Shadows of Anmer IC

[mucco]

It's the 31st of a chilly May in the year 241 of the Fifth Era. Galsaff, noon. While a storm rages outside, you're sitting at a table with several strangers. The one reason you are there is the host, a white-haired, slightly overweight elf who's showing signs of aging. And his living room is splendid. A large crystal window covers much of the external wall, letting you see people down on the street (the apartment is at the second floor). The lamps are all made of crystal, as is the chair beneath a desk filled with luxury ornaments. On a side, a huge aquarium hosts several multicoloured fish.

Welcome to Hrynn House, dear people, he tells Brottor and Selia. I know you both require something from me; this is not unusual for a prominent figure like I am, however, before considering your requests I shall ask you this simple favor. He clears his voice and then adds, You should accompany my acquiaintance here, Mister Rubido Gale, on a simple task I assigned him. Given the very low trust I have in any of you, I figured that your efforts combined should be able to match those of a child. Even though, as he is blood of my blood, that might not be the case...

He pauses for a second. So, does anyone want to help out?

[PersonMan]

Selia glances at the others at the table, waiting for a moment before speaking.

"It sounds simple enough...If you have no problem with the payment, I will complete this task for you to the best of my ability." She says, gesturing with one hand as she speaks.

[Overlord Rion]

Throughout the exchange, Rubido decided to remain silent. Their lack of faith in my ability is disturbing, to say the least. I think it will be fun to show them up. Nobody underestimates me. He repeatedly resisted the urge for sarcasm. It wasn't exactly appropriate in this situation in the first place.

[mucco]

The dwarf who is sitting at the next to you seems a bit intimidated, but he does not say anything. He also stays silent after Chastos' question, indicating his agreement.

The aged elf waves his hands in a reassuring fashion. You have my word that you will receive your payment. It is always bad not to honor deals when you're a banker, am I right? Chastos smiles.

Now, my son is ten years old, and quite tall for his age. He's got very long and thick black hair and is about three feet tall. Many people around know him, so you shouldn't have much trouble finding him if you ask around. However, my gut tells me he put himself in a dangerous situation - it never happened that he didn't come back for dinner. The man scratches his chin. His name is Zadsa. Do you need to know anything else? If not, I'll excuse myself - I have to resume my work. Chastos stands there looking at you all, waiting for your answer.

The storm rages furiously outside.

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Nice getting delays already. Cockroach's character has arrived behind the door now (and is totally wet because of rain ), so he may post. As can everyone else, of course.

[Overlord Rion]

"I think I've got just about everything I need to start looking for him. It should be easy enough I think. Though why you felt you needed to hire others is beyond me. Too late now. I need to focus on finding that boy.

[PersonMan]

Selia nods. "Finding someone well-recognized by most of the populace shouldn't be a problem." She says, herself standing and looking towards her new colleagues. "So then, do we stick together or spread out to find him faster?" She asks, her tone friendly but distant.

[CockroachTeaParty]

BANG

The relative quiet within the well-furnished room is interrupted by someone banging on the door from the storm outside.

BANG BANG BANG

Even with the ample hood of his cloak up, he was still soaked through to the bone. His mind was a-bubble with thoughts and violent emotion. Confusion, a strange sense of conviction, and fear... fear most of all.
This is madness. I'm not dreaming. No, I have to be awake... But this is all too familiar. Why am I doing this? It's not real... it can't be real...

BANG BANG BANG

[mucco]

What the... Chastos startles at the sudden sound. He must be another addict desperate for money. They usually come at dusk though... He opens a drawer and fishes up a small tingling pouch before opening the door. Here is your m- Wait. Who the hell are you? And what do you want from me?

[CockroachTeaParty]

Standing at the threshold, water dripping from his dark green hooded cloak, stands a willowy young man with pale skin. His silvery hair is plastered to his forehead, and his gray eyes are wide and unblinking. He appears out of breath; he clutches his chest for a moment before speaking in a soft voice, just loud enough to be heard over the rain.
"Pardon the intrusion... Ah..."
He seems at a loss what to say.
"Who... May I ask whose residence this is?"

[mucco]

The aged elf glances briefly at the newcomer. He stands at the entrance and does not let you in, while he makes sure to give a noble and arrogant tone to his answer: This is the manor of Chastos Hrynn, respectable banker and prominent political figure. That would be me, of course.

He stares at you, and as you make eye contact you can catch a glimpse of slight surprise in his eyes. You're not one of the addicts now, aren't you. My two questions still stand.

[CockroachTeaParty]

The soaked man nods, although he does not avert his gaze; he continues to stare, unblinking.
"Ah, yes... My apologies. I am Melchia Deepwood, new to town. This may sound... odd, but I've been having strange... dreams, of late. I believe they have been urging me to come here. My subconscious seems to believe this a matter of great urgency, and even danger."
Melchia stands there awkwardly for a moment, the sound of the falling rain filling the silence.
"I may not look it, but I know how to handle myself. Consider me at your service, sir."
His tone suggests that he is just as confused as the rest of you likely are, but he also seems sincere.

[PersonMan]

Selia turns towards the door as soon as the banging begins. As it opens, her eyebrows rise slightly. "Hi there," She begins, raising a hand before turning to the banker. "Heey, seeing as he's here and all, maybe we could take this guy with us while looking for your son?" The girl considers, her gaze turning between the rain-soaked man and the dry banker.

"Although I'm not sure it's best to just leave him out in the rain." Selia says after a moment, smiling. "I mean, it'd be impolite to just let him stand out there while you're talking to him, wouldn't it?" She adds.

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I'll go ahead and roll Diplomacy, if it's applicable.
(1d20+6)[16]

[mucco]

Chastos says quiet for an instant, mumbling something to himself. Peculiar. Peculiar indeed. Well, you have quite a nice way to offer your services to people, mister Deepwood. Please, come in. He makes way for you, smiling to Selia. As you reach the others, the elf announces: I will be back in about forty minutes. I thought we might have lunch together before you all start doing what I asked for you. Aren't you happy I found even more help for you, Rub? Heh heh.

The man's chuckling is interrupted by the manor's butler. Sir Hrynn, I see you have guests. May I help them feel at ease while you return? Chastos nods in response, waves his hand and leaves silently.

The butler brings the wet newcomer some dry clothes, and a very big bottle of... something, along with four elegant crystal glasses. Please, help yourself to the beverages he says, as he pours the bright blue liquid, filling all the glasses exactly half.

Spoiler

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Rubido knows the drink to be a variety of elven wine - the others will need a Knowledge (local) DC 10 check to know.
(let's see if I still rmember how to roll properly)
Selia: [roll0]
Melchia: [roll1]

Of course I failed somehow... oh well. Rolled IRL and you both succeed.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Melchia hands the butler his wet cloak. He holds the bundle of dry clothes, staring at it for a moment, before placing it on a nearby shelf. He remains standing, trying not to drip water on anything expensive.
"It would seem my timing has been fortuitous. To be perfectly honest I'm a little bewildered; my apologies again for the unorthodox first impression."
With his cloak off, you notice he is clad in leather armor, with a crossbow and quiver of bolts slung over his back. A metal, spiked gauntlet is tucked into his belt, but he pays the weapons no mind. He hasn't blinked once since entering the room. He shifts his gaze to Rubido.
"You said you needed help with something, mister... Rub, was it?"

[Overlord Rion]

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Apologies for the delay. Family issues.

"Rubido. Rubido Gale. Though some call me the Seraph for some reason. He just likes to...let's just say he's funny and leave it at that. Rubido takes a sip of the wine, noting to ask for the name later. "And I'm not going to turn down any help. This, of course, assumes you're talking about the missing child.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Melchia stares at Rubido, his face difficult to read. As you further study his face, you see dark circles under his eyes, as if he hasn't slept well in weeks.
"Missing child? Ah, yes... it wouldn't have anything to do with some of the troubles in town of late? The goblins, and other... phenomena?"
The young man licks his lips. Part of him did not want to seem too eager or too grasping for new information, but he still wasn't entirely sure if he was awake, and facts could help ground his senses in reality.
"Feel free to enlighten me on any pertinent facts, as you see fit, Rubido. I may be 'late to the party,' as it were, but a new point of view may help the investigation; whatever you feel as necessary shall suffice, and I'll be happy to follow your lead and lend whatever assistance I can."

[Overlord Rion]

"Sorry to disappoint, but in short, we were gathered here to search for a missing child. That child is probably in some sort of bad situation." Especially if he's anything like his father. Rubido shrugged and continued. "There is a chance that while searching for this child we might uncover something, but I can't promise anything."

[mucco]

The butler coughs quietly. If I may... the last adventurers who tried to "uncover something", as you described, gave up two weeks ago and fled the city. If someone were to help us against these unnatural hazards, I believe there would be a sizable reward from our city treasury. He adds eloquently, Not that it wouldn't be well-deserved money, you understand. Adventurers here are rare and mostly unimpressing, lately. The war took its toll. There seems to be a hint of sadness in his voice.

[Overlord Rion]

"That actually explains why he didn't just call someone else. Whatever is going on here might have something to do with the boy. I suggest we consider that avenue if simply asking around doesn't work. Any objections?" Rubido felt a little odd. Normally he traveled or worked alone. Not because he preferred it (even if he did) but because that's just how it usually ended up. He'd try and brood on it at a later date. He knew that rain certainly wasn't going to elevate his mood.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Melchia shook his head, remaining silent. He still had little idea what exactly was going on; he could press questions on Rubido once they had left Hrynn's mance. For the moment, he would follow whatever the group seemed intent on doing.

[mucco]

After a bit, Chastos comes back elegantly dressed, and invites you to his dining room. Despite the food being excellent, with delicate venison garnished with many different spices and herbs in a very skillful way, you have to suffer his snotty remarks all the time.

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If anyone has questions to ask him, now is the time. If not, you can skip after lunch now - the rain is getting lighter and there's no lightning anymore.

[Overlord Rion]

"Unless you can tell us where your son was last seen, then I believe it is time for us to depart." With that, Rubido gets up from the table, doing a slight bow in the process.

Thank you for the food. Everyone, it's up to you whether we stay together or not."

[mucco]

In case you manage to find my son, you know where to find me. Chastos doesn't bow back.

As you exit the manor, you find the rain is about to stop, and some sun rays are already passing through the clouds.

[PersonMan]

Selia turns to her new colleagues as they leave the manor.

"Well, it seems logical to split up, for now, to cover the most ground." She begins. "However, in light of the unusual occurrences in the area, it might be best to travel in groups...although, as there are three of us, doing so would mean one of us would be on their own...So for now, it seems like we'll be moving as a group." Selia considers, frowning slightly. "Unless anyone has problems with that?" She asks.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Melchia pulls the sodden hood of his cloak back up over his head once more, disappointed it has not dried out more.
"Your idea sounds as good as any I can think of, Selia. We can start asking around town while there is still some daylight to burn."

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If somebody's got a halfway decent Gather Information check, Melchia can try to Aid Another, giving our best modifier a +2 bonus. If nobody else has a better untrained Cha check than Melchia, he can be the primary seeker of information.
Gather Information (Aid Another DC 10): (1d20+2)[17]
If he's the primary investigator, this takes him (1d4+1)[3] hours.

[Overlord Rion]

I'm in agreement, a group i smost likely best with the strange occurences around here. First, let's find out the last place he was seen, then investigate the area."

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Nope, CHA based skills are kind of my weak point for now.

Doesn't mean I'm not going to roll though

Gather Info: (1d20+1)[12]
For Time: (1d4+1)[2] Hours

[PersonMan]

Selia nods and, with the assistance of her comrades, begins to search for the missing child in a time-honored "ask everyone and their mother" fashion.

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Alrighty, then.
Gather Information: (1d20+8)[13], +6, with a +2 bonus from Aid Another.
Time: (1d4+1)[4] hours, I guess.

[mucco]

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You actually have a 15, since both Rubido and Melchia are able to help you out.

It takes you a bit of wandering around the city while the rain stops, to collect pieces of information about Zadsa and put them together. It seems that the child was seen in the market, borrowing a rope ladder and a knife. He told a shopkeeper he was "going outside", and the shopkeeper dismissed that as a joke. Zadsa always jokes a lot, he says.

You also learn from the local priest that the child ventured around the church looking around nervously, as if he was afraid of someone spotting him. He seemed to be looking for something in the bushes near the building. The priest would have followed him, but he had to prepare to say mass.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Melchia follows along during the investigation, staying quiet and observing. After a few hours, he considers the clues they've uncovered so far.
"The bushes near the church... strange. That particular detail intrigues me. Might an investigation of that area be in order?"

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How would we go about searching that area? A Search check? A series of Search checks? Melchia would also suggest casting spells like Detect Magic in the vicinity, if anyone has them.

Search (untrained Int check), potentially Aiding Another, DC 10: (1d20+3)[23]

[mucco]

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Nice first natural 20, congrats.

In the back of the church, among some rubble left over from some masonry work on the church wall, you find a large bush that covers a big hole in the field. It is about three feet in diameter and goes down at a high slope. You find some working tools placed around the hole: a hammer and a couple knives, and the lack of grass under the bush suggests that place has been frequently visited.