Ilsa's hand reached back for her sword when she saw the bugbear coming. She stopped with her hand on the hilt when she noticed his grooming. Her instincts still told her to attack and kill it before it could escape, but she would wait until given the word.

Shirok's body tensed slightly as the bugbear approached, good grooming notwithstanding. He forced his voice to remain calm, his actions controlled. "We do not, nor do we require one," Shirok replied to the creature's question, carefully drawing the letter from the pocket sewn within his shirt. "We have a letter for the House of Silvervine, found entombed within the Northern Mountains. We are here only to deliver it," he said, holding the letter out to the bugbear.

"I wouldn't give it to him," Ilsa mumbled to Shirok. She simply didn't trust the bugbear. "We don't know he'll give it to them."

Stan's cool demeanor gave way briefly to a look of surprise. After closing his jaw, he calmly flipped a gold coin towards the rogue. I really need to stop assuming things, thought Stan.

"Well, M'lady, it seems you know more about us than we know of you. For one thing, I was not expecting one of such power to be so," he searched for the right word, "elegant."

It suddenly occurred to Stan that Kaele was expecting the others to arrive. He thought to ask her about this, but then just as suddenly decided not to. Kaele seemed to let on just enough to make one curious, but not enough to reveal everything. Her glamerweave gown proved that much.

"I would not want to waste your time repeating what you already know. As I'm sure you're aware, we wizards have a saying: [spoken in Draconic]"


He continued in the common tongue:

"Tell me what news has reached your ears; much of it may be attributed to mere rumor, no doubt."

Abigail took her head out of the sky and looked at the bugbear, slightly puzzled, as she'd never seen one before.  She continued to watch this new creature while the others spoke.

Abigail, Bornegar, Ilsa & Shirok:
As Shirok spoke, the bugbear crossed his arms over his chest.  He listened to the half-orcs, and after Ilsa added her two cents, he moved his hands to his belt, holding the buckle and offering the group a smile.
“I’m not going to take your message,” he replied after a slight chuckle.  “What you have appears to be a Silver Message; and its contents are bound to its deliverers.
“I’ll lead you inside,” he continues as he moves to the side to allow your group access to the double doors.  “However, Lady Kaele is currently meeting another party.  The wait shouldn’t be long; follow me in and I’ll announce your arrival.”

---

Aigol, Stan, & Roth:
Kaele’s eyes narrow as Stan speaks in both the Draconic and Common tongues.  Her demeanor seems to change—but only for a moment.  It appears that something has caught her attention at her feet as he lowers her gaze to the floor; but quickly regains composure.
“I know that the Ivory Tower burned for three days afterwards,” she replies.  “I know that many skilled wizards were lost when Borden Hall collapsed.  Know that the affiliates and alum of Arcanus-Tirith are currently working to uncover the cause of the devastation.  And to those responsible—,” the sudden appearance of the bugbear guard brings the elven wizard from her heated speech.  After a moment, the wizard nods to him.  “Bring them to me,” she says, but the goblinoid looks confused.  “This concerns them too.”

---

Once the bugbear returns, he tells you that you are to be seen immediately.  Without hesitation, he leads you thorough the first floor of the enchanted manor and to a large sitting room.  Within the room stands the young wizards Aigol and Stan< as well as their new friend Roth.  A beautiful female elf stands before them.
“Greetings travelers, and welcome to my home,” she welcomes the newcomers.  “I am Kaele and current residence to the Ivy Tower and keeper of Silvervine,” he finishes with a slight bow.

Shirok frowned slightly at the bugbear's words. Being bound to anything didn't sound too good right now, especially not to some city family. And yet, there was nothing for it but to follow the creature inside the tower.


He returned the bow the elf woman gave them, extending the letter once more. "I am Shirok Rezkala, and this is yours."

Stan began to look worried as Kaele's ire welled. However, the arrival of the other group seemed to calm her anger, at least superficially.

Stan watched attentively and silently as Shirok extended the letter to Kaele. What did this have to do with anything? It was an old, old letter, wasn't it?

The young apprentice was in no position to say or do much other than wait and learn. So wait and learn he did.

Smiling, the elf approached the half-orc.  He could not see a trace of repulsion or mistrust in her features, something the barbarian wasn’t used to.  She didn’t snatch it away, or wait until he dropped it into her hand; she grabbed it and politely waited for him to release his grip.  Her simple gesture—meeting him half-way—positively affected the barbarian.  He knew she was a kind person and someone who could be trusted.
“Thank you,” she said offering the half-orc another graceful bow, accepting the letter.  “I am a scholar of antiquity and collector of curiosities of ages past,” she says eying Roth lightheartedly.  “And I wish to show you all something.  Please follow me.”
She leads you through a few rooms in the Ivy Tower to a study.  Just like in every other room, this study seems to have naturally grown out of the floorboards, walls, and ceiling.  Nearly everything is made of wood or naturally worked stone.  Shelves filled with books stretch 15 feet tall, from floor to ceiling; and line the room.  Small plants and tree branches literally grow from the walls near the smoked glass windows.
To your surprise, a faint trace of sulfur seems to waft about the room; and a white sheet covers something low to the ground along the southern wall.
“Last night, a group of people broke into the Ivy Tower,” she explains.  “They stole an object from my collection: a silvered urn,” she says as she points to an empty spot on a bookshelf along the southern wall.  “Its value is trivial; but they ignored dozens of items of considerable worth, moved directly to it, and left as soon as they had required it.  However, they did leave something behind…”
Kaele removes the sheet from the object on the floor to reveal the corpse of a young man.  He is dressed in rags, and his skin is covered with dirt, scabs, and abstract tattoos.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:29, Wed 22 Apr 2009.

Ilsa sniffed when the body was revealed. She asked coarsely, "What they want silver urn for? What worth dying over?"

Roth remains fairly silent in the presence Kaele, either out of respect or nervousness.  He smiles politely at Stan's joke and raises his hands with an innocent smile in response to being called a bodyguard.  His confusion at Kaele's mention of their friends escalates to dumbfoundedness when the friends actually arrive.  Realizing he's out of his league with the scrying mage types, Roth simply clamps his mouth shut and goes with the flow.

Upon being brought to the study and hearing the circumstances, Roth is intrigued and begins examining the scene more closely.  As he examines the body, shelf, and possible entry points he asks their hostess a few questions, "Why the urn?  And did they make the body, or your guards?"

Abigail looked around unattentively, marveled by the building.  She cared not for a body, and a missing urn.  While the others were talking, Abigail decided to get a closer look at the peculiar structure.  She looked closely at the shelves, and touched them carefully.

She then mutters something incomprehensible to herself.

Sulphur. A familiar smell, but one Stan would probably never care for.

Stan watched Roth as the young elf puzzled out the crime scene. Clearly he had some experience in this sort of thing.

"This urn - did it have magical properties? It seems the burglars targeted it specifically. I understand a wizard's desire for privacy. However, if you want your help we'll need at least a basic grasp of the facts."

The lingering scent of brimstone continued to annoy the apprentice's olfactory. Perhaps I should give Kaele some facts as well.

"Also, I suspect you are not entirely correct in saying a group of people broke in." With that his eyes began looking for something to concentrate on other than the puzzled stares of his companions.

Kaele smiles as the group wanders about the room and asks a wave of questions.  “This young man discovered the hard way that a wizard’s tower is never what it seems,” she replies to Roth’s question first.  “I’m sure you all can still smell the trap’s pungent aftereffect?  Kurthan found him here alone after hearing that the trap had been sprung.  Not long after we discovered that the urn was missing.
“We called for a cleric from The Sun’s Temple and through the priest’s divine interjection we were able to speak to the corpse.  I was able to learn that the group of thieves are reassembling a statue, and they are guided by something he called ‘wisdom of the past’,” he says as she looks down to the body on the floor.
“The urn is magical,” she says at length, saving the most important questions for last.  “However, exactly how it fits into this scheme still remains to be seen.  I do not believe the item is worth dying for,” she says addressing Ilsa’s question.  “However, I find it hard to understand the desires of man.  I imagine if someone were to be obsessed with something enough, one might die for the most trivial of things.
“I am confident they came from Godsgate.  I do not know if you know Skyway, but there are few places more wretched and dangerous.  I don’t dare go there myself—and that’s where I’d like to hire your services.  If you go to Godsgate and recover the urn, I’ll pay each of you six hundred pieces of gold.  Interested?”
This message was last edited by the player at 01:30, Wed 22 Apr 2009.

Stan scanned the shelves lined with books. No doubt many contained spells. Most would be too complex for his apprentice-level training, but he was confident that some of those books contained spells he could use.

"I for one am willing to help you. However, wizard to wizard, might you have a payment a bit less material in nature?

"Most of my spellbooks were destroyed along with my school. You, however, have a library of magnificent proportions. I would be willing to get my hands dirty for a chance to copy out some of your more useful spells."

"That would be good compensation we have been travelling and not really had time for academic pursuits" Aigol looked at the corpse "Do your traps really  need to be so lethal to prevent theft"

"I just can't see the connection between someone stealing your urn, a platform collapsing, and a wizard school burning down."  Roth looks down at the corpse with a furrowed brow and adds, "And I'm not sure I'm the one to get between a die-hard zealot and his statue...  But I know a bit about Godsgate--maybe I can help."

Ilsa did some quick counting on her fingers and grunted approval. "Agreed. But you pay for any healing we might need. And I... we keep whatever else we find on them." She looked to Shirok for approval, but didn't think her tribesman would disagree.

"Can I have his head?" she asked, indicating the dead body. In her mind it would make asking people about him easier. And by ask, she meant browbeat (or simply beat) them until they told her want she wanted.

Kaele smiles as the group seems to be willing to help her recover the lost urn.  Her smile fades and is replaced by a confused look when Ilsa asks for the thief’s head.
“Um,” she says as she tries to compose herself.  “I’m afraid I cannot oblige you there.  The temple of Pelor has already claimed the body and a representative should be arriving shortly to collect.  I also cannot speak for anything else you find in the thieves’ possession, however I won’t concern myself with such things,” she says with a sly wink.
“You wish for spells as payment,” she replies to the wizards.  “I will agree to cover any expenses you might incur from injuries and funeral expenses if necessary; however I don’t see that to be an issue.  As for spells, I believe we can work something out,” she says eyeing Stan specifically.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:30, Wed 22 Apr 2009.

Still kneeling near the body, Roth asks Kaele, "If you have some parchment and ink handy, maybe I can copy down some of this thief's tattoos.  They might help narrow our search of Godsgate."  The young elf hesitates a bit at touching the corpse, but begins to move some of its clothing aside to get a better look at the body art.

Shirok nodded at Ilsa's agreement. Money was sadly necessary, especially if they were to remain within cities for a time. Shame they were not permitted to bring the head; far easier to find someone that knew him, and the intimidation value was incalculable.

He knelt down next to his wolf, who had been wandering about the room curiously, and murmured several words in a strange language. Neya seemed to nod slightly before she padded towards the corpse, sniffing gently.

Stan was glad they didn't have to lug around someone's head. That sort of thing could get pretty disgusting. He understood that it could prove useful in locating the thief. It was just too barbarous an option. Thankfully Pelor had already claimed the body and the party had other ways of finding the thief.

Between Roth's expert skills and this tame wolf's scent abilities, the party stood a good chance of locating their quarry.

Stan's only real concern was what to do when they found the urn and its possessors. He had never killed a man, and he wasn't keen on a bloody melee. Stan remembered what one of his professors had said about wizards in combat: "stay back and let the spells do the work." He made a mental note to memorize some dangerous spells the next morning.

Kaele takes a step back, allowing Roth access to a stack of parchment, a pen, and ink atop the nearby desk.  He begins to methodically trifle through the corpse’s clothing, searching for any unique tattoos.  As Roth examines the body, and the wolf Neya commits the man’s scent to memory, Kaele continues to address the party.
“As I said before, I believe these thieves came from Godsgate.  There is a young cleric there; she is a missionary of the Silver Hand.  Her name is Blanka, and she has been living at Blackstone Church.  She is a friend and can be trusted.  You should seek her out if you need any guidance within that forsaken realm.  Likewise, she can provide any healing you require.
“You asked me why I chose such lethal protection,” she says looking over at Aigol.  “A guard was killed last night; the thieves cut his throat.  I sent a messenger to his wife just before you arrived,” her eyes retreat from the rogue and she beings to stare off absently.
“Is there anything else?”
This message was last edited by the player at 01:31, Wed 22 Apr 2009.

"One question," Shirok said as he straightened up from the ground. "Why do you trust strangers to do this instead of informing the guards?"

Abigail's stomach gave a small grumble.  She muttered something to herself, seemingly in response to Kaele's question.

Abigail then turns away from the fascinating building, and addresses the group.

If we are done here, I believe we should grab a meal before heading to Godsgate.  Never fight crime on an empty stomach!