Revision as of 03:11, 10 April 2015

Participants

• Cassidy
• Fenris
• Hannibal
• Natska
• Thelergramor

Date

9/4/478

Log

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