Hello all,

The meeting is over.  Sheriff Hemlock left with his men for Magnimar.  Shalelu Andosana departed to prepare herself for her hunt.  And Mayor Deverin returned to the many mundane administrative tasks involved in running a town that must be addressed no matter how many goblins or necromancers might threaten it.

Once again, you have the day to do what you will in the town of Sandpoint.  This thread exists to allow you to describe what you will be doing.  If we have to break out some of the interaction or perform any rolls we can do that as needed, but the idea of this is to be a quick bridge to either dinner with Shalelu or the following morning, where we will again pick up the story.

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Kellan has a lot of plans for the period in which the Sheriff is gone, but to narrow down his goals for the day.

Shopping List (Or requisitions from the armory if feasible)

His shopping list includes (unless he can requisition for the armory)

Hemp Rope (1gp, 10lbs)
Length of chain (30gp, 2lbs) [Stored in Saddlebags]
Simple lock for MW Manacles (Not sure if they would come with a Superior lock?) (20gp)
Flail (8gp, 5lbs)
Light Crossbow w/20 bolts (36gp, 4lbs)
Chalk (1cp)

Total: 75gp

His plans for the afternoon involve walking the city walls looking for damage, repairs needed, lines of approach, etc and also marking key pieces of cover the enemy could use within bow shot such as boulders or trees with chalk.

Having Cato along would make things a lot easier if he was still wanting to team up, they could also pitch ideas back and forth for how to go about the task at hand and how he would go about attacking the city from an arcane point of view.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:16, Wed 20 Nov 2013.

"A year or two ago," said the gnome, raised on her toes to peer over the top of the counter at the clerk at the White Deer inn, "you had a Chelish customer who paid a month's room rent in advance.  He was later found dead at the base of Junker's Cliff.  I heard ... "  It was difficult, balancing on your toes, gripping the edge of the counter to pull yourself up.  So, with a small sigh of exasperation, Pisca simply went around.  "I heard that when this person's things were examined, there was a book written in a code that no one could figure out.  I was wondering whether you still had that book here?" she asked.  "Or whether you might know where it went?"

Pisca had not received an immediate audience with the mayor.  And yet, this had done little to dampen the spirits of the somewhat-impatient gnome.  Her attention had seemingly been captured by other pursuits.  For the moment.  She had waved her goodbyes to the others in front of the town hall.  Then, in the cheerful light of the morning sun, Pisca made her way to the White Deer inn.  The thought of Black Arrow had recalled to the gnome all of the things she'd found out about her two days ago.  That, in its turn, had brought to mind how nice it would be to have that book left by the accident prone Chelish spy.  What could be more interesting than a book of ciphers over which to pour?

As she walked the streets of Sandpoint her way to the White Deer, Pisca had laid the foundation of her plan.  She'd need either some way to color her arrows black.  Or she would have to make her own black arrows.  The gnome had immediately opted for the later.  It was the superior choice by virtue of its sheer authenticity alone.  And how hard could making arrows be?  She was, after all, a gnome.  She would have to buy tools, she had decided.  The best tools that money could buy.  Thank the fortune of Desna for the money they'd gotten from the looted goblins.  And while she was at it, the gnome had thought, she'd buy a cloak.  A black hooded cloak.  Or, maybe an entire black hooded outfit!  The general store.  Yes.  That's where she'd have to go next.

Rounding the bend that turned Main street into Cliff street had drawn the gnome from the intricacies of her morning plans.  The cliffs to her left must have been where the spy had plunged to his death.  Ameiko's mother too.  The White Deer inn, her destination, had lain directly ahead.  What were the chances that the book would still be around somewhere?  A book with mysterious unreadable scribbles?  A book with no real use to anyone?  Not real good, the gnome had thought.  But it couldn't hurt to ask.

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Purchase: Traveler's Outfit in Black - 1gp
Masterwork Artisan's Tools - 55gp
Raw Materials for crafting 20 black arrows - 3sp 4cp (1/3 of 1gp)

Craft Bow check please (To craft black arrows.)  Please add +2 for Masterwork Tools and +1 for Archeologist's Luck.

In reply to Kellan Storval (msg # 2):

Cato plans on accompanying Kellan around town, giving advice about fortifying the town against low-level magic that could be wielded by the goblin tribes looking to attack the town, as well as making their general presence in town known.  Cato Crispin, consulting wizard for the town guard of Sandpoint.

Liseth traveled directly from the meeting to the Cathedral.  She was sure to pin her new badge onto her blouse before leaving, since the Sheriff had said that people would feel safer and happier to see her wearing it.  Walking through Sandpoint the young acolyte maintained her sedate pace and, emboldened by her new badge and position as a duly deputized 'Sandpoint Savior,' Liseth waved and smiled to the people that she passed.  It made the girl happy to see the positive way that everyone reacted to her efforts.

"Kerr!  Father Zantus!" She called upon arriving inside the Cathedral.  The two weren't hard to locate, Liseth knew that they had to be here.  Liseth excitedly hurried to them, stumbling over her legs a bit, "Look what Sheriff Hemlock gave me!"  Showing off the golden badge, Liseth continued, "He officially deputized Cato and Kellan and Pisca and me so that we can keep Sandpoint safe while he travels to Magnimar.  He's trying to get help from the garrison there.  And he tells us that all we have to do is stay in town and let people see us and it will make everyone feel better."

After their greetings and responses, Liseth went to the Acolyte Quarters in order to change her clothes.  Now dressed in her clean and comfortable white robes the short blonde found Father Zantus again; first apologizing for taking a holiday yesterday, and then asking if there was anything that she could do to help today.

It was shortly after that she finally decided to ask Father Zantus if he had learned anything important, "Father Zantus, when you were cleaning up the...mess yesterday, I don't suppose you learned anything new that we might have missed before?  Something that might help with the investigation towards the goblins and their mysterious leader and...why they stole Father Tobayn's remains?"  She proceeded into another question shortly after, "How well did you know Father Tobayn?  I don't know anything about him.  Was there anybody that might want to do something so terrible just to hurt him so long after he died?  Or hurt people who remember him?  There has to be some reason why they sneaked into the Boneyard and went straight for Father Tobayn's remains like they did."

After lunch, Liseth gathered some writing materials before she returned to the Cathedral again.  She had finally decided to set down and write that letter she had been thinking about for the last several days.  After getting a moment to spend at a desk in the Cathedral, Liseth penned a letter to her father:

Dearest Daddy,

Goblins attacked Sandpoint!  But don't worry, I'm okay.  I hope that you weren't worried about me.

Everyone is calling me a hero now too!  When the goblins attacked, everyone was at the Cathedral for the consecration ceremony and I met some new friends and I even helped them when they fought the goblins!  I never did so much healing all at once before, but people keep telling me that I saved their lives that night.

My new friends are Cato Crispin (he's a wizard AND a scholar just like Uncle Cedric!), Kellan Storval (he's a guard here in Sandpoint; I think that you would like him, he's a good fighter), and Pisca Neep Freemish (she's a GNOME!).  Since everyone is calling us heroes now, Sheriff Hemlock, he's the Sheriff in Sandpoint, just deputized us so that we can officially keep Sandpoint safe.  And we're also investigating the goblin attack too.  It seems that goblins are attacking lots of people all around the countryside too, so they might try to attack Sandpoint again.  Are goblins causing any problems near Galduria?

Oh!  And I met the sweetest boy!  His name is Kerr Mollin and he is Father Zantus's acolyte here at the Cathedral.  Kerr is the nicest boy in the world!  If it wasn't for him I don't know what I would have done when I first arrived at Sandpoint.  Everyone in the town already likes him; I even heard that he might become the new Prelate someday!  And I just found out a few days ago that he's even my boyfriend now!  I can't wait until you meet him, I just know that you'll like him too.

Send Father Garrick my love, and tell him thank you for convincing me to come and visit the Cathedral here, or I never would have met so many new friends.  And he is pretty sneaky, not telling me about the Swallowtail Festival before I left!  I even managed to win the Herb Challenge this year!  I have a ribbon and everything.

And tell Nivlak that I miss him too!  Maybe if he has time, he can come visit me here in Sandpoint.  Especially since the goblins are making so much trouble right now.  I bet if they heard that a brave Knight like Nivlak was in town they would think twice before trying to attack again!

All my love,
Liseth

Now she just needs somebody to carry the letter to her family's estate near Galduria.

Her letter complete, Liseth returned to helping Father Zantus and Kerr.  Especially Kerr; she never realized before how much fun it was just doing regular Cathedral chores when she was doing them with him.  She wondered if Kerr would like to meet Shalelu Andosana, since the famous elf adventurer did invite them to join her for dinner at the Rusty Dragon tonight.  Well, she didn't really invite Kerr but Liseth was sure that Ms Andosana wouldn't mind if he came with her.

Then again, the last couple of times the she and Kerr tried to have dinner at the Rusty Dragon it didn't turn out so well.  Maybe if Pisca or Kellan or Cato were going to meet with Ms Andosana she would go too; after all they probably should discuss their investigation with her.  But if not, well...Liseth sort of felt like staying in tonight.

OOC:  Cost of a sheet of paper, an inkpen, and a vial of ink totaling 8 Gold, 5 Silver.  Unless there are materials already at the Cathedral that Father Zantus doesn't mind me using.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:54, Tue 19 Nov 2013.

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Garridan Viskalai raised an eyebrow at the strange gnome who had been running about Sandpoint for the past few months.  He had heard tales of her valor, but found it hard to credit them to someone so small.  But he started to re-evaluate his initial impression when he heard her question.

"Ah . . . well, it's funny you should ask that," said the innkeeper.  "I had locked all of the man's valuables away in the inn's safe, as Sheriff Hemlock instructed me.  Apparently the man had representatives who were coming to collect his things.  And I hadn't accessed the safe in the meantime.  But when those representatives arrived, and I opened the safe, the man's papers were gone!  Nothing else, mind you.  Not the other valuables in the safe.  Not his very, very fine weapons that I had locked away in a closet, and that were probably worth hundreds of gold pieces each."  The man scratched his head.  "Just the papers.  It was . . . odd."

He looked down at the gnome, unconsciously wringing his hands.  "No one was very happy with me that day, but I TOLD the man's representatives AND Sheriff Hemlock that I had had nothing to do with it!  I don't think they believed me.  And just a couple of days later I was robbed again!  This time it was very blatant . . . someone ripped apart my study and smashed open the safe.  But again, they didn't take anything!"

"If you could find out who was responsible for either incident, I would be much obliged.  I would even give you an, an investigator's fee!  I feel like that whole episode damaged my reputation and the reputation of the White Deer."  He grimaced.  "It was not a pleasant time for me."

OOC:  Pisca will be able to craft 20 fine-looking black arrows, but she can only make 3 arrows a day.  She's very proud of the three she made today; they are almost pieces of art.

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This message was lightly edited by the GM at 04:53, Thu 21 Nov 2013.

Pisca had tucked her hands behind her back and had, while the hummie owner of the White Deer related the story of the two incidents, paced a circle in a manner that she imagined to be one of deep and contemplative thought.  When he finished, the gnome frowned in just the right way to show what a knotty problem this was.  Then she spoke.

"That certainly does sound like two separate people," she said.  "Or peoples," she added, pronouncing the pluralizing 's' with the emphasis of a thumping 'zuh'.  "The first party was able to circumvent the lock on your safe and remove the notebook without any trace of her -or his, or their- passage.  The second party did not have that skill and so they -or he or she- burst into your safe through main strength.  Then, not finding what they were looking for, began to ransack your office in search of it.  Of course, by that time, the notebook wasn't there.  But they -or she, or he- didn't know that."

"To me, that points to outsiders.  Someone who didn't know about the first incident.  Tell me," Pisca asked the innkeeper, "who else knew about the first incident of the missing notebook aside from Sheriff Hemlock and this Chelish man's representatives?  Did any of your staff know?  That might have been enough to have spread the news all over town."

"I'll take your offer."  With a nod and a fist that struck palm, the gnome took up the challenge.  "We'll find who did this to you Garridan Viskalai.  Some more questions first, though.  How were the representatives of this man contacted?  It's a long way to come from Cheliax.  Oh, and what name did this man register under and what room did you give him?  And do you have a complete list of the things he left behind?  I think that should be all for now.  I'll have to confer with my associates.  When we find something, we'll contact you."

After leaving the White Deer, the gnome flew along the edge of the cliff with her arms outstretched.  The wind that came up the cliff off the Steaming Sea felt, to the gnome, very much as should the winds beneath the wings of gulls and sea eagles as they soared upon the wing.  In this way, she scoured the eastern end of Sandpoint until she found Lunk.  Whereupon, the pair spent the rest of the day making the secret black arrows.  It was a day that was turning out to be highly satisfactory.  The arrows were coming along nicely.  In actuality it was Pisca who made the arrows and Lunk who watched - and listed to the gnome's running commentary.  At one point, Pisca looked up from her work, "Have you ever thought of taking on an alter ego?  You'd get to have another name.  We could call you ... John?  How does that sound?  John Diggle."

Later that evening at the Rusty Dragon, the gnome related the things that she had learned at the White Deer to her newly found friends from the Swallowtail Goblin Attack.  "Sounds interesting, doesn't it?" asked the gnome after a mouthful of food.  "I love a mystery.  Too bad Sheriff Hemlock's left already.  I would have liked to have talked to him about this."

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Knowledge Local check, please.  For Garridan Viskalai.

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Garridan nodded, glancing up at the ceiling as he recalled the requested information.  “The man registered under the name Daravayne Arabasti.  He stayed in the Thassilonian Suite; our nicest.  He seemed very well-to-do.”

The innkeeper shook his head.  “As far as who would have known about the incident, that would be pretty much everyone, unfortunately.”  His face crumpled slightly.  “It’s a small town and the death of someone in such a violent manner is very unusual.  It was the talk of the town for weeks; every detail was discussed, including the disappearance of his papers.  It wasn’t any sort of a secret.”

“I’m not sure how the man’s representatives were contacted.  Now that you mention it, that is rather strange, isn’t it?  That they showed up only a day or two after his death, I mean.  I’m not exactly sure how they knew what had happened.”  He scratched his head.  “That’s barely time for the news to have reached Magnimar.  Maybe they were staying there?  I really have no idea.”

“Now that I think about it . . .” he ducked under the front desk, reappearing with a triumphant “ah-ha” after about a minute or so.  He showed Pisca what looked like a silver badge with an image of a snake engraved upon it.  “I don't have a list of his possessions, but the man was carrying this at the time of his death.  I don’t know if the representatives knew about it or not; they never asked for it.  Although they were very interested in inspecting the man’s body . . . .”

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Father Zantus looked troubled as Liseth talked.  "I'm afraid I don't know any more now than we did after we discovered the break-in, child."  He sighed.  "We have cleaned everything up and re-consecrated the crypt.  But there is absolutely no indication why they invaded that particular tomb or what they might have wanted with Father Tobayn's remains."

"Unfortunately I was not a Sandpoint resident during the Late Unpleasantness, so I did not know Father Tobayn by anything other than reputation.  But by all accounts he was well-liked and beloved of the town's populace.  From what I gather he had rather strict ideas about personal conduct, so I suppose it's possible that some of the, um, looser members of the community might resent him, but having gotten to know the citizens of Sandpoint myself I can't imagine such resentment would lead to something like this, especially years later."

"No, it looks like this was done for a reason.  We simply don't know what it is.  Maybe they just needed any body and Father Tobayn was the one they took at random.  Maybe they need a body and they took Father Tobayn's because they thought it would send a message.  Maybe they wanted to desecrate the tomb of a holy man for an unholy purpose, or simply because while he lived he WAS well-loved in Sandpoint and the taking of his remains would affect the citizens that much more strongly.  There are many, many different reasons why these people might have done what they did.  We just don't know which reason it is."

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At the end of the day, the five of you (including Kerr) found yourselves back at the Rusty Dragon and in the company of the renowned Shalelu Andosana.  The other patrons were respectful during the dinner, but you saw them glancing over at her in respectful awe; she really was a living legend in the town.

During the dinner she elicited the tale of your adventures and the events of the Swallowtail Festival, even as she herself shared stories of the various attacks on communities out in the wildlands.  She interspersed these more harrowing tales with those of action, derring-do, and even humor; it turned out that the ranger was quite the storyteller.  As dinner wound down, each of you felt that that you had gained a valuable ally, and even a friend.

Dinner, as always, was superb.  After it concluded Shalelu bid you farewell and headed to the Goblin Squash Stables to begin her scouting mission into the wildlands.  You headed back to your rooms at the end of the evening with full bellies and your heads buzzing with the tales of mystery and heroism that had been shared at the table that evening.  When Shalelu was talking, it was easy to feel confident that the solution to the goblin issue was right around the corner.

Now that both she and the Sheriff had departed Sandpoint, however . . . well, it was easy to doubt.  As you lie down for the evening each of you wondered what would happen if Sandpoint's defenses were tested when they were at such a low ebb . . .

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER #6:  A DRAGON BEHEADED

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This message was last edited by the GM at 07:05, Fri 22 Nov 2013.