The Show Must Go On Part 1 - RPLOG
Participants
Date
11/4/477
Log
A fine spring morning, just after noon mass. The trees along the walkways of Saint's Square are in full bloom, light purple petals littering the cobblestones by the statues of the six Creator Saints. In the middle of the square, before the grand Creator Church, a lavish stage has been put together, complete with movable backdrops, spaces for the musicians, a fenced-off area for noble seating, and guards aplenty to police the crowd.
Opera is still largely unknown in Sweetwater, this strange mix of song, instruments and storytelling, and it's gathered quite the crowd - the fact that entry is free notwithstanding, even if there's only standing room about. Hand-drawn poster proclaim that the main singer, Zora Yegorova, will be performing a small segment from a production that has been in her family for generations.
Fenris is already in a seat as close to the stage as the common folk are allowed. It has been years since he has heard an opera! The art form had just never caught on in Sweetwater, but his travels had taken him much further than most and he had fallen in love with the pageantry of the Thera'Doran opera long ago. This was his first time to hear the great Zora Yegorova though! The tiger had never been able to afford tickets to her performances, and her she was, singing for free!
Kalt makes her way through the fine spring morning, her arms and armor retired in exchange for a nice looking brown dress, and a wide brimmed hat. The Vixen not looking the part of the fighter she was, with silver bands around each wrist, and even her ankles! She had even busted out perfume for the occassion, and let out a nice pleasent aroma of flowers. Making her way through the crowd, she stops near Fenris and smiles to him. "Busy day ain't it?"
Bite sways into the Saint's Square, the day a nice one for a walk when she discovers a little stage! It seems a production is going on, and the serpent is always one for a good show. She moves to a favoriaible position, inspecting for some form of crown collector to be sure shes not free loading, but she does seem interested in what this little performance might be.
Glein looks around the crowd he'd mingled into, noting the high number of guards and the fairly thick crowd's interested in what this free performance was about. Glein himself, was amongst the regular folk, new to the city. He made sure to keep his tools of his trade hidden under his cloak, though he didn't bring up the hood. That would just spark all kinds of questions. Heck, he even had the look of a travel just off the road still.
As close as commoners can get is quite close, right up to a makeshift pit for musicians fashioned from a waist-high wooden fence and awning. Odd, though, how the musicians haven't taken up their positions, nor even brought out their instruments. Moments tick by as the stage remains empty and the sun climbs higher in the sky, the crowd growing more agitated as their promised entertainment fails to materialise. Eventually, though, a small folk penguin in a tux and breeches waddles up the stage, looking quite worried at all the piercing gazes levelled at him.
"Good beings...I'm afraid we will be unable to hold the opening production today, due to unforeseen circumstances. Please, do come back tomorrow - some essentials appear to be lost..."
Another voice practically shrieks from backstage, causing the penguin to wince."Lost? How do you lose a wagon's worth of instruments, you cretin? Wasn't the train in order when we departed the last stop?"
Fenris waves a friendly hello to Kalt, then droops with disappointment at the announcement that the performance is to be cancelled. "I was so excited too," he says to Kalt. It seems like he is about to expound on the opera, but he is cut off by the shrill cry from backstage. He waves a hand to the penguin from his place by the pit. "If it's a question of accompaniment," he says, just loudly enough to be heard across the gap, "I can provide a string quartet." The tiger watches the bird sweat a little, "Or maybe I can be of service some other way?" The tiger taps the lightbringer insignia on his belt that marks him as local law enforcement. Sorta.
Kalt winces slightly as they cancel it, letting off a gentle sigh as she nods to Fenris. "I know whatcha mean an' such... Wouldn't be mindin' to hear how she's signin' an' all..." When Fenris offers his help though, she's quick to straighten her back and raise her own hand up. "Oh! I can go 'bout helpin' too an' such! I ain't much for playin' instruments, but I can go an' try to figure what went on with the instruments an' all!" She didn't have a fancy badge like fenris, but she could hope to help.
Bite sways up to the rather clear probleme, and listneing to the others hisses "Well sssweetie, you have a problem. I can attempt to help play, but I'm sure you'd be emuch more interested in your instruments so it sounds right wouldn't you? Bite of the Ironsoul Defenders at your service. Is there anything you can tell us about where these instruments may have wandered off to... between your last two locations it sounds like?
Well wasn't this just peachy. Glein shrugs, and figures, what the hell. Good place to start in building a network here as any. Maybe even get some creditionals that aren't mired back in Cliffside. Walking up, he noticed that three others had offered help as well. "I'm willing to help. Information gathering is something I do-did back in Cliffside." He says, giving a nod to the three others present.
The penguin gulps. The poor fellow - being manager to a pampered diva must be exhausting. At least the crowd is quickly calmed by glares from the well-armed city guard leading folk away from the scene, while the feminine cursing coming from backstage is getting louder, until the curtains part and a rather delicate and fine-boned swan steps out.
"Thank you for your consideration," she says to them, her demeanour instantly changing as she turns away from her manager. "But I'm afraid that even as soulless, I doubt you'll be able to learn the whole opera within twenty minutes, nor replace the entire twenty-five-being band all by your lonesomes. No, today's performance will have to be cancelled, no thanks to this waddling fool here.
A swish of exquisite fabrics. "But from the looks of you, you are Freeswords, are you not? Many of the pieces - especially the string and brass instruments - have much in the way of both monetary and sentimental value, being antiques that have been passed in my house for generations. That is, until this fool here managed to lose them somehow - the last time I personally checked them was at the wayhouse outside the city gates last night, and it is only now, just before the performance, that he discovers they are gone." she sighs "we will contact law enforcement, I suppose, but most of them are largely useless and time is off the essence. If you can find out what happened to them, there will be a rich reward in it for you. Any questions?"
Fenris grins, excited to finally meet the diva in person. "I imagine that I already know the best bits of the opera," he says, "But I cannot replace an orchestra, you are right." The tiger frowns at the swan's explanation on the timetable of the missing Instruments. "I would be happy to help," he says, "Perhaps we should start with the wagons?"
Kalt nods as she smiles and stands besides Fenris, her hands clasping behind her back. "Yes'm Ma'am. We're Freeswords an' such, an' it'd be a pleasure to be off helpin' you." She has a moment of contemplation as her fluffy tail sways behind her as she hrms and nods to herself. "Were the wagons locked at all, an if'n they were, were they damaged at all?"
Bite waves to the swan as she appears, thinking to herself before hissing "Well then sssweetheart I guess we'll begin immediately. THe wagons would be a good start, we should go immediately." she says with a smile and a nod. Her tail sways at the thought of a reward.
Glein nods. "Which way to the wagons, that way we can look over them." He says, feeling like at this point he was just spouting what others had said. Still, better to look at the wagon's themselves, see what'd been done, then trace things back to the wayhouse.
Zora waits for the crowd to disperse a bit before replying, some of the other stagehands and performers now deigning to peek out from backstage despite the diva's displeasure. A scowl does not suit her pretty face. "They were fine. As I mentioned, I personally oversaw the inventory being taken and the boxes resealed. My house's heirlooms, after all - my responsibility. Afterwards, the wagons in the train were seen into shelter by a bunch of cats, workers in the rest stop - we checked that all the boxes were present and in good shape before leaving." She waves a feathered hand. "Please. It is by the church, behind the stage. Look at it all you want - there is nothing of value left in that particular wagon to take, anyway."
Fenris's ears perk up when Zora mentions a group of cats being responsible for tending to the instruments. "Sounds like disaffected Longtails," he murmurs, especially displeased since Flora was working so hard to reestablish the shattered noble house. He sweeps a low bow to the Diva and saunters over toward the indicated shelter beside the church, admiring the lovely stage as he goes. "We will find your instruments, Lady," he says.
Kalt gives a quick bow to the Diva before she turns to follow off after Fenris, ears flicking as she frowns and pats herself down... Pulling out a second soulgem that she slips into her pendant before tucking it back away... Just in case things -did- get dicey. "They ain't usually the best at goin' bout coverin' their tracks an' such really..."
Bite starts swapping her soul gems as she hears the problem. "I think we should go check the warehouse soon.. maybe theres a clue on the wagons but it sounds like the warehouse is the place to start." she hisses and nods. "Those do sound like folks we should speak tos ince they handled them." The serpent follows the others, but keeps an eye out.
Glein shrugs, and follows behind. Best to get started quickly. "So, we've instruments missing, last seen in teh warehouse of the wayhouse. Is it possible that the crates were swapped with empty fakes." He guesses, thinking of the way's to smuggle a whole wagon's load of instruments away. "Should have asked if the crate's contents were checked every so often. Not just if the crate's were in good condition."
As everyone approaches the wagon mentioned, it is indeed quite impressive, as is required to hold an orchestra's tools of the trade. Gaily painted in the same colours as the rest of the wagon train, several of the boxes lie open, no doubt from when the orchestra had intended to set up. The indentations on the rich padding indeed suggest that these are the same containers which had held the precious pieces...only they're empty now.
"Where are the workers who were responsible for storing the wagon and the instruments," Fenris asks authoritatively. Looking over the opened boxes, he runs a finger over the sealing glue on the crates. "These were opened, then resealed," he observes, "There are multiple layers of glue on these crates." He looks around, "Who had access to these wagons last night?" he asks, a green question mark slowly manifesting itself on the exposed white of his chest.
Kalt taps her chin gently as she looks over the wagon, walking along the outside as she hmms... Eventually rejoining back with Fenris and the others as she shakes her head gently. The Vixen left in thought as to how the managed to just take it all and leave without being seen... It's not like it was a box of lutes after all.
Bite approaches the wagons and examines thtem herself, nodding to Fenris as she says "There's dust on this wagon too... but not on the others?" Bite looks around. "It smells a bit odd too." she hisses as she looks the wagon over once more. "I'd really like to meet whoever handled these."
What a curious group that was! Cassidy didn't often see such a gathering, and coming back from her daily hunting she didn't have any other plans... So she shuffled right on up without any concern for discretion, picking up pace in order to catch up to the group. "What's all this, then?" Certainly dressed for the outdoors and work, her dress gone in favour of her leather armour and bows. "And I hope you don't mind my coming along. Because I didn't plan on leaving, now that I'm here!" She leans to the side, taking a peek at the wagon and, for the most part, acting like she had been there all along. "Those sure are some fancy boxes."
Glein climbs into the wagon, and carefully looks over things, but doesn't see anything strange. "It's possible they did a yank while unloading or reloading the wagon. I don't see anything that indicates they did it in teh wagon itself." He says, hopping out and back onto the ground.
Fenris looks over at Bite. "Dust?" he asks, looking at the wagon, a perfect, purple question mark appearing on his cheek, "Why would there be dust in a wagon that has been traveling?" The tiger sniffs at the air, trying to detect the scent that Bite had noticed. "Hello, Lady Solacious," he says idly as he continues to dig around the wagon. Looking back at Bite he frowns, "What are the odds that this is an entirely different wagon than the one we are looking for?"
Kalt blinks as Cassidy appears, tipping her hat slightly to the fennec as she clears her throat. "Afternoon Ma'am. Ain't nuttin' but us tryin' to figure out where some folks went an' stole some instruments off too an' all... Doin' it for the big 'opera' Diva that's round an' such. I'm figurin' if'n we find'em, we may be gettin' to go backstage an' such..." She turns then to look to Fenris as she lets out a hmm, followed by her looking to the ground to check for wagon marks... Seeing -if- the dusty wagon had actually moved, and if it had, where it had come from. "Well, M'figurin' we've seen stranger stuff'n such."
Bite nods to Fenris. "If thats the case someone who knew they were coming and had a wagon... similar to theirs was involved... all of this encourages me to suggest we visit those workers, theres a lot out of place here. You said you left the wagons with them right, after checking everything?" she quizzes towards the swan.
Cassidy gives a polite wave to Kalt and Fenris, smiling. "Hello... And missing instruments, huh? Interesting..." She glances around, peeking under the cart, though not really expecting to find anything. "Do we know anything at all about... This? Why? Who? Or are we starting from square one?"
Glein looks over the wagon, and glances at one of hte other's present. "Should we compare the wagons? See if their markings are the same? Might spot a difference there that'll give us a clue as to which direction to look. The only question is why, if they used a different wagon, why did they go through the trouble of leaving the right boxes?"
"Yes. They worked under the supervision of my people while the wagons were put under shelter, but most of us were tired from travelling all the way south and wanted rest after everything had been secured. It's...not impossible that they could have had unsupervised access, even for a moment, although if this is as you say...we did not plan to stop there. The original plans were to enter the city proper and seek accommodation there, but we arrived late and found the gates closed on us." she turns briefly to Glein. "No. I know all of these vehicles, they are mine. There is no doubt about that. Now, this whole event has left me rather distressed...and I still need to have harsh words with my manager. Please, if you find anything, do return to let me know."
Maybe there isn't anything left here for everyone to find, but in that case, where to next?
Fenris frowns, new question marks dancing across his fur. "This was a trap," he says with certainty, "The gates should not have been closed." The tiger looks to his comrades, "I think we need to pay a visit to the guard house at the gates," he says.
Kalt frowns as she thinks for a moment before looking to the others as she paces slightly, tapping her chin gently while in thought. "... If'n the gates were closed an' such... It'd be worth a look see an' such I figure. 'Sides, we'd need to go passin' through to go to the other spot an' such anywho right?"
Bite hisses "I'm okay with stopping off on the way to the warehouse sssweeties, lets go."
Cassidy tilts her head, ears perking. "I'll catch up with you there, I think I heard something. I'm going to go check it out, yeah? Don't get yourselves in trouble, I don't want to have to bail you out," she teases before turning and jaunting off to investigate what she 'heard'.
Glein shrugs. "I suppose we can hit the guard house on our way to the wayhouse. We'd be passing it as we go anyways." He says, adjusting his traveling pack a little. He watched the Fennec dash off, and shakes his head. "Sprity little thing, ain't she?"
It's not too far to the guard house from Saint's Square from here, all distances considered. At this time of day, the place is busier than usual, with beings leaving from Noon Mass flowing out of Firmament. The guard house itself is a part of the city walls, having being built into it, and is clearly well-staffed at all times of day.
Fenris saunters to the guardhouse, flashing his Lightbringer's insignia. Approaching the duty guard, he asks, "Do you know who was on the gates last night?" He watches as the river of beings flows in and out of Firmament. "And are they here? I have a few questions for them," he says with an easy smile.
Kalt keeps close behind Fenris, not enough time given for her to run and get her arms and armor but... Well she'd have to make do really. She doesn't speak much when Fenris begins to enquire about the guards, but instead begins to look at all the guards present... Checking to really see if there were any cats amongst them. Just in case.
Glein watches, keeping track of the group he'd joined up with, and looking out at the road. He was the newcomer to begin with, so he figured he'd wait and see.
The guard on duty, a gator, confers with someone out of sight, glancing at Fenris' lightbringer badge through the window that separates them. "That would be me," he says, then adds after a moment's thought, "sir. Just got back on duty myself - is there any business you have?"
Fenris nods and gives the gator a friendly smile. "Just checking in about the Thera'Doran singer's caravan," he says, "Did they come through here last night?" Fenris does his best to try to see behind the gator without seeming over anxious. "Was your backup with you last night too?" he asks.
The guard nods. "We had a special dispensation to open the gate for her past hours, but she turned up in the middle of the night about a handful of hours late, right when there're still shadows and their like roaming about. Couldn't leave her on the road, but wasn't about to risk opening it for even someone like her...string of bad luck, really. She had a couple of really bad wheels, and we spared her some fresh ones from the inventory...some of her wagons in the train looked like they were on their last legs and wouldn't make it even that far. If I didn't know better, I'd wager the spokes had been sawn instead of snapped."
Kalt nods as she listens tothe guard, tilting her head gently as she frown and realizes they didn't check the wheels. "... Hm... Well, figurin' I didn't take a peek at their spokes an' such... Any of you catch sumptin' like that from their wagons an' such?"
Bite hisses "Can we take a look at the damaged wheels to be sure?" The serpent looks to the gator, offering a smile and a sincere wink. "Oh and do you know exactly what time they came by, so we can try and sync all this up?"
Cassidy jogs back up to the group, stopping to pant once she reaches them. "False alarm," she says between pants. "Just some goose practicing with his lute... Not one of the missing instruments, either." After taking a moment to compose herself, the fennec straightens up and adjusts her cloak. "Anyway! Did you uncover anything new?"
Glein nods. "If they were sawn as opposed to broken, it raises the possibility of this whole thing being a trap for the miss's caravan to be waylaid in that specific wayhouse."
"Well, we still have them...give me a moment. Malcolm, go get these folk those wheels we were saving for requisitions, right? And make them sign one of those forms while at it, just so to cover our asses. And as for the time..." he ruffles through a logbook. "Her dispensation was until midnight. The train came by about three."
Before long, another guard steps out, bearing three large, sturdy-looking wheels in his arms. Yes, indeed, it seems like the spokes have been sawn halfway through - the lines are straight, then jagged where the shocks of travel have done the rest.
Fenris looks over the requisition forms and the logbook. "Yes," he says, "That sounds about right." He looks back up at the guard. "Who was responsible for replacing the wheels?" he asks, "Diva Zora mentioned a group of cats who helped tend to the wagons. Anyone you know?"
"Cats? Aren't any cats posted on this week's guard detail, or working at the wayhouse. Sandra's owned the place for a long while and she sure hasn't hired one for as long..." the guard sniffs at the air, craning his neck out from the window as he peers at the group. "I take it there's something brewing?"
Kalt sighs as she rubs at the back of her neck as she looks at the wheel, nodding at the fact it was indeed -sawed- and not broken. "... M'curious how none of'em figured they're wheels were cut an' such... Maybe cause it was dark an' what not? An' it sounds like we'll be needin' to talk with Sandra too an' such..."
Bite tilts her head. "No cats? The nice swan said cats. Someone who wasn't authorized to do the job came and helped them by chance? I wonder why they were late... maybe they wre stalled... we need to find those cats." she hisses with a nod. "Shall we go to the warehouse?"
Cassidy tilts her head, ears swiveling around. "This sure was a pretty organized theft of some musical instruments, don't you think? But perhaps we should investigate that warehouse, yes... Not only do I want to see the stolen things returned, I am insanely curious, now! This is a very interesting thing..."
Glein nods. "Stalled somewhere, then the wheels tampered with... I'm also betting the wayhouse htey stopped at wasn't a wayhouse."
It looks like everyone's off to the wayhouse, and what looks like to be a rather organised crime heist pulled off by what looks more and more to be the Longtails. Will the crime be solved? More in part 2!
