With Tyus's directions in hand, Thorfire and Lazaret make the journey west to Traitlin's home. After about an hour's walk along the road, they come to a large stone where they turn northward, off the trail and over some hills. From there, they can see a couple other landmarks identified by the young guard. Over another couple hills, they find a modest log shack with smoke rising from the chimney. In front stands the muscular goliath, presently chopping wood with a large ax.

OOC: Traitlin is not armored. He chops wood with a large ax in front of the shack. You are on top of the hill looking down on him. The cabin is in the modest valley below, about 140 feet away. He does not appear to notice you.

In reply to DM (msg # 106):

Quietly to the rogue, "You go wide left. I'll go right. Let's get between him and his house. Let me do the talking."

Lazaret turns to sneak around then turns back to Thorfire. "Become one with your surroundings!"

Thorfire receives bardic inspiration. (1)


15:23, Today: Lazaret rolled 24 using 1d20+5.  Stealth.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:24, Mon 01 Jan 2018.

"Ha. You guys are incredibly funny. Or maybe just jealous. Either way you should form a traveling troupe of minstrels and tour the countryside with your hilareous sideshow. Like I've told you, my interest in Mattis is purely culinary. The way that woman handles meat is like poetry in motion. And we are talking substantial cuts of meat; full tenderloins mind you, not petit fillets." Celador replies, giving Thorfire a nudge.

"And what happened to the little chap with the terrible tasting healing draughts? Or that goofy sounding guy with the little blue companion? They must be late sleepers. Hard to keep up with the likes of you two." he comments as they walk along to find the cabin in the woods.

Upon reaching the cabin and seeing the goliath, Celador pauses and surveys the scene.



"Good plan. I'll keep watch up here. Too many people at once may frighten him. I'll be ready with my bow in case things get out of hand."

Traitlin continues to chop wood while the three take their positions. His chopping block stands 20 feet straight out from the front door. The goliath has his back to the south facing door. The cabin itself is small, about 20 feet east to west and 12 feet north to south. There is a window on both the east and west walls. The door is in the middle of the southern wall, with a window on either side. Wood is neatly piled to the left (west) of the door.

OOC: Traitlin has a passive perception of 13. Beating that (Laz already did) will allow you to get to either side of the cabin without him seeing. An 18+ (also done by Laz) will allow you to get right next to him unobserved if you'd like.

In reply to DM (msg # 109):

Thorfire quietly sneaks up the left side...he contemplates severing Traitlin spine with a sneak attack just for fun, but decides to wait for Lazaret to do (or say) something stupid.

10:56, Today: Thorfire Shortankard rolled 19 using 1d20+8, rerolling ones.  Stealth.

In reply to Thorfire Shortankard (msg # 110):

Lazaret sits comfortably on the woodpile. His hand is near his rapier.

"Traitlin. We need to talk. You're pretty energetic for someone who just worked overnight. Did you sleep through your whole shift?"

Traitlin turns, startled by the tabaxi seated behind him. "Wha - where did you come from?"

He sets his axe down next to the chopping block and wipes a bead of sweat from his forehead. "And why are you here?"

In reply to Traitlin Uthudar (msg # 112):

"Mayor Naar sent me. Tell me what happened during your watch last night."


08:50, Today: Lazaret rolled 2 using 1d6.  Bardic Inpiration.

08:50, Today: Lazaret rolled 13 using 1d20+8.  Deception. (Total of 15)
This message was last edited by the player at 14:51, Wed 03 Jan 2018.

Traitlin rolls his eyes, shrugs his shoulders, and explains the events of the night.

"Not much to say. I started at sunset. The prisoner was whining about something to eat as soon as I got there. Fed him a couple hours later, which was nice because he didn't talk for 5 minutes. He continued to be a pain in the ass until about midnight, at which point he fell asleep.

"I checked in again a few hours after that. Still sleeping. Enoch and the Mayor arrived at sunrise this morning. I went over to the armory to check in on Tyus, then I headed back here."

"So why all the questions? And what does last night have to do with who killed Morlough Merris? I mean, he was already dead by then, wasn't he?

OOC: Sunset is about 7:30pm and sunrise about 8:00am.

In reply to Traitlin Uthudar (msg # 114):

"So you left him alone and unchecked for five hours? I'll bet Enis would not be too happy to know that. Were you asleep or otherwise occupied?"

While questioning the goliath, Lazaret peeks in the cabin windows to see if anyone else is there.

09:38, Today: Lazaret rolled 17 using 1d20+6.  Perception - cabin.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:39, Thu 04 Jan 2018.

In reply to Lazaret (msg # 115):

OOC: Go get 'em Columbo!

"Look, what's with the inquisition? I checked him in the middle of the night. The door's barred. What more do you want? You want us to sit down there and play dice with him so he doesn't get bored? Little sniveling twit like him is lucky to still be alive if he's guilty of what you say he is."

He sits on his chopping block and mops a bit more sweat from his forehead.

"So I heard you all appointed yourselves special investigators for the village of Westbank. Congratulations on that. Gwendelon will be thrilled. But I thought you were trying to figure out who murdered the merchant. What's that got to do with this?"

The cabin is neat and sparsely furnished inside. One plate on the table, one glass near the pitcher of water, and a single chair near the fire. Lazaret sees no sign of the hooded man.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:21, Fri 05 Jan 2018.

In reply to Traitlin Uthudar (msg # 117):

"You were on watch when he escaped. There's no way he got out without help. You must have heard something.

"And we have hardly appointed ourselves as anything. We have no desire to be frontier detectives and solve your crimes. Your bosses accused us of a crime we did not commit and we have little choice but to defend ourselves. We would much rather be out seeking our fortune."

In reply to Lazaret (msg # 118):

Thorfire is still waiting in the shadows for something to happen.  If nothing happens soon, he might just eviscerate Traitlin out of sheer boredom.

"The little twit escaped? How? The bar was never removed from the door!" The Goliath seems genuinely surprised. He stands, dumbfounded for a moment, then heads toward the cabin, waving Lazaret along. "Gwendelon will not be happy if we don't find him before she returns. Has anyone informed the Mayor?"

In reply to Traitlin Uthudar (msg # 120):

"I have no idea where the mayor is. He shows up at the most inopportune times and hassles innocent people. How did he even get to be mayor? I certainly didn't vote for him.

"What are we doing in your cabin? If there's a tiger skin rug in here, I swear to Pelor that I will cast Thunderwave twice up your ass."

Lazaret follows Traitlin into the cabin. He gives Celador and Thorfire a shrug of his shoulders on the way in. (He also keeps an eye out for shiny things.)
This message was last edited by the player at 03:32, Mon 08 Jan 2018.

In reply to Lazaret (msg # 121):

Thorfire thinks to himself, what the hell, now the Tabaxi wants to thunderwave a goliath up the ass...this shit is getting crazy.

The cabin is a single room, sparsely furnished with a two wooden chairs and a small table, a stove, and a bed (and no tiger skin rug). There is a small, tapped barrel in the corner of the room and he fills two mugs, offering one to the tabaxi and drinking from the other.

"You are interesting, tabaxi. I thought I was unusual for Westbank, but compared to you, I might as well be another passive aggressive human who smiles when you're looking and sneers when you're not."

He sits, offering the other chair to his guest. "As for the mayor, he is a good man, but he certainly isn't much of a Constable. We'd be better off with Enoch in charge when Gwendelon departs like this, but nobody asked me."

He takes another swig from his mug. "Again I ask, if that sniveling ass escaped, how did he get past the door? I swear to you it did not open on my watch. Plus he was locked in his cell. Were there any clues?"

In reply to Traitlin Uthudar (msg # 123):

"Never too early for ale. Thank you.

"His cell was still locked, but there were some odd scratches in the chimney. Perhaps he had help. Perhaps he used magic."

Lazaret looks around a bit trying to see if anything seems out of place or offers any insight at all. (06:38, Today: Lazaret rolled 10 using 1d20+6.  Perception (passive = 16)- cabin.)

"We both should get back to town. The mayor will want to hear what you have to say and we need to find a murderer for some reason."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:42, Tue 09 Jan 2018.

In reply to Traitlin Uthudar (msg # 123):

Thorfire sneaks into the cabin near the goliath in case trouble is brewing and he secretly wishes for trouble.

11:23, Today: Thorfire Shortankard rolled 6 using 1d6, rerolling ones.  Bardic Inspiration.
11:22, Today: Thorfire Shortankard rolled 11 using 1d20+8, rerolling ones.  Stealth.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:26, Mon 08 Jan 2018.

"That twit was scrawny, but there's no way he could've climbed the chimney by himself. It's hardly any bigger than he is. Someone could've pulled him up with a rope, I suppose, but there's a gate over the access point in the dungeon. He could've been no bigger than a mouse to fit through that." He shrugs his shoulders. "Maybe you're right. Maybe he was transformed into a mouse by way of magic."


Traitlin rolls his eyes and sighs. "Well, who needs sleep. I suppose you're right."

Lazaret's review of the cabin raises no red flags. The only suspicious thing in the entire building is the halfling, who has secretly stepped inside without the goliath seeing him.

In reply to Traitlin Uthudar (msg # 126):

After convincing the goliath to have one more cup of ale, Lazaret and Traitlin head back to town to find the mayor.

In reply to Lazaret (msg # 127):

As Traitlin rises from his chair and turns to the door, Thorfire coughs subtlety, catching the goliath by surprise.  Good morning Traitlin, shall we be on our way back to town to meet the mayor?

Traitlin literally jumps back when he sees Thorfire leaning comfortably against a wall near the door. "Who... how did- You know what, never mind. Let's get back to the mayor." The goliath shakes his head and plod out the door.

Celador joins the group outside and the four of them make good time back to Westbank.

In a little over an hour's time, Celador, Thorfire, and Lazaret return to the constable's office with Traitlin. The area is busier. Enoch is there scowling at a few younger guards, still trying to complete paperwork of one kind or another.

Downstairs, the mayor is standing at the base of a ladder which reaches up inside the chimney. "Traitlin, good. I'm glad you're here. We've got a real mess on our hands. Sister Gwendelon won't like the looks of this I'm afraid."

He turns to Lazaret, Celador, and Thorfire. "And I've given you more than enough opportunity to escape, yet here you are. I suspect that means I was correct in releasing you from these cells yesterday. So I've done at least one thing right in the past 36 hours."

He holds a pair of pitons in his hand. "These were found sitting on a barrel in the store room. Covered with dust from the chimney. The chimney is gouged along the inside. They must have something to do with how he broke out, but if so, then how come they're in here? And who swept up the dust?"

A guard comes down the ladder with a torch in hand. "The gouges run the whole length of the chimney, sir. Two solid lines from bottom to top."

The mayor shrugs his shoulders. "And then we have the broken glass over here by the wall and this little note from his cell: Enjoy these final autumn days, Mayor Narr. Westbank will be destroyed in the coming weeks. And tell the halfling to watch his back. The wound he inflicted upon me will be repaid tenfold. "

He looks upward in frustration. "Pelor help us! We have a murderer at large, an escaped prisoner, and a break in at the armory and all we have for clues are broken glass and some chimney dust?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:20, Wed 10 Jan 2018.