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Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger
"You should go with Pavick," Lucan says without hesitation. It's an instinctual response, not a well thought out one, but he's fairly certain that it's right.
Spoiler
OOC: It's not a good idea for the halfling murderer to be caught by the guard, and as he didn't take part in the fight, there shouldn't be a problem with witnesses.
[roll0]
[roll1]
"I have to say that in this instance I agree. It wouldn't be good for you to be found here," Eltain says. "Just be careful." He holds a hand over one of his wounds and winces.
DM Post
Lambert nods, and dives into the purple and white tent after Pavick. Inside, they find an old woman sitting in a chair, her feet propped up on one of the wine barrels. She's snoring heavily, and from all appearances, didn't notice the commotion outside. You're able to find a place in the back of the tent behind some barrels that should keep you out of sight unless the tent is thoroughly searched.
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Outside, a crowd begins peering into the courtyard, buzzing with curiosity. You hear a few gasps as the dead bodies are seen, and the few children who pushed their way to the front of the crowd are quickly pulled back, with adult hands trying to cover their eyes.
The two farmers stand there agape. It appears to be an older man and his son, and they look at you with a slightly awed, slightly afraid look in their eyes.
Before long, the clanking of metal announces the presence of the city watch. The crowd parts (reluctantly), and two heavily armored men enter the square. They're followed by a half-elf in chainmail, the purple tassel around his waste marking him as a captain. The other two appear to be common guards, and they quickly draw their swords and turn to face the party. The taller of the two, a light-skinned man with red hair barks out "Drop your weapons and step back!" The other guard, a short man with a crooked nose, takes his eyes off you for a moment and looks over the bodies, his eyes widening as he sees Patsy and the half-orc.
The captain moves a bit more slowly, and surveys the situation, but does not draw his own weapon. Eventually he speaks, his voice a slow drawl. "Would someone like to tell me what happened here?" His face remains blank and his voice emotionless, but his eyes are focused in on you.
Insight DC 14
Spoiler
The silent guard clearly recognizes Patsy. He does not look happy to see the halfling dead
OOC: Feel free to treat the last few minutes as a short rest. Encounter powers re-charge, and you can spend the healing surges you wish.
Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger
Lucan peers questioningly at the guards, quietly laying down his weapons, within easy reach. "We were attacked," he tells the men. "We defended ourselves. Perhaps these gentlemen"--he gestures at the two farmers--"can corroborate our story." His words have a slight musical rhythm.
Spoiler
OOC:
Any surges spent during the short rest get an extra +4 from Lucan's Song of Rest. Lucan doesn't spend any surges.
[roll0]
Use word of friendship:
[roll1]
Shepherd resigns to allowing his companions speak, they seem far more intuitive and well adjusted to speaking when put on the spot. He sets his weapons down carefully.
Spoiler
Insight [roll0]
DM Post
The captain looks at you with a steady gaze, then slowly begins walking from body to body, looking each over slowly. "Hmm....this looks like a tough bunch. What made them attack you?" He pauses next to the stairs, looking at the quickly melting patch of ice left over from Pavick's earlier attack. He frowns at it, and looks over the group standing in front of him.
"We were hired as private investigators, and the halfling there, the ringleader of the troupe, decided that we were sticking our noses in too far."
Aramil's sword, still in its scabbard, is lying on the ground at his feet.
DM Post
The captain looks up from where he was kneeling over the body of the human mage. He pulls out a pipe, and begins filling it with tobacco. "Private investigators? Mind if I ask who hired you, and what you were investigating?"
The shorter guard suddenly speaks up. "Sir, I don't like this. Why don't I take these killers over to the guardhouse, where we can question them proper? Away from these people?" he gives a quick nod at the gathering crowd. His voice is a bit nasaly, his phrases quick and clipped.
Insight DC 16:
SpoilerHe seems a bit eager to get you away. You suspect that there might be more than him simply wanting to get you away from the crowd
The captain gives him a slow look. "Maybe. We'll see if we can't resolve things here first." He gives you all a smile, and saunters over, his unlit pipe in between his teeth. "Care to elaborate on any details?"
"Someone important, to track down competition that started dealing in contraband."
Spoiler[roll0]
Pavick - Gnome Wizard
Pavick sits huddled in the back of the tent, crouching down behind the barrels. He strains in a silent attempt to hear what is going on outside through the thick canvas and over the old woman's snoring.
Spoiler
Don't know if I even need this, but here's a roll just in case.
Perception [roll0]
Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger
Lucan frowns at the talkative guard. It was natural that he was suspicious, Lucan decided. They were standing over dead bodies holding bloody weapons.
Spoiler
[roll0]
Funny. The man over there has a look on his face like a dubious goat that got into the hydrangeas when Shep's back was turned. But perhaps not, goats and humans don't look all that similar. And this guard is not particularly hairy.
Spoiler
Insight [roll0]
Eltain smiles warmly at the guards, doing his best to make them feel at ease.
"Well, you must understand that this is a rather delicate matter of some secrecy. To be honest, I'm not entirely certain of the reason for the attack, but I swear to you upon my vows as a Paladin of Corellon, the Lord of Magic, Spring and Beauty, that we did not instigate this attack, and only drew arms upon being besieged, with our very lives threatened." He gestures to his wounds, recovered somewhat with the aid of magical healing, but still present and barely closed.
Spoiler
Diplomacy: [roll0]
Insight: [roll1]
I presume I'm within 10 squares of Lucan for the +1 bonus. For that matter, I presume he's within 10 squares of me. Group Diplomacy is such an incredibly dull racial ability.
DM Post
The Captain's eyebrows raise at the Paladin's words. He turns to the two farmers."Is what they're saying true?" The pair look at each other, and nod slowly. "Yes sir, they were attacked out of the blue." the older one says, but the younger steals a glance towards the tent where Pavick and Lambert are hiding.
The Captain looks at the crowd behind him "Anyone see anything that indicates otherwise?" He pauses for a few seconds, and the crowd murmers, but no one speaks up. They're all obviously impressed with the odd group in front of them; with several of the children staring at the Goliath in awe, and many of the younger women eyeing the paladin and bard.
He ponders Eltain's tatoo for a long moment, pursing his lips in thought. "Very well," the captain says with a slow drawl. He pulls out some parchment and a quill out of a small pouch on his belt. He steps over to the party. "Please write your names on this paper, as well as your employeer, since you seem so reluctant to say it out loud. We'll continue investigating, but unless someone else comes forward, you're free to go."
The shorter guard tries to peer over the Captain's shoulder to see the names being written, but has trouble doing this without drawing attention. You see him studying all of you carefully, trying to memorize your faces. Once everyone has signed, the Captain will roll up the parchment, and put it back in the pouch. "Much obliged." He gives a polite nod, and turns to the other two. "Keep watch over the bodies until Hank gets here. I'll send him 'round to collect the bodies."
He starts to walk away, but pauses, and walks back to the paladin. Bending down, he picks up the half-eladrin's sword, and looks at it. "This is a good sword," he says softly, turning the sword over in his hand. "It's impressive that you all killed that many attackers. 'Course, if I didn't know better, I'd say a wizard caused some of those wounds." He glances back at the puddle that was once an ice-bolt. He gives a smile, and leans forward, speaking quietly to Eltain
Perception DC 18 for those who want to listen.Spoiler"There's more here than meets the eye. Come by the guardhouse sometime tomorrow, and we'll talk."
He gives a nod to the others, and walks away. The crowd parts for him, but does not dispurse. There's still much whispering, murmering, and long glances at the party.
The shorter guard glares at the party one more time, then moves towards the crowd, trying to shoo them away.
Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger
Lucan writes his name on the sheet easily enough, but he leaves it to others to write their employers' name. He's not too certain he can spell it. He also tries to get a read on the Captain, and whether he can be trusted.
Spoiler
[roll0]
To tell whether the half-elf is honest:
[roll1]
The feeling of awe directed towards him puts a little bit of color in the Shepherd's cheeks. Granted, this is just a paler shade of slate, but were the goliath of a more human skin tone, a rosy blush of appreciation would be spreading across his face. He picks up one of his massive hands and waves very slightly at the amassed children, a faint, but altogether pleasant smile forming on his lips.
He lets out a little reflective sigh; the respect and awe one gets for having the noble title of shepherd. Shep loves his job.
Spoiler
Perception [roll0]
Eltain writes his name on the paper, keeping an eye on the guards and their actions, hoping there won't be an objection to his lack of a family name. He watches the guards leave, deep in thought, as he straps his sword back to his side.
He whispers to the eladrin, "I think the guard captain might suspect something about us, he said he wanted me to come by the guard house tommorow. At any rate, we should get ready for tonight. I'll go retrieve my armor in case things go bad again."
Spoiler
Insight: [roll0]
DM Post
Eventually, the bodies are gathered, the crowd dispersed, and the guards leave. After a bit, Lambert finally pokes his head out of the tent and looks around. "*whew*" He gives a sigh of relief "That was close. Err.." he looks at you awkwardly, then stares at his feet. "thanks. I don't want to think what might have happened if they'd caught me." He clears his throat, and gives a grin "So. what's the plan?"
The sun is setting, and dusk is starting to settle. The streets are almost empty, and you still have two hours 'til Patsy's meeting at the docks.
Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger
Lucan looks at Lambert. "We should get him to our patron and then go to this meeting."
"Yes... I just hope Pavick hasn't somehow been compromised by all of this. At any rate, I'm certainly looking forward to getting back into my armor. Not the most comfortable thing, but certainly more comfortable than these wounds." He grins boyishly. "May Corellon bless and guide us in this endeavor."
Pavick - Gnome Wizard
Pavick peeks out of the tent first, and after making sure that the crowd has dispersed, comes out.
He replies to Eltain, "Not half as much as I do. Which is a feat, since you're twice as big as I am. I honestly don't know what will happen tonight at this point. I'm still willing to give it a shot, but I definitely want the rest of you nearby in case I need to send up a flare for help."
He moves over behind the halfling and puts an arm around his shoulder. "We'll get you to safety, then worry about tonight."
Shep nods in agreement with his fellows. "The wolf delights in the hasty shepherd."
Strangely, the shaggy dog that bounded to assist the Shepherd not a few minutes before is oddly absent. In the sudden crowd of people, the dog's form was obscured, and when they crowd departed it had vanished without a trace. The Shepherd seems to pays this no mind; he does not glance back to where the dog was, nor does he appear to look for it. He simply smiles peacefully.
Aramil flips his sword scabbard off the ground with a few slick moves, quickly slipping it back onto his belt. "It also delights in a careless one. I checked out the docks myself, and there's a shrine to Bahamut there that we could use as sanctuary if bad comes to worse. Go hide, Pavick. We can handle taking Lambert to Rex's estate."
DM Post
The streets are nearly empty as you make your way across town to the Rex estate. The guards recognize you from earlier, and quickly send a messenger up to the manor. Before long, Berrian comes down. He looks around nervously as he meets you, and listens to your story regarding Lambert. His eyes widen a bit, but gives an encouraging smile at your tale of victory earlier that day. "We had heard a few rumors of a fight that happened, but the details were fuzzy. I'm glad no one was injured." Upon hearing of Lambert's request for protection, he ponders for a bit, then nods to one of the guards.
The guard steps over, gives a jerk of his head and a mumbled "Follow me." to the halfling. As they start to leave, Lambert turns back to you, and gives a shrug. "Thanks for everything. Hope it all works out for you." before turning and following the guard up to the castle.
Berrian waits a moment until the guard and halfling are out of sight, then turns back to you. "Is there anything in particular you want us to ask him about? Or anything you think he might need...pressure, to reveal?" The eladrin wizard twitches as he says this, clearly uncomfortable with what the potential answer may be.
Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger
"He seems willing to cooperate. I don't think you have to hurt him," Lucan says.
"I would really rather you didn't hurt him. His situation is bad enough without adding torture to it," Eltain says. "And I did promise him he'd be safe. I think the attack scared him enough that he'll cooperate. If he were going to fight things I think he probably would have run then, when we were distracted by the battle." He shrugs. "Speaking of which, I should retrieve my armor. Lacking it proved to be most painful today." He does so, looking now less like a teenager who's been in a tavern brawl and more like a proper holy warrior.
The questions that pop into Shep's head, such as "How do you feel about goat cheese?", seem rather inappropriate for the current situation. Even a very important question such as "What sort of breed of goat do you feel symbolizes the very nature of the status quo?" would be a little bit in poor taste. Shep feels the slightest bit sad; it is rather depressing how such a dreadful encounter with nasty people can ruin what would have been a delightful evening.
DM Post
Berrian gives a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank gods." he murmers. He wishes you luck, then turns and starts heading up the hill, hurrying to catch up to the guard and Lambert.
It's now nighttime, with roughly three-quarters of an hour til the appointed time for Pavick to meet at the docks. As you turn away from the Rex manor, the city is mostly quiet. You can see lights in most windows, and the occational sounds of song and laughter from a tavern or an inn common room. The streets are almost empty, except for a pair of patrolling guards that passes you.
Perception DC17
SpoilerIn spite of the darkness, it appears that one of the guards patroling is the same guard who was so eager to bring you in earlier. He appears to be watching you out of the corner of his eye as the patrol passes
OOC: Any last plans before we head to the docks?
Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger
Lucan peers at the guardsmen, remembering their earlier troubles. He doesn't see anything odd about them. Then he looks around some more, remembering something. "Hey, Shep," he says. "What happened to your dog?"
Spoiler
[roll0]
Shep stares back at Lucan blankly, his face the quality of motionless slate. The question troubles him, and he gently clacks his back molars together. "What dog?"
The wind gently breezes past the large goliath, causing his smock to billow against its push. The faint howl of the wind sounds oddly like the howl of a dog.