| DM | You head back to the
cellar that you started in. A cursory look finds the other exit that the
kobold marked on your map. You climb the ladder to find the old lady standing
at the top. |
| Leanna | Hello again,
madam. Your scratching wasn't orcs - it was kobolds. But we have dispatched
them, I am happy to say. In due course, you will need to have your cellar
repaired, but for the time being we have left some of our companions down
there to carry on the investigation for you, so we'd be grateful if you can
leave the repairs for a little while. We are planning to investigate a couple
of things above ground and may return this way later with the authorities - if
that is OK with you? |
| Maise | Kobolds in my
cellar? Ooh thank you my dear I feel so much safer. Of course you must bring
the authorities. Kobolds eh? [Wanders into a small sitting
room] |
| Dreylin | Another
satisfied customer. [Turns to the others] So shall we head off and find
someone to report this to? |
| Leanna | OK. Why don't we
start by seeing if we can find the area where the tunnel collapsed as there
may be authorities there who are already investigating? That might also give
us some clues on what the tunnels are for. |
| Dreylin | That does seem
like a sensible plan. We have the map, so we know the approximate direction to
head from here, and once we're close we should have no problems... |
| Leanna | Shall we be off
then? And wrap our weapons again? |
| Berillia | Mine was
never wrapped to begin with - furthermore, this is not a weapon. It's a tool,
used for rearranging things. |
| Dreylin | Lets. [Peers
back down into the cellar to check his bearings on the tunnels] |
| DM | You wander out of the
little shack and head in the vague direction you think appropriate. It is mid
morning and the streets are packed with people going about their business. You
stop to let a large carriage go by. On its side is a bearskin and two arrows
in brown on yellow. Continuing on you see a blacksmith having a heated
argument with the owner of the fishmongers next door. You feel that violence
may break out any minute.
The crowd seems to thicken and rumours start to fly of a problem up ahead.
Forcing your way through the crowd you find that a section of the street has
sunk. There hasn't been a total collapse but the street level is a good three
feet below where it should be. Several harassed looking guards are hanging
around. |
| Dreylin | [Elbows his
way to the front of the crowd and introduces himself to the most-important
looking guard] Excuse me Sir, I'm Dreylin Willowbark and I think I might
be able to help you boys out with the circumstances of this little collapse
here... |
| Guard | [Looks down at
Dreylin] Really. Do tell. |
| DM | He doesn't really sound
like he means it. |
| Dreylin | [Takes a deep
breath] Well you see, my friends and I were asked by this old Lady - a
friend of Harry who owns the Silver Stag - to investigate some noises from her
cellar. So we did, and it turned out that someone had tunnelled into her
cellar from the sewers. So, being conscientious and civic-minded people, we
decided to investigate and what do we find digging tunnels... apart from some
sewer workers, obviously... a pack of Kobolds! Right here it was in fact, 'cos
as we turned up they were all running away and the roof was falling on our
heads!
[Looks at the sunken street] Hmmm, nasty mess here. Anyway, we nabbed
ourselves a couple of the blighters as they were running away, and they told
us that they'd been employed by some 'Hooded Blokes' to dig tunnels. Very
suspicious we thought, not the usual employment practices of the Civic
Authorities we thought, so we got them to draw us a map of where they'd been
digging and went to have an investigate.
Now you may have noticed that I'm a Hin? Well that means I can see in the
dark much better than most of my friends, so I delegated myself to scout on
ahead and came across two blokes burying a bundle in someone else's cellar.
Not wanting to tip them off that I'd spotted them, I hid and followed them
when they'd finished, until they climbed up out of another cellar.
So, to sum up, somebody's been digging through people's cellars for nefarious
purposes and concealing evidence in them! That's got to be at least a little
bit interesting to your Superiors...? |
| Leanna | [Nods at
various points during Dreylin's speech to attempt to make it clear to the
guards that he isn't just a random Hin telling a tall story, and glances at
the crowd every now and again] |
| Berillia | [Does
something similar, attempting to project an air of respectability... however
unlikely...] |
| DM | The guard's eyes glaze
over as the speech continues. He seems to be wishing himself anywhere else.
There is however a slight reaction when Dreylin mentions burying bundles. At
the end he looks at Dreylin for several seconds. |
| Guard | Wait here.
|
| DM | He stomps over to
another of the guards and talks with him for several minutes. They both look
over at you every now and then. Eventually they both return. The second man,
who is obviously older speaks. |
| Captain | If you're
telling anything other than the bare truth I'll have the lot of you in the
stocks by day's end. Take me to this cellar then.
[Beckons over two burly looking guards] You're with us. |
| Dreylin | Certainly
Officer, please follow me. [Starts leading them back towards the old Lady's
home, and tries to engage the guard captain in conversation]
So as I told your colleague, I'm Dreylin Willowbark, newly arrived with my
companions. I must say you have a very nice city here... apart from the
collapsing streets, of course... most inconvenient, I'd imagine. |
| Captain | [Looks down at
Dreylin in a not very encouraging way] ...yes... most inconvenient.
|
| Dreylin | So how long
have you been a guard then? |
| Berillia | [Stifles a
giggle, and the urge to stifle Dreylin, in that order] |
| DM | There is a long silence.
|
| Captain | [Grudgingly] 9 years. |
| Leanna | Now Dreylin,
that's hardly a question you should be asking a handsome gentleman like the
Captain. |
| Dreylin | Is it a good
job?
[Continues without waiting for an answer] I've wondered about it myself
- of course in the Shires we have a Militia, so I guess everyone is at least
partly involved, but I've thought it might be an interesting sort-of thing to
do full time... do you think so? |
| Captain | I can't say I'd
recommend it. You end up having to deal with this sort of bloody disaster.
|
| Dreylin | I suppose...
but we're on the trail of those responsible, so there may be some glory for
all of us at the end of it... |
| Leanna | [Smiles and
addresses the captain herself] I take it from your reaction to the mention
of the bundle that you have made a possible connection with another incident
here? |
| Captain | [Turns to
Leanna] Not really. But buried bundles doesn't sound good and we're well
paid to investigate problems in the city. |
| Leanna | Fair enough. Has
anything come of the ruckus at the New Year's procession, outside Bungo's
Hearth, by the way? |
| Captain | No, the militia
weren't really involved in the procession. House Hallonica said that they had
made their own arrangements. We were seen as being a bit heavy handed.
|
| DM | You arrive back at the
old woman's house. |
| Dreylin | I suppose we
ought to knock...? |
| DM | You knock. The old woman
opens the door and allows you and the guards back inside. |
| Maise | Ooh you've brought
a guard captain too? It must be serious. |
| Dreylin | Well I believe
so even if some of my friends don't. [Glances at Leanna] |
| Leanna | [Glowers
back] |
| DM | You swiftly head back
down to the basement and re-trace your steps to the cellar where the body was
buried. The rest of the party await you. |
| Dreylin | [To the
captain] ...and so this is the cellar where I saw the two blokes. I hid
over there, [Waves in the approximate direction of his hiding place]
and they were burying something over here.
[Starts leading them towards the place, notices the rest and pauses]
Oh yes, Captain, these are the rest of my friends, [Waves at them]
Guys, this is Captain... erm sorry, I don't actually know your name...
|
| Narond | Welcome back
Dreylin, well in your absence very little has happened... apart from us
waiting for you guys. |
| Captain | Harlon.
|
| DM | He looks at each of you
in turn and doesn't seem overly pleased with what he sees. Then he turns to
the two burly guards. |
| Harlon | Dig where he
points. [Gestures to Dreylin] |
| DM | The men unshoulder their
shovels and walk towards the area that Dreylin pointed to. Captain Harlon
turns back to you. |
| Harlon | So, new in town?
|
| DM | It doesn't seem like a
casual enquiry. |
| Narond | Well, we have
been around for a couple of days now, we arrived on the 28th Kaldmont, just in
time for the new years celebrations. |
| Harlon | How delightful.
And you just happened to be wandering around these tunnels when you witnessed
the dumping of this... item? |
| Narond | I'm sorry, has
Master Dreylin not mentioned already why we are down here? |
| Harlon | I heard the
highlights of the story he told one of my men. But I'm interested to hear it
from someone else. |
| Leanna | As I believe we
may have mentioned to you earlier, the old lady in the house we passed through
believed she could hear orcs in her cellar. Assuming this to be just some rats
or some other triviality not worth bothering the Watch with, we took it upon
ourselves to investigate, and we happened upon a tunnel leading into the
sewers which led us here. |
| Dreylin | It's like I
told the other guard... [Retells the tale] |
| Harlon | [Looks at both
Leanna and Dreylin as they finish their stories]
[Sniffs the air a few times] Hmm. Kobolds it is. Always leave a foxy
scent in their tunnels. Filthy creatures. I don't think we've had kobolds in
the city for several years. I can just tell you're going to be trouble.
[Pauses]
I assume Harry and old batty up there can confirm your story? |
| Narond | They certainly
can. |
| DM | One of the two guards
calles the Captain over to a hole where they have dug up a bag. In the
torchlight it looks very like there is a body inside it.
Harlon kneels next to it and pulls at the opening in the top of the bag. He
and the guard pull the material away and reveal the body of a teenage girl.
She has blonde hair and freckles and was quite pretty. A thick line of
bruising runs around her neck. |
| Harlon | [Pauses for a
moment]
Damn!
[Looks at her eyes for a moment then feels her neck and
forehead] |
| DM | Standing he turns back
to you. |
| Harlon | Luckily for you
it seems unlikely you were behind this. She's been dead for hours. |
| Leanna | Thanks!
[Pouts, then quickly smiles] Any idea who this might be and why she was
killed? We'd be happy to help in any way we can, I'm sure.
[Peers to have a look at the body herself] |
| Harlon | I have a vague
feeling I've seen her, which worries me. The last thing we need is someone
important turning up dead.
[Turns to one of the burly guards] Go and get a detail. 5 men at least.
|
| DM | The guard heads off and
Harlon calls out to him as he goes. |
| Harlon | ...and bring a
magistrate. |
| DM | Harlon stands up and
brushes his hands absent-mindedly on his tunic.
Leaning against one of the barrels he takes a battered cigar from a pocket
and lights it. |
| Dreylin | So, Captain
Harlon, what happens now? |
| Leanna | Would you mind if
we examined the body a little more closely? |
| Harlon | Yes I would. What
happens now is that we wait for a magistrate to witness my examination
of the body and for a detail of men to carry it out of here. If you want to do
something useful, climb up that ladder and find out where it comes out.
|
| Leanna | Very well...
Shall we? |
| Narond | Yes, why not...
|
| DM | Leanna and Narond climb
the ladder and disappear through the trapdoor at the top of it. |
| Dreylin | Would you also
like us to investigate the ladder which the blokes used after they dumped the
body...? |
| Harlon | That would be
useful, yes. |
| DM | After a couple of
minutes Leanna pops her head back through the trapdoor and calls over quietly
to Captain Harlon. |
| Leanna | We found this
ring by the trapdoor, with an eagle and scales in green and gold embossed on
it.
[Proffers the rings to him] Does it mean anything to you?
It looks like we've come up into a well-to-do house, it's a dining room with
one exit; signs of some kind of alcohol spilt on the floor; we'll carry on
investigating and report back as to where we are if we can. |
| Harlon | [Takes the ring
and frowns at it] Oh this just gets better! The symbol on this ring is
that of House Hallonica. You may remember they sponsored that disastrous
procession yesterday. I dread to think what will happen if they're involved in
this. |
| Dreylin | Someone's
probably trying to frame them by burying this body in their cellar... some of
us will go and have a look though the trapdoor the blokes used and see if
there are any more clues there. |
| Narond | Leanna, there
appears to be bloodstains near this trapdoor. A vague attempt appears to have
been made to clean them up, there are a few red hairs nearby too, so there has
at least been a red haired person using this trapdoor. |
| DM | Dreylin, Berillia and
Shianara follow the route taken previously by Dreylin. You find yourselves at
the bottom of the ladder used by the two hooded figures. |
| Dreylin | [Climbs out
of sight]
[Reappears and beckons you up the ladder, Shianara first] |
| DM | Space clears above and
you climb to find a small room at the top. A wall has been swung back to
reveal another room that seems to be a lavatory. On the far side of that a
door opens into what appears to be a set of public conveniences.
You hear Dreylin's voice from a little way away asking you to find out how
the secret door works from this side.
The mechanism has been revealed by its opening and it is fairly obvious that
the latch is controlled by a small catch behind the lavatory seat. |
| Dreylin | [Ambles back
in] Well, apparently this is Temple Street. Have you guys found anything
interesting in here? |
| DM | They had found the
method of opening the secret door in the back of the cubicle. |
| Dreylin | Excellent,
shall we go back and tell the Captain what we've found? |
| DM | You head back to the
cellar with the body. |
| Narond | Any idea who
would stand to gain most from the break-up of an alliance between Hallonica
and Toney, or who their biggest enemies are in the city at the moment?
|
| DM | Before Harlon can answer
this question Dreylin, Berillia and Shianara come back into the cellar.
|
| Harlon | [Looks
over] Well? |
| Dreylin | The ladder the
villains used leads to a secret exit into a set of Public Conveniences. I'm
not too familiar with the town, but I think they're on Temple Street. Any
progress here? |
| Harlon | [Gestures to
Narond and Leanna] You were saying? |
| Narond | I believe I was
asking whether you had any idea who would stand to gain most from the break-up
of an alliance between Hallonica and Toney, or who their biggest enemies are
in the city at the moment? |
| Harlon | [Thinks for a
moment] To be honest everyone hates Hallonica. They're rich, arrogant and
unpleasant. Any of the other houses could be defined as an enemy. On the other
hand Mendel Callister and the rest of House Toney are generally well liked. I
don't relish having to tell him what happened here. |
| Dreylin | [Tries to
remember where he's heard of House Toney before] |
| Leanna | [Remembers that
House Toney were the people that helped break up the disturbance to the
procession - ie. the nice helpful people] |
| Dreylin | So what did you
guys find up the ladder? |
| Leanna | A nice house.
Seems to be where the girl lived, there was disturbance in the kitchen but
otherwise all quiet. Only things of note were: a ring with the House Hallonica
emblem on it in the kitchen (we suspect this to have been a plant) and a
picture of the girl in her bedroom which identifies her as the niece (Poppy
Toney) of the head honcho in House Toney (hence the conversation you just
walked in on). |
| DM | You hear movement from
further down the tunnels. |
| Harlon | Sounds like the
magistrate is here. |
| Leanna | Excellent, it
will be interesting to hear what they have to say. |
| Berillia | [Under her
breath] ...it can't be that simple. Surely? Of all the things to
leave at a murder scene, a signet ring gets found. |
| Harlon | [Looks over at
Berillia] No, I agree. All a bit too convenient. |
| DM | Six guards enter from
the tunnel along with an older man. Harlon walks over to him and bows
slightly. He murmurs something and the two disappear into the tunnel for a
short while. When they return the Magistrate comes over to you while Harlon
begins a more detailed examination of the body. |
| Magistrate | Thank you for
alerting us to this. Is there anything you feel I should know? |
| Dreylin | [Steps
forward] Well Sir, when we found the band of Kobolds digging down here we
got them to make a map of the tunnels which they'd dug, and the other tunnels
they'd seen the 'Hooded Blokes' digging, [Digs out the map and offers it to
the Magistrate] I don't think we've investigated all the new tunnels yet
so maybe there's something else to find down one of them... |
| Leanna | I take it that
Captain Harlon has already reported our findings from Ms Toney's house?
|
| Magistrate | Thank you for
the map.
[Beckons one of the guards over and hands him the map] Take a detail
and explore these tunnels. Arrest anyone you find and kill any vermin. Take at
least a dozen men and make sure they're well armed. |
| DM | The guard hurries off.
|
| Magistrate | Yes I'm aware
of the finds above. Was there anything other than the bloodstains and the
ring? |
| Leanna | [Blushes
slightly] Er, I don't think so, just evidence that it was Poppy Toney's
house as far as I can remember. Narond, can you think of anything? |
| Narond | [Shakes his
head] I can't think of anything, assuming you also know of the incident in
the New Year procession, which may or may not have anything to do with this.
|
| Dreylin | [Pipes
up] I've just been thinking that if we hadn't stumbled on to these guys
burying the corpse, then no-one would have known for sure that she was dead...
it would probably have been assumed to have been a kidnapping. I wonder if the
villains have plans to exploit that possibility? |
| Magistrate | Hmm. An
interesting possibility. |
| Narond | Is there anything
obviously missing from the body? Like a ring or something they could use as
proof that they have captured or kidnapped her? |
| Magistrate | Harlon?
|
| Leanna | Is there anything
we can do to assist you, sir? |
| Magistrate | Hmm. The
procession. Yes I did hear rumours about that. Hallonica and Toney as I
recall. No one seems to know who started the trouble.
As for helping me. We are rather stretched at the moment. I think Captain
Harlon may welcome your help in investigating this. The City Council will pay
a small fee of course. Would 100 Daros each be acceptable? |
| Leanna | What do you think
guys? It would at least reimburse us for the cost of going to see our dear
friend Cathryn Da Moose... I wonder how he's getting on... |
| Narond | [Nods] I
agree and I am willing to help in the investigation. |
| Dreylin | I'd certainly
like to help bring these villains to justice! |
| Harlon | Nothing seems
missing, although this was in her hand. |
| DM | He comes forward with a
dagger. It has blood on it. |
| Harlon | [Continues to
inspect the knife] There's some red hairs on this. |
| Leanna | Ah yes, that's
what we forgot to mention - there were some red hairs in the bloodstains
upstairs. |
| Narond | Someone had
attempted to remove the stain, but very badly. It appears there was a bit of a
scuffle in the basement. |
| Dreylin | So maybe they
were trying to kidnap her, she grabs one of their daggers and tries to
fight back and they killed her accidentally! If that's the case, then I bet
that whoever employed them is quite upset about now... |
| Magistrate | [Thinks for
a moment] That certainly seems plausible. I must inform Master Callister
about this. He'll want to know of his niece's fate. In the mean time I suggest
you liaise with Captain Harlon. |
| DM | Harlon has started to
check around the cellar. |
| Harlon | [Pauses by the
ladder then sniffs at some of the rungs] There's pitch on this. Was there
any in the house? |
| Leanna | Maybe, but I
can't remember. I don't think so.
[Recalls something about red hair being more common amongst
Karameikans]
Not wishing to jump to any conclusions, do any of the houses have any strong
connections with Karameikos? Just wondering whether we can use the red hair as
a lead in any way - it could be a red hairring I know... [Grins
toothily] |
| Dreylin | [Starts
looking for the nearest wall to bang his head against...] |
| Harlon | [Looks at
Leanna] None that I know of.
[Pauses a moment] Did you see anything else down here or was it just
kobolds and bodies? |
| Leanna | Yes. We bumped
into some men claiming to be sewer workers. Also, I think Dreylin already said
that he saw the guys burying that body.
[Tries to point out on the map where the sewer workers were] Other than
that, no. |
| DM | The map went with the
guard...
Fortunately Harlon thought to make a copy. You show him. |
| Harlon | There seems to be
another cellar near where they were working. Was there another exit there?
|
| Leanna | I do believe
there was, yes. There was certainly an exit that we considered trying quite
early on, but decided it could be perfectly innocent and that we shouldn't
just barge into somone's pantry without permission.
I remember now, the men said they were working for the Streets and Sewers
Department of the Council of Darokin City. They had a piece of paper which we
looked at and it appeared to be in order, but of course we didn't really know.
|
| Magistrate | Hmm. Could be
genuine. Difficult to say. I'll check with the relevant authority later. In
the meantime I ought to go and talk to Mendel Callister. |
| DM | He heads off up the
tunnel.
Harlon wanders over to you. |
| Harlon | Well I think
we're finished here. While I see to the body I'd like you to check out that
last exit. I'll meet you back here. |
| DM | You head off up the
tunnels back past the old woman's cellar and into the cellar you are supposed
to be investigating.
A ladder ascends into the gloom. |
| Leanna | [Offers to go
first] |
| Dreylin | With a lantern
to warn anyone of your imminent approach, perhaps? |
| Leanna | [Frowns
slightly]
Sorry, I keep forgetting I'm disabled. Well, I was only offering. I was
thinking that since it's daytime then the room we are going to come up into
will quite likely be lit by daylight anyway (as in the houses we've already
been in). If not, if anyone is in the room it will surely be lit already, and
if noone is in the room a light won't disturb them.
Why don't we listen at the trapdoor before going through anyway, just to see
if we're expecting to surprise anyone? |
| DM | Leanna listens at the
trapdoor. After a moment she goes through. |
| Narond | [Follows] |
| Berillia | [Also
follows] |
| DM | The trapdoor opens into
a small room. It contains a chair, a bed, a small basin and a table. There are
muddy footprints on the floor leading from the trapdoor to one of the two
exits. On the table is a bottle of some liquid and on the bed is a cloth cap.
|
| Leanna | [Calls down
quietly] It's safe to come up. |
| Narond | [Tests the
liquid in the bottle] |
| Leanna | [Examines the
cloth cap for red hairs and other identifying items] |
| Narond | [Turns back to
the others] The cap on the bed has traces of red hair on it. The wine
tastes just like the wine stains myself and Leanna found in the Toney
basement. I can't make much sense of the muddy footprints myself, looks like a
whole lot of people tramped about in here. |
| Leanna | Well, they
definitely lead to one of the two doors, however. So we can fairly safely
assume that that is where the people went - the question is, do we follow
them, or try the other door first?
I vote for literally just looking through the other door to see what's
through it and then following the footprints if there is nothing of immediate
interest or concern. |
| Berillia | Shall we move
on, then?
[Looks through the door without footprints leading to it] |
| DM | You try the door without
the footprints. It opens into a wooden hallway. You can smell sawdust and
meat. |
| Leanna | [Has a more
detailed scan of the hallway] |
| DM | There seem to be two
exits at the far end of the corridor. The house looks to be of medium quality.
Nothing special. |
| Leanna | Well, since there
doesn't seem to be any immediate threat here, shall we have a look through the
other door before we commit ourselves to either direction? |
| Narond | Well, why not.
|
| Dreylin | [Wanders back
to look through the other door] |
| Leanna | [Shrugs, closes
the door and goes to join Dreylin] |
| Narond | [Joins the
happy little group] |
| DM | You open the other door.
It opens directly onto an alleyway which is clean but not very well lit. The
backs of a variety of buildings enclose the alley to a fair height. Only one
end is open. Through it you can see a main road where the people of Darokin
are milling about. |
| Narond | [Looks at the
ground for where the footprints were heading...] |
| DM | They head out into the
main street although they fade away in the general muck of Darokin's less nice
streets. |
| Leanna | So, as this
appears to be a dead end in terms of catching anyone, shall we try the other
door? I suppose it is possible that the Red-Headed League may be using the
back room of this house without the owner's knowledge (although you'd think
they'd clean up if that were the case), but it's the only strong lead we've
got. |
| DM | You go back to the first
door. The passageway and the smell are still there.
At the far end you find a door on your left and a stairway on your right.
|
| Leanna | Shall we try the
door first? |
| Dreylin | Well, the door
I guess will eventually lead to an exit, so maybe we should look that way
first. |
| DM | You can hear movement
beyond the door, and now muffled voices. |
| Leanna | [Tries to
listen to the voices] |
| Dreylin | [Shushes
everyone and creeps forward to listen at the door, keyholes being just-about
the right height] |
| DM | You can't make out what
they're saying, and there's no keyhole. It looks like an internal door.
|
| Leanna | [Whispers]
Shall we still go in? Weapons drawn, or just to hand? What's our story?
|
| Berillia | ...We've been
commissioned by the authorities to check around the sewers in this part of
town to see why parts of the streets are collapsing. We're well armed because
people are talking about there being 'Orcs' in their cellars. [Smiles
somewhat] |
| Leanna | [Stifles a
giggle] Sounds good to me... So weapons to hand but not raised? |
| Narond | [Grins]
Definitely the way forward, you don't want to alarm anybody too much...
[Continues to use his quarterstaff as a walking staff] |
| Berillia | [Makes sure
her hammer is to hand and looks at Leanna] After you. Break a leg...
|
| Dreylin | We should tell
the truth - we've been deputised to act on behalf of the Guard and are
investigating some tunnelling activity which leads to their back room and
cellar. |
| DM | You open the door and
find yourselves at the back of what appears to be a shop.
Meat carcasses hang from several hooks and other cuts of meat lie on the
counter surrounded by sawdust. Behind the counter is a large man with a black
moustache. There are also three shocked looking cutomers staring at you.
The large man tentatively waves his meat cleaver at you. |
| Man | What are you doing
in my house? |
| Dreylin | [Steps
forward and sheathes his weapon] No need to be alarmed Sir, we're city
employees who have been commissioned by the Guard to investigate some
goings-on under the city. If you could spare us a few moments, we'd like to
discuss the state of your cellar with you... |
| Man | [Relaxes a little
but doesn't look completely convinced] Commissioned by the Guard? Who
exactly commissioned you? |
| Dreylin | [Looks
confused for a moment]
I'm not certain I actually caught the name of the Magistrate who commissioned
us, [Glances briefly at the others for confirmation] but we're working
with Captain Harlon on this investigation. |
| DM | The butcher puts the
cleaver down. |
| Man | I've heard of
Harlon. He's very well respected. So how can I help you? My name's Turano by
the way. |
| Dreylin | [Sticks out
his hand] I'm Dreylin, pleased to meet you. As I said, we're investigating
goings-on under the city... apparently someone has been tunnelling into
people's cellars from the sewers and that's why the street collapsed earlier
today. We followed one of those tunnels and came up into your back room...
|
| Turano | The room down the
corridor? That's the guest room. I rent it out. |
| Dreylin | Aha! So tell us
about your current tenant... |
| Turano | I have no current
tenant. The previous one was a man named Skevlos, a blacksmith. He left
yesterday. |
| Berillia | Could you
describe him for us? |
| Turano | Let's see. He was
about 25ish and a portly young man. Thick black hair but clean shaven.
|
| Dreylin | Did he ever
bring any friends back with him? |
| Turano | None that I
noticed. What's he done? |
| Dreylin | Well, for a
start, he appears to have been using the cellar beneath your guest room as a
way of tunnelling into the sewer system and gaining access to other people's
cellars. I don't suppose he left a forwarding address...? |
| Turano | Nope. Said it was
time to move on. Do you want me to have a look around the cellar and see
what's been moved? |
| Dreylin | Seems like a
good plan. Do you have an assistant who can mind the shop for you? |
| Turano | No, but these are
all regulars.
[Leans to one of the customers] Keep an eye on the shop for me would
you Lily. |
| DM | He heads out into the
corridor with you. |
| Dreylin | So was Skevlos
here for long? |
| Turano | About a month I
think. |
| DM | You wander into the back
room. He looks at the trapdoor and then around the rest of the room. |
| Turano | Looks all right.
|
| DM | He starts down the
trapdoor, then stops to look at the wine bottle on the side. |
| Turano | [Takes a
sniff] This certainly isn't mine. |
| Narond | Expensive wine...
|
| Turano | [Looks harder
at the bottle] I can't quite make out the seal but it could be from the
Trouscan estates. |
| Narond | Any idea who owns
the Trouscan estates? |
| Turano | No. But I would
think a good wine merchant may be able to tell you. [Starts down to the
cellar] |
| DM | You arrive back in the
cellar and Turano starts looking around it, checking the various boxes and
blowing the dust off them. |
| Dreylin | Shall we wait
until he goes 'Oh look, there's a dirty great hole in the wall here!', or
should we point it out to him... |
| Turano | [Looks up]
There's a dirty great hole in my wall. |
| DM | He spins round.
|
| Turano | Two!! |
| Dreylin | [Wonders
whether the hole was dug from this side] |
| DM | You can tell that both
start in the cellar and work outwards. |
| Dreylin | [Smiles]
I take it you had no knowledge that the tunnelling was taking place? |
| Turano | To be honest I
haven't been in here for months. As you can see I don't really use it.
[Blows some more dust off the boxes]
It's just old storage really. It never occured that whoever has the room can
get into it. |
| DM | He moves one of the
boxes and reveals a piece of parchment under it. |
| Dreylin | What have you
got there? [Goes to have a look] |
| DM | You all cluster round
the butcher.
It seems to be a map of this area of the city. There are several standard
landmarks clearly named. Five locations have crosses on them. |
| Narond | [Tries to
compare with the other maps] |
| Berillia | [Cranes for
a look at the map, and wonders if the five locations mark entrances to the
tunnels] |
| Turano | [Points at one
of the crosses] That's here certainly. I don't know about the others.
|
| DM | You try to work out
where the various passages go. They don't seem to match up very well.
|
| Dreylin | I'm sure Harlon
can pinpoint where each of them are. |
| Narond | And hopefully
tell us what is in each location as well.
[To Turano] Thank you. Unless any of my colleagues have anything else
that they want to ask you, I think we should be getting back to Captain
Harlon. |
| Turano | Well thank you.
I'll be sealing this cellar off I can tell you. |
| DM | He heads back up the
ladder, leaving you with the wine bottle and the map. |
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