Cain and Zorden return to the warehouse interior which is now being torn apart, in an orderly fashion, by a few of the town guard. One of the guards, a middle-aged Kellid woman with dark eyes and black hair starting to grey, looks to the pair and their offered assistance skeptically, offering on a terse, "Sergeant Barla; bring me anything you find."

Four guards are at work in the larger storage room of the warehouse, prying open crates to take inventory but coming up empty. Literally. It seems all the various crates are merely for show, but still the guards methodically unstack them, pry them open to be sure, then move them aside.

One guard is at work in Garmen's office with a handful of crates and barrels already pried open. Most of these are empty save for a few to store spare leather armor and a rope for ropefist recruits. The guard is currently in the process of methodically pulling out books from a short shelf near the eastern wall, scanning through them, then piling them up atop the shelf. In the center of the room is a table used for dining, surrounded by mismatched chairs and topped by a willow basket, mismatched dishes and cutlery, and stale food from a meal hours ago. Cain recognizes most of the dishes as coming from The Copper Coin and a few others from the other establishments around town.

Beside the northern wall is what seems to be Garmen's office desk. The chair is thrown aside, from when Garmen first caught Cain breaking in, and a number of drawers have been pulled out and sifted through already by the guard--their contents an array of odds and ends such as blank papers, ink and inkpen, spare nails, loose copper and silver coins, small boxes of tindertwigs and toothpicks, an old oil can, and shoe polish and stained rags. But as Cain moves the drawers and their contents about, the sense of some missing space peaks his half-elven scoundrel senses. With some extra attention and blind fumbling, he manages to unlatch and pull out a drawer hidden within a drawer. That smaller drawer contains within it a slender, unlabeled, leather-bound book. Within the pages of the book Garmen seemed to keep an informal collection of ledgers, notes, and simple contracts.

Most entries provide too little information to interpret and others seem particularly unremarkable, but of the entries which may be of use:
5 copper a day to Iven Lesky for care of Thunder Ranger. -Iven Lesky, Garmen Ulreth
Silverdisk Hall, 197, 199, 208, 205, 267, 243, 248, 251, 259, 242, 243, 254, 241, 233
2 copper a day to Kannum Tannog for services. -Kannum, Garmen Ulreth
Wrennie Dalrorn, Tragshi, Daggermark, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100
50 Silverdisk now, 50 later, for services and men. -Meyanda, Garmen Ulreth
3 Silver a day to Kelaria Ironclaw to guard warehouse. -X, Garmen Ulreth

Zorden watched the guards ransack what was appearing to, disappointingly, be a very empty warehouse.

"I wonder if this place was entirely set up for show, or if he was stockpiling containers to have available in case there was a mas exodus from Torch."  Zorden speculated out loud.  If it was indeed just a façade, it was a very odd one to present.


When Cain unearthed the ledger book Zorden joined him to look over his shoulder as Cain leafed through the pages.

"Do you know these names or places?"  Zorden asked Cain.  "I recognize a few.  Coin to the stable, maybe worth sending someone to see if the horse is still there.  Coin to a farmer, not sure what 'services' Garmen may have been buying there.  The matron of the Merrymaid, though I don't know if this 'Tragshi' is another person, or what a Daggermark may refer to.  Likewise this 'Meyanda' for 'services and men'.  Someone else in town?"

"Hmm. No idea who Meyanda is, but Trashgi is someone I had hoped to forget. She is the Guildmistress of the Daggermark Poisoners' Guild. Looks like Garmen has some dangerous friends. Not sure what kind of dealings they had, but I doubt it was anything good."

"Maybe Wrennie could tell us more, since she is listed along side Trashgi? Or should we head for the stables first? I still think Garmen is already long gone, but who knows, maybe he is stupid enough to still hang around."

He closes the book and after considering what to do with it for a moment, decides to hand it out to the sergeant after all, not seeing the worth in keeping it further and so risk cheesing off the guards even more.

OOC: I'll leave it to Zorden to stop Cain if he wants to hold on to the book.

"The stables will be an easy one to cross of the list.  Either the horse is gone, or it's still there and we'll have to let the guard know do they can figure out if they think Garmen might come back for it."  Zorden figured.

"If you think Wrennie would be open to such an inquiry, we can go there after that.  Though I don't know her other than her name and association with the Merrymaid, and honeyed words have never been my strong suit if she's at all reluctant."


Zorden doesn't object to handing the book over, but he does pause Cain long enough for two copies of the information they'd found to be transcribed onto other paper for reference later.

"Sound like a plan. Let's do the stables first and then see what we can get from Wrennie."

Once Zorden finishes copying the entries, Cain hands the book over to the sergeant before he and Zorden leave for the stables. "Ah, sergeant, you'd probably want to take a look at this. Looks like Garmens's ledger to me."

OOC: Should we tell the guards about the stables now, or do we go there alone? There is a small chance we could run into Garmen there.

"According to that book, Garmen was paying the stable to look after a horse.  We figure he might have went for it on his way out, so we're going to go have a look.  Might confirm if he's still in Torch or not.  Do you want to send any of your people in case the horse is still there?"  Zorden asked the guard officer when Cain handed over the ledger.

Sergeant Barla raises her eyebrows as the pair present their find, briefly looking behind the two towards the guard still shuffling through books in the office with a single, quizzical eyebrow raised. The poor man shrugs a half-hearted apology which leads to the sergeant chuckling before addressing Zorden and Cain as she flips through the journal, "That's a good find! Not sure what to make of any of this, but it'd be worth drumming up anyone listed in it for information." She looks over her shoulder briefly at the mention of the stables, but answers as she turns back, "Councilor Kyte sent Guardsman Tronek to the stables as soon as Ulreth fled. By now word's spread and everyone should be mobilized, shutting down the entrance to town and the stables." She shrugs and offers, "But maybe knowing for sure Ulreth has a horse stabled there, and the horse's name, would help the men there?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:50, Thu 29 Feb.

"Right, well we'll see if we can find, uh, Tronek, and pass on what we know and see what there is to find out."  Zorden informed the Sergeant, figuring a bit of over information couldn't hurt given the thin ice they were on with the council.

"Alright, let's go do that first, and we can see about asking some questions later." Cain agrees, ready to move on.

Sergeant Barla nods her goodbye to the pair and adds, "We'll finish up here, then post a few to keep an eye on the place before joining the manhunt."

The two head south down the Torch roads, passing the Temple of Brigh and the Town Hall and circling around Black Hill and Crowfeather Lake, before heading west towards Torch's entrance, past Jhestine Imierin's Tempting Tonics, to where multiple roads converge in a large, open area flanked by Inkrit Kollisun's General Store and Iven Lesky’s Livery Stable. At this time of day, with the sun going to rest over the horizon, there is a good deal of traffic as the few still trying to ply their trades in the city head out to their cheaper homes outside Torch's raised plateau. But tonight that traffic is slowed somewhat by an increased guard presence--many of whom seem to have been drummed up from sleep or recovery to help out. One man with a leg in a splint sits on a stool at one of the joining roads and two men still rubbing sleep from their eyes briefly question everyone leaving while two more open or uncover up anything big enough to hide a man.

As the pair approach the stable, a familiar face--the Gaurdsman Tronek sent here by Kyte--comes out meet them. "Coming to check up? Iven claims he hasn't seen Mr. Ulreth today, but he does stable his horse--a nice, strong one he got off some fool who came to town and lost everything at Silverdisk. Says Ulreth pays him regularly to keep the horse, but only takes it out every few weeks. Waste of a good horse." Tronek shakes his head at the last bit,
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:50, Fri 01 Mar.

"Huh. That's just what we've come here to tell you about, figured Garmen would want that horse if he really made a run for it. But maybe he's just gone to ground somewhere instead."

Cain turns to Zorden. "Want to check out what we can learn from Wrennie now? Or maybe we should try to rejoin the rest of the party instead. If Garmen really is still around, they may need our help."

"We can go to the Merrymaid if you think Wrennie will talk to us."  Zorden answered after a moment of consideration.

"There's enough guards out and on alert that I think if there's any trouble there will be plenty of help at hand, and I assume they're mostly finding things out like we are, so it makes more sense to try and cover as much ground as we can.  If Garmen is still hiding out in Torch, potentially figuring out where sooner is better."

"Well, we can try talking to her at least. I fear I may not be the best person for the job, though. Not really a people person like Morin is."

OOC: Got a couple points in bluff, but that's it when it comes to Cain's social skills. I don't suppose Zorden is better at talking?

"Well, if we think she knows something but won't tell you, we can always find the others and send Morin to wheedle it out of her."  Zorden replied.


ooc: No, quite the opposite.

Seeing the stables and entrance to town well secured, the pair head north for a short stroll passing between the General Store and the Foundry Tavern to arrive at the intersection flanked by The Copper Coin and The Marrymaid. Both establishments are picking up in business, with some bardic act drawing a little attention at the tavern and the music of a piano carrying out from the bordello.

As they step inside, Zorden and Cain are greeted by an array of activities: groups huddled over tables engaged in hushed discussions, couples lost in private worlds, attractive ladies and a few men offering company to lonely individuals seeking respite from their daily toils--either simple companionship for the price of a few over-priced drinks or more intimate dealings as they retreat to one of the establishment's several rooms--and even some women in a veiled corner dancing and disrobing for coin. The air is a mix of perfume and spiced aromas from the kitchen, hinting at the culinary delights available. The patrons are a diverse mix, though they represent the merchants and travellers who can afford finer entertainment than the tavern across the street. There's a sense of underlying tension, a palpable energy that suggests that while the Marrymaid is a haven, it's also suffering in the absence of the Torch.

Wrennie Dalrorn, the half-elf proprietor, moves gracefully from table to table. Her demeanor is welcoming, and she shares a word or a smile with her guests, ensuring that everyone feels at home. Rumor has it she is the illegitimate daughter of an elven prince from Kyonin and a high priestess of Calistria