Re: Chapter 2.3 - The Midnight Oil
Radniche waffled for a moment and then acquiesced, his shoulders slumping as he gathered up his belonging and led the way to his shop.
Radniche's Medical Supplies was tucked away behind several of the larger firms in the surgeon's flats, located at the terminal end of a twisting little blind alley little more than a grimy corridor through the city's streets. Radniche produced a key ring from his trouser pocket and unlocked two deadbolts and two door locks to open up the door.
The interior of the shop was small and cramped and smelled acridly with a stink that Vadim recognized immediately as embalming fluid. One section of the shelves held knives, scalpels, and other medical tools. But the larger part of the inventory was devoted to experimental supplies. Potions and powders with various applications in medicine, solvents and disinfectants, and alchemical extracts. There were several cadavers, some preserved with embalming fluid and some with gentle repose.
Radniche's workspace was a counter towards the front of the shop, and his office was a small filing room towards the back from which he produced several crates of documents and scrolls. He moved a large jar of pickled eyeballs to make room and stacked them on the front desk.
"Feel free to take a look." He said unhappily.
Radniche truly did take the anonymity of his clientele very seriously. His log of transactions listed item and price but only cross-referenced a client number, which Radniche refused to divulge until our heroes had located the correct entry. It took some time for our heroes to collate the mess but luckily Constantine stumbled on the correct filing box rather quickly, and they were able to locate the sale of the scalpel set.
When they showed the entry to Radniche he insisted on checking the bill of sale from both Hora and Vladka to verify that it was the correct transaction, insisting he could reveal only client information relevant to the case. Once he was satisfied he referenced the client number with a large ledger that was sealed with a brass lock.
"The surgeons tools were sold as a set to Master Vorkstag, who paid in coin at the time of purchase." He said. The transaction had taken place on Desnus 8th, 4708.
Vadim was familiar with the name. Vorkstag and his partner operated a chemical factory outside of the city, Vorkstag and Grine's Chymic Works, although he knew little more about it than the name.
You pass a Research check on Radniche's notes and locate the transaction, I rolled low on your time and finding the sale only takes 1 hour.
Vorkstag and Grine's Chymic Works are about an hour outside the city by foot. By cab it's about a 10 minute ride but you aren't likely to find any stables open this late. It's about 1:45 AM when you find the transaction record at Radniche's.
Constantine, Radniche wouldn't sell supplies like tents, aprons, or shovels, although an extract of darkvision would definitely be in his inventory. The transaction record indicates that Vorkstag bought only the surgeon's tools at that time, however.