Missing Wolfilisk - RPLOG
Participants
Date
9/4/478
Log
The shanty town is oddly being looked over by several guards and such. Professional looking individuals who ordinarily would never step foot in this place. A hot, though normal for the region, day at 90F, scattered clouds, not much wind... Typical day. There's a collection of shanties, all positioned close together to form what could almost be one mass of structure; which seems to be the main focus of the guards attention.
Standing out front of said building is a tall-ish badger in full plate, looking to be the one in charge at the moment.
Fenris arrives wearing a worn, tattered black coat, along with the worn, tattered form of Amos Longtooth. Despite the hot weather, the lanky, scarred tomcat does not look the least bit uncomfortable in his long coat. "What is this about, Ipswitch?" the old cat rasps at the badger guardsman, "What brings you and your shiny recruits out here?" He glares at the guard with one sharp eye and another, scarred and milky white.
Something interesting! Cassidy could hardly pass that up, even if it was annoyingly hot today. She's got a bit of personal wind kicked up around herself to keep both Natska and herself cool, at least, the tails of her coat flicking in the artificial breeze behind her. "What's all this about?"
Natska walks along beside Cassidy, gloved fingers on the brim of her hat to keep it steady despite the breeze, her own jacket catching the wind. She gives Amos a small nod, then the badger, waiting to hear the answer to Cass' question.
Hannibal arrives not far behind the others. Acompanied by his collection of machines, and a mercenary. dismiss being
Hannibal arrives not far behind the others. Acompanied by his collection of machines. Dressed in his usual town wear. The coywolf glances about the surrounding area. As he comes to a halt next to the others. "Sooooo what's going on here?" He says his question directed ti the badger who appears to be in charge.
Ipswitch, being the thorough professional he is, salutes Amos when he's addressed. "Good to see you, sir. And the rest of you." After speaking he loses 90% of his professional veneer, devolving into far more blunt ways of going about how to describe the situation: "Well, ordinarily we'd avoid this shithole, but some noble or near noble... knight or just some schmuck who's been sleeping with a noble up and went missing here today. The woman who told us took off too, unhelpful, that one... Found signs of a struggle, broken doors," At this he gestures to a broken door, "And a couple dead guys in there."
"Hopefully you'll find something more useful than we did. I'll just be here... Head in whenever you're ready. Oh, and watch for traps. One of my guys took a crossbow bolt to the shoulder an hour ago. Cowards won't go back in..." Explains why they're all outside now, gawking at the buildings uselessly...
Amos snorts at the badger. "The kingdom's finest," he mutters, jamming his hands into his pockets and stalking toward the indicated buildings. He spares a courteous nod to the two lady Solaciouses, but then sets to work. "Names, Ipswitch," he rasps as he looks into the shadowy hovels, "Give me names. Who am I look for?" He examines the shattered door. "And did your boys do this or was it like this when you got here?"
Cassidy tilts her head, glancing at the door with a frown. "Hrm... Yes, names would be useful. Especially if we're dealing with nobles." Mostly, she wants to make sure more of her family didn't get in trouble. LAST time there was noble trouble in the Shanties, she was coming home to the murder of one of her family.
Natska raises a finger and starts to comment, then decides it would be best to drop it. She nods her head and follows Amos up to the building, flexing her hands for a moment as she settles in her focus. "Other exits? Are they being watched?"
Hannibal directs his crusher, and twirligig to remain outside the wrecked door."Was our victim, male, or female?...And for that matter do we have any other information on them. Other thsn they may have been s noble, or someone sleeping with s noble? Perhaps a physicsl description?" he says to the badger as he steps into the building
"Wirefurs." Ipswitch responds, shrugging incredulously. "We don't want an international incident here." The badger seems like he really doesn't want to be here, sticking his neck out for foreign nobility. "A few other exits, yeah. All being watched by these useless conscripts. Given what this place looks like though? I wouldn't put it passed having a tunnel underneath it." He shrugs. "And the 'victim' was some wolf missing part of his leg apparently. The description I was given was 'drunken ass covered in scars.' That's about all we've got that you won't see yourself when you get in there."
Amos's frown deepens, impossible as that seems. "If that idiot wolf got himself killed, I'll kill him," he growls before stepping up to the door. The scarred old tom closes his eyes for a second, letting his eyes adjust a little to darkness and using the opportunity to feel around a bit with some well placed earth magic, feeling for tunnels or traps in the earth.
Cassidy nods slowly and frowns. "Yes, a Wirefur noble wrapped up in this is... Not good. Well, I'll do what I can!" And a Solacious noble looking into it is good PR! Hard to lose this situation. "Wolf? That... Well. That sounds like Thel alright."
"You and me both, Amos," Natska murmurs. She gives the badger a nod, then follows into the building with the others, ears perked and on the alert as she checks it out.
"Huh Some how I am not surprised in the slightest that. That guy would get himself in trouble like this. Granted I barely know him.....But at anyrate." The coywolf mutters the last bit to himself as he. Begans to comb through the room for any hintd to just what exactly went down around the place. "Any other possibke witnesses?"
The building, which is more just a series of interconnected shacks that seem to have been cobbled together (And lived in, until recently, very recently. Food on the floor in one.) from various cheap materials, is run down. Which isn't surprising given the area... From what the party can tell, it seems to be vaguely square. Or rectangular. With various passages leading into the interior, which with the distrubed environment, clearly shows that whoever broke in the door was heading inward quite clearly.
Several passages head off to the outside edges of the shackheap, but don't seem to be damaged like the path inward.
The badger answers Hannibal's question with: "The peasants were taking off when we showed up. Refused to stop and talk to us about what happened. The only 'witness' took off when we asked what her involvement was. Just told me to 'sod off' and flew away."
Cassidy furrows her brow behind her mask, letting the breeze die away once they're inside. She hums softly to herself, taking in the ramshackle structure, tail flicking behind her. "Why would someone want to break into a place in the shanties..."
Hannibal rubs his chin as he continued to sesrch the room. "Got a description of this witness? Perhaps we could track her down, and question her ourselves. She may be more willing to talk to someone that doesnt belong to the guard....Though I suposse she may not want to tslk to nobles either, and it seems atleast half of us volunteers are nobles."
Amos opens his eyes and steps into the gloomy interior. "No tunnels," he rasps stepping out of the halo of light from the door, "And nobody from the Shanties wants to get involved, kid," he says to Hannibal, "It gets you hurt out here." The spyguard makes a quick sweep of the room, then focuses on the passages leading inward.
Natska nods her head at Hannibal. "Ehyea. See nothing, say nothing, do nothing, that is how you survive in a place like this. Don't get noticed." She frowns fainrly, then starts making her way in towards the middle.
Ipswitch gives a short description of the 'witness.' "Eh, she was a crow. White hood, red stripe on the face, flew off. Angry, for some reason. Didn't have anyone here who could chase her down." Clearly, this is the best guard regiment in the kingdom.
The path inward twists and turns, but is mostly straightforward. Albeit the several traps encountered by those who headed in... Most already sprung, crossbows on tripwires (explaining why there're bolts sticking out of the walls), noisemakers and a few claw traps litter the passage. Not very well hidden, really. The passage eventually opens up (Past a kicked in door.) into a large (For shanty town) room with two corpses on the floor. Blood and all that fun stuff. A third hangs upside down from a snare trap on a contraption seemingly made to catch someone who entered through that passage. And it did it's job.
Well lit, more or less, openings to let in the sun, a tarp covering something large in the center. Desks, tables, other surfcaes covered in tools seemingly for golem work and similar objects.
Amos frowns as he stalks along the dingy passage, sidestepping the sprung traps. He gazes around at the carnage and stoops to examine the two corpses, hoping that neither of them is as familiar as he fears they will be.
Cassidy grunts a little at the sight of the hallway. "This is a mess," she comments, winding along the hall, careful to avoid the traps already set off, and any that might not have been. "Sloppy. I want to know just what happened in here."
Natska picks her way down the hallway, carefully, her steps light. She frowns for a moment as she spots the bodies, and her ears perk at Cass' comment. "Yes." She shakes her head. "Sloppy is one way of putting it. But where's the wolf?"
Hannibal focuseses on what ipswitch says over the others. Being more interested in listening to the badgers description of the crow. As theg make their way down the passage, and into a new room. Approaching the desks, and tables the coywolf eyes the tools covering their surfaces. While switching out his soul gem for that of a golem crafter. Before moving on to the tarp, and gives it a firm tug.
None of the corpses are likely to be recognized by anyone gathered here... Though with Amos's spygaurd training, he can tell uite easily that the two on the floor are felines, male, probably early thirties in age. And clearly, to Amos, and anyone else trained as a spyguard, that they're probably brothers. Not identicle, but close. Armed, died of punctures to the throat and torso regions. And beneath one, is a severed hand. Clearly not belonging to any of the dead present. Seems lizardlike with the scales and such.
The third, who's still hanging upside down is a squid being. Similar injuries, though, for lack of a better word, a shiv is stuck in his chest. His throat's not very useful anymore, either... All three seem to be dressed and armed similarly; each carrying a set of manacles.
As the tarp comes off, it reveals a golem of vaguely spider shape. Bladed on the front limbs, fanged wolf head on the front, a cannon in the process of being mounted to it's back, it seems. Spikes along the armor and limbs to prevent physical attack, armor thickened from the last time anyhone's seen it...
Undoubtedly, this was Thelergramor's workshop.
"Yeah," Amos rasps, "Thelergramor was here, but he isn't the victim. Looks like some unexpected houseguests came to visit." The scarred tom kneels down and starts to rifle through the pockets of the dead felines. "I'm thinking foreigners," he says, "The manacles don't look like a local gang. Not unless it is somebody new."
Cassidy settles her hands on the hips, looking at the golem. "He certainly was. I -hope- he didn't just come in here and kill a bunch of beings without reason. I'm going to assume there's a good reason, and that he's around here somewhere, though," she says, glancing around the room.
Natska frowns as she looks around the room again, then gives her head a shake. "Why out here?" she asks. "And... goodness. I would ask 'why the traps', but with golem parts in here I could see why." She because carefully poking around the area, looking for other doors or places things would be hid.
Hannibal steps back to look over the unveiled golem. "Well now it seems like someone has been keeping himself busy." He says while circling, and examining the golem, and the surrounding tools. His gaze hiwever eventuslly moves to lizard like hand in the floor. Which he crouches down next to, and picks up in one of his gloved hands. "Thelergramor, is a basilisk isn't he?" He asks as he looks over to the others.
Narska's poking around would reveal a larger door on the opposite end of the room, probably how the golem gets in and out, really. Past that is basically a straight shot to another door, likely the exit. Aside from that, only various personal affects of the wolf lying around. Y'know, inappropriate portraits, whiskey bottles, that type of stuff. Thelstuff.
As the dead cat's pockets are searched, a folded parchment, stained with blood, is found. Unfolding it would show a wanted poster with the likeness of the missing wolf along with a reward posted. Still wanted in Thera'Dor, it seems... Might explain the whole thing.
Amos grunts as he looks over the poster. "Didn't think the idiot's bounty would catch up to him out here," he says, then he produces a thin rapier and cuts down the last body for searching, along with that hand. Maybe there would be something else to help him identify the thugs. "It would also explain the crow," he says, "That'll be his old partner, Calisiel."
Cassidy frowns a little deeper, ears flicking. "Bounty hunters? Figured. I sure hope Calisiel hasn't turned on him, though. I'd be rather sad, if that were the case. I figured they were friends. We'll have to try to catch up to her sometime and find out."
Natska makes her way back to Amos and Cassidy, and Hannibal, frowning deeply as she thinks. "Does the poster want him dead? Alive? Either? Do you think there were more, and they got him?" she asks, although her head tilts. "Then why tarp the golem again, hmm..."
Hannibal sets the severed hand back down where he found
Hannibal sets the severed hand back down where he found it. He could aleays bring it with him in the off chance the hand does belong to the missing wolf, and there may be time to reattach it. However he really doesnt feel like carrying a hand around. So there he leaves it as he joins the others.
On further inspection, the poster doesn't clarify dead or alive, just that they want him. Not a good sign, seeing as how there are three dead men and a severed hand around.
The third body, the squid, has an identical wanted poster and pretty much all the same gear as the others. Though, he also has a letter in one pocket. But, it turns out to just be from his bondmate, and offers little use to anyhone presently gathered aside from her name.
But, there stands the party, with information, while the wolf probably just keeps getting farther away...
Amos stands with a growl. "Bloody wolf," he rasps, "This is how he gets himself even deeper in it!" He looks around at the mess and gives the golem a solid kick. "We'll just have to catch up with him before his fan club does," he says, "Owner of that hand is still out there somewhere." The scarred Tomcat heads for the exit, ready with a story for the guards and a map of the shanties in his head. It was going to be a long one.
"What species does the hang look like it belongs to?" Cassidy asks, spinning around to see if anyone has it. "That might be our best lead, really. And we should probably sweep around the shanties to see if anyone knows anything. I still have a few contacts around here."
"It had scales," Natska offers. "... well. I'm going down this hallway," she says, nodding towards the back, "and looking for blood trails. Or signs of passage. Hands don't just fall off..."
Hannibal spins on his heels, and heads off to retrieve the hand. From where he had set it down. Before rejoining the woman with reptilisn hand....in hand. "The sooner we find the owner of this hand the hetter. I would guess."
Given the large amount of blood near the corpses, and lack of blood anhywhere else, the severed hand was likely removed near the entrance. That said, with a lack of any visible trail leading anywhere else from what was definintely a bleeding wound... Medical treatment was likely performed. Or, magical cauterization with fire math.
Problem being, there's no visible trail to follow! And with only two entrances/exits and one being hidden (And discovered by Natska) it leaves only one possible way out. From this room, anyway. The other passages that led around the building weren't disturbed, so it's likely they left the way they came...
Cassidy turns to follow after Natska, intent on checking out that little hidden passage. "Maybe someone's still back there. Never know! Worth a look, at least. Need to be thorough."
Natska shakes her head. "It doesn't look like anything went that way," she replies. "Then again... I suppose we do need to be complete." She makes her way down the back hallway to the door, checking for signs of passage, then opens the door to look out.
Hannibal digs a rag out of his pack, and wraps the hand in it. Before stuffing it into his pack. He frowns, and follows the women. Wondering if maybe they should be heading back out the wsy they came seeing as it seems thst if the hand does belong to Thelergramor. It is probably likely that he fled the building the way they came.
As the three move into the hallway, they trigger a trap. A simple one, if far more hidden than the ones in the first passage. From out of the walls, several crossbow bolts are shot into the hallway, easily avoided by Natska. Cassidy and Hannibal see it coming however, and even had Natska not been able to dodge it, could easily have pulled her out of the way... Or had Hannibal's divine shield block it first. The trigger is far from obvious, looking to be a series of pressure plates in the floor. Which, seem to go to the end and haven't been tripped. Aside from the ones being set off by the group. Cassidy can find the disarm switch quite easil, were she of a mind to turn it off before Natska reaches the end.
But at the other end, it opens out into Shanty Town, concealed behind bushes and torn up shacks... not inconspicuous at all. How the guards missed it is odd. Blind.
Cassidy peers at the trap mechanism and wrinkles her nose, whiskers twitching behind her mask as she moves forward to disarm it with a practiced hand. "Do they probably out out then, it looks like. Well... That's relieving, I guess."
Natska recovers her poise after having dodged the trap, frowning. "Well... -they- didn't go this way. I wonder if the mysterious wolf did..." she sighs, then shakes her head, before turning around to head back to the group at the front of the house. "Nothing here, though."
Hannibal having managed to avoid the trap. "Well I am gonna go ahead, and assume that this means. That however survived left the wayy we came. If the hand belongs to the victim he probsbly wouldnt have taken the time to hide thst exit, and reset the traps with one hand...."
Cassidy rubs the back of her head as she looks around the hallway and sighs. "Well... Is that it, then? Think we missed anything, or shall we turn our search elsewhere? I'm not hearing anything in the building, at least."
"Yes," Natska says, agreeing with Hannibal. "And yes, Cass. That seems to be it, then. I can't find any clues or a trail, so we should probably go report to the gentleman in charge and see if he turns up..."
seeing as everyone seems to be in agreement. The coywolf quicly turns, and heads back the wsy they entered the building. "Let's just hope we can pick up the trsil quickly."
As Hannibal gets back outside through the 'main' entrance, with no issues encountered, Ipswitch is waiting for him. "Amos already told me what he found. See anything else in there after he took off?" The other guards look bored, don't seem to want to keep standing around. The badger doesn't look much happier than he did before, really.
The impoverished beings who lived in the shacks around the workshop don't seem to have begun returning yet.
Cassidy shakes her head, tucking her hands behind her back. "No. Nothing of any real note. Someone is missing a hand, though. Keep an eye out for... Wait a minute. Thel is a basilisk sacred family dedicant, isn't he? You don't suppose it's his hand?"
Natska shakes her head as well. "Nothing new, no. No extra clues. No trail. And it could very well be, Cass. Or one of his attackers, if they got away." She sighs. "As much as I hate to say it, I don't know if we have a way to track him down, aside from wandering around and asking people if they saw a basilisk."
Hannibal puts his hands up in the air, and shrugs his shoulders."Yeah didnt't turn up anything nee since that guy left......Sooo any news on involving the crow?"
Ipswitch shakes his head. "No, but I doubt she'll be too hard to find. The face stripe sort of makes her stand out in a crowd. I'll have my people look for her, but... Well, you see them. Lazy bastards, all of 'em. Hate getting the new conscripts... But, basilisk, huh? I'll tell them that too." The badger peers around, then shrugs. "Right, we'll go through the rest of the shit in there, since you don't look hurt, we'll assume the traps are off. We'll inform you if we find anything else or the crow."
Cassidy nods and rubs her chin, turning to offer her arm to Natska. "Shall we get on, then? I think we're done here. Might as well go on with our day, hm?"
Natska sighs, then nods her head and takes Cass' arm in hers. She smiles, checks to make sure her hat is properly in place, then sets off with Cass back towards teh city's outskirts.
Hannibal scratches his chin, and nods ehile listening to the others speak. "Well I have nothing better to myself. Sooooo ai think ai nay keep looking around the area on my own well sort of on my own anyways. See if can't find
anymore clues."
Ipswitch nods, then signals his guards to get on back in there. Which they do, reluctantly. "Don't let me stop you. Just tell me if you see anything useful." After speaking, the badger goes off to complain at some of his men who aren't looking around, before heading inside to help with searching... Leaving the only real lead left to be Calisiel, if anyone can find her...
Tuens on his heels, strolling away from the building. Swapping his soul gem back out, and directs his machines to follow him. Waving his hand casuaully. "Yeah yeah you'll be the first to know if si find anything. He says as he heads off deeper into shanty town.
