Goldbell's Clap, part 1

Log Info

• Title: Goldbell's Clap, part 1 *Bugged VP*
• Emitter: Jinks
• Characters: Jay, Khepri, Shilde, Slixvah
• Place: Alexandria, Lower Alexandrian Markets: The Goldbell Estate
• Time: Sunday, March 27, 2022, 2:02 PM
• Summary: he Goldbell estate is in disarray after a brazen assault on its staff and theft of a family's most precious heirloom. Four mercenaries arrive and encounter the grotesque, part-time gardener who seems to have a hobby collecting dead animals. The Aesir made and Veyshanti houseman are on the scene shortly and questioning begins. The grounds are scoured for clues while witnesses prove to be especially unreliable. The master of the house is an ass, too.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  Appearing  =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jay          5'9"     145 Lb     Eaglefolk         Male      A perky male Blue Jay with a discerning eye.
Khepri       6'10"    300 Lb     War Golem         Male      A tall, gangly war-golem draped in religious charms.
Shilde       4'4"     160 Lb     Khazad-Aul        Female    Tall for a dwarf, long blonde hair in a thick braid, big blue eyes.
Slixvah      5'8"     130 Lb     Eaglefolk         Female    A rust red and white Egalrin covered in veils, ribbons, and shawls.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  As the GM  =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jinks        3'4"     39 Lb      Gnome             Male      A gnomish fellow in fancy garb and jewelry.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

Home invasion! Assault! Burglary!

Grinder Goldbell VII, owner/operator of Goldbell's Mercantile has had an irreplaceable and invaluable family heirloom stolen from his recently-inherited home. His house guard was battered, bruised, and left for dead. The Lucht merchant is beside himself and will pay any* price to see his belongings returned.

Guild agents should assemble near the servant's entrance of the Goldbell "estate" tomorrow (Eliday) shortly after the morning meal.

*(standard guild rates upon job's satisfactory completion. Grinder is a businessman and has no inclination to go into charity work.)

GAME: Slixvah rolls bird diplomacy: aliased to diplomacy+3: (5)+3+3: 11 (+3 is the familiar's bonus)
GAME: Shilde rolls diplomacy: (7)+3: 10
GAME: Jay rolls knowledge/local: (12)+7: 19

Grinder Goldbell is something of a known-criminal in the community. Goldbell Mercantile IS a legit import/export business but he does shady stuff on the sly. It's generally-harmless stuff like smuggling and contraband but he's a net gain for the community (employing people, getting things hoi polloi might not be able to afford legit, etc) and bribes the right patrolmen.

Spring continues to settle comfortably in Alexandria. Clouds drift lazily through a calm blue sky in all shapes and sizes; the sort you might spend a lazy afternoon imaging into animals or random objects. A lazy afternoon you could spend if you didn't have to work, anyway.

The sun is high in the sky and the shadows cling close to their source. Standing at the back of the Goldbell 'estate' in an alley the occasional breeze is mild and cool. There's a solid wall about eight-feet high running the perimeter, interrupted by a large wooden gate. Both halves of the gate are painted with a bell in yellow. There's also a painted yellow arrow that points to a hanging rope run through the wall.

The left half of the gate (as you face it from the outside) hangs a bit cocked.

GAME: Jay rolls perception: (2)+12: 14
GAME: Shilde rolls perception: (9)+11: 20
GAME: Slixvah rolls alertness: aliased to perception+2: (5)+9+2: 16
GAME: Khepri rolls perception: (11)+8: 19

The gate is cocked after forced entry. There is a bootprint on the left gate and the hinge has started to come loose on the wall.

Poor maintenance, clearly. Nothing to see.

"Aha! We're here! /Yellllow Bell. You sit all alone like me./ Yellow Bell. Just pull on the rope and try not to have the gate fall on us." Integrity, a Bluejay Egalrin, flaps over to the gate and makes a beak-grin at Slixvah. "Grinder Goldbell is a pillar of the community!"

"Allegedly..."

"Goldbell mercantile /is/ a legitimate import/export business, able to find the occasional rare deal and get the good goods to the people. He also generously employs ex-criminals and donates regularly to the Secret Guardsmen's Ball. Regularly."

Khepri has been following along, answering in monosyllables when asked a question, and generally being about as interesting as pocket lint. But it seems to come to life when the group arrives at the gate, and it pauses, bringing its art-deco bird face closer to the gate, reaching out with one finger, not quite touching the mark left by the book. Suddenly it turns to look at the Jay with those weird yellow eyes, cocking its head.

"Armored boot. Standard size. Not a normal sneak-thief."

Poor Shilde is surrounded by birds and bird-alikes. At least she has a dog.

A colorfully dressed Egalrin woman rubs the underside of her beak. While her blue jay friend is awash with energy, this shawled and veiled folk was much more calm about it all. "Sounds like an upstanding fellow, sugar. Totally," she jokes sarcastically, narrowing her gaze at the indention. "... hmm... metal guy's right. Ain't no touch and go, more like a proper raid."

She puts a hand on Jay's shoulder. "Just keep your eyes peeled, blueberry," she advises with a hum. There's a gentle breeze that lazily wafts on by.

<OOC> Slixvah uses Hex: Ward on Jay. +2 Deflection to AC, +2 resistance to saves.

Shilde finds herself at the gate, accompanied by a dog that seems to be growing larger every day... Well, she's at the gate, looking suspiciously at the damage, while the dog seems to lose interest and wanders off a little bit to sniff at the wall. She confirms Khepri's assessment of the print with a nod, then looks up at the gate... and shrugs as she reaches forward and pushes the gate open with a moderate amount of effort. "Best go'n look then. Might still be able t'get paid."

The first bit is the hardest; the left half of the gate is leaning into the right half. When Shilde gives it a bit of an extra shove it clears and sags with a mild crunch. The hinge pulls further away from the wall and cracking, loose debris tumbleas as the gate swings open with a screeeEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAA--k.

There's a garden beyond the gate, green and blooming and a bit chaotic with a clear path towards a rear door. Past the rear door the outer wall of the first floor curves out. The convex wall is set with an abundance of windows. Windows of fogged glass set behind black iron bars. The ceiling is domed and creeps up towards the second storey.

There's a rustle in the green and a cowled head pops up. A morbidly obese man in a linen hood wearing a mask. He's alarmed and struggles awkwardly to his feet and more into view. He wears a baggy yellow shirt, stained and faded, and dirty brown pants with canvas sacks tied over his feet. He's holding a trowel.

"rbl... mmm... 'posed t' use th'bell!" he accuses, pointing the tiny shovel at the bell hanging inside the wall attached to the rope hanging outside the wall.

Khepri tilts its head, regarding the fat man with a blank expression (granted, it doesn't have any expressions beyond that). With an absolutely deadpan delivery, Khepri says, "Your gate appears to be broken." It turns to look back at it. "Someone kicked it, wearing heavy boots with armor plating. They must have wanted to gain entry very, very badly."

"As the group's lawyer, I did advise the normal notification procedure, but you never know when the client is going to go pro se." The bluejay hops up to the jaundiced trowel man, "Integrity C Truefeather, Esquire, at your service. The C is for contracted. Contracted is my middle name and we are here to help out with a guild assignment."

The Jay tailswishes at Slixvah, wobbling his head, "You are the wind beneath my wings."

Returning his attention to the gardener, he says, "Is our task to determine who damaged the gate? Or did Mr. Goldbell have another service in mind?"

"Rocky." Shilde glances at the trowel man, then looks to her dog... chances are the bird folk can deal with this fellow better than her. People like birds, right? Instead, she kneels beside the foot print and, when her dog comes over to join her, she pushes his tongue wagging face away from hers and then point to the print. "Find," she tells him, tapping her nose.

Slix puts her hands up and chirps sweetly. "Oh! Sorry hon! The door was already open, you know, open door policy and all that. Should put a sign that says to ring it instead of an arrow! It thought it was decoration!"

She flicks her gaze over the man. A feathered brow rising as she makes some observations. "... Goldbell must have put all the gold in the bells..." she tweets and chirps under her breath, just enough for Jay to hear. <Auran>

She blinks at Jay, then just chuckles to herself.

GAME: Shilde rolls 1d20+6: (16)+6: 22
GAME: Jinks rolls 1d20+18: (18)+18: 36
GAME: Jay rolls perception: (13)+12: 25

The gardener smells fucking AWFUL. Closing with him causes immediate regret. Just past him it's obvious that he's burying something in the flower bed. Something that's small and furry.

The gardener really isn't pleasant to look at but, thankfully, the lower half of his face is covered by a cloth mask and his crown and ears by his hood. Still, he looks pale and sweaty and pimply. He doesn't smell great, either; even from a distance. He steps back reflexively as Jay gets closer and holds up the trowel.

"mmmrgh... should wait by gate," the stinky gardener mumbles, flinching away. "Gosh come talk." He pokes the tool towards the back door. "Gosh talk. Urgle mmmmake flowersgg."

Rocky circles the print a few times, sniffing at it.. whining a little bit.. and then he starts ranging, wandering inside the gates. After a few moments it seems like he's found something as he jumps into a bush. He emerges scant seconds later with what looks like a muddy, rotting boot. It's a rat carcass. It is not even a close match for the bootprint.

The wingsweep and bow was a mistake; it's clear in how the bluejay recoils. His eyes widen and the nostrils twitch above his beak. If only he could close them, his eyes might not water for the olfactory assault.

"Ah... ah." He hops away from the gardener, towards the flower bed. "Planting the annuals? Snapdragons? Dogwood Bush? Are the seeds usually this big and fuzzy?"

With a talon'd foot, he's uncovering something that was being buried. Something small and furry.

Slixvah respectfully takes a step back to both save face and save her nose. "Right, right, apologies hon."

She's reaching for the rope just outside the gate, but she waits a beat for the others as they start to uncover buried things.

Khepri tilts its head quizzically again at the gardener, and approaches it. Unlike Jay, it's clearly not put off by the smell. Or maybe just not as much. "Speak clearly. The gods are unimpressed with incoherence and mumbled prayers. Clarity must be sustained." He leans down a little to try and understand the garbled words spilling out of the gardener's hood.

GAME: Khepri rolls perception: (3)+8: 11

Shilde makes a face, wrinkling her nose at Rocky's find once she's stepped inside the gardens to fully join the others. "Rocky! Spit that out! Y'dunno where it's been, dummy!" Of course, Rocky has crouched down by this point, gnawing on the rotted thing's tail, trying to pull if off while he holds the slightly mushy body still with a paw.

The fat man stumbles backwards, clutching the trowel in both hands and wringing the handle. "mmmm..." he sputters and issues a little cough, the mask gets wet. Wetter. "No! Rrrgh. Bad d-dog!" He disengages a bulbous hand and waves away jay. "B-bad b-birb! Mmmmm." Antsy, he drops the trowel and falls to his knees, reaching for a shovel as he grumbles under his breath. "flowerssss, mine..."

The awkward creature is near to panic. He doesn't like people in his garden!

And then the back door slams open and a big Aesir woman jumps out wielding a wooden-hafted chandelier snuffer like a pike. "Y'THOUGHT T'COME BACK FER MORE!?" She shallenges through a snarl.

Behind her is a coastal Veyshanti man exiting the back door with far more caution. He holds a fire poker high in two hands. His robes are red and orange and the fabric has a sheen in the morning sunlight.

Slixvah, blinking dumbly at all this, just slooowly pulls the rope twice.

Ding ding. "... good heavens, we're just here to check out what's going on... get your tailfeathers outta a knot," she loudly coos from the gate. "Really, you lot need a sign that say to ring for service."

Khepri simply stares at the strange little gardener, before starting to back off again. Then it looks to the others in confusion. "Is this normal? I was not educated on this behavior." Then the two people come charging out the back door and it whips its head around to stare at them in turn. After a long moment, it says, "Those are not proper weapons for house defense."

Jay realizes his moment. It's time to impress the other Egalrin with how brave he is! That big Aesir woman, sure she's got solid bones, but she's not much bigger than his sister. Not too much bigger. Not too much louder either. He hops and flaps to stand in front of her, one wing across his chest.

"First time, first time! Integrity C. Truefeather, Esquire, at your service." He turns to glance at Khepri. That is an impressive Golem. "They're not engaging in defense. They're just out for some vigorous gardening!"

<OOC> Jay says, "to confuse them into inaction"
GAME: Jay rolls bluff: (11)+5: 16

With plenty of talking already going on, aside from looking to make sure the couple emerging from the house aren't about to charge, Shilde let's them to it as she stalks over to her dog. "I said no! Bad dog," she scolds, echoeing the gardner... sort of... as she puts her own thick boot down upon the rate corpse. Then she growls, quite fiercely, at the dog... who reluctantly lets go, then moves behind her, ears down and tail still.

Between the bell and the blustering bluejay the whole near-melee hits a hitch leaving folks to look back and forth, forth and back. The grotesque gardener gladly goes away, pausing to scoop up the rat corpse with the shovel before rustling out of sight behind a hedge.

The large Aesir woman, too, just sort of stands there with the snuffer pointed at Integrity. Her snarling grimace turns into a confused teeth-baring and ends in a snort of annoyance as she lifts the improvised weapon up against her shoulder. "... drowned an ogre with my bare hands at fourteen..." She turns around and snatches the poker away from the man cowering behind her. "I got beds t'make," she grunts down at him before stalking back inside.

That leaves the dark-skinned and brightly-dressed man there to steeple his fingers and smile sheepishly. "Ah... hah, the bell, yes, good. Well and good, even. Fantastic. You are from the Guild of Explorers? Wonderful." He reforges his smile into something more confident and welcoming. "I am Goshtasb, master Goldbell's houseman. Thank you for coming."

Without the meaty maid in the way it's quite plain to see that Goshtasb has a split, fat lip and a swollen, black eye.

The Egalrin woman watches Jay step in front of the large Aesir. Oh, that must be an impressed look on her fa- wait, no, that's a wince. A wince of a potential 'I know what a good smack to the wing does'. Slixvah folds her hands in front of her and steps forward beside the l-eagle. "Sorry the confusion, Mister Goshtsb. You lot seem to have weathered a raid on the estate rather than any sort of petty burglary, if I must say."

"Fantastic! Fantastic!" The white, black and blue jay flaps in place, happily squawking up at the larger woman. "Tempty chattered at one until he chased her off a cliff! The surprise ending is, Tempty can fly, and the ogre couldn't. Talk about layers."

He makes a splashing noise and a sweeping gesture and then is abandoned for the inside beds, leaving him to face the houseman.

"Hello! Hello! Uh... you are injured. Are you... seeking immediate healer's attention or wanting to file a complaint? Do you a description of the alleged burglars?"

Khepri pads over with its strange, shambling gait, to peer down at the Veyshanti man. "I am called Khepri," it says. Peering down at the man, it stares before pronouncing, "Were you the 'house guard' who was assaulted? Or were there others?" Its head lifts to watch where the Aesir stalked back inside, before continuing to watch the interplay between the bird people, the dwarf, and the human.

GAME: Shilde rolls survival+2: (18)+13+2: 33

Shilde half raises a hand, wiggling her fingers in the direction of the veyshanti man without looking at him.. as if to say 'yeah, I am with these guys, keep talking' while she scrapes her boot in the dirt after the gardener makes off with the rotting rat. Then she starts poking about through the garden, Rocky chastised and at her heels, charting what might seem a meandering course as she kneels periodically to push something out of the way she can examine the dirt. She wanders by the large, barred window.. again looking at the dirt, then rising and tiptoeing to scowl at the window before continuing on and stopping at the rear door where the veyshanti man stands. She kneels again, poking at the dirt. "Tracks go inside," she reports.

"House guard? Hah!" Goshtasb balks, dropping his hands to rest lightly on his midsection as he mimes amused laughter. The act draws a wince his face pains him, one hand hovering over the wounds. "That is... most courteous of you, miss. Apologies accepted. Urgle is... a unique fellow but I'm told hoi polloi of Fergleberg are commonly... in that... way." His flat expression speaks volumes.

A mild sigh and a shallow shrug later, he continues. "There's *a* house guard. A single woman. Shivvers. She's at hospital presently." He glances at Shilde and then nods, stepping to one side to indicate the open door behind him. The jam is splintered on the inside. The door entertains another familiar indentation. "The house was to bed. I was up making a snack and nearly voided... well, I was surprised. Then this shining suit of armor came at me... guess I was knocked unconscious and then later Master Goldbell was yelling at me about his Planar Goldbells."

The Veyshanti man thinks to add, "Mrs. Tove goes home to her family most evenings," he gestures behind him. Mrs. Tove is the Aesir 'maid.' "And Urgle's main job is working as a gravedigger for the western graveyards. So he was there."

Slixvah rubs her beak,following Shilde's path before tilting her head aside. "Sounds like the master cared about what's inside. Did this shiny tin man say anything? Take anything?" she inquires, inching towards the point of ingress.

"Interesting! Interesting. So it's known the house would be largely empty. I'm sorry for your injury. We should see these Planar Goldbells. Is Master Goldbell about? I hear he's very involved with the community, fingers in many pies."

Jay glances at the gardener, "Gravedigger! Handy! That makes sense."

Then he's cawing at house manager again, "So after your midnight nap while getting a midnight snack, did you notice anything amiss?"

Khepri stares at the others with that same blank expression. "The guild instructions stated a 'family heirloom' was stolen. I presume it to be the bells." It turns back to look at Gosh. "I think we should go inside the house and let Shilde continue to look for clues, as well as the rest of us."

Shilde gives a nods, reaching back to scratch Rocky's head a few times.. his ears perk up, the time of scolding come to an end. "Aye. Best we take a look inside. Only one set of tracks.. so th'tin man didn't come out this way."

"The Planar Goldbells are missing, yes..." agrees the houseman with a tight nod. "Master Goldbell is beside himself. He's... overseeing things from the master suite," Goshtasb explains, taking a half-step and looking up at the windows of the upper floor. Following his gaze, it's easy enough to pick out a nose and two big brown Lucht eyes staring from between drawn curtains. As soon as they catch the group looking up they go wide and disappear from view. Goshtasb clears his throat and waves folks in.

"You'll find the kitchen past the larder. Then the main hall. The Planar Goldbell were on display in the sitting room on your right. They've been in the family for seven generations. Unique and impossible to replace..."

The Veyshanti gives Jay a heavy-lidded look during the bakery talk.

GAME: Khepri rolls sense motive: (13)+5: 18
GAME: Jay rolls sense motive: (16)+8: 24
GAME: Slixvah rolls sense motive+2: (15)+3+2: 20 (+2 is from alertness)
GAME: Shilde rolls sense motive: (6)+3: 9

Goshtasb is holding some information back. Something about the Planar Goldbells being in the family for generations.

Slixvah crosses her arms and nods along slowly, gaze flicking up to the figure in the window sill and giving them a wing wave before turning back to the housemaster. Her brows furrow. "... generations?" she chirps curiously, glancing to Jay. A test.

"Seven generations! Seven. Allegedly..." Integrity... confirms. The 'C' is for confirmation. He peers down a closed beak at Goshtasb, tiltling his head to the side as if listening to something. "Allegedly. Seven generations. The same family."

He looks up at the moving curtain, missing all but a hint of the lucht. "Let's speak to the master of the house, he might have more insights into who would want his Planar Bells. Especially, what they might be used for."

Khepri just stops and kind of -looks- at Gosh. Glaring down its faux beak at the man -- or something. It's hard to read its facial expressions, simply because it doesn't HAVE any. "I sense hesitance. Uncertainty. The Harpist hears all notes. Why are some notes missing from your song?"

GAME: Khepri rolls intimidate: (13)+7: 20
GAME: Shilde rolls survival+2: (6)+13+2: 21
GAME: Slixvah rolls bird diplomacy: aliased to diplomacy+3: (11)+3+3: 17

It's been a long day and his face hurts. Being knocked out is also not as restful as you might expect. The looming metal man also likely bears a close enough resemblance to a hostile suit of armor that the situation is entirely unpleasant. Goshtasb shrinks against a wall and looks to Slixvah for assistance. "Ah... well....

"Well, it's house gossip but I heard master Goldbell lamenting this morning... and..." he takes a long stride and puts the ribbon-decorated bird woman between himself and the construct. "They say the Goldbells took their name from the flowers. They were the Breadwinners before that; serving food to earn their coin." He takes a breath and shifty-eyes back and forth. "Grinder Goldbell VII..." he bobs his head from side-to-side, adding, "Grinder... Hero, Zep, Sub, Hoagie..."

"Their wealth exploded when they obtained the Planar Goldbells. And now there are only ever male Goldbells..." The houseman shrugs. "I don't know... it's house gossip, like I said. There might be Goldbell girls? Other than by-marriage, I mean, but I haven't seen one..."

Shilde just lets out a grunted "Bah" as she stomps into the house.. Rocky attempt to follow, of course, but with Gosh seeming none too keen on that, she just looks up at the veyshanti man, hands on her hips. "He goes with me. Need his nose," she states, even baring her teeth a little at him. "D'you want us t'deal with this or no?"

GAME: Shilde rolls knowledge/nature: (19)+9: 28
GAME: Slixvah rolls knowledge/nature: (14)+7: 21

Already cowed by Khepri, the Veyshanti man gives Shilde a pleading look. "It's a house. I'm the houseman. That's a dog." Again, he looks to Slixvah for help. Goshtasb won't stop Shilde if she brings Rocky inside but it certainly makes him uncomfortable.

Slixvah adjusts her footing to let her be the winged barrier between man and machine. "Aside from making me hungry for a sandwhich, ain't none of that make a single lick of sense. Flowers don't last that long, but be somethin' magical or whatnot."

She looks between Rocky and Goshtasb, and she shrugs with both shoulder and wing. "You want us to track somethin, lil doggies got good noses for that. Could wipe his feet off if you're worried about a lil dirt gettin' in places."

She doesn't stop the doggo nor its owner, her instead joining in on heading inside.

The bluejay egalrin hops inside and commences exploring, touching any and everything and brushing it off a little. He's not quite a perpetual feather duster but he comes a close second as he examines the Goldbell residence and disturbs items that may have sat for a while.

"No girls? None? A blessing or a curse, depending." He squawks, peregrinating about the place and sticking his beak into things. "I have three sisters, allegedy. I'd be unhappy if I didn't. Oh! What's this? Oh, nothing. OH! What's this?"

And so he goes.

"Aye. He's a dog," Shilde confirms, though she at least waits until Slixvah's input before proceeding. Wouldn't due to antagonize her colleagues. Then she pats her hip as she follows inside, Rocky not quite prancing in behind her, as she takes note of what she can find about what remains of the armoured man's tracks. She is stymied a few times.. indoor flooring not quite as obliging as the dirt outside.. but despite the traffic since the incident, she does eventually confirm the intruder's path leading to the indicated sitting room. "Would have t'be magic to ignore the seasons.. unless maybe t'were from a place with just one season."

Khepri states, "The dog tracks efficiently. We will use the dog to help track the culprit." It cocks its head at Gosh in clear confusion about the whole 'no girls' thing, but says nothing. Instead, it follows in Shilde and Jay's wake, yellow eyes glowering softly. As the group moves around, Khepri looks at Gosh. "Do these... Goldbells have any specific attributes or abilities? Are they magical? Would someone desire them greatly?"

GAME: Jay rolls perception: (8)+12: 20

The interior of the house is small compared to the actual estates of the nobility districts carved into the side of the mountain to the east but it's grand by nearly any standard west of the Tornmawr. The wood flooring is fine, polished, and sturdy but the rugs are faded in places, patched or threaded in others. Trinkets line the halls on stands and shelves or set into alcoves. Curios and gewgaws that glitter, more than one of which you'd expect to catch the eye of a burglar.

The foyer nearest the double-doors at the front of the house is open with a large chandelier hanging low. The entryway beyond has another set of two doors leading into the sitting room-- the direction the tracks Shilde is following lead.

On the walls flanking the southern doors are seven portraits. Seven portraits of the same man by different artists in subtly different styles. Or, well... seven men that look very similar. VERY similar. One of the paintings is draped in black mourning silks.

The double-doors into the sitting room are trapped but the trap isn't set, currently. Arrows from the doorframe if the door is opened when the trap is set, triggered off the handle. There's the tiniest dot of what might be blood in the carpeting at your feet.

"Oh! Neat! Oh! Neat" The l-eagle egalrin peers intently at each portrait, side-eyeing it to get one eye as close as possible before darting along to the next and repeating the process. The count of exclamations confirms, there are seven. He even peeks behind the shrouded one.

This task complete, he explores some more and ends up peering at the doors to the sitting room. "It was here! These doors have a defense system, allegedly. It's not enabled." He points with a wingtip at ... nothing on the floor? Oh, there's a dot, "That might be blood. Is your dog a certified blood hound Shilde? Can he identify humanoid species of twelve different types and distinguish them? How about you, Slixvah, you have a spell for that? A spell?"

Slixvah keeps her hands to herself as they go exploring around to see what the damage was. She does chuckle some towards Truefeather. "A curse, for certain."

She's peering around the bluejay's shoulder as they go. "And I /allegedly/ have twelve siblings, hon. Allegedly. Al-leg-ed-ly. Allegebly. Allefggj. Heavens the word isn't make a lick of sense anymore..."

She makes an upwards trilling sound as the l-eagle whirls around to her, her brows raising high. "... hon, I got some magic jumbo to keep your tailfeathers safe and fix some boo boos, I ain't no vulture huntin' for scraps."

There is nothing crazily consistent on the pictures, like a mole. Nothing like that. It could easily be a strong family resemblance. It's especially hard to tell because it's different artists. But it does look pretty eerie all lined up like that.

"Nah. He's just a certified dog," Shilde says. "Stuff's probably too old for 'im to track, though we can try," she adds after kneeling down to look at the spot Integrity pointed out. "Might try'n find other signs of whatever it was breaking out of here."

Khepri points out, "The blood could be from the house guard. If she was stationed outside or attempted to intercept the thief here, it could be where she was injured." It looks around at the other varied artifacts, barely paying attention to the paintings. "Nothing else was taken." it says, not a question. "Someone came here specifically for this item."

"Please... please be careful," Goshtasb has become Jay's shadow, hands out and ready to catch anything the egalrin might knock off of its display perch. "Don't touch that-- your feathers have oils..." his eyes are wide as he makes a mental not of everything that needs to be cleaned in the wake of this... visit. The thought draws his gaze back to the dog. He gives another sigh.

"The trap is meant to cripple intruders and it was triggered; we didn't find the bolts. Shivvers takes the night shift inside the sitting room... that's where we found her. Beaten." He glances around Jay and notices the dot of blood for the first time, eyes going wide in shock. That's not coming out! The rug is -ruined-.

"Curse?! Oh... that." The houseman is clearly a bit overwhelmed by all this. He wrings his hands against one another for a moment and then adjusts the set of his robes.

"Oh? That?" Integrity is right beside Goshtasb, a wing helping hold up the man, "What about that? The curse? Is there something we should know?"

He looks at Slixvah and winks, then nods, "You're using it correctly."

"So, they came for just the Planar Bells. Allegedly, so what can they do?"

Khepri complains, "I asked it that once and it didn't answer. It's too concerned about the rug." It pauses, contemplating. "Do not dispose of that rug. If the guard was found inside the sitting room, then the thief had to be struck by the trap."

Khepri looks hard at Gosh. "Is the sitting room locked?" The implication in the golem's voice is that if it is, it better be opened shortly.

Slix just gives an easy laugh. "No honey, no curses. Just a dumb joke about no ladies," she allays with a wave of a dismissive hand.

She glances to Integrity. "... yes. I am. Allegedly," she coos. Certainly pulling his feathers right now.

Though she's looking at that dot of blood. Gaze swooping around. Her beak getting scratched. "... said the guy was in full armor. Like, total plate? Lookin' like a knight? Surprised they bled from a bolt hitting, let alone- Oooh! Maybe they had a wooden shield to catch all the bolts when it went off!" she snaps her fingers. "So that means they had /inside/ knowledge about the thing...!" At that, her voice goes to a conspiratorial whisper.

Shilde gestures for Rocky to put his nose to work on the drop of blood, though her expression holds little help for such a thing to draw results. "Might not be its blood. Might be it don't bleed." She closes her eyes, gesturing and muttering in a strange tongue. Then when her eyes open, they have the tell tale look of someone gazing partially into Sea of Mana.

GAME: Shilde casts Detect Magic. Caster Level: 5 DC: 13

"They're just... heirlooms." Goshtasb shrugs. "They're valuable because they're unique; one of a kind." Now Khepri is talking about going through doors. They've had enough of that recently! The houseman reaches past Jay, turns the knob, and pushes one of the double doors open.

The room beyond is-- as described-- a sitting room. Bookshelves line the north wall and comfortable chairs, several ottoman, and a couch fill the floorspace. Many are toppled, one rug is bunched and tangled.

Three pedestals sit in the light of the fogged and barred windows. The one directly south is beautifully carved with a bas relief of stacked, bell-shaped flowers. It's conspicuously bare at the top.

The bluejay leans away as the door is opened and then rushes into the room. So many things to examine and touch! He examines! He touches! He leaves wing-oils everywhere as he looks the room over and attempts to establish a likely narrative of what happened.

GAME: Slixvah rolls alertness: aliased to perception+2: (5)+9+2: 16
GAME: Khepri rolls perception: (2)+8: 10
GAME: Shilde rolls perception: (1)+11: 12 (EPIC FAIL)
GAME: Jay rolls perception: (7)+12: 19

"Nothing but an aura on the door," Shilde grunts, once more dissatisfied with her search as she rises from her knee, indicating Rocky to follow. Gosh's distress on the dog being present seems completely lost upon her. She moves on, then, to the new room, helping the others search.

Slix swings her gaze about as she carefully slides into the room. "Blueberry, honey, probably shouldn't mess the scene up too much..." she gently reminds him, but doesn't push it as she tucks her wings in tight to inspect.

Khepri picks its way in carefully, conscious of the untidy mess. It begins to peer around, but is distracted by the bookshelves, starting to inspect the titles of the tomes stacked on them. Its hunched shoulders twitching slightly as it studies the spines, pausing to point to one, then another, absently.

The book collection varies from common smut for easy reading and some impressively erudite, rare, and esoteric works. There doesn't seem to be any real method to how they're placed, either, so searching the stacks would take quite a bit of time and is very likely to offer to fruitful findings.

The two pedestals still hosting items both support identical glass domes with a wooden base. One has a yellowed piece of paper pinned to a flat bit of wood: an invoice. The other has an old platinum piece on a little easel. They're identified by plaques; First Goldbell Invoice and First Goldbell Platinum, respectively.

Some of the furniture has been toppled.

The empty pedestal has a pressure plate. There is a green-yellow film on the pedestal and the floor around it. Someone triggered a poison gas trap of some kind. The film is the result of the trap going off. Residue.

"Furniture overturned, rugs moved. Looks like there was combat in here." Integrity observes, lavishing a lot of attention on the pedestals. "Hmmmm! Is there any protections on these pedestals? Oh that's a nice invoice."

His head bobs around as he stares at various members of the group, "not necessarily an inside job, they just could be observant, for traps."

He focuses on Goshtab as he slips over beside Slixvah and whispers to her, "Poison trap, pillars."

Slix is busy eyeing the books, her making a soft 'oooh' sound as she spies a few new reads for later. Though, as she's going, her taloned foot makes a soft clank against the rug. "... hmm?"

She kneels, a hand opening up the rug. She blinks. "Well, well, well, call me Detective Slix because it looks here like we got a lil' bit of a stabby wabby." She undoes one of her shawls and picks up a bloodied punching dagger, as well as a few teeth at the base of the bookshelf.

Her expression goes from playful, to a bit more serious. "... teeth. And a bloodied punching dagger. Someone either has a terrible cut, or someone got steel through the dome. And there's a dead body somewhere."

She bobs her head to Jay, chirping softly, "Understood, blue." <Auran>

GAME: Jay rolls perception: (4)+12: 16
GAME: Jinks rolls 1d100: (23): 23

Khepri turns at the clink, looking at Slixvah. "Interesting." The golem stalks over, peering. "The kind of injury one would sustain from being struck in the face with this weapon would be... considerable." Khepri looks to Gosh. "What weapon did your house guard carry, if any?" While waiting for Gosh's response, it absently reaches down to loosen its khopesh in its sling-sheath.

Azure Lily Pollen. Illegal in Alexandria. Causes violent vommitting and paralysis. Pollen turns from blue to green-yellow sitting in the sunlight.

"An' who're the teeth from.. the intruder, or the guard, eh?" Shilde asks, though her gaze is a bit distracted as she continues to sweep for magic, now in the overturned room.

Rocky continues to sniff around.

"We were told to never touch any of the heirlooms," Goshtasb answers Jay, lingering near the doorway with his hands folded low in front of himself. "He's made it very clear it would be... bad for our health. Master Goldbell sees to dusting the cases himself." He frowns, watching Khepri, then turns to consider Slixvah's discovery.

"One of Shivvers'." The Veyshanti illuminates, leaning on the guard's name. Or pseudonym, probably. "... I think the teeth are hers, too. Her face was... well, I don't like to think that I got off easy but they said she might lose an eye..." He 'urps' and shudders at the thought.

Jay taps at the residue and then, perhaps unwisely, tastes it. He is not poisoned! Rawwwk! There is a bit of involuntary retching. "Azure Lily poison! It causes violent vomiting and paralysis. It can lead to death, death! Choking on your own vomit!"

"Lucky I didn't get poisoned. It turns from azure blue to green-yellow once it sits in the sun for a while." Rawk. Integrity wipes his hand off, watching Goshtasb. Not poisoned, just bleah. Now he wants something to clear his palette and those sandwhiches were sounding good. He examines the first invoice. "Oh... that's... oh. Can those be put back in? Teeth I mean, not eyes. I know eyes can't be."

Shilde makes a gesture, her hand sweeping towards where the missing pedestal would be. "More magic there.. not knowing what kind, though," she admits. She makes a face as Integrity describes the poison and its.. effects. "Cheery. Might be we should try and find how it left. If it left."

GAME: Shilde rolls survival+2: (14)+13+2: 29
GAME: Slixvah rolls alertness: aliased to perception+2: (13)+9+2: 24
GAME: Jay rolls perception: (2)+12: 14

Slix sighs, rubbing the side of her face. "So... some intruder bashed some tooth 'fers while a Shivver gets a quiver and a lucky stabby in the laddie," she mumbles, glancing to Jay. Her eyes widen, "And Blue is sticking true to being a foo' and tasting grace that's not.. uh.. face?"

She pinches between her eyes. "... ok, that was terrible that time 'round, snowball."

She plods over to Shilde. "Probably more blood around, since that dagger was nice and right bloodied. Hey! Maybe Rocky can get a better sniff at it since there's a lot!"

Rocky's head snaps up, hearing his name.. he opens his mouth to let his tongue drop out as he gives Slix a doggy grin. At least until Shilde barks at him. "Oi," she says, snapping her fingers to get the dog's attention. "Worth another shot, aye." With her dog's attention, she gets him to sniffing the blood again, and the pair move about, as if following a trail. And upon closer inspection, they are. "Shivver put up a fight, alright," she commends, eventually following the blood trail to the front door. "Thinking sneak thief in't his main job."

Slix pauses by a chair, moving some cushions around as she rifles out a rondel, a piece of armor that protects the armpit. The steel disc is painted a brown mountain before a blue sky, encircled in a red border. She winces. "... owie. That dagger must've got 'em good. Probably a blood trail somewhere," she hums. "I ain't got an idea what this painting here is though. Looks fancy, might be some kind of rival house thing?"

She gives a wink to the doggo, eyes smiling. "No, certainly ain't, sugar. Least that guard is certainly worth their pay. Hope they get compensated well."

Integrity takes a moment to listen for noise upstairs, and hearing nothing continues to investigate around the room. "Hope so, that seems like a nasty punch."

He heads over to the windows, leaning over the sills he examines them, not expecting to find any entrance evidence, but perhaps this was the method of escape.

"So, Goshtasb, what else did Master Goldenbells tell you when he found you in the kitchen?"

"Goldbell," Goshtasb corrects reflexively, stunned by the descriptions coming from around the room. Licking his lips and focusing on Jay, he corrects in greater detail: "The master's name is Grinder Goldbell."

Then he pauses to think. A hand comes up to touch his temple thoughtfully but he catches himself and just frowns and stares at the ground instead. "He roused me screaming that the Planar Goldbells were gone. Something about seven generations in the family and stolen within a few months of him taking over..." He winces and closes his eyes, reaching out to steady himself against the bookshelf as a little blood dribbles from his nose. "Ah... a moment, please.

"I..." he winces audibly, curling his lips back. "He didn't even tell me that he'd found Shivvers. Mrs. Tove came in during the shouting. Someone decided she would take Shivvers to hospital..."

GAME: Khepri rolls sense motive: (18)+5: 23
GAME: Khepri rolls knowledge/religion: (7)+7: 14

The golem looks over at what Slixvah has uncovered. "It is an emblem of Angoron. Curious indeed." It turns back to Goshtasb, and shakes its head. "You are not in a good condition. Stand still." Khepri approaches the Veyshanti, raising one hand as the other touches the Vardaman crest imbedded in its breastplate.

<OOC> Khepri says, "If Gosh doesn't run away, I cast Cure Light Wounds on him."
GAME: Khepri casts Cure Light Wounds. Caster Level: 2 DC: 14
GAME: Khepri rolls 1d8+2: (8)+2: 10

Slixvah tilts her head to the side. "Angoron? Now that's right odd. What's a mountain wrestler doin' here? Did they some higher cause to do this?" she ponders aloud.

Shilde shakes her head. "Don't know enough yet t'know the reasons, aye? Maybe a mercenary. Maybe a slight. Might be Goldbell could tell us." Then she shrugs, resting her hand on Rocky's shoulders.

"Allegedly Angoron!" Integrity corrects, hovering around to look at the painted armour piece. "We should speak to Master GoldBell. Get his account, put it all together." He hops towards the door, pointing with a wing, "It's right upstairs, right? Right upstairs?"

The bruise fades and his lip knits, the swelling on that side of his face going down. Goshtasb is quite the handsome man when he doesn't look like he's volunteered his face for bludgeon testing. He looks relieved and tests his cheekbones gingerly while eyeing Khepri dubiously. Mixed signals!

Then there's talk of Angoron and his eyebrows quirk. "... huh," he muses as his eyes go up and to one side.

The coastal Veyshanti seems on the verge of speaking but then Shilde and Jay, both, mention the master of the house. "... I'll attempt to collect him." Both hands extend towards the group, palms out. "... wait here."

Khepri corrects Jay. "The symbol is Angorite. It is not proof of a devotee's involvement." The golem cocks its head in that quizzical way. "There are many missing pieces to this riddle. I am displeased. Laying the dead to rest is much easier."

With all the rapiditiy his tired limbs can muster, Goshtasb heads up the stairs. The floorboards creek as he moves across the balcony and down a hall. A light knock. Nothing. Another light knock and a quiet 'master goldbell?' Nothing.

Then there's heavy footfalls and a BANG BANG BANG, 'Y'WANT YER 'BELLS!?' A wild Mrs. Tove has appeared. There's an answer, finally, but it's muffled and lost. Clatterings begin from the master suite before Mrs. Tove's heavy feet signal her returning to whatever else she was doing.

Minutes pass. Finally, Goshtasb returns followed by a glittering gold pile of plates that clatter and clank. A decorative suit of ill-fitting armor led by a buckler for a larger person stumbles along behind the Veyshanti. There's a crimson crest of a mohawk poking high into the air above.

"Master Grinder Goldbell," the houseman announces, stepping to one side.

Grinder is a plump Lucht in his prime, with brown curly hair smushed down by a helmet better-sized for a dwarf. He staggers a little as he does his best to keep his feet. The breastplate he wears nearly touches the floor. "Watch my back," he tells Goshtasb, unable to quite look up at the man without his eyes disappearing into the helmet. "The amount I pay you I expect you to jump in front of swordtips!"

There's a grunt and he steadies the helmet with one hand, turning back to look at the four mercenaries. "Well? Do you have my property? You're doing a lot of standing around and not looking for my property for people who don't have my property."

GAME: Khepri rolls sense motive: (15)+5: 20

"You're paid enough to do that? Wow. I wouldn't do that." The bluejay tells Goshtasb, genuinely amazed. He hasn't been and hasn't so far, wasps likely don't count. "Pleasure to meet you, Master Grinder Goldbell. Integrity C. Truefeather, Esquire. Here's my card."

A card is offered. "We are looking for your property. What it looks like, size, shape, aerodynamic qualities, would be helpful. Why was it a Planar Bell, how is it a Planar Bell. Did it stop functioning when the teleport ban started?"

"How long has it been here? Seven generations, right? Seven generations in this room? It doesn't seem nearly dusty enough. Where was it before?"

Slixvah slowly blinks at this entire ensemble plays out before them. She opens her beak to say something, but closes it as she's cut off. Then again. And cut off.

She just sighs and shakes her head. "Slixvah Unmesi. The bluejay asks important questions."

Khepri simply stares at Grinder, though it's hard to tell if the golem doesn't understand the fellow, is befuddled by his appearance (how the hell is he wearing that armor?), is waiting to see if Grinder drops some useful tidbit of information, or all of the above. Regardless, the blank stare is unaccompanied by any verbal inquiry. Jay is asking the right questions.

Shilde's face goes carefully neutral at Goldbell's entrance, though her grip in Rocky's scruff tightens just a little bit.. and her mind puts her through her reasons for taking this job to begin with. A few times. Reminding herself. "It knew what it was lookin' for an' didn't care that anyone knew. Figured you help explain why."

Grinder steps back when Jay steps forward, nearly toppling over backwards when the too-large helmet starts to carry his momentum that direction. Goshtasb steadies him wordlessly and the Lucht doesn't bother to thank the man. Or even acknowledge him, really. Then the card is offered and Grinder turns his lip. After a pause he snaps his fingers rapidly... which is apparently a cue for the houseman to step forward and accept the card on his behalf.

"They look like coral bells but gold," the little master answers (as if it should be obvious). "They glow. They have thin, flame-colored stems that entwine and there are twenty-four buds." He looks from person to person, finally repeating, "Twenty. Four."

The pauper prince is very much the spit of the paintings in the hall. The absurd dress (like a child at play) ruining any real air of nobility at this particular moment. "It should be in a case like the coin and the script. But if you're not up for delivering the item complete the Planar Goldbells are the important part. With all twenty-four bells.

"... and they have been on that stand since Grinder Goldbell I put them there. Every Grinder-- first-through-seventh-- has seen to the care of their display for over three-hundred years..."

He sighs, exasperated at Shilde. "Why does anyone want anything valuable..?"

GAME: Jay rolls sense motive: (5)+8: 13
GAME: Shilde rolls sense motive: (1)+3: 4 (EPIC FAIL)
GAME: Slixvah rolls sense motive+2: (19)+3+2: 24

"Twenty four!" Jay repeats, pointing a wing at Slixvah, "Twenty four!" Khepri. "Twenty Four!" Shilde. "Twenty Four!" Rocky.

No one is forgetting the amount now.

"So, what you're saying is that over the course of seven generations, a lot of people have looked at that stand and the perpetrators could be... anyone! There's nothing so obvious and simple as you had a Ball for your Bells last week and someone spent the entire time silently staring at them. Right?"

He can't really lean in, the lucht is too short and too wide, so he does his best looming, "Right? No strange magic properties? Aside from the glow? What makes them glow? What makes them stop glowing?"

Slixvah rubs her face, beak grinding. "Look, sugar, honey buns, baby cakes, we don't care about taking your family's bells. Or how many sandwiches you make. Just chill out, alright? You want this done? Get your panties out of a knot, kay?"

Khepri states, dispassionately, "This was not a simple theft. The perpetrator kicked through your gate, shrugged off both traps, pummeled your guard, and left without anyone else being able to stop it." The golem pauses. "Which raises the question: how expensive would it be to hire someone of such ability?"

"Aye, aye.. forty two. Seventeen. Fifty three." Shilde's voice is a little flat, and she looks away, raising one hand to pinch her nose with thick fingers.

"Very few people are allowed in that room. I certainly don't host parties there." Goldbell tells Jay, glancing side-eye at Slixvah. "Those items are very precious to me." He pauses, "To all of us. As a family.

"People hear about the Planar Goldbells. Rumors spread; it's a big city. The temples offered me a whole block for them a few months ago; they thought the Goldbells could help with their 'great work' but I told them to eat a spoiled fig that'd passed through a sickly donkey." He grins at that, amused with himself.

"When your family name is 'Goldbell' and there are rumors about how your fortunes changed when you found the Planar Goldbells... of course people will want them." The Lucht grunts, dropping down the buckler to the floor and resting his hands on the shield. He doesn't wear any gauntlets and his tiny fingers barely reach out of the wrist guards. "I'm sure Goshtasb turns away people every day inquiring..."

"-- about that?" Goshtasb finally speaks up after chewing on his tongue for some time now. "There was a cleric this week... his husband was ill. The Planar Goldbells were the only cure... holy quest..?"

Goldbell (the Lucht) freezes in place. "You... WHAT!? And you just say that NOW!?"

Khepri just stares at Goshtasb. In a flat voice, the golem says, "I feel we were denied critical, need to know information." Pause. "Also, you are an idiot." It pauses again. "The Angorite crest. Perhaps this priest has secreted himself at the temple of Angoron. Although I cannot rule out a Tarienite either."

"There was? A cleric? A cure? A holy quest? That's an oddly specific ailment and treatment from an artifact that eats women. Allegedly." Integrity says things at random, "The mechanical simulation of a superior species is correct. We should check the temples, maybe a few bars, a back alley fence or two."

"Do you remember what the cleric looked like? Wait! Shhh! Wait." The bluejay switches from Goshtasb to Master Goldbell, "What did you see of the thieves, your manservant was knocked out."

Slixvah stares at Goshtasb. More beak grinding. "... For fuck's sake." <Yrch-speak>

Shilde's finger squeeze a little bit harder, though the angle makes it a but hard to breath. Rocky's head stoops a little bit. "It.. this.. bah. Well. We know where t'look now." And it's probably best for high tempers to vacate the place.

"I told him 'no!' He was insistent but when I said they were 'absolutely not for sale' he thanked me for my time and left!" Goshtasb rsponds defensively, wide-eyed with his hands out in front of him. "People come by -all the time- to try and see them. Or buy them. -Two- yesterday."

The Lucht growls out a sigh, shaking his head at Jay. "I pay people to defend my home. I didn't see anything. By the time I was downstairs every door in the house was open and something big was running away outside."

Goshtasb waits for Grinder to finish and then answers the earlier question. "About as tall as you two... but muscly. Pretty green eyes and short red hair. Eldanar, probably. 'Boden the Angorite' is what reminded me of him since you said..." he gestures as the armor bit Slixvah holds.

Khepri looks at Slixvah. "Do not lose that piece of armor. We may need it." The golem inclines its head to Grinder. "I believe our next stop is the temple of Angoron. If the priest did steal the item, he is most certainly injured and recovering there." It pauses, thinking. "I do not expect the temple itself to condone wanton theft, so this may be easier than expected."

"Wait, what? Two yesterday?" Integrity has out a notebook and is taking notes, "Can I have their descriptions, plus anyone since a week ago and yesterday that was very belligerent about the Planar Bells too."

He is ready to write, and extracting what he can. "Green eyes, red hair."

"Khepri is right, we should go to the temple next."

Slix slowly nods, her shifting her robes around to better rest on with sigh through her nose holes. "Right. Let's see if some muscle heads can spill some beans," she hums before getting herself ready as she half turns to leave. "Any of you good at arm wrestling?"

"Pheh. Angorites." But then Shilde shrugs, gesturing for Rocky to follow as she steps out of the house. To the temple!

Map
https://www.mipui.net/app/index.html?mid=meushrcw9c8