Everyone: In the middle of everything you hear a horrendous crash from downstairs followed by a woman cursing so violently it almost makes you blush.

Hearing voices upstairs, she quickly looked around for a hiding spot, she needed to know what Ian was doing.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:21, Mon 25 Nov 2013.

Kimi: ooc: Make a damage roll against the box. Remember, you are unarmed for this so make sure you use the proper hit die, etc and add your strength modifier.

In reply to Artemis (msg # 26):

Stefan gives Ian a nod, but is startled by the crash and the cursing. He looks quickly to the tailor and makes his way out of the fitting room towards the direction of the cursing.

Kimi: You manage to find a decent hiding place in a crevice behind the crates. Lily sees you hide, looks like she wants to stay but has no time to hide so she books it out of the cellar, leaving the door open. Her scrambling is almost comical and under other circumstances you may be tempted to laugh for the woman's face is truly amusing she is so panicked. It is quite rare for the Native woman to make a mistake like this, so no doubt she will be quite embarrassed when you meet up with her again. In the meantime, you cannot see from your location, but you can hear the quick entry of those upstairs.

Stefan/John: Mr. Bently hears the noise, as does his assistant, and they rush all at once to the basement. That sounded like a burgler! Bently growls, grabbing a pair of wicked looking scissors. He flings open the door and you see a cluttered storeroom of sorts with various crates and yards of material and the like. The cellar door has been left open and the sunlight is streaming through. Various broken jars litter the ground from where they were knocked off a shelf. Bently gives a frustrated snarl and runs outside in an effort to find the intruder. His assistant starts to clean up the glass, apologizing awkwardly.

ooc: Roll spots please

Stefan follows the tailor down and noticed the mess. He was curious as to what someone might want in here, as he looked around. "Did dhey take anydhing?"

As he heard the loud crash John had to keep himself from cursing aloud. He followed after the tailor heading towards the basement with a pair of scissors in his hand. "Sir, the burglar may still be there and could be dangerous, I was a lawman back home,  a texas ranger. Maybe ye should let me go first."

Kimi held her breath as the men came down the stairs.  She did her best to remain concealed.

Mr. Bently shakes his head at Stefan's question. As far as I can tell everything is intact. Broke a lot of my glassware though. He adds sourly. There's a lot of thieves in this part of town unfortunately. I'm thinking one of them thought I had something of value down here. I don't know how they could get out of here so quickly. It sounded like a woman to me. Did you hear her too? He demands. I'm sorry if I lost my temper during all of this. I just don't take kindly to thievery. His voice sounds bitter and you realize that perhaps there is a bit more danger to this man than is obvious at first meeting.

John: (ooc: I rolled a spot for you to save time)
As you survey the scene you can see just the barest corner of Kimi's dress peeking out from behind some crates. You aren't sure if Lily is still here too or not, but it would be best if Bently and Ian did not know of her presence.

Kimi: You can hear everything they are saying and it is all you can do not to hold your breath for fear of them hearing you. So far though, you remain undetected as far as you can tell.

In reply to Artemis (msg # 34):

Stefan looked at the man sympathetically. "I understand completely." He bent down to pick up one of the jars and set back in place. "Allow me ta 'elp. Ve can clean dhis up quickly." He looked at the content and bent to pick up another. Again he looked at the content.

Stefan: You recognize many of the contents instantly. They are a wide variety of herbs and substances. Some are used for common home remedies, such as tooth aches and colds. Others are a bit more...exotic. It doesn't take an occultist to recognize them as involved in spells and hexes, but with your expertise you see exactly how these are used and this looks like they belong to someone quite advanced in such practices. Seeing you examine them, the tailor gives you an unreadable look and explains, Ah. I see you've come across some of my wife's remedies. She insists on keeping them here so as not to clutter the house. Perhaps now that she sees how prone they can be to damage she'll finally rid the place of the mess.

His wife? Kimi makes a note to "bump" into her.

John moved to pick up the mess closest to Kimi careful not to look directly at her. "Ah'll help as well sir, Ah'd suggest letting tha police know too, just in case."

When John comes close she watches to see what he does.  Does he know she's there?  She can't be sure.  She does not move, but watches him as he tends to the broken things.

Bently gives a nod at John's advice. Oh to be sure. I have friends amongst the police. They should be able to look into it for me. I only wish I had caught a glimpse of the thief. Well, at least this should keep anyone from getting in too easily. I thought during the day I would have been safe at least, but it looks like I underestimated the desperation of the poor. As he speaks he takes out a lock and closes the cellar doors, locking them roughly and putting the key in his waistcoat pocket. John and Kimi, you are acutely aware that he has just locked Kimi in. The only way out now is upstairs, or trying to pick the lock later in the dark when everyone has gone. Well, no sense lingering. Thank you for your help. Let us go upstairs and finish our business shall we?

John- You notice Ian's eyes flick to Kimi's hiding place. Did he see her too or is it just a coincidence?

In reply to Artemis (msg # 36):

Stefan nods. "I vould dhink it vould be best ta keep such dhings vhere dhey can be kept an eye on. I am sure she vill be doing dhat after you tell 'er about dhis."

Stefan noticed Ian and winks. He follows them up and looks at Ian, then to the cellar door. He gives a slight nod and makes an unlocking motion with his hand behind his back to him.

Stefan steps back into the fitting room to await the tailor to finish his measurements. He makes a few mental notes mostly about the party and the tailors wife, who is more than likely the one that they are looking for. He also wonders who it is that is still down there and why.

Kimi is not sure if she's been made or not, but as soon as the men go back upstairs, she moves from her hiding spot.  She needed to know what's in that box, is it the hand?  If it is she needs to get it back to the stores.

Moving forward, she looks around carefully to see if anyone stayed behind.

Ian announces that he will stay down and finish cleaning up the glass, insisting even as Bently tries to dissuade him. I'll only be a moment. I think there was some that went into the corner. He explains. As everyone else files up he quickly goes to the lock and deftly picks it with a lock pick set he pulls from his belt. He doesn't turn around as he does so, but he addresses Kimi: I don't know what you're doing here Kimi, but I'll scold you later. Was that Lily I heard? No one swears quite like her. I don't know why you're muddling in my investigation, but as you can see I have things under control. I'll talk to you back at headquarters. His voice is firm and frustrated, but still kind. His version of scolding is more likely to be offering you a drink and playing a game of darts. Still, you are unhappy he has seen you. He moves quickly, already headed back towards the stairs.

Stefan: Bently is visibly distracted as he finishes up your measurements. Clearly he is uncomfortable with Ian down there alone. He will be finished soon though and then it will be time to reconvene at headquarters. Jacob watches silently, clearly awaiting Ian's return as well.

ooc: I'm going to be finishing up with the tailor soon. Stefan and John go ahead and state your general intentions at the tailor. Kimi, feel free to explore in the cellar but I will need move silently checks and let me know your response to Ian.

Upon returning upstairs John excused himself on account of other business, promising the tailor he would be back. A promise he intended in keeping, after all a man had to look good for his own funeral. Once he was out he took a roundabout way back to the men of letters headquarters.

In reply to Artemis (msg # 43):

Stefan noticed how distracted the tailor is and shakes his head. "You 'ave nodhing ta fear. 'E vill not steal anydhing. You 'ave my vord on dhat. Vhat you 'ave down dhere 'e 'as seen before, as I am a practitioner, as vell. I look forvard ta speakin vidh your vife. 'Ow soon vill da suits be done?"

Stefan waits patiently as the man.

Kimi keeps her countenance steady when Ian speaks, she does not give away her thoughts.  Let him speak, she is here at the behest of Mr Brooks.  When he leaves, she does move about, looking for anything out of the ordinary.  The crate is especially interesting to her.

01:00, Today: Kimi-Yuka Noriko rolled 14 using 1d20+5. Move Silently.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:00, Tue 10 Dec 2013.

ooc: I'm going to roll everyone's listen checks to save time and see who may or may not hear Kimi :D

ic:
Jacob/Stefan:
Bently gives Stefan a startled look and mutters some kind of denial, but he looks rather shaken as he answers the question on the suits. Uh, two days. I will have them in two days. He informs you. In the meantime you hear movement from downstairs but Ian has already returned so it cannot be him. You seem to be the only one to hear it but Ian catches your eye and shakes his head as if to say, ' don't worry about it.' You will have to ask him about it later. You bid your goodbye's to the tailor and step outside. Ian has a frustrated look on his face as he stalks towards headquarters, expecting you to follow. Well, that could have gone better. He sighs. It seems there are a couple of agents that were sent to follow us. Why, I do not know, but I am a bit put out about it. We could have handled it on our own and they made a mess of things in that cellar. Well Stefan, did you notice anything? I saw you examining those jars.

John: As you head back in the general direction of the Men of Letters, Lily appears from around a corner and grabs your arm, pulling you out of the street. Did Kimi make it out? Is everything alright?! She demands. She is blushing furiously and you can only surmise that she's the one who knocked over the jars. That went absolutely horribly. I'm SOOOOO angry! She growls. I never do that! Aaaarg! She looks like she wants to hit something.

Kimi:
As far as you know no one has heard you. The crate is fairly easy to get open as some of them have not been nailed down yet and after a quick search you find the contents easy to search. It appears to be scrolls. Dozens of them and they seem to be in all manner of languages. From what you can surmise just at first glance they are in Latin, Sumerian, Babylonian, etc. What they are for you don't really have time to decipher. After all, it's only a matter of time before someone comes back downstairs.

Kimi is suspicious of the scrolls so will take the one that seems to be in latin.  She will stuff it in her clothing.  Again, she will look around for anything else suspicious, something that MIGHT hold the hand.

In reply to Artemis (msg # 47):

Stefan looks at Ian curiously. "Vhy would dhey do such dhings? Do you dhink dhis vas da vork of da traitor in our groups doing? As for vhat I seen down dhere. It vould seem dhat da tailors vife is a practitioner of da arts. I look forvard to meeting 'er at dhis charity party. Did you find anydhing down dhere beside dhe odher vatching us?"

Kimi: So far other than the herbs which the foreign man identified already you see nothing of note besides the scrolls. Fortunately leaving should be easy thanks to Ian, but you will want to try to do it quietly when you do.

Stefan/Jacob:

Ian frowns and shakes his head. I know Kimi very well. I would cut my hand off before I believed her capable of being a traitor. I do wonder why she's here though. I'll question her when we get back. We do have a banquet to get ready for after all. I have a feeling that Bently's wife may be involved as well. We will want to be prepared. He turns to Jacob. Remind me to upgrade your weapons when we return. It makes hunting so much easier. He gives a grin.