CotS: Any Port In A Storm

[Shameless]

As they adjourned to the Conservus office, Arrick went along, quietly pondering just what could have gotten someone killed.  There were of course many whispered of things, and with his clan, they were certain to know secrets that many wouldn't want revealed.   When Aelia and Danika returned, He smiled and nodded.  "Hello to both of you.  I am Arrick.  I will stand with you when the Watch comes."

Having a a cleric of Apollo in her corner would be useful, as they had a certain respect within the city, and Arrick himself was in good standing, and well thought of by most.  

[SalmonMax]

"Ankabut," says the dusky-skinned woman in the hood as she takes a place near enough the stove to warm herself. Her eyes flit from face to face, marking each, then rest on Arrick. She knew little of the dwarves and their ways, but he'd taken enough time looking over the papers that he might have recognized something. While she didn't intend to mix herself up in these matters that didn't concern her, Ankabut would rest a little easier knowing more than nothing about assassins operating anywhere near her.

 

"Do you know anything about the deceased, or why someone would want him dead?" she asks. "I find myself curious, in spite of everything."

[Nina]

"Ahem..." Aelia clears her throat and looks down at the child in her arms, "perhaps such talk can wait. Instead how about what brings us here at this time, I will start.

 

I am a sailor, a traveller of the seas, I go from ship to ship and port to port. But I also find new and strange places fascinating, so I sometime leave the sea to journey and explore new lands. Now, I shall admit I am not a stranger to this port for many times I have docked here, but I had been many months away at sea and upon my return this trip I had some scrolls I wish to give to the library and I decided to stay for the festival."

 

She looks form the Genasi and the one called Amkabut, "And you?"

[SalmonMax]

"I am from Parnath," answers Ankabut, turning her eyes downcast. "Dark times have come to my home, and I decided to leave before the chaos spread too far, too fast, for travel to be safe. I hope to find a new future in the lands. Perhaps here in this very city, if there is a place for me."

[Veral]

Kimmiz spoke up from near the stove, "I am Kimmiz. I came here to visit the library, and immerse myself in knowledge. I also was sent out into the greater world from the monestary to help me atone for my past actions." He put his Quarterstaff in one corner of the room, leaning against the wall. Then, he sat down in an ut of the way corner to await the guard. 

[Shameless]

Arrick looked up to Ankabut, and was about to reply when Aelia wisely brought up such talk wasn't good for the child in the room.  As each of those present introduced himself it came time for him to do so.  "I am Arrick Brightmantle, a cleric of Apollo. "  

Edited October 5, 2021 by Shameless

[Heritage367]

Once the kettle whistled, Mr. Galavrakas poured out cups of hibiscus tea for any wanted it, as well as offering a bowl of sugar lumps. The bright, tangy taste and warmth did indeed lift one's spirits.

 

A few moments later, a faint smell of ozone reached everyone's nostrils, and those with hair felt it rise on their arms and the back of their necks. These sensations heralded the arrival of a massive blue-scaled dragonborn who had to stoop to fit his spiky head under the office doorway. He wore chain mail under an off-white tabard depicting the stylized heads of a goat, lion and a serpent; this symbol plus his dark maroon cloak marked him as one of the Chimeres, the city watch of Heliopolis.

 

As he entered the chamber, he removed his helmet and tucked it one arm, then leaned his poleaxe carefully against the wall before nodding at each of the room's occupants like a dutiful schoolboy.

 

"Ladies, gentlemen, Mr. Galavrakas." His voice rumbled deep in his chest, but his tone was humble, not intimidating. "I am Officer Orkestes; how do you do." He indicated the young tortle girl with a nod. "I need to speak with the little one; is that okay, miss?"

 

Danika peeked out of her shell, looked the seven foot tall watch officer up and down for a moment, then mutely nodded.

 

"Thank you, miss. Here, I have something for you." Slowly he knelt down on one knee, his thick tail coiling under him for support, as he reached into the pouch on his belt. "Hold out your hand." When she nervously did so, he gingerly deposited a tasty-looking mixture of nuts and dried fruits in the middle of her small palm, which she eagerly munched on as he continued to talk.

 

"So I have to ask you a few questions about what you saw, and then write down your answers in a notebook. Is that alright? Good. Now, were you outside playing...?"

 

What commenced was a surprisingly sensitive and relatively short 'interrogation'. It was soon clear that Danika hadn't seen very much, and that the very act of describing what little she did see was very upsetting to her. The Chimera quickly wrapped up his questions, and then turned to the adults in the room.

 

"I'd like to question the rest of you, without- " He grimaced sympathetically as he gestured towards Danika.

 

"My wife can look after her," offered the conservus. "She baked some sweetbread this morning, and she dotes on the girl."

 

"Perfect, thank you."

 

At the mention of sweetbread, the tortle girl perked up noticeably, and she eagerly followed Mr. Galavrakas out of the office. Once she was gone, Officer Orkestes stood up and swung his head to look the remaing adults inquisitively as he once again took up his pencil and notebook.

 

"So, who wants to go first?"

[Shameless]

Arrick stood, and nodded.  "I will go first then, if no one else wishes to do so."   He gave his name and a brief rundown of who he was, and then the events that transpired as he recalled them.   He didn't omit anything, but qualified his assumptions regarding the clan of the deceased dwarf as such, based on what he'd seen.  He didn't know him personally, so he couldn't outright confirm it.

"That is my statement concerning this matter." Arrick finished.

[Veral]

Kimmiz stood to go next. His demeanor was stiff and a little bit closed off. He approached the Chimera and took a deep breath. "I didn't see the beginning. I came upon the scene after the young tortle lass screamed. Upon hearing her screams of fear I made my way over to the source of the wailing. When I arrived, I spotted the deceased dwarf. I saw others were giving succor to the young lady, so I tried to investigate the victim. I was able to learn only that his throat had been cut. Others managed to find other information. Before the watches arrival, we as a group decided to wait for you in a warmer, dryer place."

 

The gruff watchman asked, "What brought you to Heliopolis? Were you running from something?"

 

KImmiz decided truth was better than fiction. "I am here to visit the library, and to learn more about the world and myself. Anything else?" When the watchman said not for now, Kimmiz leaned back a bit, then returned to his place near the stove, crouched down, looking around the room. 

 

[SalmonMax]

"I saw the girl as I came to the inn," Ankabut says. "She was playing in the puddles, and I advised her to go home where it was safe. I did not realize that wasn't possible at the time. Then I went inside, warmed myself by the stove..."

 

She nodded at Galavrakas. "We met briefly. Then the scream, and I ran out to see if I could help."

 

"As for the victim, I have not seen him before, but I only arrived in this city earlier this night. I did notice that, in addition to having his throat cut, his tongue has been cut out as well. I hope this is of use to you in your investigation."

[Nina]

When the Dragonborn's gaze feel upon Aelia she merely shrugged.

 

"My concern was for Danika, the child, I saw no more and probably less than any of the others here."

 

The Chimeres nodded but his eyes never left Aelia's, "Your name and reasons for visiting the city?"

 

Aelia glanced away then back at him and squared her shoulders, "I am Aelia Andronekas of Talios. I am a sailor by trade," The Chimeres raised his chin a bit and his tail twitched. "I am currently between ships and I enjoy spending time in those ports I make call at. In other words I am a tourist."

 

The Dragonborn looked down then back up at her, "You were aboard the Coral Dream?"

 

"I was."

 

"My broodmate Okchevak was a sailor aboard that ship."

 

Aelia nodded, "Yes, he was a good man. He will be missed but rest assured those responsible for his death and the deaths of many others, met their fates."

 

The Dragonborn nodded silently.

 

[Heritage367]

Besides the few additional questions he asked of some of the group, the officer was mostly silent other than the skritch skritch of his pencil as he took notes. When the Parnathi mentioned the removal of the dwarf's tongue, the dragonborne curled his lip in weary disgust; apparently he'd seen this calling card before.

 

At length, he looked thoughtful. "Did any of you see any sign of a leather case or bag?" He pointed at his right forearm. "It would have been manacled to his wrist."

 

Mr. Galavrakas looked perplexed for a moment, and then his eyes went wide. "That's right! Mr. Overlook always carried that bag with him!" The conservus then shook his head. "No, no, I didn't see it; whoever killed him must have taken it, I suppose."

 

After verifying that none of the other four had seen such a bag, Orkrestes grumbled to himself, a sound of frustration from deep within his chest. Then he tucked his notebook and pencil away, and looked each person present and nodded. "Thank you for your assistance; Mr. Galavrakas, if you could keep "Mr. Overlook's" room untouched, we'll be sending a specialist to have a look 'round later this afternoon."

 

The massive dragonborne then turned to Danica and grunted, "Hold out your hand." When she obediently complied, he reached into his pouch and fetched a waxed paper packet of sweets, which he gently placed into her scaly palm before giving her a wink.

 

"Ladies and gentlemen, unless there's is anything else, I will take my leave of you."

Edited October 15, 2021 by Heritage367

[SalmonMax]

"Dark times and dark deeds," Ankabut said quietly to the dragonborn. "May whatever gods you hold fast to guide you through them."

 

Then she looked at Mr. Galavrakas.

 

"You asked before if I wanted to rent a room. As I was saying before all this...I do want that. The events of this evening have not made the miles any lighter."

[Heritage367]

The dragonborn nodded towards the Parnathi before stooping under the doorway to leave the conservus' office. In response to Ankabut's inquiry, Mr. Galavrakas stepped behind his desk and flipped open a large ledger. "I have several units available at different prices; you either pay by the day or by the month. For two rooms, furnished, that's five sestertii a day or fifteen denari a month, due on the first. If you prefer something a bit more modest, one furnished room will cost you one sestertius a day or three denari for the month." He shrugged.

 

The conservus continued, with the weariness of a spiel often repeated. "Furniture is one bed, with bedding that's changed once a week, one table, one chair and one chamber pot. Or you can just use the latrine." He indicated the general direction of the back of the building. "We get get fresh water in the courtyard, and the baths of Apollo's temple are three blocks away. Each unit has a stove for heat, but you buy your own wood; most of the year, you won't even need it."

 

There was a knock on the door, and a young woman entered, her damp wool cloak pulled over her head. She was blonde with green eyes, striking for this part of the world, and wore an exquisite breastplate embossed with seashells and doves, as well as a holy symbol around her neck. She was tall, athletic and gifted with a serene beauty. Arrick recognized her as Kleio, a young priestess of the Cult of Aphrodite. The two occasionally ran into each other in the Temple District while spreading the gods' kindness.

 

"Mr. Galavrakas, is Danika in hear? I heard-" She stopped and dipped her head at the others as she removed her helmet and tucked it under her arm. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had company." Then she paused as she looked over the various faces present, and her eyes widened at the sigb of the dwarven priest.

 

"Though actually I'm happy to see you, Brother Arrick. You've seen the body outside, yes?" She sighed and shook her head. "I was supposed to meet with 'Mr. Overlook' last night, but he never showed up for our meeting. And I'm concerned I may be the next target."

Edited October 29, 2021 by Heritage367

[Shameless]

Arrick's eyes betrayed the smile beneath his beard when Kleio entered.  The Temple of Aphrodite did much for the city's less fortunate, and of course in the process of making rounds though the city, he'd become acquainted with some of their number.  Kleio in particular he'd call a friend, and he was surprised to see her.   Then she spoke of a meeting with the deceased, one that hadn't happened, and her own danger.   "He looked to the others in the room, and nodded.  "Perhaps this is a conversation for somewhere else.   While we all did see the body, I'm not certain everyone hear wants to get involved any further.  I would definitely like to hear why you think you'll be targeted."  

It was a chance for the others to say they wished no further involvement in what was going on, and he would ask Kleio to come with him, but if they chose to remain, then that was their choice too.

[Nina]

Aelia had been preparing to take her leave as truly, the dead dwarf was none of her business, when the woman entered the office. From her garb it was obvious she was a member of the Cult of Aphrodite and probably of some station, and not anyone who held any interest for Aelia. Then the new comer asked about the child which made Aelia pause.

 

She listened for a moment while the dwarf, the living one, spoke to her indicating that he knew her, then Aelia spoke, "Why do you ask after the child, Danika?" There was an edge of protectiveness in her voice.

[Heritage367]

Kleio smiled as Danika slowly poked her head out of her shell once again, her mouth now full of the dragonborne's sweets. 

 

"Hello Danika." Turning to Aelia, she continued. "As part of my mission here in the city, I spend a lot of time here in the market district. I hand out tracts on the teachings of our cult, as well offering food and healing to those who need it. And from time to time, I'll entertain the children of the market with my illusions, and make sure their bellies are full."

 

The blonde priestess began to hum a merry little tune and gesture with her fingers, and a lovely unicorn foal appeared, with a shimmering pearlescent coat and a spiral horn formed of silver. The young tortle's eyes went wide with wonder and delight.

 

"So pretty!"

Edited October 29, 2021 by Heritage367

[Veral]

Kimmiz turned to Mr. Galavrakas, "I, too, am in need to a room for the forseeable future." He turned to the cultist of Aphrodite, "What makes you think you are next? I am Kimmiz, and I have seen something like this before, so I'd like to prevent this happening to anyone else. I have business with the Library in town, but I think it can be put off for a couple of days." With those comments and questions, Kimmiz crouched down near the stove, his eyes still on Kleio, trying to warm the chill that the brush with death had brought to his bones. 

[SalmonMax]

Ankabut passed some coin to the proprietor of the inn for her room, and made as if she was not listening to the priestesses words, when in fact she was hearing quite well. What caught her ear most particularly was not that this Kleio feared she was next...but rather that she'd been planning to meet with the deceased. Ankabut did not know a great deal of the temples in these foreign lands; it was possible Aphrodite's chosen were up to their gills in intrigues and that this was no exception. Certainly no one else seemed to find the notion odd.

 

But here was this priestess...doling out teachings and delighting children on one hand; and having meetings with furtive dwarves who had been marked for death on the other. And had she waited until the watchman had left before she came inside, or was that happy coincidence?

 

She had her room though. It was time to go. The dead dwarf, the child, the priestess...these did not concern her. She'd had more than her fill of schemes, and their consequences, in Parnath.

 

But... These others, naively shouldering the burden. They were earnest and true. The kind of people who would make good friends, if their loyalty were earned. The kind of friends she would almost certainly be needing sooner rather than later.

 

Perhaps it was she who was being naive.

 

"She was meeting with him," Ankabut said in answer to Kimmiz's question. She turned around to eye Kleio speculatively. "I imagine whatever that meeting was going to be about was what he was killed for. It's not unreasonable to expect they'll want to clear up any loose ends."

 

"A fine pickle for an initiate priestess. However did you get mixed up in such matters?"

[Heritage367]

Kleio looked first to Kimmiz and then to Ankabut, the unicorn fading out of existence as she dropped her focus on it, and she nodded at the Parnathi's explanation.

 

"It is as you said; Mr. Frostfinger was bringing some information he hoped to discuss. His family handles insurance as well as banking, especially maritime insurance, and he had noticed a pattern."

 

She stood up, and began pacing as her finger twisted around each other in agitation.

 

"Our temple believes in serving our community; priests are assigned to specific neighborhoods, and encouraged to assist the residents in anyway we can. We are taught that there can be no beauty where there is suffering, and so we try, within our neighborhoods, to do what we can to reduce that suffering."

 

Here Kleio stopped, seemingly unsure if she wanted to go on. But then she took a deep breath and steeled herself to push on.

 

 "There is something...sinister in this city. I mean, no city is free of crime or danger, but there is something else here, something beneath all that. I've felt this for some time, and I recently found out Mr. Frostfinger felt the same."

 

She leaned forward conspiratorially.

 

"He told me he felt there was a connection between the Sons of the Serpent, the pirates and smugglers that operate throughout the Inner Sea, and some of the wealthier citizens of Heliopolis. He wanted to meet at a nearby tavern, the Laughing Ape, to discuss the issue and share notes, but...he never showed up."

Edited November 21, 2021 by Heritage367

[Nina]

Now this had caught Aelia's attention. She pulled a few coins from her purse and handed them to Mr. Galavrakas, "Danika has had enough sweets for this morning, what she needs is a good bath and a real meal." she nods toward the door and then smiles down at the little tortle girl. "We'll keep an eye on things, Mr. Galavrakas."

 

Aelia moved with the Innkeep and the little girl ushering them out the door where she turned  to block anyone else from entering. "Those dogs of the sea, then if they are after you, you and all you hold dear may be in danger.

 

The sea is not a safe or easy place and one of the most dangerous things to be found are pirates. There are many different bands but the Sons of the Serpent they are the foulest, most dangerous, and the largest. They deal in piracy, slavery and murder."

 

 

[SalmonMax]

"Maybe," mused Ankabut, "But I do not think that this murder was carried out by pirates. Frostfinger was methodically stalked, taken by surprise and killed nearly instantly without raising an alarm. Pirates can be formidable warriors, but they rarely bother to learn the arts of stealth and the subtle kill."

 

She focused on Kleio. "You said he wanted to share notes. What did you have to share?"

[Heritage367]

"But I want to hear about the pirates," Danika protested as she and Mr. Galavrakas were ushered towards the door.

 

"Oh, you want to hear about pirates? I know just the tale!" Looking back over his shoulder, the conservus whispered, "Take all the time you need. I'll look after her."

 

Kleio nodded slowly at Ankabut's assessment of the dwarf's killing. "You're absolutely right; a Serpent would never kill like that. But one of the Night Terrors would."

 

The priestess leaned up against the desk, crossing her long legs. "Our concern was that these two criminal gangs might both be working for a third, unknown party. I've found some limited evidence of coordinatation, but nothing concrete; Frostfinger said he found a link he wanted to share."

 

She shrugged forlornly.

[Shameless]

The Sons of Set, now that was definitely a name he'd hoped to not hear again for some time.   "Damn."  He shook his head.  "This gets worse and worse.   They're not just pirates of the seas, they're slavers and involved with the drug trade here on land.  They're most active in the eastern areas of the Inland sea."

Arrick knew a fair bit about them, even their flag, if only due to his travels across the continent.  "My guess is he found a payoff by someone, to either of the groups, or both, linking them for something that has already happened, or worse to think of, has yet to happen."

[Veral]

Kimmiz shuddered at the mention of the Night Terrors. After Arrick mentioned what he knew of the pirates, Kimmiz spoke up.

 

"The Night Terrors? Are you sure? I've heard of them and come accross mentions in my research, but really? I've heard stories of them since I was young. They are the ones that come and take away bad children. Now I doubt that they do that, but the image still remains. WHat I came across in some research was they prefer working with knives and poison. There are many rumors about them. Some say they are Shapeshifters, other say they are magic-wielders. All the stories agree they are massively dangerous. Oh,  you said there was something you were looking into. Does the name the Empty Chair mean anything to you?" He then looked around at the rest of the people in the room, "Or does it mean anything to the rest of you either?"