Constantine's knock produced, at first, no reaction. After long minutes of hammering a bobbing light could be seen hoovering below the windowsill, winding its way through the interior of the workshop towards the front door.

The latch lifted and the door swung open to reveal a plump halfling woman in a white apron and a frilly maid's cap, carrying a candle. Her gaze played over the assembled group of adventurers with some surprise and she looked as if she was biting back some acerbic remark.

Instead she curtsy'd politely and said, "The Emporium is closed for the evening, good sirs. We will resume business in the morning."

Without further elaboration, or waiting for a reply, she began to swing the door shut in Constantine's face.

SCG had automatically taken a knee on the ladies doorstep as he had been raised by dwarves as a child and eye level was the most respectful...

46, Today: Sir Constantine Godalming rolled 28 using 1d20+8.  Diplomacy .

“Gracious lady! Please excuse our most poorly timed intrusion, but time is a luxury we do not still have.  If you would aid us I would be most grateful.”

He hangs his head awaiting her response
This message was last edited by the player at 20:55, Wed 08 Jan 2020.

A heavy hand slapped against the Emporium door well above Constantine's head, perhaps a little harder than was strictly necessary;  more than enough to prevent further closure, but not quite enough to push it back upon the maid -- definitively communicating that the choice on whether the portal opened or closed no longer belonged to the woman behind it.

"Zbraslav Hora is wanted on Court business," Vadim growled down at the halfling.  Her attitude wasn't helping his mood any.
 Traipsing all over the quarter trying to get an expert opinion on Dowd Fisher's face had proven fruitless, and then the uptight innkeep had meant Vadim had to leave the warmth of the Ewe almost as soon as he'd sat down.  This was why he stuck to the other side of town, when he had a choice.

Vadim opened his mouth as if to say something more but held his peace, tapping his tattooed fingertips against the wood as he waited.

"We have authority from the courts.  Show 'em the badge, Vadim," Shade says.  Behind the two larger men, she looks particularly small, but her and Nook stare at the woman with peculiar intensity, hands weaving symbols in the air.

OOC: 21:36, Today: Shade of Lonwood rolled 13 using 1d20+7.  Intimidate check.

Darcon stood at the rear of the group, watching the proceedings and hoping the halfling woman wouldn't end up raising a hue and cry about strangers trying to burst into her shop late at night.

"Good lady, we require some information that could be of utmost importance in the upcoming trial of the beast," he said helpfully.

The winning smile that was beginning to form on the plump maid's face vanished into a scowl that played over Vadim and Shade in equal measure. Still, she shot a considering look at Constantine and then motioned for the group to follow her into the workshop.

"Wait here, if you please." She said, indicating the front of the shop where the fine medical supplies were on display.

Hora's stock in trade was scalpels and blades, but he also had a variety of clamps, spreaders, and basins on display as well. He was clearly a metalworker, only a few of the offered goods had leather or wooden components.

"Mister Hora will see you now." Came the small announcement from the end of the room.

The maid led them up the stairs, they didn't get a chance to glance into the workshop area at the back of the building, and into a sitting room on the second floor. The decor was books and diagrams, very clearly the space of an engineer, and Zbraslav Hora set aside his newspaper and rose from a plush armchair as his unexpected guests entered.

He was an elderly man, easy to take for human but for the pointed tips of his ears, and wearing a dark velvet smoking jacket and a tasseled night cap. Clearly a man at his ease for the evening, although not dressed for bed. Across from him sat a handsome woman with a lined face and kindly eyes, her gray hair pulled up into a comfortable, loose bun. She did not rise, but nodded politely. The glittering wedding band on her finger matched his.

"Thank you. Tea, I think." He said to the maid, who curtseyd and moved out.

"What brings you to my home at this late hour?" He turned the question to our heroes, his demeanor becoming stony. Clearly he did not appreciate the intrusion on his privacy.

“Please excuse our intrusion, we were delayed in Morast by an overgrown Camine.  There was a campsite at the boneyard and the only clue we found was an instrument of healing that had been put to foul use.”

Who ever has the scalpel can let the man inspect it.

Sir Constantine Godalming rolled 15 using 1d20+8.  Diplomacy
This message was last edited by the player at 13:50, Fri 10 Jan 2020.

Constantine passed over the scalpel to Hora, who walked it over to a nearby desk to examine it under a large crystal lens attached to a hinged arm.

"It's certainly one of mine." He said, running a thumb over the inscribed crest and turning the blade this way and that.

"Let's see if...yes. Look here." He said, inviting the others over and showing them a small set of numerals inscribed into the handle, just above the raven mark.

"Stay here for a moment." He instructed, and left the study. He could be heard moving about in the workshop below.

He was only gone for a moment or two but his wife, a pleasant woman named Yvania, took up the host's duties to make small talk and put her guests at ease. The maid arrived with tea just as Zbraslav returned with a large leather bound ledger. It was one of several that he kept detailing his sales, and he laid it out on the desk.

He quickly flipped to the correct page, ran a finger down to the correct entry, double checked the number inscribed on the scalpel,  and tapped it decisively.

"This was part of a set. Assorted scalpels, two medical clamps, and a bone saw. The set was sold to one Vladka Kostel. She's a purchaser for one of the auction houses in the city..." He scratched a finger over his chin, screwing up his face in thought.

"The Stonesharpe Brother's. Or Ledov's. Maybe the Workman's Exchange up on East High St. I can't remember precisely. At any rate, it's very likely that the doctor who ultimately used this tool bought it from one of those auction houses."

He handed the razor sharp blade back to Constantine.

Shade had accepted a cup of tea from Yvania with murmured thanks, but hadn't drunk yet, letting the hot tea warm her hands.

"'Tis important to remember clear where it went. We wouldn't be knocking at this late hour for any idle thing.  Someone put that tool to dire use.  Vile use, even," Shade says to Hora.

SCG takes the sharp instrument and looks over the mans shoulder...

“What was that sale date?  The details are often of great importance.”

He pauses
“Where might we seek the person Vladka Kostel, and how would we recognize him or her?”
This message was last edited by the player at 23:00, Fri 10 Jan 2020.

Darcon sipped his tea slowly, his mind racing as he pondered the information. It was obvious they needed to track down this Vladka and find out which auction house she belonged to and who she sold the scalpel set to.

The mage wanted to get to it right away but waited to see if Hora would tell Constantine where to find Vladka.

Darcon could feel they were getting close to finding some answers; if they tracked down whoever had bought the set, that person would likely still have the remainder of the instruments from the set, along with Hora's insignia, giving them evidence they belonged to the same person who had been present in the boneyard that fateful night.

Ofcourse, this assumed whoever it was had been up to something nefarious linked to the murders and the beast, otherwise they were simply wasting their time.

"This sale was on Gozran 18th, 4708." Hora answered Constantine, naming a date just shy of three years ago.

Hora flipped back and forth in the ledger, examining the line items one by one and shaking his head each time.

"No...no...no...Hmmm. I know that Vladka has purchased from us often. See here, here, and here. I have only her name listed in the ledger though, not her employer's." He said to Shade.

"I know that she keeps rooms here in the city, although I have never called on her myself. She's human, yea high, with red hair to the shoulder and a green silk scarf with a white embroidered swan. You can probably find her in the merchant's district during business hours."

---

I've rolled Knowledge: Local checks on your behalf, unfortunately none of you is acquainted with Vladka Kostel already. You can do a gather information check in 1d4 hours with a DC25 diplomacy check or a DC20 Knowledge: Local check to find her residence and employer. If you make that check now you'll take a -4 since you'll be waking people up in the middle of the night and they'll be less willing to talk to you.

SCG nods his head and smiles
“Thank you for your confirmation it seems we have a very late night ahead of us indeed.  Perhaps she is a person who is up at this hour.”

SCG heads for the door...draining a second cup of tea in the process
“Thank you for your hospitality.”
This message was last edited by the player at 14:10, Tue 14 Jan 2020.

Hora nodded, gladder to see them gone than to have helped with the investigation, although his wife smiled and bid them a fond farewell.

He also copied out a sheet of parchment with the details of the transaction, should they require the information at a later date.

---

Let me know where you're heading and what you're doing. Go ahead and make the check if you want to Gather Information, and be sure to roll a 1d4 time in hours as well. You can try as many times as you'd like, but remember that you're taking -4. It's 8:00 at the moment. We'll move along with the investigation, or if you'd like to pick up tomorrow we'll move the day along.

If you stay up all night or most of the night you'll be fatigued the following day.

SCG heads for the noise of a late night pub hoping to find the lady or directions to her

today: Sir Constantine Godalming rolled 27 using 1d20+8.  Gather information (diplomacy).   Today: Sir Constantine Godalming rolled 2 using 1d4.  Hours.

“We can keep going for awhile, as we race the cock’s crow.  If anyone is tired you can rest and the rest of us can continue.  I can use a keep watch spell once we return to our quarters for the night; though I do not know how much it may help.”


Gather info result is a 23 (forgot to subtract the 4 point penalty)
This message was last edited by the player at 20:06, Tue 14 Jan 2020.

During the interview with Hora Vadim had contented himself with looming in the background, politely greeting the merchant and his wife but declining tea or conversation.  When his role as 'stern but aloof marshal' had been played out he'd tipped his nonexistent hat and departed with the rest, heavy tread causing the stairs to creak on his way back down to street level.

Not really much of a one to press the flesh (of the living, at least) Vadim took a pint and a table, pulling out a few chairs as an invitation for the others to join.  Jonah and Shade in particular he motioned over, setting a worn journal on the table and thumbing through some pages.  A chipped, yellowing fingernail tapped on one side of a hand-drawn map of the merchant quarter.

"Better if we divide up territory and make a plan, yes?"  He looks to the others, with half an eye to making sure Sir Constantine isn't getting mixed up with the wrong set of local colour.  "Or do we go as one group?"

Shade sets the tea down, mostly untouched but for a few small sips.  "Our thanks for aiding us," she says, giving them a small nod.

Seeing Vadim at the book, she'll look it over.  "Oh ho, don't see those often in Lonwood!  Let me take a look too, and then I can go rattle some trees.  Luckily those I'm going to ask are usually waking at this hour, not sleeping," she says with a grin.

OOC: I'll take the hour to study, and then I shall get:
21:30, Today: Shade of Lonwood rolled 16 using 1d20+12.  Knowledge (local) check.

Constantine and Vadim moved through the late night taverns around the docks, never closed even in the dead of night. Rollicking common rooms sent light and music and the sounds of conversation out into the misty streets.

Shade pursued her own channels, but found little success.

Vadim and Constantine were luckier.

While the seedy taverns near the docks stayed open until all hours of the morning, the well-to-do eateries and taverns in the merchant district were starting to wind down their custom as the hour grew later. There were still plenty of customers though, even here most establishments would keep their doors open until midnight.

They asked around until a tanner, just closing his shop after a late project kept him at work, was happy to provide them with information on Vladka Kostel. He spoke glowingly of her, and the tipsier he got the more it became clear that his interest was more than professional.

Vladka Kostel worked as a purchasing agent for Ledov's Chiurgery Merchants and kept an office in their small auction house in the merchant district. It was only a block or so from the tavern and so the two gumshoes took a look at it, but found it empty and locked for the evening.

Instead they rendezvoused with the others and then, together, made their way to the upscale boarding house where Kostel kept rooms.

There was a doorman who yielded to Vadim's seal of authority, and then they were standing in the corridor outside her chambers.

---

Constantine, 23 isn't quite enough, but with Vadim's Aid Another you manage to track down Kostel's lodgings and employer.

“We hast done well in this finding our major clue; yet I fear we are more steps removed from a conclusion.  I do not doubt we will find the owner of the contraptions.”

Looking at his compatriots he knocks on yet another door....
This message was last edited by the player at 15:21, Thu 16 Jan 2020.

Shade had been frustrated when no one knew where their quarry was (she had been certain that Jami Blade would at least know of a knife dealer, but apparently it was too rich for his blood), but it seems her companions had managed to find her.

Waiting with Sir Constantine for Vladka Kostel to open the door, Shade keeps her powers close to her; she has ways of disabling the woman, should she suddenly become hostile, or making her talk as if they were her best friend.  Neither of them were the sort of thing she wanted to advertise in advance, but you never knew what a person would do when caught red-handed in wrongdoing.  Better to be prepared.

The door opened a crack and a startled eye peeped out at the party.

"What do you want?" The woman inside asked suspiciously.

She quirked an eyebrow at the mention of the investigation and opened her door the rest of the way. She certainly matched Hora's description. Short, thin, with red hair pulled back in a casual braid. She wasn't wearing her scarf at the moment, but it could be seen hanging from a peg on her coat rack.

"I suppose you'd better come inside."

Her sitting room was subtly but finely appointed, she was a woman of modest means but fine taste. She didn't invite our heroes to sit and didn't take a seat herself, instead folding her arms forbiddingly and tapping a foot as she waited for them to state their case.

“Pardon our intrusion.”


“It is this item; crafted by Zbraslav Hora and sold through you as part of a set. Assorted scalpels, two medical clamps, and a bone saw. The set was sold...”

SCG checks his notes....
“ ....on Gozran 18th, 4708”

He smiles at the lady
day: Sir Constantine Godalming rolled 12 using 1d20+8.  Diplomacy


“We are hoping to track it to it’s last owner.”
This message was last edited by the player at 19:57, Thu 16 Jan 2020.

Vladka examined both the scalpel and the bill of sale brusquely, without touching them.

"We do a goodly amount of business with the craftsmen of Anatomist Alley, and with Master Hora in particular. Surely you don't expect me to remember each transaction? This is dated over two years ago." She said, her tone a professional woman struggling to remain polite.

"We do keep a record of all auctions. If you would like, you can schedule an appointment at my office and we can go over the records. At a more reasonable hour." She said.

"If we wanted the information at a reasonable hour, Madam Kostel, we would have come then. This is pertaining to the case of the Beast, and getting proper justice for all involved. There is little time before the trial, and this is something we need now.  There's papers and badges from the Judge if that is needful for you to see to help the city," Shade says, not looking impressed by Kostel, and indeed looking somewhat suspicious of her, as if Kostel might be involved and be next on the trial list if she withheld her knowledge...

OOC: 12:01, Today: Shade of Lonwood rolled 19 using 1d20+11.  Bluff check.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:02, Fri 17 Jan 2020.

As they left Hora's house and the others departed to make their own investigations,  Darcon decided there were enough of them following this particular lead. Bidding them the best of luck he made his way back to the Inn, intending to await the results of the party's investigation and get some rest for what promised to be a big day ahead.

---

ooc: Darcon will head back to the inn to get some rest, so as not to be fatigued and also to refresh his spell slots