IC Savage Tides (Take 2)

[DarkOne-Rob]

Spoiler

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Knowledge(Local) [roll0]
Knowledge(Nobility) [roll1]

The suggested location is at a busy corner on one of the busiest streets in the city. It's wide open and at that time of day there would be dozens, if not hundreds, of witnesses of any violence. There is no reason to suspect the location is part of any foul play intended.

The Kellani family only recently joined the nobility, as the matron, Heldrath Kellani, effectively bought her way into the Dawn Council several decades ago. Rumor has it that she was an adventurer who spent some years as a pirate before settling down with her fortunes in Sasserine. She has three children: her daughter, Rowyn is the eldest, and her two sons Barron and Henry. Barron is away, traveling the world on one adventure or another. Rowyn and Henry both remain in Sasserine, the daughter being trained to take over the family house upon her mother's death and Henry working to make a name for himself as an arbiter and legal professional.

Most of the nobility look at the Kellanis as very ambitious, not entirely trustworthy, and devious opponents in political games and intrigue. The family invests in a variety of industries, including shipping, rare goods, and most recently taxidermy. Though not known to be evil particularly, they play to win and it would be reasonable for them to defend an investment. Their previous businesses have not been entirely above suspicion, but they have never been caught red-handed in any overtly illegal activities.

(Of note - in a city like Sasserine, most noble families get involved in smuggling, sketchy trades, and other colorful and exciting schemes. Go back far enough and basically every family in town came from cutthroats and vagabonds. The Kellanis just did it more recently than most nobles.)

[Farmerbink]

"What do we know about this person, Henry Kellani, and the place they want us to be for lunch?"

Gerald blinks. Nathaniel snorts. "Uh, he sent me a letter? And you too, I guess. Must've been up late, if he wrote all this out by hand. It's... fancy. Takes a while to write that fancy." He looks to his brother. "Can't figure why he wrote us both. That's just dumb."

"Know that street," Nathaniel comments. He frowns slightly. "Crowded."

[MuffinMan]

Tarquin nods. "I got one too! Well, crowded is good, isn't it? It means that we don't have to worry about any more Locust attacks - just about this lawyer fellow..." His brow furrows. "I can't believe they're accusing US of wrongdoing! I mean, we're the heroes and they're a- a thieves' guild!" He fumes a bit more in this vein before stopping to think. "Well, the Kellanis, I've heard of them - my dad has done some business with them, I think. They're "new money" in Sasserine, regarded as competent if not somewhat ruthless. If they're in bed with the thieves it'll may be hard to do this the legal way..." He sighs and looks up towards Xeshanth. "You don't have any legal training, do you, Master Xeshanth? I could try to 'borrow' one of my dad's lawyers but I don't think he could make this meeting on such short notice. Maybe we're on our own today..."

[Farmerbink]

Nathaniel grunts. "'Eh, it's just crowded. Good for a different kind of muscle, and not much else." He sniffs disdainfully. "Don't like it at all."

Gerald nods enthusiastically. "I don't know about you guys, but uh, I'm not that familiar with the laws around town. We did go into a clearly marked private area, and I did kinda rough him up a bit..." He looks around the room with clear chagrin. "I know we're doing the right thing, but I don't trust this Kellani fellow any farther than I can throw him." He frowns deeply before taking on an inquisitive expression. "He's not a Halfling, is he?"

[DarkOne-Rob]

"He's not a Halfling, is he?"

No, the Kellani family are all human.

[Gwynfrid]

"You're right, Tarquin, we're on our own. If this comes to a real legal battle, we could enlist help, but this proposal is for a discussion aimed at, precisely, not going to trial." The samsaran teacher reflects on the best answer to the challenge.

"I think I will go meet with these people. But I will go alone. I'm no lawyer, but neither are you, so there's not much of a point in coming as a group. Also, if this encounter results in any loss of reputation, I'd rather not have this cast any aspersions on your families.

That said, there's one sort of preparation I would want to make ahead of this... I need to go again see my good friend and buy a scroll from him." Having made up his mind, Xeshanth finishes breakfast, and goes straight to the market. It's a quick errand, and as soon as he's back, he gets to work on mastering a new spell, poring over a scroll and copying formulas into his spellbook. After a couple of hours of work, he declares himself ready to meet with the master taxidermist and his lawyer.

"I'm not taking any documents or important things with me - Nathaniel, please make sure you keep all of this in a safe place, especially this note we found." He gives the younger man the incriminating note they found in the caves in Parrot's Island.

Spoiler

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Assuming he manages to buy a scroll of Charm Person, he learns and copies the spell.

Spellcraft DC16 (1d20+10)[17]

[Farmerbink]

Nathaniel nods dutifully, and waits just long enough for Xeshanth to depart before turning to the rest of the group, gathered still out of a sense of helplessness more than anything else. "So we're breaking in, right?" He wastes no time broaching the subject. "I had every mind to," Gerald admits, furtively checking over his shoulder to make sure the Samsaran has indeed left in earnest.

"I hope his business isn't too quick. We shouldn't waste any time, eh?" He looks to Onwym and Tarq for acknowledgement before leading the way towards the taxidermists in as much haste as he can manage, without drawing too many eyes.

[Gwynfrid]

As nervous as he his excited, Onwym follows his comrades. "I hope no one recognizes us!" he mumbles worriedly.

[MuffinMan]

Tarquin looks uncomfortable for a moment, then nods. "Um, y-yeah! What Xeshanth doesn't know won't hurt him, probably. Or us, hopefully. Or really anyone for that matter." He nods to himself and stands up. "Well, we'd better hurry and check it out - now the Locusts, the watch, and your tutor will all be mad at us if we get caught! Let's go!"

[DarkOne-Rob]

I will be starting a (brief) side thread for the exchange with Xeshanth and Roblach/Kellani. Hopefully @Qwynfrid and I can wrap it up without too much trouble/delay.

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Most of the PCs finish their breakfast and head to the Taxidermists' Guildhall. The day is hot and muggy but clear of rain and fog. Along the way no one really gets any chills up their spine or anything to suggest they are being followed, and after several minutes of maneuvering the streets and bridges of Sasserine they walk up the street and see the building on the corner of Monkey Street, Dead Dog Alley, and Water Street.

Around the Guildhall can be seen a much larger contingent of security than yesterday. Carpenters are working on the front door, working hard to replace it with a reinforced one with metal studs and reinforcement at the deadbolt. A short walk around shows similar work happening at the back door. The security look to be a mix of men and women of different looks, possibly made up of mercenaries or some other hired security firm. They aren't city guards, but they don't look like craftsmen either.

What do you do?

[Farmerbink]

"Hmph. Keep up," Nathaniel grunts, maintaining his stride as he leads the party past the hall. He takes the groups about a block and a half down before turning into a narrow side street to talk. "Well that's not ideal," he murmurs, with a sour expression. "Definitely no way in without someone seeing us." He frowns deeply, staring into the cobblestones. "Don't like it."

"Nothing says we have to go on with it," Gerald chimes in. "We already know more than we did a few minutes ago- they're taking some serious pains and cost to upgrade the security. In a way, it makes our jobs easier." The brothers share a glance before Nathaniel smiles. "Right. Nobody reinforces doors only to move the target somewhere else." They nod in unison. "And that work isn't cheap. They got lots of laborers in less than a day. Someone somewhere is spending a lot of coin."

Gerald turns to Tarq and Onwym. "What do you guys think?"

Spoiler: OOC

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In all seriousness, I don't think the brothers push the issue here. We can wait and see what Xeshanth finds out, and then share our findings with him without feeling like we went behind his back.

[Gwynfrid]

"Obviously, they don't want intruders", the elf youngster pipes in. "It's interesting. Also, wasn't this place a crime scene just yesterday? It also could be interesting to know what the captain of the watch thinks about it, no?"

[Farmerbink]

The brothers frown. "That's a good point. There's no way all these people aren't disturbing any so-called investigation. I'm starting to think the guardsmen in this town aren't on the level." He scowls at the last, and falls into an uneasy silence.