[4E] Adventures in Fallcrest - IC

[Nai_Calus]

"The man I took care of earlier said they were headed for a whorehouse out of town that has some kind of secret basement with a lab of some sort. He professed not to know the details, though he did mention that more than our half-elven 'friend' here are in on things. We should probably investigate the place, as well as tell our employer... The guard captain said he wanted to see me tommorow, he deserves to know that some of his men have turned against the good of the town as well. We should keep everyone we've got captive for now. The half-elf and the other man for interrogation, this man for his own safety," he nods towards the human guard.

"I don't want to leave the investigation until tommorow in case they figure out something's gone wrong and they pack it all up and leave, but it's hard to investigate with prisoners and we're in fairly bad shape at this point... Resting might be the best option." He takes the rope from his pack and ties the half-elf up.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

Lucan tells the others what he found in the wagon. "Someone with more skills with spells than I should take a look," he says.

"I feel that we should press on, but I admit that I don't know how we should deal with these two if we do," Lucan says.

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick stands, brushing himself off in the process. "I can take a look," he says. He climbs up into the back of the wagon and begins examining the contents. As he pokes around, he continues to talk. "Whatever we decide to do, we'd better get going pretty quickly. Kala didn't seem like the type to wait all night. She'll probably send out a search party soon if this cargo doesn't get delivered."

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I assume you want the same rolls for Pavick now that he's examining the goods.
Nature (1d20+8)[10]
Arcana (1d20+12)[28]

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Pavick, you recognize that nearly all of these can be used as arcane reagents. The roots are the base of invisibility potions; the leaves can be ground up and mixed with a few other components to make a very powerful acid. The mushrooms, when soaked and boiled, can be turned into a deadly poison. These are clearly not all the components needed, but this is clearly the bulk of components needed for the types of alchemical creations that has been plaguing the Rex family.

You're able to tie the two guards without too much difficulty. The human offers no resistance, and the half-elf keeps his struggling to a minimum with both Eltain and Aramil standing over him.

It's currently just after midnight. Dawn will break in about 6 hours.

Streetwise DC14

Spoiler

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You know that Guard rotations happen once every 4 hours during the evening in Fallcrest; although if someone notices something like, say, an open gate that supposed to be shut and guarded, it could cause the guards to be alerted earlier.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

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Streetwise - (1d20+6)[12]

[Nai_Calus]

"We should probably do something about that gate. If someone notices it's open when it's not supposed to be, the guard will catch on sooner rather than later... You two, when did you come on? They change the guards every four hours, I know that much, I want to know how much time we have to try to figure things out." He looks at the two guards expectantly.

[Haberdashery]

Shepherd spends quite some time gazing down at the dead eyes of his opponent; his face is a mask of stone. In an act of respect, he reaches down with his forefinger and thumb and shuts both of the dragonborn's eyelids.

"What shall we do with the body?" He asks, after a moment of silence.

[Mando Knight]

"We'll bring the bodies to our benefactor's estate, to show him the kind of scum we're up against."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The Half-Elf snarls at the Paladin "We came on nearly 4 hours ago, our replacement will be here any second." The human guard looks at him, and rolls his eyes, but adds sheepishly"You've got about half an hour"

[Mando Knight]

Aramil glares at the half-elf. "I've got half a mind to cut off one of your fingers for each lie you tell us or insult you hurl our way, filth."

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick wrinkles his nose at Aramil's threat to the guard. He didn't like the man any more that Aramil, but chopping off fingers seemed a bit extreme.

After reporting what he knows of the substances in very general terms. Pavick turns in the direction the horse ran off in. "I'll go get the horse. We'd better get a move on. I agree, let's gather up what we've found here and take it all back to the boss' place. They probably won't be too happy about being woken up in the middle of the night, but I have a feeling the progress we've made and a wagon full of ingredients might change his mind. We might even be able to talk him into a bonus for getting this cargo to him. Be right back." Pavick casts a spell and the orb in his hand burst into light. He runs off following the horse with the intention of bringing it back.

Spoiler

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I don't know if you need any sort of a roll for finding/bringing back the horse. Let me know if you do.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

Lucan looks uneasily at the two guards. Yes, they were dirty, but he still feels bad about assaulting them. He tries to get a read on the half-elf, wondering what type of man would accept bribes to betray his tribe.

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Insight - (1d20+6)[24]
Perception - (1d20+10)[26]

Just trying to pick up on something we might have missed. Plus, I don't have a whole lot else to do.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The Half-Elf sneers at the Swordmage. "Go ahead you tree-loving @#!&#. I'm still a member of the city guard, so you'll have to answer for anything you do to me."

@Lucan - while looking around, you notice that when the horse was set loose from the wagon, part of the front seat was ripped off, and now that you stop to look, apparently there was a small compartment there. When you look in, you find a small roll of parchments. Unrolling them, you 3 separate sheets. The first appears to be a list of merchants, merchant trains, and shipment dates for the Rex family. The second, what looks like an inventory of everything that's in the cart. The final sheet, however, is a letter:

Ramelian,

Your previous report was excellent, glad to hear that things are going well.
Attached you'll find an updated schedule of shipments to intercept. Please
deal with them accordingly. Things in the south are going as planned, and
we're ready to make the final move once you're done in Fallcrest. If the
Leroux woman continues to be a nuisance, eliminate her. She's served her
purpose, and if she continues to become more of a hindrance than help, then
we don't need to keep her involved. Keep the Drow happy, if you can. We
may need him after. I await your next report.
- O. R.

The letter is sealed with an odd crest in blue wax that seems to tickle the back of your mind.
History DC 18

Spoiler

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It's an old version of the Rex family seal.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

Lucan shows what he's found to the others. "What do you make of this?" he says. He looks at the seal, holding the letter upright, sideways, and upside down, trying to figure out why it looks familiar. "Hey, doesn't this look like the old Rex family seal?" he says once it occurs to him.

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History - (1d20+1)[18]

[Mando Knight]

Aramil turns his attention from the loudmouth over to Lucan. "Let me see..."

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History - (1d20+7)[24]

After a moment, he nods. "Yeah. It's a generation or two removed from the current Rex, but it's definitely their familial crest. Our dear benefactor may be having family troubles that he either isn't aware of or decided wasn't important to inform us about."

[Haberdashery]

The Shepherd stares intently at the piece of paper with fixed eyes, his hand stroking his chin thoughtfully. So intense is his stare that the paper might just happen to catch fire. Without a moment's warning, his hand moves like a shot to point at the signature on the document.

"The last initial is R." Shep turns his head to Lucan and Aramil beside him. "The Rex family begins with the letter R.

[Mando Knight]

"Yes, it does. But the first initial is an O, so we know we're not being immediately double-crossed unless our employer goes by another first name. It could be a wicked stepmother or cousin or something."

Because stepmothers are the most distrusted beings in the Feywild. Obviously.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

"By the gods, you're right!" Lucan exclaims, looking at the paper anew. He feels fresh respect for Shepherd. He's not sure he's ever met someone so smart and wise.

[Nai_Calus]

"It would probably be someone closer to home," Eltain muses, stroking his beard. "Hmm... I wonder what Rex's son is actually up to. Or for that matter what his name is. He didn't seem happy when he mentioned him, I remember, when we met him. Probably barking up the wrong tree, but it couldn't hurt to make some discreet inquiries."

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

"So, what should we do?" Lucan asks. "Should we take these back to Rex?"

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

Once Pavick brings the horse back, Lucan pulls some rope from his pack and begins tying the cart and horse back together. It's an ugly, shapeless mess of knots, but it should hold.

[Hzurr]

DM POST

As Lucan ties the horse up, the horse turns back, looks at the ugly knot, and whinnies disaprovingly at it's crudeness.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

"I'd like to see you do better," Lucan tells the earth horse.

EDIT: Fixed nonsensical typo.

[Haberdashery]

The Shepherd lays a comforting hand on Lucan's shoulder.

"Those who speak to that which cannot answer are often a stone short of an avalanche." He speaks, with an earthy serenity.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

Lucan frowns at Shepherd's words, puzzling them over. "Are avalanches good or bad?" he asks. "In this saying, I mean."

[Mando Knight]

"Bad. He means that he thinks that habitually talking to things that can't reply means you're a step short of falling headlong into the rabbit's hole."

Because rabbit's holes are feared as portals to the stranger parts of the Feywild, where cards play cricket using flamingoes and mercury-poisoned hatters are always having their unbirthday tea.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

Lucan nods. "Ah, then being a stone short is a good thing, as is being a step short. I thought it might be like being a card short of a full deck. In that case, it'd be a bad thing, because you couldn't play a proper game." He shrugs. "Anyway, I'm not sure what this has to do with anything. Did you hear the way the horse whinnied at me? It's just playing dumb--it could answer if it wanted to."

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick nods, waving a finger in the air. "Possible that it is true, I suppose. I've heard that animals could talk if they really wanted to, but most of them are smart enough to keep their mouths shut. Talking often gets me into more trouble than it gets me out of." He winks, flipping his glowing orb into the air and catching it in his other hand.

He takes his turn examining the letter. He holds his glowing orb just a few inches above his head. "Well, now that's interesting. So, do you think we bring this up to Lord Rex or try to dig up more information on our own first? I have to wonder if Ramelian himself might be a cousin to the family. He was a dragonborn afterall, and this letter seems to show he's more involved than I first would have guessed."

He reads the letter a second time. "I wonder if this Leroux woman might be Kala. I met her before we loaded up. With this letter as evidence describing how eager they are to kill her, she might just be willing to turn on them. And I met the drow that they're talking about too. I wasn't able to get his name though. So do we take all this information back to Lord Rex to see what other information it might buy us?"

[Mando Knight]

"We were hired to investigate and show him what we've uncovered. This is what we've uncovered, so we'll show him that. And those guys." He sticks a thumb towards the hired goons.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard/MC ranger

"Then why are we standing around and talking? Let's get going," Lucan says, trying to get the horse moving.

Spoiler

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Nature - (1d20+8)[12]