A CrawlwayThe Depths, SharnDarren O'Dekker, seeker
In a sewer beneath the city, Darren O'Dekker draws patterns in the dirt of the cramped crawlway he lays in. Ineligible in any language, O'Dekker's scrawls are similar to the Prophecy marks found throughout Eberron.
Eyes closed tight, his mind is somewhere faraway. He sees lines--circles--linking together. As he draws, he sees one dot which is fainter than the others, not yet formed. A tankard of ale with a solid chip in the rim floats before him. "Cliffside," he mutters, remembering a tavern he passed on his investigations, as he sets out to kill whatever abomination clutters the Prophecy.
The Chipped MugUpper DuraKarash and Wall, investigators
She kept talking, and Karash tried to keep his expression set to somewhere around "interested", but he was having a hard time. Wall seemed fascinated as she continued on with her tale of an adulterous husband. If she'd told Karash up front she didn't have any money, it would have saved everybody some trouble.
A loud commotion out front, following an earthy thud, is the interruption that Karash had been looking for.
"Gotta say, I have bad luck with these types of cases," Karash says, handing her the card of Jones Investigations, his main competition. "You should check this guy out. He's the best. He doesn't even worry about money, so just don't even mention the budget until later. If you'll excuse us, we should attend to whatever ruckus is happening out front."
Tipping their hats and leaving a few coins for the waitress, the two leave the flustered young woman behind as they head out into the streets.
The Chipped MugTarak Velasto, lost soldier
Tarak vaguely recognizes Karash and Wall. He has only recently arrived at Sharn, but found their names while searching for people to help him find his missing wife. Based on a recommendation, though, he hired Jones Investigations, who only found out that his wife may have been one of the many refugees who came into Sharn. In the end, all of his coin bought only the knowledge that spouses were kept in Sharn, and unmarried men and women were sent to rural villages.
"Maybe I should have hired Karash," he muses, as the two walk outside to investigate the noise.
Following them out of curiosity, he is horrified to see his wife laying on the cobblestones of Upper Dura.
A small tavernUpper DuraSameedri, the forger
Leaving the safety of a ritually silenced private room, Sameedri counts the meager coins in his pouch. Another job done, another night at his cheap boarding house paid for. He hears a commotion ahead, and heads forwardly cautiously, not one to put himself into trouble.
As he steps forward, he sees a body, missing it's left hand, lying on the cobblestones. A rush of magic hits him, causing his head to reel for a moment. What was that? he asks himself rhetorically, as the Sharn Watch approaches, ordering everyone to stay where they are.
The Crime SceneThe Party
Karash and Wall are blocked from seeing the body directly by a small crowd of pilgrims, but Tarak has a front-row view having come up their side.
Karash notes a gnome who stands off to the other side, reeling slightly.
Is it the sight, or the smelly beast behind him? he asks himself, as he sees a half-orc purposefully walking up behind him, bearing the Mark of Finding.
The Sharn Watch is already here, and he recognizes Captain Harris as the man attempts to organize everyone into groups to question.
Posts
Careful not to disturb the body, Karash saunters over to the Captain doing his best to look all business.
"Hell of a night for something like this, eh Harris?"
Reaching into his coat, the half-orc produces a pipe, lights it and takes a deep puff.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
I do not recall the Jones company being particularly prone to that sort of generosity, you may have accidentally...
...before breaking off to greet the captain as though he had only just noticed what was going on
Good evening Captain. I trust your evening has been better than it appears to be about to become?
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"Sir... it's my father." Williams croaks out, holding back tears, as he inspects the corpse.
"Alesombra...what have they done to you? I've come so far...but I still couldn't protect you. I'm so sorry, my love..."
Through teary eyes, Tarak turns his head toward the young officer and croaks, "What are you talking about? This isn't your father; this is my poor wife!"
1d20+12=31
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A rough-looking man, probably of middle-age but prematurely older, wearing ragged clothes. Wherever he fell from, it was far from his usual environs.
With his mastery of magic, it's relatively easy for him to break the spell, and he does so, causing the features to dissolve before the viewers into their true form.
"What in Khyber is happening," Captain Harris swears under his breath, his hand going to his sword.
An apparently artificial perceptual inconsistency. Your colleague saw his father. That individual perceived his wife. Apparently, everyone else saw the body change also, but who was expecting that change?
Perception check to scan the crowd for whoever was least surprised by the body's shape changing then.
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The big half-orc shoulders his way past the guard to get a closer look at the newly revealed body.
"What in Khyber could do something like this?"
Streetwise check through Secrets of the City for Arcana/History: 1d20+11 29
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
"Karash... I know you're an investigator, but I can't have you just disturbing the evidence," Captain Harris says, clearing his throat gently. "This is still a Sharn Watch case."
"First order of business though is finding out who dispelled the illusion. You two, step forward," he says, indicating Darren and Sameedri. "Either of you have anything to add to this discussion?"
Treat this as a skill challenge, which it basically is--let me know what you're doing, and pick a skill you think reflects your efforts.
Sameedri steps forward and does his best to look official. "Sameedri at your service, Captain. I believe I can help you with that first order. I dispelled the illusion. I'm something of an expert in... such matters. I would be happy to assist you in any way that I can."
Diplomacy check to convince the Captain that I am trustworthy.
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"Karash, if you want to look into this, I'd appreciate it, frankly. The Watch really doesn't get that involved in murders that involve folks from the lower Wards. I'm even able to offer a small payment. The City Council authorizes me to hire up to five consultants to look into matters, so that's you, Wall, this helpful fellow, and two assistants.
If you're interested, I'll give you papers to certify you are working for the Watch. Only condition is you do whatever you can to bring the killer in alive. I can't guarantee you immunity from the law otherwise."
Tarak (and fighters in general!) aren't the talking type, though I am trained in Intimidate. It doesn't seem appropriate here.
While he waits for the Captain to gather the paperwork, Karash surveys his motley crew of would-be investigators.
They don't look like much, but I guess they'll have to do.
Now, where do we start?
Streetwise for good trees to shake and/or heads to crack: 1d20+11 17
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
Will the Watch be examining the body officially, Captain? If his supposition is true, it might be confirmed by additional markings on the body, would it not?
before stooping as best he could to examine the cut wrist without disturbing the scene.
Heal check to note anything unusual about the severed limb.
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"Cultusts. I smell their work all over this," the smelly half-orc says, stepping forward. "Darren O'Dekker, hunter, formerly of House Thasarak. I'll join you if you'll have me. I have some experience in dealing with the demon worshippers."
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@Wall the victim appears to have been strangled, judging by the marks around his neck, but you can't tell much more than that. You can use Heal again to try and determine cause of death, or you can wait for the Sharn Watch to inspect the body, which will probably take until tomorrow.
"We'll have the body moved to our morgue pre-cremation, but you're welcome to inspect it here, and come by there with the IDs we'll give you, Wall," Harris says. "We've just about finished taking statements from the other witnesses. I'm going to go back on patrol, but I'll leave two men here to remove the body when you are done searching it to your liking. Why don't you stop by my office later to get the IDs? We'll have them ready in about two hours."
"Why the hades not. What's another set of tusks, we're not going to solve this by being pretty.
If we're going to go, we might as well get going."
If anyone wants to continue investigating here I'll wait. Otherwise Karash is going to start handing out marching orders.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
The missing hand and general strangeness pointed to cultists, but he still needed evidence.
The unusual looking half-orc adjusts his headband holding back his white hair and darts his equally white eyes around quickly.
Perception 20
Nature 25
The critical thing seems to be the hand. Why was it removed? What was relevant about the hand? Where was it now?
As he wonders, he searches the pockets and garments of the deceased. A few coins--almost worthless but confirming his suspicion that this wasn't a simple killing for money--a handbill for Blackstone Church in Fallen, one of the slum districts of Lower Dura.
Blackstone Church is known as a refuge for the poor and downtrodden, and is the only church in the slums of Sharn.
Darren would know of Blackstone Church--as would Karash & Wall and probably Kilroy--basically anyone who spent time in Sharn, especially in the lower levels. http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/sharn-noir/wikis/blackstone-church
The church is well known in the lower quarters. Perhaps Friar Pierce or one of his staff would recognise this person?
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"If only we had some way to reproduce this poor person's image without actually taking along their head."
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
Regarding the imagery; are there not many artists in Sharn?
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Could I use Prestidigitation to create an image of the man?
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"Let's get moving then," Darren snorts. "Sameedri can draw him so we don't have to draw flies."
Darren seems ready to leave, before turning to his new comrades, speaking as if he were struggling to remember some arcane ritual, "We can move him first though...last rites and shelter from the elements are the least we owe the dead, I suppose."
"Well, I'm no artist, but I think that should do it."
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I say we head out and follow up our one solid lead.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
The actual district is Fallen, named after a massive glass tower which collapsed (no one knows why) into the district. The area directly around the tower is very dangerous, and inhabited by insane people. Oftentimes, deranged individuals are dumped into Fallen as if it was an asylum, so it isn't the best neighborhood.
Yes; if you can reproduce that image at will, we should endeavour to reach the friar before rumour does.
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Current Status
Skill Challenge: (Level 3, complexity 4 success before 3 failures, 150 xp)
Skills used:
Arcana (Kilroy) success!
Perception (Wall) no effect
Streetwise (Karash) success!
Diplomacy Check (Kilroy) success!
Streetwise (Karash) no effect
Heal (Wall) failure
Perception (Darren) success
Nature (Darren) no effect
I wasn't sure how to handle Perception. I wish I'd just freeformed it, saying if he got a success, "you search the pocket" and if he failed not mentioning pockets, so it is as if he was being careless or just wasn't thinking. Next time!
Arrest a Murderer (ongoing)
Major Quest (Level 3, 750 XP, 380 gp)
Captain Harris has hired you to bring the murderer to justice. You will need to bring him in alive, or may face some problems of your own.
Streetwise: 1d20+2 17