The Herald of Fear

[Rofltrollcopter]

Oswin was a bit surprised by Ayana's sudden enthusiasm, but he took it in stride. He was embarrassed that he had little insight to offer in response.

"That's why I came to Sharn, to find an opportunity to learn more about Artifice. There was only so much that a boy could learn in a refugee camp. I've only seen an Airship once before, it was a long blue one, not aerodynamic at all, very early model. It was surveying the boundaries of dead Cyre after the Day of Mourning. Personally, I've always wondered why House Lyrandar limited themselves to just using elementals, I would think that with the range of extra-planar entities, who knows what else could be accomplished... Even with different types of Elementals, if you bound an Earth Elemental, you might be able to make something that could move through the ground. Any Miners would pay handsomely for something like that"

Oswin is interrupted by the nobleman. He take the sack of gold and bows to the nobleman "Thank you my lord, look for us again tomorrow for our grand debut." Rationalizing that the nobles were partly entertained by the warforged and their strange dialogue, he divides the gold among the five people present.

When the guards confront the group, Oswin carefully puts all of his weapons on the ground. As you say, you won't find any trouble from us He hands over his travelling papers to the guards. Oswin was not worried, he had been held up by the guards before. Since he had come to Sharn from Cyre, he had only obtained travelling papers a few months ago. That tended to make some petty officials go out of their way to harass him.

[mindwarper10]

The guard looks at Jeb with a concerned look, I am not one of great magical means, but as I was told this stone would change from it's standard black to red...
The guard holds up his hand, attached is an amulet sewn into his glove, the gem set inside swirls with shades of red, both dark and light, yet it would seem not to give off any light,

Visually your papers are fine, and with such a mark upon you this gives me great trouble...We have had many people smuggled into this city lately...and... the man pauses, obviously milling in his head as to what he intends to tell you, Well best you talk to the captain, for now if you would all continue to comply we must go to the third tower, where our current facilities lay...

As he speaks the two obviously youngest guards sheathe their weapons and gather your weapons, eyeing the warforged as they go near.

If my hunch is correct, you shouldn't be detained for more than a week, unless you can come to some agreement with the captain.(muttering) he is known for his...deals...
now please if you will follow those two we will not chain you.

He points to the two younger guards with the weapons, who promptly begin walking towards tower 3, the remaining guards holding fast until you move.

[hoverfrog]

"Maybe it's broken. Maybe you're using it wrong. Our friend, Oswin, is an artificer. He could probably take a look at it for you?" Jeb peers at the gem curiously, "What's it supposed to do anyway?"

He walks along with the guard, completely at ease and chatting away about every day things as if they hadn't just been arrested. "It's a bit funny really. You take our weapons away, not that I'm much use with a blade, truth be told. Yet here you have two walking weapons, built and trained to fight in the Last War, a mage of not inconsiderable power and an artificer capable of manipulating the very magic that binds us to this plane."

He offers an innocent grin at the two young guards carrying their weapons. "Be careful with those, you wouldn't want to cut yourselves.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Maybe the gnome was on to something Thats not a terrible idea, Cannith make is it? I might be able to fix it if its malfunctioning. If its meant to detect a dragonmark, it should only have a simple divination dweomer. Magical items with divination effects can sometimes lose their sensitivity when exposed to many acts of deception. I imagine you have to deal with falsehoods quite often when your working at the City Gates

"Get up Novelty, we don't want to inconvenience these men by forcing them to carry you. Besides, what would Oliver think if he saw you being dragged through the mud?"

Oswin moves and tries to stay near the center of the group, making sure to keep an eye on Novelty. He wasn't sure how the warforged would react, and his people skills at best were mediocre. On the outside, Oswin was relaxed, but his mind was racing as he tried to think of a way out of their situation. "May I ask why you are taking us into custody? I wouldn't imagine that you bring people to your captain every time someone suspicious tries to get into Sharn."

When Jeb tells the guards to avoid hurting themselves. Oswin glares at the gnome. As if the guards weren't agitated enough already. He tries to put them at ease.

As my old man always told me, you can tell the quality of a soldier by how they maintain their weapons. He looks at the weapons used by the new guards and offers an approving nod.

OOC:

Spoiler

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Diplomacy check to make the guard more likely to let him see the sphere:(1d20+2)[22]

If Oswin is given access to the sphere, UMD to blindly trigger it (assuming its a standard item, DC 25 according to the SRD) (1d20+13)[26]

[LeoMidori]

"Fie..." the forged muttered under his breath, dropping his scythe and giving the minor guard leader the nastiest look he could muster, crossing his arms, his cloak caught aloft on his elbows, "You're arresting all of us? For what reason?! As a city resident I demand to know what grounds I'm being held for!"

[RCgothic]

Ayana

I roll my eyes at Jeb. Gee, thanks for letting everyone know that the crossbow wasn't my primary weapon.

"Everyone just stay calm. I'm sure it won't take a week. We just need to talk things over with the captain, that's all."

[Ouroborosi]

"You might be right, Oswin. I am far to delegated and heavy to be carried effectively."

the purple Warforged slowly rises and hands both Crescent and Crystal to the nearest guard.

"Crystal" the purple Warforged adds when he points to his bow. "Isn't to fond with loath noises." "And Crescent doesn't like to be compared with a common blade. He is a Falchion."

[hoverfrog]

Jeb offers an grin that says that he's not at all sorry for what he'd said and that he's enjoying winding up the guards, "Sorry," he shrugs.

"So, sergeant, is it? What can you tell us of your captain? Has he been in that position for a while or perhaps he's newly promoted, eh? A seasoned veteran or a fresh faced newcomer straight out of Wroat Academy? What's his name? Assuming the captain is a man, he might be a she or even an it if he's a warforged who eschews a gender role as some do." Jeb continues nattering away, trying to glean snippets of information from the guard about their captor. Not an uncommon trait among Zil. Even a generation removed from his homeland he retained the same curiosity common to his race. "Have you served under the good captain for long? How do you find it? What about you lads?" He asks the two trailing soldiers.

"Is the captain very busy? I'd like to perform in the city within the week rather than languish in a cell because he's a poor time keeper." He pauses in his chatter to examine each of the soldier's faces, "Hey, don't look so worried, we're not trying to escape and it's unlikely that House Sivis will sue for wrongful imprisonment. I'm not that important a member of the family. Though I suppose I'd better take your names just in case. Also the name of the artificer who made that glove gem. If it is faulty then doyenne Lysse will want to make a claim against the maker. Have you heard of my cousin? Lysse Lyrriman d'Sivis, leader of the council of nine in Zilargo. Breland's most loyal supporter during the Last War."

Spoiler: META

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The chatter and name dropping isn't that important. I'm trying to Gather information (1d20+7)[15] by reading their reactions and responses to the cold readings I'm throwing out. Sense Motive will probably (1d20+2)[11]

Also I haven't mentioned House Lyrander yet but it might be worth chiming in. Along with Cannith I would say that Sivis and Lyrander are most important to Breland and their trade throughout the Five Nations.

[mindwarper10]

Spoiler

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I apologize, did not see the diplomacy check there

The man gives Oswin a sour lookI doubt it would have broken within hours...but you are an artificer and if it makes you feel better here

UMD check

Spoiler

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As he hands over the artifact you find that indeed it is functioning properly and is capable of detecting illusion magics specifically more so than other magic. In fact you notice while wearing it that Jeb's paperwork is indeed tampered with, and you are able to see that it is a blank sheet of blackened paper.

...as for the reason, we have had many issues with smugglers lately...shapechangers and such sneaking in...Those damned things are the reason we had to move the city watch to a new tower...We would need a miracle to deal with them at this point...I assure you that it is important I take you to the captain, as most of the others seemed innocent enough when we found their falsified papers...
The man points to a nearby pile of rubble That would normally be where we would lock you up

From beneath his helmet you can see a slight movement as his right eyebrow lifts up

A perceptive person, Sergeant I am, sergeant Gale...The captain believes we should answer as few questions as our prisoners ask...but this is the same man who has employed countless mercenaries as of late to do our work...without much questions towards them at that...As for the captain he has only been as such for a couple of months...as for being busy it really depends on the week. Sergeant Gale shakes his head and lets out a sigh Looking at you bunch I have no personal doubts as to this being a mistake...especially with the dragonmarked houses involved
Within minutes you come to a shabby tower not connected to the skyway, the guards open the door and barely squeeze the warforged through the door.
The climb seems like forever, and while there are no intentional portholes to look out, the holes in the wall are hard to miss, it looks like you have climbed to the fifth floor of the tower.

As you enter the main room a stout man with shining silver army and long golden hair stands dead center of the room, almost as if he expected company. There is no place to sit in the room, were it not for the temporary cells sitting nearby it would look more like a storage room. As is the temporary holding cells are all empty and dusty.

The sergeant tells the captain about the event at the gates and the man looks each person over before speaking,
I am Captain Horum Barkley the third, you would seem to be illegally entering my fair city here...Care to explain for whom you work for and what you are smuggling in?

[hoverfrog]

Jeb stops at the top of the stairs and puts his hands on his knees. He's panting with the effort of the climb. "When will you giants realise that it's hard work climbing such big steps and put some smaller ones in?"

When Captain Barkley finishes speaking he wipes his hands and steps forward to introduce himself, "Good day, captain. My name is Jebeddo Silontro d'Sivis and I work occasionally for the family business. Any message station can verify my credentials. As for smuggling, I'm afraid I'm at a loss to think of anything that would count as smuggling. Not that we were given an opportunity to declare goods before being invited up here to this awfully high tower."

"Why don't you tell us the real reason that you wanted such obviously skilled people brought to you?" Jeb looks around for a chair to sit in, not finding one he clambers up into Austyn's saddle and slouches forward expectantly.

Spoiler: META

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Diplomacy (1d20+9)[16]

[RCgothic]

Ayana

"And I'm Ayana, dragonmarked heir of House Lyrandar. I believe only one of us is alleged to be entering illegally. The rest of our papers are quite in order. And Jeb is a dragonmarked heir of house Sivis. Such things are impossible to fake convincingly. Establishing the truth of his identity if there's a problem with his papers should be a mere formality."

[LeoMidori]

Whiteneck was used to being abused and mistreated, but usually the offenders ended up dead by his doing. The green eyed warforged was losing his patience more and more, "Captain Barkley I do bounty hunting work that is commissioned by the city, and am a city resident. I hate lawbreakers just as much as you do, and we're not smuggling anything. Search our possessions if you really must, but let us get on with our business. It's ludicrous to automatically assume something so serious of us without any form of proof, or even a lead.

[Rofltrollcopter]

My name is Oswin Tauschen. I maintain a residence in the city and I was working as guard for a caravan travelling from Sharn with my two associates. He gestures towards the warforged.

As for these two, I only have met them today. We were bored while waiting in line and they were kind enough to provide entertainment. We just kept talking until it was our turn to enter the city. I examined the device used by your guards, and according to it the gnome's papers were forgeries created using illusion magic. As to why a dragonmarked member of House Sivis would bother with carrying forged documents, that is a question only he can answer.

[Ouroborosi]

"Nice to meet you Captain Horum Barkley 3.0."
Ah, a Guardforged is he? This would make it easier. Novelty thinks

The Warforged streches out his hand to shake hands
"I am called Novelty, and I am a artefact legally bought from from the Psion Guild. Crystal and Crescent are my friends and collages I didn't know that Bows and Falchions required identification papers to... Just hand me the papers and I will fix that problem."

[mindwarper10]

Sergeant Gale's eyes widen My apologies sir Oswin, we assumed you were apart of this group here, if this is not the case He turns to Ayana Is he not with you and Jeb or you? Perhaps I have made a mistake?

Captain Barkley frowns and motions to the weapons, which have been neatly placed inside a nearby cell, I promise you warforged, those weapons are not the concern, only intelligent weapons such as yourself are important but he makes no motion to accept the handshake, at best giving Novelty's hand a disgusted look As for you whiterack? Whiteback? whatever we haven't ever met before now...I myself recognize you, not sure how you got mixed in with this lot, I remember seeing you bring in a couple of those damn gnomes that were working with Miftzen, that wizard or sorcerer or whatever that leads the smuggling operation here, The captain leans in close to Whiteneck, You are free to leave, if you can convince this shabby group to infiltrate the smugglers and bring them down
The Captain steps back and announces in a voice intended to address a much larger audience, IF, and only IF, your group is found not to be smuggling this boy in he motions to Jeb after a week of investigation, you will all be set free with the city's apologies, until then you will just have to wait it out here with me in my shabby tower...unless his eyebrows raise and he looks at Whiteneck as if intending for him to speak

[hoverfrog]

"Smugglers? How interesting." Jeb remarks as he shifts in the saddle, "You really don't need to fake an arrest to hire us you know. I'm sure we'd be happy to work for gold or maybe even a share of whatever it is that you want us to recover for you. I'm sure that's worth more than the city's "apologies""

[RCgothic]

Ayana

I am not impressed by this petty abuse of power.

"No, it is just I travelling with Jebeddo Silontro d'Sivis." I use his full name pointedly. "These others were just standing near us in the queue." I see no reason to let them be dragged into this developing debacle.

"Send a runner to the offices of House Sivis. Their records will be able to establish my friend's identity with an hour, and we can get onto investigating the true matter of who tampered with his papers or stole them for their own use. If you have some other purpose for us, out with it! A quest is just the sort of thing I've been looking for. Or you can continue to treat us like the criminals of this matter and I assure you things will go badly for you. My presence will be missed at House Lyrandar's enclave here within the day."

I resolve to report this bastard to my House's authorities anyway, and will suggest Jeb does the same.

[Ouroborosi]

A strange image appears in novelty head when the guard mentions gnome smuggling. He sees a wizard in a market with a bunch of living gnomes presented in a stand. "Get your fresh gnomes here! Fresh from gnometopia!"

"Psst, Oswin. Why are they smuggling gnomes in the city to eat? Are they that expensive?" "But there just like smaller dwarves and I never heard of people cannibalising them.. There not food there labour equipment."

[LeoMidori]

This was getting more and more irksome, but the warforged decided to concede. "Fine, but we want more information than what little you've provided us. I want to know everything you and everyone at your station happens to know at the moment, and then I'll apprehend the criminals. THEN you'll apologise to us for wasting our time and doing your jobs for you." he grumbled, crossing his arms.

The warforged looked to the others in the room with him, currently charged with his predicament, "I could use your help: a week may be more than I need, but I could still use your skills and I'll be fair to you all. If I can count on you, you can count on me. Deal?"

[Rofltrollcopter]

Oswin sighs No Novelty, its not the gnomes that are being smuggled into the city, its the gnomes that are doing the actual smuggling. Besides, they only eat gnomes in Droaam

No, I'm not part of this group, and I for one am still curious about why a member of House Sivis needs forged papers. Don't worry Sergeant, no offence was taken, I might even be able to help you out with your problem.

Alright Whiteneck, we've gotten along well enough in the past. I'm in He turns towards the captain You know, if you wanted mercenaries it would have been easier for you to just put up a sign. I appreciate why you wanted to keep this under the table to make sure these smugglers won't see this coming, but I'm not sure if that will be worth the trouble of harassing these kind dragonmarked folks. Now as for payment an almost predatory look appears on Oswin's face. I want four thousand gold, half up front, other half on proof that the job is done. Plus a ten percent surcharge for the Breland-Cyre harmony restoration fund. As a bonus, i'll talk the representative of House Lyranadar out of pressing charges agianst you. That price might be steep, but nothing personal, if those green lads that brought us in are the best you have available, I can see why you need outside help. Of course, you could just lock us up on trumped up charges and try your luck with the next group of strangers you see passing through, but they might not be as understanding as we are. Last time I checked, the King's Law didn't allow every official to pressgang strangers into their service on a whim. Could get someone in trouble if they kept trying to do that.

[hoverfrog]

"If I were you, captain, I would pay close attention to the offer being made to you. We're willing to work for you to uncover this smuggling mess, for a fee. We're willing to chalk up this illegal arrest as a misunderstanding rather than have you up on false imprisonment charges and see Sharn's city watch in court for the next ten years. Do you have any idea of the clout that two dragonmarked houses have?" Jeb actually laughs at this.

"If you don't want to send your career to Fernia in a wicker basket I suggest you drop the pretence and give us the whole story. We're all reasonable beings. Why don't we work together, eh?"

Spoiler: Dice rolls

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Bluff check (1d20+7)[25]
Diplomacy check (1d20+9)[13]

[Rofltrollcopter]

That was just my retainer, its up to whoever else is in to negotiate their own fee

[Ouroborosi]

"I don't mind the wait, what is a week? But if our artisan whats to shorten our waiting time by stopping wrongly paid goods from being smuggled in who am i to disagree"

"But" the warforged points to the stacked weapons "It would be easier if Crescent and Crystal would accompany us with our errant instead of after it."