Saul as he says this, searching for some trace of deceit.
"No matter," he goes on after a few moments, "The past is done, and time may be important." Pausing only to get directions to both Larur's apartment and Smeed's flat, he sets out.
Kelne:
Amunyet bristles a bit at the harsh reaction from Saul. "I'm sure you're concerned for the man, but a few questions could be the difference between finding him quickly, or having to search the city block by block because we didn't have all of the information. So, unless you know of a reason why time is critical, we will work quickly, but also efficiently."
She will follow after Kelne once he leaves to go to the lender's.