I was assuming he was new to the group, but had been briefed on your own specific language before joining you. He did, however, show up before everyone went into the Red Circus, unless I'm wrong, so Gideon should recognise him from then.
I wasn't sure if you were headed to the office or to the cage, Destro. So, I left it open ended.
Swordfish, please feel free to expand or redo entirely the safe cracking bit and I'll amend my post. That goes for anyone with a particular part they'd truly like to make their own. The same goes for integrating the Aria's personal cogitator into the investigation.
Also, I left Marcus out to reply to Septimus. Please feel free to include him in any of the posted areas.
*There is a bit more information to be had from the ledgers that I will add when the matter of the ledger discrepancies is guessed at correctly (easy-peasy). When that is done, this other tidbit of info will become more more relevant. I am looking for the obvious answer plus the 'how'. XP rewards as incentive.
*This can be done in OOC or IC/ between characters or players etc.
Also, none of you knows what a Mortressian Prowler looks like.
Lastly, who is travelling with the Arbites and who is headed back to the Valkyrie and/or searching for a Base of Operations/Vehicle?
Okay, is my "The beasts are gone because longshadow's been taking them off" theory any good at all? I figure getting them through the sewers, then returning to the outside of the sewers to let them out, plus getting them back, plus any training/corruption needed could work out the times. Perhaps the prowler was injured on an operation?
Alternatively, this is the sort of thing we can work our way through logically. Everyone agree with me that it's most likely that these beasts are off the record because they're not actually there?
Also, i keep mentioning Gideon used to be a hunter: It's becoming painfully obvious i should have taken some skills to back this up. Nobody ever really expects to use Wrangling or Scholastic Lore (Beasts), do they?
Lastly, who is travelling with the Arbites and who is headed back to the Valkyrie and/or searching for a Base of Operations/Vehicle?
Unless anyone objects, Shryke intends to stick with the Arbites to ensure the beasts reach the Tricorn safely (hence why he's offering to carry anything that needs taking to the Tricorn). Once he's done there he'll be looking to rejoin the group.
Quote:
Thrones in the safe: [roll0]
I think we can all agree that for the good of the people, these funds need to be confiscated and spent on some kind of hovering, skull-like device.
Quote:
Okay, is my "The beasts are gone because longshadow's been taking them off" theory any good at all? I figure getting them through the sewers, then returning to the outside of the sewers to let them out, plus getting them back, plus any training/corruption needed could work out the times. Perhaps the prowler was injured on an operation?
I don't have an alternate hypothesis, but one question comes to mind if this is the case - Longshadow was keeping the beasties he used to kill Herstromm here, in the secret cage. If he was using new and different animals each time, then
A) why aren't there secret cages for those too
and
B) why did he go to the bother of preserving these three in particular?
EDIT: Thinking about it a bit more, there are a couple of more mundane possibilities:
1. Ingron is just cooking the books to cover for the fact that he's got his hand in the till.
2. The animals are being sold on to a third party without the owner's knowledge.
I don't think it's too much use second-guessing the answer, though. We have Ingron; let's just hit him with a lead pipe until he tells us.
I admit i only skim-read your spoilers, but is it possible that the broscoraptors were merely the last to arrive? Or that Longshadow was using less corrupted animals?
I need to double-check dates.
In addition, if skullsy is becoming a thing, can i request building a Picter into it, for scouting use?
I'm also totally down for spending this money on a servo-skull actually. (We'll all get a benefit, right?) Otherwise, accomodation and transport.
I admit i only skim-read your spoilers, but is it possible that the broscoraptors were merely the last to arrive? Or that Longshadow was using less corrupted animals?
We found the two broscoraptors + the one lion-looking thing that killed Herstromm in a cage hidden under a disguised trapdoor. As far as I understand there were no other cages down there. Unless we missed something it seems likely to me that they were the only three beasties being kept under wraps.
As I said in my edit, I don't know what's going on here, but I bet Ingron does.
Quote:
In addition, if skullsy is becoming a thing, can i request building a picter into it, for scouting use.
I've been discussing Skullsy with Riddick. If you guys are interested, I'll lay out what we can do in a spoiler.
Spoiler
We need suspensor plates and a cogitator core. Benchmark prices for these are 210 thrones for the suspensors and 105 for the core; once we have them Shryke can then make the skull using his crafting skills.
Since it's an Ogryn skull, it can carry more tech than a regular servo-skull.
We can combine any Guardian function with any Monotasked function from the IH servo-skulls
Due to its size, the skull can pack a non-compact Basic weapon, or two pistol-types if we'd rather.
According to the IH, all monotask servo-skulls are fitted with a pict-relay so that the controller can see what they see, so we should be good on that front. Possible monotask choices are: Auger (auspex and sensor array), Courier (identity scanner, some means of holding a message), Illuminator (glow-globe or similar), Loud Hailer, Medicae (it gets Medicae +20 at base Int 15) and Utility (multi-tool).
Of course, we have to pay for the bits, so something like Auger might be more expensive than something like Loud Hailer.
Hope it's OK to bring this into the OOC thread, Riddick - I figure if I'm going to persuade people to stump up the cash for this they'd better have some input!
Remind me how servo-skulls are operated. Are they AI-like, or will we be reliant on Shryke with a remote control? My vote is for Auger, because a skull bristling with sensors would be a handy scouting tool. (If we're talking scouting, we might want something a little more subtle, though.)
They respond to simple voice commands from their master, and they have pre-programmed routines that they can follow (e.g. guard this place, search and destroy). So not a remote-control helicopter but not a full AI either. That'd be tech-heresy, after all.
We found the two broscoraptors + the one lion-looking thing that killed Herstromm in a cage hidden under a disguised trapdoor. As far as I understand there were no other cages down there. Unless we missed something it seems likely to me that they were the only three beasties being kept under wraps.
I'm betting that Lion thing is the Mortressian Prowler, myself.
As for Skullsy, you already know my opinions on that. All systems go! If we've got enough money from looting the safe, I think we should go for the auger skull, but we need money for guns to stick in it, too.
hm.
Oh, also. Kerberos is pre-occupied right now, but someone should probably go ahead and loot the stands, see if anyone dropped anything valuable.
I'd say it's in the night/late evening now. If I recall correctly, everyone flew in and went for the Cathedral some time in the after noon, marched through the duct-maze, and moved on to this episode.
As for discussing the servo-skull here, go for it! I'm all about player input and interaction OOC.
Quote:
Also, i keep mentioning Gideon used to be a hunter: It's becoming painfully obvious i should have taken some skills to back this up. Nobody ever really expects to use Wrangling or Scholastic Lore (Beasts), do they?
I am trying to make use of everyone's skills and by that token, I suppose it shows gaps in areas, as situational as they are.
On that note, allow me to make use of one acolyte's admirable spread of knowledge based skills: Aria, give me a Scholastic Lore (Legend) test at -10.
*The answer I seek was mostly pieced together through two different partial theories above. Please note the existence of other Red Circuses into your hypotheses. Almost got it!
The red circuses are shuffling animals between them, to make it look as if they have more.
(He said, with the total certainty of a man putting forward a theory he is entirely devoid of evidence for.)
Each circus has, say, ten Broscoraptors and one Prowler on its books. But the games don't need all those animals, not every day, so they sell all but ten broscoraptors and one prowler, and shuffle them from circus to circus depending on what's on the bill.
That explains the death of the prowler- it got killed in the arena. I bet if we checked the books of the other circuses, we'd see a few of them have marked down a dead prowler recently.
(He continued to assert, as if he actually knew.)
As for how: The sewers? Perhaps that's what the hidden cage is originally for, storing any animals that should be elsewhere. And why: Big cash influx from selling on/never buying the animals, constant minor inflow from not feeding them.
If this is right, let me know and i'll put it forward in character.
It seems that due to late developments in my schedule and mood, I'm losing track of time and games more often than usual (Destro is well aware of it, having suffered by my absent-mindedness repeatedly, and will probably have set his poke-stick on overwatch to me just to be safe Sorry again old friend.).
Now, if I'm following our course well, we're searching Ingron's office, Kerberos is talking to the young worker (and recruiting him as well, good job on that LCP and Destro ) and Septimus is asking for the parchment I had with me, to take it to Tricorn for analysis.
Ingron's interrogation is something that I'd like to actively participate/handle mysef if possible, but first he needs to recover from his considerable wounds, since I wouldn't want to kill him before getting him to reveal useful information. And after that we have the auction to attend as well.
That said, I should probably put here some relevant rolls, on the investigation of the premises and see how it goes.
1. Awareness test. Utilising my Auspex to enhance it.
(1d100)[1] vs 70 (Per + Auspex bonus + Skill at [+10])
2. Tech-Use test, if applicable, to utilise my Auspex, in order to spot things not normally detectable to human senses alone.
(1d100)[46] vs 60 (Int + Foresight bonus + Combi-tool bonus)
3. Search test, if applicable, to literally comb the area, for any useful clue, piece of evidence, overlooked detail etc.
(1d100)[7] vs 80 (Int + Lengthy Searches bonus + Skill at [+10])
4. Common Lore (Underworld) test if applicable, to see if any of the practises already observed in Red Circus or the "tampered" ledgers etc of Ingron could be connected with general practises of the criminal elements of Imperium's society, if there are any other organizations that act accordingly or control such establishments and any other relevant or useful info on that field.
(1d100)[43] vs 50 (Int + Foresight bonus)
__________________
Arbitrator Reinhart avatar, courtesy of LCP.
My other avatars.
Spoiler
Ordo Xenos Inquisitor, courtesy of Araveugnitsuga.
Warden of Divisio Immoralis, courtesy of The_Architect.
WotS group by LCP
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daisuke1133
Calimos, I wish I had even half your talent for verbosity.
So animals are being moved between the circuses. To cover something up? To cover up some other animals being brought in? "To cover up a lack of animals" isn't it.
Hmm.
The red circuses are being used as temporary storage for the animals? Re-reading it indicates that the animals only just arrived. So a circus is used to store the animals while they aren't killing, and Ingron and Scoritza's job is to cover it up by shuffling other things around.
^ Good timing. I was just about to give another ;) Very well!
Below is Marcus' test results that will further the cause: (Don't read, LCP!)
Spoiler
Marcus notes from tonight's pairings chart that of the number of Broscoraptors he saw hauled from the pens and sent into the arena while they all spoke with Porthal, the chart lists two more than Reinhart saw go in.
Between the constant transfer of creatures between Circuses and the nightmare of a paper trail that creates, the Pits offer a rather unique route for a business to reasonably explain away lost assets - they die and are fed to the other beasts. Or if that is a lie and they are in fact sold to a third party, it creates a a very difficult falsehood to prove.
Be aware, some innocent or mundane things I've place in IC posts were placed with purpose
Buggered the roller not once, but twice! Attempt 3 >_<
ScholLore -10 testy
[roll0] vs 53Int -10 = 43 (+10 if my cog is relivent, but i assume not)
Good Work:
Spoiler
As Aria reads over the entry, Montressian Prowler, her sharp mind replies with memories kept safe from years prior. The Montressians, when inducted into the Imperium, were a primitive people living on a death world. The inhabitants chose their leaders in a simple fashion: if one could kill a Montressian Prowler and return with proof, that person proved their courage and worth to lead.
The proof required was the horn that grew in place of the Prowler's chin. A bony, vestigial growth, the horn did serve to mark the Montressian Prowler out among other apex predators as a visual indicator. Babble noted the same horn on the large, warped beast they had captured as it passed in the cage.
Calimos, my friend, I think Septimus is awaiting Marcus' response
Past that, I'd like to move forward IC if no further conjectures are forthcoming concerning the puzzle at hand. I'm not rushing however, so please feel free to conclude what you like and let me know what your character is doing when vacating the scene does take place.
Note: I will be in town through Thanksgiving but will be leaving for a few days come the end of the week, 23-28. Expect much slower posts during that time, please.
I would imagine the most likely cause for the under-ordering of feed is just that these three (or more) have been filling up on a diet of murder victims.
It's priest/
Have a little priest/
Is it really good?
Sir, it's too good at least...
Shryke is good to go. For those in the office, though, I'd say make sure you find out where the other Red Circuses are based (and how many of them there are), if that information isn't already in the ledger. We have no guarantee that Longshadow used these three creatures for any of the murders before Herstromm's; for all we know there's a Secret Cage Room at every venue. In a way, that'd be rather good, since we'd then have N Ingrons to question instead of just 1.
If our comm-beads have decent range, perhaps you guys could scout out a hideout while Kerberos and Shryke make their deliveries? Then you could just tell us where to find you.
Not sure if I'm repeating myself here (apologies if I am, my memory's terrible) but I think we can probably find accommodation we won't have to pay for if we go looking in abandoned/underhive sections of the Southlows. Regular rent payments would be a major drain on our resources, and landlords might object to our "upgrading" his property with any security measures we felt were necessary.
Plus, there might be gangs down there. That would be cool, and also basically a free stockpile of guns/terrified lackeys if we plan out a proper surprise attack . I'm not saying we have to start building a private army now that we've got one recruit, I'm just saying it'd be nice.
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Re: The War of the Shadow OOC
I am trying to make use of everyone's skills and by that token, I suppose it shows gaps in areas, as situational as they are. 
Sorry again old friend.).
. I'm not saying we have to start building a private army now that we've got one recruit, I'm just saying it'd be nice.
