AvB - Estellise

[Selinia]

Estellise nodded in thanks, then paused. She hesitated, unsure of whether she was overstepping her bounds, but momentarily shrugged and decided that it didn't really matter. "Sir, I thank you for your advice, but I find myself imposing upon you once more. Does this temple have a spare bedchamber? If necessary, I can pay for a room. I would like someplace away from my family manor and its gray halls... I do not seek luxury, merely a place where I can rest and store my things. This place feels consecrated. Safe. And... comforting, in a way."

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OOC:

Diplomacy check: Because it's always good to have friends~. Clerics, or even just ex-adventurers or NPC adepts, fall squarely into the category of people that make for good allies to have. (1d20+29)[34]

[Rizban]

"Of course. There's a small chamber off to the side there where you can rest. We ask only that you donate what you feel called to donate."

[Selinia]

"Many thanks, sir. You have my deepest appreciation. Here..." She unclips a small but well-made purse from her belt, handing it to the priest. "...it isn't as much as I would like to give, but it should cover my room and board. As much as it may frustrate me, money does indeed make many aspects of the world go 'round. I will need mine if I am to have an impact as I wish." Giving a salute, followed by a small curtsy, she took her leave.

The remainder of the day was spent fairly quietly. The first order of business was of course to move her things - a fairly simple matter. She packed up her clothes, what jewels and accessories she possessed, along with the sturdy wooden boxes that housed the finely crafted arms and armor. All in all, it was remarkably little, one trip to her home enough to carry most of it. After that, and a meal, she rested. Difficult though it may be, with her new goals burning in her, she would need rest for the following day.

Upon waking, she prepared herself. She set aside her gowns in favor of a lightweight garment of forest green, fitting closely, but not so much as to restrict movement. More important was her armor, gleaming silver and layered with enchantment. Estellise donned the chain undershirt and strapped on the plates expertly. She knew on some level that she ought to cut her hair as well for practicality, but settles for simply tying up her vibrant red cascade into a simple pair of looping braids. She liked her hair.

Strapping on her sword and slinging her bow and quiver across her back, she took a moment to glance in a mirror. Estellise the adventurer... no, Estellise the knight. Knight of what, she wasn't quite sure yet. She smiled at the thought - Lady Estellise, out to fight for love and justice - it sounded like the beginning of a story.

Setting out, she began by scouring the streets for information - any information, really. She quickly stumbled upon the odd tale of the apparently accursed noble, and held it in the back of her mind while searching. It was, admittedly, not apparently connected to her immediate goals... but ten thousand gold could do a great deal.

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OOC:

The temple donation consisted of 75 gold - more than enough to cover her room and some meals, I would think. Maybe enough to fix the place up a bit as well, if only a little.

Knowledge check: Local. What does Estellise know about crime in the city? In particular, organized crime? What are the big names or guilds or cults or mafias or what-have-you? Is there a royal most-wanted list? Do any of the groups have known methods or goals they prefer to use (beyond "acquire money" and "crime" - although a criminal group not out to acquire money would be noteworthy)?

Gather information check: Similar to above, but looking more specifically at the local area. Are there groups known to be pulling the strings of the local watch? Are there any smaller, local gangs or cells (either independent or answering to the bigger dogs on the street)? Is there any local group known to be working against said crime (someone in the Guard would be nice, but any sort of individual or organization would be helpful)?

Just trying to get my options laid out and see if any quests present themselves. The public quest is nice, especially the possible reward, but it also likely entails competition with other players... something I'm not keen on, to be honest. At least, until Estellise gets a little more security, and possibly earns her cohort somewhere.

[Selinia]

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OOC: Ugh, it seems my rolls didn't post. Not sure why.

Knowledge check: (1d20+10)[13]

Gather Information: (1d20+21)[30]

[Rizban]

Unfortunately, you aren't well versed in the specifics of organized crime in the city and don't really know anyone associated with it.

There are a few rumors that the noble Roestel family is involved in organized crime, but no one is really open to talking about it.

[Selinia]

OOC:

Knowledge check: Nobility and royalty. Anything on the criminal activities of the two noble houses Estellise knows to be rumored to dabble in such things - Rocholl and Roestel. In particular, street-level things - crime in the court setting is wrong, but also out of her ability to do anything about for now. In particular particular, bribes/manipulation of the City Guard.(1d20+10)[13]

Knowledge check: Bardic. Crime makes for a good story, and it isn't inconceivable that such things might provide insight into real criminal dealings. This is basically a repeat of the above from a different angle, covering my bases because I've been getting awful rolls. (1d20+8)[15]

[Rizban]

Unfortunately, the knowledge you have is based entirely on the rumors you've heard lately. The only other information you know is that there was a nasty rumor a few years back that Duchess Justine Roestel eats babies.

[Selinia]

Gather information check. Ditto as above for targets. (1d20+21)[36]

Time roll (1d4+1)[5]

[Rizban]

The rumors you mange to uncover frighten you greatly. It seems a though the rumors about the Roestel family center less on activities like theft and manipulation and more on murder and mutilation and other such atrocities. It's also rumored that those who ask too many questions about them are never heard from again. You secretly wonder if you've already asked too much.

[Selinia]

On one hand, she'd like to dismiss her finds. Nobles were greedy - at least, a significant number of them were. But mutilation? Sawed-off limbs and disembowelment? Torture? That wasn't greed. That was Evil. Not everyday wickedness - the kind of Evil that you capitalize and put in storybooks. Some part of her vaguely hoped that she had asked too much, so that she'd have a chance to confirm these things with her own eyes. But... if they were true, then there was something deeply wrong with the kingdom at the moment. More than expected.

Of course, it was possible that her sources had been collectively either lying or deluded themselves - but the idea of dark cults working their insidious plots in the upper circles of nobility, making blood sacrifice to dark gods... well, it was interesting. More interesting than say, money laundering. Not that money laundering was unimportant, mind you - just lower of the scale of things deserving the title of Evil.

The question was, what now? House Roestel was untouchable, barring hard evidence and the support of very powerful people. She had the support of... a couple of old priests. People were vanishing, but if they're nobody, nobody notices.

Unless... someone did notice. The someones who cared about people who weren't anybody at all - she'd heard of the Sisters before. She'd even considered asking to join, but in her mind they were treating a symptom and ignoring the cause. But they were good people, and they cared, and she was fairly sure they wouldn't turn her away for her gender.

Barring perhaps the criminals themselves, nobody was more in tune with the beating heart of the underbelly of the city. Largely because the people who suffer when the bile swells to the surface are the people without anywhere to run to... except the Sisters. Her principal of investigation still stood - Wolfram wasn't meandering around snatching up bystanders. He'd have henchmen (minions, really - this was sounding better every time she went over it - minions). His henchmen would have henchmen. And eventually, at the end of a long list of hench...mannery... there was a tier of minions going about snatching people up off the streets. Hench-minions.

Find the disappeared people, find the henchminions, find the slightly-less-henchyminions, proceed. Good outline, for a few chapters at least - all the story needed was specifics. And with any luck, supporting protagonists. So, yet another plan in hand (well, head - like her grandfather, Estellise held a rather firm belief that any plan too complicated for the commander to remember was one doomed from the start), she set out for the local center for the Sisters of Salvation.

[Rizban]

The Sisters of Salvation Center is a small two story plaster building with several open windows on the corner of Porter's Road and Steinbacher Hohl. The Sisters are going about business as usual, with several going in and out almost constantly. A small girl of about twelve stands by the main entrance holding a basket of pale, white flowers, waiting to greet anyone who approaches the building.

[Selinia]

Knowledge check: Local. Sisters of Salvation - who would Estellise be asking for to best further her above-mentioned goals. Mainly, who would be dealing with looking into (or dealing with the aftermath of) people disappearing off the street? Peripherally, as much about the organization as my roll will give me, anything that could potentially come in handy. (1d20+10)[17]

[Rizban]

The Sisters of Salvation do not follow any particular deity, they espouse Good for its own intrinsic value and are an altruistic order dedicated to alleviating the suffering of the poor. It is led by Sister Margarete, a human female in her early thirties. The two next ranking members of the order are Sister Abigail and Sister Ivonne, both humans in their early twenties.

It would likely be best to talk to one of them.

[Selinia]

Estellise kneels down in front of the girl, giving a smile and asking a simple question. "Hello there. I'd like to talk to Miss Abigail, or Miss Ivonne - do you know if either of them are available?"

[Rizban]

"You mean the Sisters in charge?"

She hands you a flower.

[Selinia]

"Yes, yes I do. And thank you." She took the small flower, tucking it into her breastplate like a rose in a noble's fancy suit pocket. "Do you know where I could find them?"

[Rizban]

She points to the flower.

"That'll be one gold, ma'am."

[Selinia]

"Certainly." She hands the child a golden disk from her purse. "Please though, I think I can do a bit more good if I talk to the sisters than if I just buy flowers though."

Diplomacy check. (1d20+29)[48]

[Rizban]

"Well, yeah, but you don't get to just take a flower. It just makes sense you got to pay for it."

She points to the door.

"They'll be inside with the other Sisters."

[Selinia]

"Thank you." With a nod, Estellise entered the building, looking about her for any indicator of the person she was looking for.

[Rizban]

The Sister who most obviously in charge is a tall blonde in her mid 30s leading morning prayers for a group of some twenty younger girls. You assume this to be Sister Margarete.

[Selinia]

Taking a place quietly at the back of the chapel, Estellise waits patiently for the service to end, whispering along with those prayers she is familiar with... not many, but some of the stories and fables brought a smile to her face. As the prayer group began to disperse, the young lady approached the Sister who had been leading the ceremony.

"Ah, excuse me, would you be Sister Margaret? Could you spare a moment to talk? My name is Estellise Lothian, and I think I may be able to help the Sisters in a way. I understand that you are likely very busy, but I only ask for a few minutes of your time."

[Rizban]

She silently motions for you to join her in her office, where she sits behind an oak desk. She points to a chair in front of it and waits for you to sit and begin speaking. She steeples her fingers in front of her face as she waits.

[Selinia]

Estellise takes a seat, sliding in carefully to avoid scuffing the nice wood with her armor - a skill perfected after years of sprinting from arms training in full gear to make it to dinner before everything was eaten. She addresses the quiet Sister respectfully, well aware that this was a woman who greatly deserved it.

"Well met. I... please forgive me if this sounds crazy, but I am looking to help with... the people that are disappearing. I'm not exactly an adventurer, or a mercenary, and I don't expect to get paid, but I've heard many grim rumors about people simply vanishing off the street. Some even say that there are noble houses behind it. I would normally find such horror stories to be just that - tales. And yet... I have met those who have had a friend or even family member vanish. It seems too widespread to simply be rumor."

"Sister Margaret, the Sisters of Salvation listen to the misfortune of the poor like no others. You're trying to heal this city. I... I cannot heal. I honor the gods of righteousness, but they do not bless me with power. But I can fight, and I would like to think that I can weave words with some small skill. Even if I cannot help those victimized so far, I would like to try to see to it that no more suffer. Yet... I seem to have reached a dead end. People whisper of House Roestel, and then they clam up from fear."

"Please, if you have any information that could aid me, I beg it of you. I swear on my family's name that I only wish to help you."

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Diplomacy check: (1d20+29)[31]

[Rizban]

"I would offer you help if I knew what information you sought.

Names of the guilty, locations, and such are beyond my knowledge. If I knew who was behind these things or where such took place, I would inform the Watch and rouse anyone I could to go and seek vengeance."

[Selinia]

"I ask none of that. The watch is noble in purpose, but it is also slow, and hungry for gold. The victims are not those with sufficiently large purses to rouse it to action. Anything at all would be of use though - surely you have been noticing the disappearances as well. Likely for some time. Is there a pattern to the disappearances - do they target the young, the old, male, female... or are the victims random? Are there certain times of day when the kidnappings are known to take place? Certain neighborhoods were things are particularly bad? And is there anyone else who you know of to be looking in to these occurrences? Every piece of information brings me a little closer."

[Rizban]

"The majority of the disappearances happen in the slums north of the docks on the far side of the river. They usually happen at night, but this is nothing new, as that area is almost completely lawless once the gatehouse on the King's Causeway closes for the night. It's really only the frequency which seems to have increased lately.

There have been a few recent disappearances from within the city walls, but those are few enough that no discernible pattern has yet been detected."

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Heh... right after I said I wouldn't have time, the person I was helping went to bed... which gave me enough time to post before sleep as well.

[Selinia]

"I do not wish to put any of you in danger, but would one of you be willing to show me to the places where these abductions have been taking place? If not, I understand, but could you mark them on a map? Those locations are the only lead I have in this investigation."

[Rizban]

Sister Margarete motions towards a red haired woman standing just outside an open doorway to the side of the room.

"Sister Marion will be glad to escort you to whichever places you choose to visit. She's familiar with the more dangerous areas, and she can look after herself, as well as you if need be."


Sister Marion enters the room and gives you a curt nod as she moves to stand by Sister Margarete.
"Did you have a particular location in mind? Perhaps the docks or the slums across the river?"

[Selinia]

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Sister Marion." Estellise thought for a moment. "If these are the workings of a noble house, then I would think that the docks would be a place to start. They share the lawlessness of the slums, but are also a hub of legitimate trade. Many houses would likely have a presence there - and even if this not the work of such, these attacks seem too widespread to be anything but the work of an organization."

The young knight can't help but chuckle slightly at a wry thought. "And I doubt we would lose much more than some time by not stumbling upon a viscous gang of thugs."

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Knowledge check: Local. Docks and slums - looking for information on them. I (personally - I would think Estellise, being a resident of the city, would know something) know pretty much nothing about either, so I guess I'll just fish for what general information I can get, and then see if I can narrow it down. (1d20+10)[16]