Grayaere Security Problems

Sieratag, 3rd prime post-Harvest

The nekomata Cleric of The Cat stuck his head in Damakaios' office.  "What do you have for us, today?" Fine Branch asked.  Standing slightly behind him, arms across his chest, was the Dark elf artificer, Dryali.  Damakaios put the paper he was writing on in a drawer and waved the two of them into his office.  Without any other Freelancers around, they just sat in the chairs near his desk like regular people.

Damakaios:  I know you are quite capable; but most of the missions I have, I want more than two people.  Vathia Estia tunnel problems, House Teontra's stable… also for Amabel, whatever Tahu saw, I dunno if that needs more.
Fine Branch:  maybe we could get Cathance?
Damakaios:  I do have a mission for the two of you.  House Grayaere wants Freelancers to track a shipment from their house to the dock, until loaded on the airship; and wants to learn who is interfering.  Some… bits have been going missing.
<House Grayaere is one of the few houses left who have the tech and magical knowhow to create badges, handheld vaults, and most importantly, imprinters.>
Dryali:  Grayaere?  As in, Estarai?
Damakaios:  exactly so.  This is a tracking mission.  The goal is to get the information, find out who, maybe a future mission is to find out who hired them.
Dryali:  do we track the party that stole the goods, or just note who they are?
Damakaios:  any sensible person would hire at least two middlemen, so track.
Dryali:  I disagree; every middleman introduces an opportunity to fuck up.
Fine Branch:  to be clear: find out who, stopping is optional, but don't do so at the expense of finding out the hiring party.
Damakaios:  if you can stop them without doing so, go for it.
Fine Branch:  who is normally responsible for this?
Damakaios:  not sure of details, somewhere in transit from the villa to the docks.  They have guards, unclear if one is suborned, or a dockworker is.
Fine Branch:  is there anyone supposed to be with the thing, start to finish?
Damakaios:  the guards.
Fine Branch:  we should be the guards.  Dryali, can you do that?
Dryali:  I can alter self.
Fine Branch:  we can't be fully subtle here; so we can use zone of truth.  Go to the House, tell them we'll be the guards...

Fine Branch fell into a fugue, while Dryali and Damakaios just kind of stared at him; then he said, rather precisely, ticking off on his claws, "I want to ask the guards:

• If working for any interest other than House Grayaere
• Do they know what's going to happen with badge hits
• Are these questions going to be relayed to anyone else
• What info do we need to impersonate you

Then he fell silent again.  Dryali asked Damakaios, "How long does it take to get from the house to the docks?"  Damakaios told him, "Probably about an hour."

Fine Branch started rooting around, in pockets, in his belt pouch, in his backpack, and one by one, found various shark teeth.  As he found each of them, he presented them (with somewhat of a triumphant air) to Damakaios and Dryali.  They had been painted or enamelled, with a smiling cat face on one side, and the cat's butt on the other.  As soon as he'd found five, he threw them up in the air, casting augury.  They all landed balanced in one hand, smiling face up.

"Let's go," he said to Dryali, and they headed over to Grayaere Villa, leaving Damakaios to wonder what, exactly, he'd asked The Cat about.

North and up was the route from the villa housing Freelancers Tavern to House Grayaere next to the Rim.  Dryali and Fine Branch gamed out how to be the guards on the transport to the docks:  it was a wagon; someone was driving it; one person with the boxes, two in the wagon, two walking each side.

At the villa, which looked at least as old as Amabel Villa (albeit fully maintained), the Freelancers were admitted by a human butler, who escorted them into a waiting salon.  They had about 5 minutes to appreciate the art and decor before two Cloud elves entered.  Mael, the House Grayaere patriarch, had blue hair not quite to his shoulders, tucked behind his ears.  He wore simple burgundy robes and carried a wand.  Doria, his daughter, had copper-coloured hair and was obviously related to Estarai.  She wore slightly more practical clothes, in comfortable pants with a small tome at hand; her belt sported a daggar and a leather pack with small tools in it.  A sparkly pendant scintillated as she spoke.

Mael:  we're very glad Damakaios could send someone on such short notice.  At first, I thought it was one shipment, but now it's three, and we think someone is trying to sabotage us.
Fine Branch:  which shipments were affected?
Mael:  the most recent three.
Dryali:  any relationship between these shipments?
<Mael and Doria looked at each other, thinking; then shrugged.>
Doria:  different people, different skyliths.
Fine Branch:  nature of the sabotage?
Mael:  pieces missing or broken; not a whole device gone.  It doesn't seem to be enough to assemble a new device elsewhere.
Fine Branch:  given what's gone missing, does it seem someone is trying to do that?
Doria:  I think it's a combination of pieces that are easy to grab; but it's not been the same piece twice, so… maybe.
Dryali <surprised>:  you ship these things disassembled?!
Doria:  for ease of packing, large pieces are assembled… there are smaller pieces… it's mostly assembled.
<Dryali could not hide how astounded he was at this information.>
Fine Branch:  what has the practical effect of this been thus far?
Mael:  thus far…  it's not yet affecting our business or reputation, but we have to repair.  For example, my son is out doing this, on another skylith.
Dryali:  is there a possibility that's the goal?  To make the members of the House vulnerable?
<Mael raised his eyebrows in surprise, then brought them back down, worried.>
Fine Branch:  who else could repair?
Mael <indifferently>:  me, wife, anyone in family…
Doria <smiled>:  except for Estarai.

The conversation devolved into how badges work.  An organization, like the Freelancers, can get an imprinter, handheld vaults, and badge blanks.  The imprinter ties the badges and handheld vaults to the organization, and the handheld vault can tie the badge to an individual and record coin totals like a permanent IOU.  Anyone whose house or organization spans skyliths is likely to want to use them, to prevent an unfortunate timing of piracy from relieving members of all their wealth.

Fine Branch:  we're trying to determine what's being threatened.
Mael:  thus far, not enough has been taken to be sure
Fine Branch:  how sure are you they were in working order?
Mael:  very sure.  …actually, Avelina is right now doing extra due diligence with the shipping company; but we are fairly sure that's not it, because then there would be the shipping concerns.
Fine Branch:  is there any part of the system, where if I had access to it, I could create money?
Mael <stiffly>:  House Greyaere is careful about who we sell devices to.  We guarantee the functionality and do our best to ensure the buyers are reasonably trustworthy.
Fine Branch:  so, nothing inherently built into the device.
Mael:  no, it relies on the organization.
Dryali:  does the House consider itself to have rivals?
Mael:  varies; you know <waved hands vaguely>

At this point Fine Branch explained their plan to talk to the guards, using zone of truth.  Mael approved of this plan and said, "Doria can escort you to the guards."

As Mael turned to go, Dryali asked, "Is there a shipment ready to go?"  Mael told him, "Yes, this afternoon; going to Sequoia on the Volland, a fire elemental airship."  At this, he left, and Doria led them deeper into the villa.

Doria explained as they went towards the back of the big villa, away from the Rim, that the guards had their own quarters.  They were about to go in, but then she changed her mind, and instead picked a small room so that Fine Branch and Dryali could talk to the guards within a zone of truth.

Doria went to get the guards for today's shipment, and Dryali asked her, "Are these the same as went with the last shipment?"  Doria said, "Yes," and left them to their preparations.

Fine Branch started fiddling with the chairs, and Dryali explained to Fine Branch he was interested in whether the route to the docks was always the same.   The nekomata nodded, then looked over his shoulder at Dryali and asked, "When I talk to the guards, can you run detect magic?"  The Dark elf said, "Sure," and Fine Branch turned back to the chairs.

Dryali scowled resentfully, said "Sure" again, then sat cross-legged on the floor, pulling out his all-purpose tool and a piece of wood for a ritual cast.

Ten minutes later, Doria was back with 5 guards: two humans, a half-elf, a dwarf, and a Rain sagani.  They all took a seat, facing the door, and Doria sat in the corner, watching with interest.  Dryali sat behind him and to the left, and Fine Branch embarked upon his planned questions.

"Are you working for any interests, other than House Grayaere?" the cleric asked pleasantly.  Everyone said "No" but the Rain sagani, Big Max, who merely shook his head.  "Max, you gotta say out loud," Fine Branch explained gently, and the big guard looked uncomfortable.

"I have a side job," he said finally, "But I don't wanna talk about it."

Fine Branch's voice became silky.  "Does your side job conflict with House Grayaere?" he asked.  Big Max opened his mouth, shut it, then started, "I – I – I –", stuttered a bit, then shuffled his feet and dove past Fine Branch towards the open door, which Fine Branch slammed shut with thaumaturgy, startling Doria.

As the other guards watched, astonished, Dryali stuck his foot out to trip the Rain sagani, who stumbled head first into the closed door.  A look of profound disappointment came over Doria's face.  The guards shook off their astonishment, and grabbed Big Max.  Dryali pressed his lips together, but the little Dark elf's tone was sardonic.

Dryali:  does your side job intersect with what House Grayaere is paying you to do?
<Max started sweating even more than usual for a Rain sagani.>
Big Max:  it's just a bunch of spending money, and he just wanted some extra pieces
Fine Branch:  which pieces?
Big Max:  the fancy-looking ones?
Fine Branch:  were you told which pieces?
Big Max:  I was told which box to take a piece from; he didn't say which piece.
<In the corner, Doria's expression was shifting from disappointed to displeased.>
Dryali:  who is "he"?
Big Max:  I don't know who the person is, but I was contacted with the message spell.
Fine Branch:  how did contact happen?
Big Max:  I was told where to leave it, and money was there.

Fine Branch and Dryali, having honed this in Halysraft, took turns questioning the guard, pursuing the branches of interest to them.  Fine Branch drew out the details about the item drop and the disguises needed; Dryali found out about which box and piece was expected after today's shipment was sent to the docks.  Big Max explained he'd lift the item once it was to the ship; then much later, would take it to the drop point, like in the evening.

The detect magic found nothing special.  The items the Freelancers were wearing; blanks where the House Grayaere folks had badges in leaded cases; Doria's pendant, daggar, book, and one of her rings.  The Freelancers pivoted to Doria.

Dryali:  you will need to check the whole staff.
Doria <nodded unhappily>:  there goes my day.
Fine Branch:  you really need to do it, and quietly.
Doria <to the guards holding Max>:  you others, be secret.
<Doria regarded the sweating Rain sagani.>
Doria <to Freelancers>:  I can modify memory on on Big Max here, then let him do it, so he doesn't know how to report [to his contact]
Dryali:  make sure Fine Branch sees the piece, for locate object
Fine Branch:  make it the only piece in the box.
Doria:  I can't do that.  But I can make sure it is on top, with the other pieces under padding.
Fine Branch:  one further request, it should be a real thing, not fake.  If you don't want them to know they are discovered, you'd need to make it be real.
Dryali:  make it a duplicate of one already taken.
Doria:  I have one for next shipment, will use that.

Fine Branch cast bane on Big Max, who shrugged it off.  The guards holding Max were pretty unhappy, and obviously wondering how much their employer had been messing with their memories.

Doria: of course I never do this, but in this situation, circumstances require.
Fine Branch:  I can remove it, once he's played his part.
Doria:  that's fine
Fine Branch:  actually, tomorrow; it's not prepared.
Doria:  if you don't have objections, I'll erase his memory of our conversation and the two of you as much as we can.  You were here to talk about security.

Dryali and Fine Branch nodded, then nodded at the guards, who were pretty relieved that Fine Branch would remove the modify memory off Big Max, and were no doubt going to ask if he could cast the removal on them too, just in case.  The Freelancers then stepped out of the room and headed to the guards' quarters, to talk to the other guards about routes to the docks, etc.

A few minutes later, Dryali had notes on the various routes to the docks, and the guards returned, chatting normally, along with Doria, who thanked the Freelancers for their security consultations, and invited the pair to early lunch.

Doria led them to the informal dining hall, where Mael and others were having various finger foods.  On the way there she confirmed that the modify memory had worked on Big Max.  Once there, she grabbed a roll for herself and left the Freelancers to fend for themselves, telling the others she needed to take care of something in the workshops.

Dryali and Fine Branch, thrust suddenly into the center of attention for most of House Grayaere, decided to entertain everyone by relaying the tale of their mission to skylith Leander to help the centaurs.  They left out the more gory details, but did note they had been on the lookout for exotic alcohols to improve the offerings of Freelancers Tavern.  Upon their bringing back koumiss as the exotic alcohol, Estarai had tried it, and reacted as anyone would expect upon their first encounter with fermented mare's milk.

At this Doria returned with an imprinter component; it appeared to be two pieces of metal, half as long as her forearm and as wide as a badge, but not thicker than an inch.  She grabbed another roll and the three of them made their excuses and left.

In the hallway, the Freelancers peered at the part.

Dryali:  make it distinct?
Fine Branch:  don't want to give it away.
<Doria pulled a jewelry etcher out of her tool pack, and etched a feather on the edge.>
Doria:  It's a small area, but I'm intending this to be a quill.  <pause>  would the two of you be willing, for another fee, not just remove curse tomorrow, but also help question people?
Fine Branch:  I can do an hour of zone of truth
Doria <impressed>:  this will likely be sufficient
Dryali:  you might want to do the detect magic; you will know what would be out of place.

The three of them fell to discussing security; Fine Branch and Dryali wanted to keep up the ruse that they were at the villa to consult on security, mostly because they both felt that it had been compromised as evidenced by the recent events.  Doria agreed, and as Fine Branch started unsubtly addressing the butler to ask for a tour of the atrium, she departed to go repack the box to be shipped imminently.  The Freelancers hesitated; consult with the butler to do a grounds inspection, or depart and stake out the place where Big Max was supposed to drop the item?

Since the imprinter hadn't even shipped yet, they decided to do the grounds inspection, and the butler led them into the atrium.

The butler led the Freelancers around the atrium, and they took their time looking for problems.  The garden was reasonable secure; no assassin vines or other murderous shrubberies were in evidence.  Above, the second floor was one long balcony around the center; and the third floor also had per-room balconies at either end.  Some traps were emplaced to handle anyone trying to invade the villa from above.  The corners seemed vulnerable, though.

Fine Branch and Dryali then did a walkabout outside Grayaere Villa.  It was fairly secure; no ground storey windows, and the 2nd and 3rd floor windows facing outward were all trapped.  No joins showed in the stonework; someone, probably long ago, had shaped the stone to handicap anyone trying to climb.

As they were looking, the cart returned from the docks with the 5 guards in it.  Fine Branch cast locate object, and confirmed Big Max had the imprinter piece tucked in the back of his rather large belt pouch.  The other guards were pretending they didn't know, but did look a little stressed around the eyes.

The Freelancers finished a short while later and went back into the villa to discuss their findings with Doria.  When they pointed out the insecure atrium corners, she smirked and pointed out stone gargoyles on the roof above, saying "actually, that section is quite well covered."  The pair pointed out it would look weird if they waited around for Big Max to leave, and Doria assured them she has sending, so they left in search of a nearby tavern.

Petraag, 3rd prime post-Harvest

The tavern they found was The Dainty Slipper, obviously designed to cater to the wealthy.  1gp would get a patron fancy dinner and a glass of wine.  Dryali and Fine Branch enjoyed the dinner but found the wine middling, as the Daystar sank out of sight.  They were almost done with the wine when Doria sent to Fine Branch:

Max has left, good luck.

Fine Branch replied,

Understood, will let you know how it goes.

They both glanced around; nobody was taking a particular interest in them – why would they? – so they paid and left.

Fine Branch cast pass without trace on both of them, and the Freelancers followed Big Max.  Dryali cast disguise self to look like a Wild elf vaguely related to Quelenna, and Fine Branch cast disguise self to look like a nekomata artist.

The Rain sagani had no idea he was being followed, but that didn't matter at all, because neither Fine Branch nor Dryali was familiar with the bulk of Ripa Daneo's Below and they soon lost him.   Shrugging, they gave up on following him and just went to the sculpture garden where Big Max was supposed to drop off the part.

The sculpture garden was kind of a circular affair, with the traffic circling it like a roundabout.  The Freelancers easily identified the statue, and 30' from it were some gathered people, apparently watching a gripping chess match.  They eased onto another table, and looked at each other, then around at all the people.  A Cloud elf kind of stood out, her hair more blonde than blue, but also they saw Big Max sitting at another table, next to the target statue.

As they watched, Max, who was clearly no thief, put the imprinter part into an opening, and pulled out some coin.  He tried to hide his actions with a big stretch.  Lacking patience, he soon wandered off.

Dryali, disliking not having anything to do with his hands, pulled out a parchment and a pencil, then hesitated.

Time passed, and the Cloud elf that had caught their eye wandered over to the statue and sat.  Although neither Fine Branch nor Dryali saw anything, the nekomata cast locate object and with the spell, "saw" the imprinter part move to the Cloud elf.  He murmured as much to Dryali.

"In disguise?" Dryali asked quietly, and both peered at her.  Dryali just saw a handsome Cloud elf woman.  Fine Branch realized she was in disguise, but not magical; for starters, her hair colour wasn't right.  Dryali started sketching her on the parchment, augmenting it with magical tinkering.  As he did, Fine Branch started pointing out the disguised bits, and that way they started to get a picture of the actual person.

* * session break * *

As Dryali drew, both he and Fine Branch were watching around the sculpture garden, looking for anyone else watching the Cloud elf woman.  However, the only two there interested in her were the Freelancers.

She stood up and started walking south.  After a short while, they got up and followed at a large distance.  However, Dryali wasn't nearly as subtle about it as Fine Branch was.  After about 5 minutes, Fine Branch felt they'd doubled back a bit, and he'd bet it was to check if Dryali is following her.

Fine Branch cast disguise self again, this time to look like a firbolg.  Dryali didn't notice, because he was focussed on the Cloud elf, and was nudged.  "Oh hm hrrr," Dryali said, and cast disguise self to look like a half-elf of Cloud elf extraction, much taller that he'd looked.

The passage they were in was lower traffic, and the Cloud elf went into an alley.  There was no way to follow her without being super obvious.  So they sank into a deep discussion about the ethics of wood-based construction, and walked past the alley.

However, this ruse was to no avail.  The Cloud elf had seen through Dryali's illusion, and as he and Fine Branch walked past the alley, she used a hand crossbow to put a bolt through Dryali's shoulder, injuring him badly.

Dryali shouted in pain.  "What the fuck!  This is a public walkway!" he turned toward her, pulling on his shield.

Fine Branch – who still looked like a firbolg to the Cloud elf – cast spiritual weapon behind the Cloud elf, in the form of a mylar balloon with a smiley face <Narrator voice: because of course Skyway has mylar balloons>.  However, the balloon critfailed when it tried to hit the Cloud elf.

• Dryali looked at Fine Branch incredulously.  "This lady shot me in the shoulder with a crossbow bolt, and you give her a balloon?!"
• Fine Branch shrugged at Dryali, and cast toll the dead on the rogue, afflicting her with a little bit of necrosis.
• Fine Branch stepped back around the corner of the alley.  He didn't want to be shot with a crossbow bolt.

The Cloud elf ran up to Dryali.  "Stop following me, I don't like it," she told him.

• She drew a scimitar, slicing at him three times.  The first two went wild, but the last one clanged on his raised shield.
• Dryali confessed, "But I was so struck by how pretty you were.  I had to follow you."
• Taken aback, she retorted, "Only creepers use illusions."

It wasn't lost on Dryali how fast she was with that scimitar.  He cast an uplevel'd cure wounds on himself; pulling the crossbow bolt out of his shoulder as he did so.

• He handed it to the Cloud elf.  "I think this is yours," he told her.

Fine Branch moved the spiritual weapon mylar balloon behind the Cloud elf.

• "Dryali," he asked, "are we still gonna try to talk our way out of this?"
• Dryali looked at the unamused Cloud elf; he did think she was attractive.  He looked around the passage; nobody was around.
• Dryali's shoulders slumped, and he shrugged.  "I guess not, nobody around," he said, disappointed.
• The spiritual weapon mylar balloon missed the Cloud elf, although she was probably disturbed by its smiley face.
• Fine Branch cast toll the dead again, which caused far more necrosis this time.
• The Cloud elf scowled as Fine Branch backed away 30'.

The Cloud elf missed Dryali with her scimitar again, then sliced him twice.

• She disengaged and moved back down the alley to the other side of the mylar balloon.

Dryali shook his head.  "Lady, that was a mistake," he told her, and pulled out his arcane firearm.

• Dryali sank a firebolt into her shoulder.
• She moved at the last minute to avoid some of the fire.
• Since she was back in the alley, Dryali backed away from the entrance, out of her line of fire with that hand crossbow.

Fine Branch moved the spiritual weapon mylar balloon after the Cloud elf, but it missed again.

• Fine Branch moved forward to the alley entrance, and cast toll the dead again, causing more necrosis.

The Cloud elf's expression was flat.  "I'd really like it if you stop following me," she told Fine Branch.

• She slashed Fine Branch twice with her scimitar this time.
• On the third swing, she critfailed and dropped the scimitar.
• She disengaged and moved back down the alley.

Dryali, around the corner from her, was too displeased for words.  He created a protector eldritch cannon, and it pulsed out its benefits to both himself and Fine Branch.

Fine Branch's spiritual weapon mylar balloon bonked the Cloud elf with force, but she dodged it uncannily.

• He stepped forward, and cast guiding bolt at her, the holy radiance dropping on her from above.
• Fine Branch stepped back, so that he and Dryali were flanking the alley entrance.

The Cloud elf loaded her hand crossbow.

• She said, "Look.  Maybe I made a mistake.  I don't wanna hurt you too much, just stop following me."
• She pointed the hand crossbow at the alley entrance.  "I'll shoot the next person who looks around the corner."

Dryali and Fine Branch looked at each other and smiled tightly.

• The protector cannon moved into the alley entrance and pulsed out its benefits.
• Dryali moved to the very corner and readied himself to lean around it and firebolt the Cloud elf.

Fine Branch invoked his doppelgänger, which walked around the corner.  Of course it looked like the nekomata Fine Branch, not a firbolg.

• The Cloud elf's crossbow bolt missed entirely, so she had no clue it was an illusion.
• Dryali leaned around the corner and sank a firebolt below her left ribcage.
• "Maybe we wouldn't have to follow you if you told us where you were goin', pretty lady," Dryali suggested.
• The spiritual weapon mylar balloon bonked the Cloud elf with force again, as if to emphasize Dryali's words.
• "We try not to start fights," the doppelgänger explained to her, "but we try to end them."

The Cloud elf fled down the alley.

• "Don't run away, pretty lady!" Dryali called out.
• She turned south around a corner.

Dryali pressed his lips together and scooped up the protector cannon, which pulsed out its benefits.

• Dryali dashed after her, but she was already 60' away.

Fine Branch zoomed like a nekomata up next to Dryali, and took in the situation.

• The cleric cast a twice-uplevel'd guiding bolt.  A spark drifted from his fingers almost like a firefly, until it caught up to the Cloud elf, and then a huge light beam from above just went fwoomp.
• The Cloud elf crumpled.

Dryali ran up to her and started stabilizing the injured Cloud elf.

Fine Branch pulled out a set of manacles, and searched the unconscious Cloud elf while Dryali stabilized her.  He found that she was very well equipped; her weapons were very well cared-for.

• Scimitar
• Hand crossbow
• The imprinter piece they were tracking
• Thieves tools
• Daggars in belt and left boot
• 161 gp
• 3 gold hoop earrings

She had no badge of any sort.  As Fine Branch searched her, Dryali finished stabilizing her and without missing a beat, he tied her shoelaces together.  Then he rocked back on his heels and drank a healing potion.  Fine Branch, after ascertaining her scimitar was unremarkable, also drank a healing potion.

They couldn't very well question her in the passage, and knew of no Freelancer dark places.  So they cast about for unoccupied spaces, with Fine Branch muttering about talking to Damakaios about Freelancers correcting this lack.  The two quickly found an abandoned place along the passage, and it was obviously so; covered in filth and litter, profuse graffiti.

They carried the Cloud elf there, and checked her person a bit more thoroughly; she had a couple tattoos, unusual for a Cloud elf, but one was a raccoon.  Dryali scowled.

Dryali:  what are we doing?
Fine Branch:  do we think she is the mastermind?
Dryali:  not even a moment.  Someone hired her.

<Narrator voice:  let's leave, for now, Fine Branch and Dryali to argue over the disposition of their prisoner, and instead follow Shari, Matt, and the GM in a parallel argument over the disposition of the Ripa Daneo infrastructure.  Ripa Daneo is ruled by a Council of Houses, and has no independent city Guard like Cliffshadow has; there is the Council Guard which are donated from the Houses on the Council.  Also Jenzabar and the Thieves' Guild is strong in the Below, and the Council Guard are unlikely to mess with them unless something truly disruptive were to happen.  Since it was unclear that the attack on Grayaere wasn't originating from another House, going to the Council Guard was unwise.  Since the rogue was clearly not the mastermind, taking her to Grayaere would be somewhat useless.  

<Now, Carnivale is quasi-distrusted throughout Skyway, but everyone has a different reason; wandering entertainers have that problem.  But in reality, Carnivale are the largest buyers and sellers of information system-wide, and given they have a permanent presence in the gorge between Ripa Daneo and Gata Nahaki, Damakaios has established an Understanding with them…>

They looked at the Cloud elf, and remembered Damakaios' advice:  "If you can be sneaky about it and want help interrogating, the permanent installation of Carnivale are who to get to help you.  Do not go to the front gate."  She did not look like a person who sold them information.

Fine Branch:  should we take her there?
Dryali:  do we tell them about Grayaere?
Fine Branch:  I would worry about doing them reputational damage.
Dryali:  let's don't tell them; we do not know [just] Grayaere is targeted.
Fine Branch:  yes we do, because – o wait, we do not know!  She is the person who contacted Big Max.  Okay, let's do it.

At that, Fine Branch got out his large cloak, and they hid the Cloud elf, then made their way up to the surface and thence towards the gorge and Carnivale.  The weather had changed, and it was pouring rain.

While most of Carnivale performances were over the gorge itself, there were buildings on either end of the crossing.  The Freelancers went to a side building, and using their badges to prove who they were, they were swiftly in a different situation, talking about needing interrogation help.  The two Carnivale players, still dressed in motley, were deadly serious; and after agreeing to pay 100gp the Freelancers, with the Cloud elf, found themselves in a room with a rotund halfling, Stellan Swifttoes.  

Stellan was dressed in deliberately unremarkable clothes, and could have passed as a stage hand or airship crew if he had not been so rotund.  He collected the fee, which the Freelancers paid out of the gold they'd lifted from the Cloud elf.  However, gold is just coin, and Carnivale's bread and butter is information.

Stellan:  what information do you have right now?  What are you looking for
Fine Branch:  this person is a dead drop runner for collecting stolen badge reader parts, and we suspect she is part of a larger operation.
Dryali:  we were following her but she spotted me, and I played it off that it was because she is cute.

Stellan nodded.  He suspected that they were not divulging all their information, but even so, this was interesting news, and the rest would become plain with an interrogation.  He smiled and said, "Thank you for the information," then checked her bonds.  He gestured courteously.  "Please, wake her up."

Dryali stepped forward, and used his earring of āhua to heal the worst of her wounds.  The Cloud elf woke up to discover herself injured, bound, in an unknown location, and soaked through.  She grumbled a little, and Stellan was the soul of courtesy.

Stellan:  I suggest you answer our questions honestly and truthfully and as fully as you can.
<Fine Branch and Dryali exchanged a look:  don't fuck with this guy.>
Stellan:  what is your name?
Cloud elf:  Valencia.
Stellan:  who are you working for, with this dead drop operation?
Valencia:  not 100% sure.  Requests for these badge reader pieces, come from a third party.  Based on context clues, am pretty sure is House Damazo.
<Narrator voice:  the GM announced this is another Cloud elf family that knows how to make the badges.>
Fine Branch:  what leads you to believe that?
Valencia:  like any suspicious person, I tracked back who was hiring me, and he looked like them and went back to their house.
Dryali:  how many drops have you picked up?
Valencia:  four
Fine Branch:  how did you get the job?
Valencia <defensively>:  I'm quite skilled!  My name is not known, but I do work with Jenzabar to pick up jobs.  Jenzabar pointed someone at me.
<The Freelancers and Stellan exchanged a look.>
Fine Branch:  how were you contacted with the particulars of the job?
Valencia:  complicated dead drop mail.
Fine Branch:  where were you to take the thing?
Valencia:  dead drop of my own.
Fine Branch:  what does someone have to do, to imitate you perfectly to make the drop?
<Valencia explained where to go to make the drop.>
Valencia:  there has to be a signal from me.
Fine Branch:  if the signal is delayed by 10 hours or so, will that arouse suspicion?
Valencia:  usually I'm fairly prompt.  Make the signal; go the next morning.
Dryali:  I'm still interested in your network.
Fine Branch:  how are these arranged?
Valencia:  message to Big Max.  I can cast message.
Fine Branch:  have you cast message since you were being followed?
Valencia:  no
Fine Branch:  anyone expecting you?
Valencia:  job in 2 days.
Fine Branch:  I promise I'm not a serial killer.
<Stellan, who'd been watching Valencia, gave Fine Branch a side-eye.>
Dryali <to Stellan>:  no; he just enjoys a lot of property damage.  <made a face>  it appears this isn't a network, and just one house, what else would we ask, to find out?  <to Valencia>  does Jenzabar know what you were hired to do?
Valencia:  they do not know the details of what I'm doing; they might know for who.
Fine Branch:  if we let you go, will you hold a grudge against us?
Valencia:  depends on how much of my stuff you give back.
Fine Branch:  how much do you think is fair?
Valencia:  earrings, scimitar, hand crossbow and bolts.  And my daggars.  <sighed>  the gold is fair.
Fine Branch:  if we have work in future, how do we contact you?
Valencia:  I hope I never see you again.  But, you can get me through Jenzabar.
Fine Branch:  how much were you getting paid?
Valencia:  1000gp per piece.
<Fine Branch whistled.>
Dryali:  whoa
Fine Branch:  how much did you pay Big Max?
Valencia:  200gp.
Fine Branch:  you get paid at the dead drop?
Valencia:  yes, like Big Max.
Dryali:  wait, you were messaging Big Max.  how were you identifying which box to use for getting pieces?
Valencia:  I was spying, and didn't want blank badges.  I know from employer that they want different pieces...

As Valencia described this, it became obvious she was only targeting House Grayaere.  But given the other information, they could not rule out if the employer was targeting other houses.  Stellan, who was an old hand at these kinds of interrogations, twigged to all of it.

Valencia also promised to keep quiet for a prime.

Fine Branch:  you need to be quiet for a lot longer than that, if you don't want to be known!
Valencia:  at some point I have to tell the employer I won't do this anymore; I will wait for a prime.
Fine Branch:  okay; don't tell them why.
Valencia:  I have to tell them something!
Fine Branch:  don't fuck around!

Anyhow, the Freelancers gave Valencia her stuff back, healed her some more, and sent her on her way.  They thanked Stellan, who courteously accepted it, and left to return to Freelancers Tavern.

As soon as they were out of Stellan's earshot, Fine Branch hefted the imprinter piece.  "I want to make sure this gets to its destination," he told Dryali.  Dryali reminded him, "It's marked, so it can be tracked."

Damakaios was still up and in the back tavern when the pair arrived, soaked and looking worse for wear.  He took them into his office and closed the door to hear what they had to say.  As they relayed their findings, he got out his own handheld vault, and put 225gp on their badges.  He looked at the imprinter part with interest.

Damakaios:  I'm hoping Jenzabar will unlikely get shirty.
Dryali and Fine Branch:  you should press Jenzabar.
Dryali:  we don't know if it's 1:1 House, or 1 House to many.
Fine Branch:  also we do not know if it's sabotage, or theft of materials.
Damakaios:  track this part first, before I press Jenzabar.

The next morning, Fine Branch prepared remove curse, and with Dryali headed back to Grayaere Villa to report on their findings as well as followup on their promises to Doria and the guards.

Their first stop was with Mael and Doria of course, who nodded along with the story, but they too wanted more information.

Dryali:  hey it was 1000gp/part, how does that compare?
Doria:  we don't do that.
Fine Branch:  what is the cost of replacing parts?
Doria:  put it this way:  the thief was massively underpaid.
Fine Branch:  interesting!
Doria:  these are complicated devices, the equivalent of several very rare magic items.

After that it was time to check the various House staff, starting with the guards.  Doria went with the Freelancers and the plan was to set up like they had before, only ask all the guards.  But first, as promised, Fine Branch cast remove curse on Big Max, whose eyes widened in utter dismay as his memory was restored and he realized what had been done.

As Fine Branch and Dryali questioned / scanned all the guards, Doria turned Big Max out.  She admonished him to find a different line of work, perhaps find a different skylith.  She plainly intended to put word out of his untrustworthiness.

The guards were okay, so next they scanned the cooks; the butler; the gardeners; stables; house cleaning; body servants.  Everyone was asked:

• Working for other houses?
• Working against House Grayaere?

A gardener, two maids/footmen, and a stablehand were all found to be spying for other houses.  The gardener was trying to find out the way into the labs; maids had been copying papers from Mael.  All were dismissed with no references, and once they were gone, Dryali and Fine Branch were paid 150gp each, in coin.

Doria was supremely peeved about one of the maids, who was her personal maid; she had befriended the woman.  "I trusted her, it was a mistake!" she fumed, after casting her out.

The Freelancers, however, had their mind on the earlier conversation about the value of imprinter parts.

Fine Branch:  that item you gave us, is it more important to catch and track?  Or to have the part back?
Doria:  it's insanely expensive to send my brother to go fix these things; we want it to stop.  I want to know what House Damazo is doing with it and why.

The Freelancers nodded, they would confirm the need for a followup to Damakaios.  Estarai's reaction to this mission record was going to be even better than her reaction to the koumiss.