Skeleton Map Investigation

Glesni, Ondar, Osric, and Meurig filed into Arnari's office, Ondar ducking his head to fit through the door.  Her chairs were arranged in a semi-circle, so Ondar sat on the floor in front of them all.  Glesni stood against the wall because of her longbow, and Osric sat to the side so he could see past Ondar.  Muerig hesitated, straightened one of the chairs that was misaligned, then sat so that the space seemed filled in an orderly way.

Arnari pulled out two dog-eared pieces of paper, and launched into them.

• Pollution – this doesn't seem to be stopping, so maybe soon, need to send a burly group to check out Gwidion – anyhow, pollution, 100gp/person plus an uncommon potion each.

Ondar perked up.  He hadn't tried all the potions yet.

• Hippogryph eggs – House Aldous will pay 100gp/egg, or a hippogryph gelding for 10 eggs.

Arnari set those aside, and pulled out two pieces of paper that were far less dog-eared.

• Yesterday Hanno, Murai, Lorcan, and Sabah attempted to investigate a map found at Wendehals mausoleum.  They did not find a whole lot, but did get jumped by a cassowary fiend.  This will be in future.  Right now, I still need the map checked out.
• Investigate Waypoint Alarm.  It's not one that had Daystar lotion directly; it was shipped to Waypoint Superb, then Alarm.  Alarm is in a good position to visit, and Church of Storms will pay 200gp/person and also for passage.

Ondar said, "Ondar is interested in pollution."  Arnari looked at him, then pulled out another piece of paper.

• Also, you could go for gryphon eggs; look north of Three Rivers.  House Liona will pay 120gp/egg, or a standard gryphon for 12 eggs.

Meurig, though, was still thinking about the initial missions.  The big Black dragonborn grinned.

Meurig:  four missions, four people!
Arnari <to Ondar>:  please stay together.
Ondar:  it was his idea!
Osric:  the map could be fun!  Do we have landmarks?
Arnari:  we know it's two days away from a habitation.
Glesni:  that eliminates a lot of skyliths.
Ondar:  it's a circle.
Osric:  what context was the map found in?
Arnari:  empty sarcophagus with glyph of warding that triggered skeletons.
Meurig:  this sounds fun!
Osric:  was the mausoleum empty before the skeletons?
Arnari:  no.

The five of them discussed the search for the map, and what was known and unknown, including that Wendehals' money came from carting goods.  Meurig, whose training gave him a solid grounding in history, looked at the map, and did not recognize it.

Glesni:  isn't there a way to disguise writing?
Ondar <to Arnari>:  do you have legend lore?
Arnari:  no ... ?
Osric:  I can cast detect magic.

They all removed to the practice yard, because Osric's ritual for detect magic required he be outside.  Of course as soon as he did it almost all the Freelancers, including Arnari, lit up with various magic items, but not the map.

He turned to Arnari.  "Can we make a copy, so if the content of the map changes…"  Arnari thought that was a good idea, and as they headed inside, they stopped at Nyls' office and she asked him to make a copy.  Then they headed back to Arnari's office.

Arnari's advice, somewhat informed by her papers, was to maybe investigate the "elegant lady" or family servants.  Glesni suggested the lady was likely hostile, and the servants would not be.

Arnari:  one servant is Bernard.  Do not know where he lives now, but he was Wendehals majordomo.
Osric:  maybe he could put us in contact with carters who can tell us cities they travelled to.
Ondar:  or maybe, just tell us.  "Take us to your undead master!"
Glesni:  we do not know he is undead; he could just be an evil necromancer.
Meurig:  let's talk to the servant first, where do they live?
Arnari:  not sure; probably Trade District.
Meurig:  but he will be looking for a new master.  Is there a guild for this?
Arnari <clearly wondering about life on Dego>:  no?
Meurig:  well, he would look for employment somehow!
Arnari:  he is human, and kind of old.
Glesni:  he is probably well taken-care-of.
Meurig:  we should find him.
Glesni:  if Roberto is last, then would this majordomo be involved with the disposition of the estate?
Meurig:  we should check for that!
<pause as Nyls brought the copied map.>
Osric:  was the cassowary deliberate?
Arnari:  don't think so.
Osric:  who knows we have the map?
Arnari <thinking>:  Kaiea - Academy of Magic (Darag) - Gnomonic Guild
Glesni:  we could ask the person who bought the house, who they dealt with.

Arnari consulted the map on her wall, and her papers.  "The Wendehals mansion is in the southwest side of Parkside.  Still in Parkside, but not 'the best' there."  They all rose and she pointed it out.  They thanked Arnari and left to pay it a visit, with Osric taking charge of the map.

The walk from Freelancers Tavern to the house in question was approximately 30 minutes.  They arrived to see a reasonably nice place, newly repaired.  Meurig went up to the door and knocked.  Glesni stood behind him, with Ondar and Osric behind, flanking each other.

The door opened to a servant in fine clothes, who said, "How can we help you, what is your business?" Meurig introduced himself, his language quite formal.  "I am Meurig, a Paladin of Ua with the Freelancers.  I would like to have a meeting with the owner of this mansion.  Are your masters home?"

The door warden said, "They are busy;  if this is Freelancer business perhaps I can help you without disturbing them."  He stood back to admit them, then led the Freelancers to the secondary study.

Once there, Meurig asked, "Have you been working for the mater for a long time?"  The door warden shook his head, and said "New, on house acquisition."

Meurig hesitated, then asked, "Do you know anything about the previous owner?  We are looking for, perhaps, a Bernard, who might have done the negotiation."

The door warden shook his head more sadly, this time.  "Unsure, I heard a variety of sad stories about the demise of the Wendehals family; the last son had no child.  I do not know about this Bernard, it might be a thing for the master."  He straightened with the air of making a decision.  "I will bring refreshments, and ask the patriarch to come."

Glesni spoke up, equally formally.  "Thank you for your kindness," and the door warden bowed himself out.  Another servant brought refreshments.

After another fifteen minutes, a tall and dignified human man, perhaps 40 years old, entered the room, and introduced himself as Kilix Lionfinger, head of house.

Glesni did the half bow and said, "I am Glesni, of House Bōhatei on Coldstream."  Meurig repeated his introduction from the door, and Glesni suppressed a grimace that she'd forgotten to say Freelancers.

Meurig had no trouble following the formalities, and congratulated Kilix on the house acquisition, before enquiring about the participants in the transaction.

Kilix told them, "I was very sorry about the demise of the House.  I dealt mostly with Bernard.  I have not seen Bernard since he handed the keys over to the estate, but he is living in a nice apartment in the Trade District."

Meurig asked, "Do you have this location?"  Kilix replied, "Yes!" and excused himself to go get it.  The Freelancers didn't even glance at each other, lest they jinx this stroke of good luck.

Another fifteen minutes passed until Kilix returned with a crisp piece of paper with the information on it, which he handed to Meurig.

"Thanks very much," Meurig told him, "As a Paladin of Ua, I could perhaps cause it to Rain on your garden, to keep it green."

"That is quite alright," Kilix replied, "the natural weather of Duquesne is perfect for the plants in the garden."  He added, "I certainly hope, since Freelancers are involved, there isn't some trouble brewing."

Meurig deflected the polite non-query. "No, no trouble; we are just following up a loose end."

On that note, the Freelancers took their leave.  As soon as they were out of the house, Glesni checked the writing against that on the map.  It was messier.  She looked around for anything unusual.  The art had been nice.  The garden was nicely decorated.

It took the Freelancers about 20-25 minutes to get to the building in which Bernard supposedly lived.  On the way there, they discussed what they would ask Bernard.  "Ask about carting first," Glesni suggested, "to check his disposition, then ask about the elegant lady, if seems appropriate."

The building seemed nice, and Bernard lived on the top floor.  The Freelancers went up the stairs, noting how the apartments on the first two floors were small.  The third floor, though, the apartment was most of the floor; but Osric also observed there was a roof garden.

Meurig knocked, ready to use his divine sense when the door opened.  An old, quavering voice called out, "Hold on!  I'll be there in a minute!"

The door opened in short order to show an old human man, stooped, with snow white hair and liver-spotted skin.  He looked at tall Meurig and asked, "How can I help you!"

Meurig became gentle.  "Hello my dear sir, I am Meurig, Paladin of Ua.  I am currently looking for information about your recently demised master."

The old man sighed.  "Poor Roberto, come in, have tea.  I will tell you all about it."  He opened the door wider, and was surprised to see the other three Freelancers in the hall.  "You all want to hear about Roberto!  Come in!"

Meurig's divine sense detected no fiends as they entered the apartment.  Closed off rooms were to the right, and the roof garden was to the left.  The 10' tall ceiling meant even Ondar could stand at full height.  After they were all introduced, Osric asked if he could go into the garden.  Once out there, he cast detect magic, but got nothing other than Freelancers' gear.

Bernard, meanwhile, seemed happy to have visitors and to fuss,  "Please, please, sit down!"  He bustled, and brought out tea things, sandwiches, etc.  As he did this, the Freelancers sat at a table near the doors which opened to the garden, and looked around.  They did not think anyone else lived there.  They did see he had piles of books, piled up on surfaces, and some stacked in baskets.

They looked at what he was reading.  Most of it was romance fiction:  Feast, Pray, and No Love (about a celibate cleric who will break his vows), Broad in the Beam (an "he only has eyes for her" airship romance), Thalassa my Heart (sunken ship on a thalassa, titanic-ish), and last but not least, Swept off my Feet (a tale of Swashbuckler Tahu).

Osric, who knew Tahu, closed his eyes in some sort of momentary pain.  Glesni started to wonder what this "Tahu" was like, as Bernard finally joined them at the table.

"How can I help you," Bernard asked, pouring himself some tea.  "What do you want to know?"  Meurig's face was hard to read, and he hesitated.  "Unclear how to say," he started, "What happened?"

Bernard launched into a meandering tale, much of which was themed on "Roberto was like a son to me."  Many stories of his childhood and comments like "was such a scamp!"

Meurig <gently>: what happened in the year leading up to his demise?
Bernard:  they were carters, the Wendehals.  Had routes all over the skylith, primarily.
Meurig:  did he travel, or stay in Cliffshadow?
Bernard:  occasionally go himself.  He wouldn't drive, but he was inspecting.  Sometimes he'd go all the way to Hindmarsh.
Meurig:  we have heard he had a romantic involvement with a lady?
Bernard:  some time towards the last few years of his life, Roberto made questionable choices…
Meurig:  did you know a name for her?
Bernard:  never did find out.  Rob was very enamoured, but while she was beautiful, I did not understand why, or what he saw in her.
Ondar:  what happened to the business, after his demise?
Bernard:  it was sold off piecemeal, contracts dissolved, drivers fired.
Osric <surprised>:  really?  Not sold off?
Bernard:  yes, piece meal.
Ondar:  who got the money?
<Glesni kicked Ondar in the side of his foot.>
Bernard:  I got some, allowing me to buy this lovely apartment, but some went into a fund to help the Academy of Magic.
Glesni <surprised>:  o really?
Ondar:  who was the trustee?
Bernard:  was hidden, but the name I remember seeing was Natali.
Glesni:  the lady, you said she was beautiful, what did she look like?
Bernard <singsong>:  light wavey hair, black, cut in a bob below her ears.  She was human, and dressed in furs, silks, nice clothes, impeccable makeup, pale, slightly taller than average.
Meurig:  you happen to know where she was from?
Bernard:  not at all
Meurig:  did she disappear at his death?
Bernard:  I saw her at the internment.
Osric:  did he leave her anything?
Bernard:  not sure if Natali is her name, the name I saw on the trust document.
Osric:  are there other people?
Bernard <sadly>:  he didn't seem to have a lot of friends.  He was into the carting business, then involved in magic and necromancy.
Ondar:  what about other employees, did he leave them anything?
Bernard:  just me as house staff.
Ondar:  I meant, the carting
Bernard:  no
Glesni:  we heard from Academy of Magic he was trying to help the carting business with the necromancy.  Did you see any of that?
Bernard <disturbed>:  the dead should stay dead!
Meurig:  I quite agree, this is quite unsettling that the dead are reused and controlled.<Ondar and Osric heard a thump on the roof.>
Meurig:  we understand it is unsettling.  We are here, because the body of Roberto is not in his tomb anymore!!

Bernard gasped, and the Freelancers tried to read his reaction.  However, Meurig was still poor at telling human expressions.  Osric thought Bernard was just sad and confused.  Ondar and Glesni saw that he was not happy and very surprised to hear the body is missing.

But, enough of that; there had been a thump on the roof.

Two skeletons jumped down from the roof into the garden!  They were armed with horned helmets, shields, and axes.  One had a dark silver helmet, the other's was copper.

Osric summoned a wolf spirit next to the skeleton with the copper helmet, then moved into melee range.  The wolf spirit attacked the skeleton, getting past its guard.

• Ondar went outside, to the skeleton with the silver helmet, and became Large.  He attacked twice with his vicious rapier; the first one hit, but the skeleton blocked the second with its shield.
• Meurig rose and moved to guard Bernard.  His divine sense told him there were only two skeletons, and his common sense told him that Bernard was the target of this attack.
• Glesni got up and moved closer to the main door, nocking an arrow.  She asked Bernard, "Is this a common occurrence?" and then loosed an arrow at the skeleton with the copper helmet.
  • The arrow went wide as Bernard replied, "No!  The undead? No!!"
• The skeleton with the copper helmet attacked Osric with its axe.  The first swipe missed, but the second swipe slashed the Holder dwarf.
• The skeleton with the silver helmet attacked Large Ondar with its axe, and whiffed the first time, and Large Ondar blocked with his shield the second time.
• A person entered the room through the window to the garden.  They had brown skin, but a mask obscured their features.  Moving to Bernard, they silently drew a shortsword, and then completely whiffed.
  • The air shimmered and they appeared to double, except the duplicate did not move.
  • They attacked again, running the surprised Bernard through.  Then on the return stroke they impaled Bernard up under his ribcage.
• Bernard vomited a huge gout of blood, and collapsed to the ground, dead.

Osric tried to pull the assassin away from Bernard with thorn whip, but missed.  He moved to the assassin, which earned him a slash from the skeleton with the copper helmet.  The wolf spirit tried to attack the skeleton, but failed.

• Large Ondar pierced the skeleton in the silver helmet twice with his vicious rapier.  It collapsed into a pile of bones which looked to be much fewer than it ought to be.
  • With a surge of adrenaline, Large Ondar dropped his shield and rapier, then used his longbow to shoot the assassin with an arrow.
  • Large Ondar then used his fire rune to restrain the assassin, who broke their silence to cry "Fucking OW…!" in an obviously male voice.
• Meurig, shocked that an old man was assassinated right there, on his watch, drew his sword and swung to knock the assassin out, but missed.  Meurig moved around to block the exit.
• Glesni moved away from the door to line up the assassin and the skeleton with the copper helmet, then used piercing arrow to get them both.  The assassin, despite the fiery restraints, managed to dodge it uncannily.
  • She shot the assassin again with a normal arrow, adrenaline high, as displeased as Meurig.
• The assassin, burned by the fiery restraints, decided Osric was an easy target, and stabbed Osric twice with his shortsword.  He tried a third time and missed.  He was unable to get out of the fire chains.
• The skeleton with the copper helmet went after Osric, avoiding the bit from the wolf spirit.  Its first axe swing missed, and the second hit Osric, who by now was pretty badly wounded.

Osric cast an uplevel'd cure wounds on himself, and most of the stabs and slashes closed up.  He then summoned a bear spirit totem, buffing party strength and pushing out a protective buffer on all.  Then, the wolf spirit crit the skeleton with the copper helmet.

• Large Ondar scooped up his vicious rapier and moved back into the room from the garden, which was awkward, given the ceiling height.  He struck the assassin twice with the rapier, wounding him badly.
  • Despite his wounds and adversaries, the body language of the assassin was more annoyed, than nervous about death or defeat.
• Meurig had no space in the room to invoke area spells, which made him unhappy, as did the wooden floor.  He slashed at the assassin's arms in an attempt to disarm, and ended up taking a slice out of his shoulder.
  • The assassin toppled over, passing out from the pain, but ground out, "The lichess will not forgive you," before falling unconscious.
• Glesni shot the skeleton in the copper helmet in the eyesocket, shattering its skull from the inside.  It fell in a heap of bones.
  • Large Ondar noted, "Fewer bones than it should be," then frowned; he saw a dragonchess piece in the pile of bones.
• The unconscious assassin was still restrained by the fire chains, which burned him.

Osric, seeing the unconscious assassin burned, who was the key to solving the mystery of what was going on, prepared to cast dispel magic on the fire chains.  Meurig said, "No!" and Osric, startled, moved the wolf spirit to the window in case things went wrong.  He prepared to grapple the assassin instead.

• Large Ondar decided to search and disarm the assassin, and … just took the shortsword out of his hand.
  • Glesni, wondering if Ondar was afraid of his own fire rune, said, "Really?!"
• Meurig pulled a chair over, sat in it, then healed the assassin just enough to wake him up.  "Who is that lich you are talking about?" he asked.  "I am very upset.  You killed the old man I was trying to protect; I am forcing myself to keep you alive."  The big Black dragonborn staring at the restrained assassin on the floor was very intimidating.
• Glesni nocked an arrow, but did not move.  "I agree with my black scaled friend here."
• The assassin responded hotly, "I'll never –" and then passed back out from the fire chains which continued to burn him.

Meurig scowled.  "Not going to do that again," he said crossly.  Osric said reasonably, "Can't we just stabilize him?"  Large Ondar informed them, "Ondar does not know how to stop the spell."

Osric made a face, then said, "Okay."  He cast dispel magic, dismissing the fire chains.

• Large Ondar picked up the dragonchess piece he'd noticed.  It was a pawn, if not solid copper, then plated.  He searched the assassin again, now the fire chains were dispelled, and managed to pull off the assassin's belt pouch.  <Narrator voice:  that's some low rolls there>
• Meurig said, "We need to bring him back to the living."  Glesni replied, "No!  Not untied!"  Meurig stood up and said, "Oh!" and tied up the unconscious assassin.
• Glesni, frowning some, checked Meurig's knots, and retied a couple.

Osric stabilized the assassin, so he was no longer fighting for his life.  Meurig then pulled off his mask, looking for marks and such.  The assassin was a human man, with brown hair, mostly clean-shaven, with a neat goatee.  Meurig also checked for blades and poison, relieving the assassin of them all.

Glesni turned to Large Ondar and asked, "Ondar, what's in the belt pouch?"  Large Ondar roused himself and looked:  84gp in assorted coins, and a dark-coloured knight dragonchess piece.

At this point, both piles of bones disintegrated.  A silver dragonchess pawn was the only thing that remained.

Glesni started checking out Bernard's apartment, especially looking for dragonchess knick knacks.  All she really found in the living room were more romance novels.  In the bedroom, she found even racier romance novels, and … a questionable wastebasket.  It appeared to be full of socks.  Glesni made a face.  But no knickknacks, no dragonchess pieces.

Ondar, who by now was no longer Large, but was still bigger than you, searched Bernard, and found nothing interesting, although he was wearing pretty nice clothes.

Osric cast detect magic again.

Meurig:  someone wanted to prevent Bernard from talking to us.
Glesni:  that means we're being watched.
Meurig:  or he is.
<Both frowned at the implications.>
Meurig:  that lady may be a lich!

Osric checked the pawns, the knight, the assassin, the skeletons.  The knight was not magical, but Osric detected some evocation magic thing in the assassin's inner pocket.  No other magic detected other than heavy necromantic magic on the skeletons; by this time even the arms and weapons had crumbled away.  "It seems like the necromantic magic was the pawns, but it's fading," he said.

Glesni, still frowning, suggested, "Osric, check the door, to see if we set something off."  Osric shook his head slowly; nothing there.

Ondar went outside and climbed onto the roof to check it out.  He saw three sets of footsteps from the connecting roof, so he jumped over there, backtracking them.  The three sets turned into one.

Osric examined the evocation magic thing from the assassin, and it looked like a sending stone, but only able to receive.  He suggested he hold onto it in case someone "called" it.

Ondar returned, and the Freelancers were stymied.  They had this assassin prisoner – who was definitely not Roberto Wendehals – a murdered person, references to a lichess, and some pawn pieces.

Glesni:  what are we doing about dead Bernard?
Ondar:  tell Arnari.
Osric:  tell the authorities.
Meurig:  tell the authorities.
Glesni:  how will we avoid the consequences of we-are-here and he-is-dead?
Meurig:  we have the assassin.
Glesni:  but, we don't have the skellies.
Meurig:  we should report this and say about the lady and the lich.  My intuition is there are two lich playing a game of "chess" and we are caught in the middle.  Perhaps the carting business was used to move about the undead.
<the silence of contemplation>
Meurig:  he [Bernard] need a proper burial but perhaps bury in beloved garden.
Glesni:  neighbours will not be happy.
Meurig:  there's room.

Glesni started looking for instructions for final disposition of Bernard's person and effects, then remembered she had the wondrous figurine:  raven which could be used to send to Arnari.  

She activated the raven, then used animal messenger to send to Arnari:

We're at Bernard's in Trade District.  <address>  Bernard is slain and we have assassin for questioning.  Possible involvement of lichess.

About 5 minutes later, Arnari's voice echoed in Glesni's head.

Lichess?  An assassin?  I'm on my way!

That would be sending, so Glesni replied.

You told us to check out Bernard.  As soon as we showed up to chat with him, an assassin plus 2 skellies showed up.

All this was happening as Glesni was looking for some sort of last testament, which she only knew about second hand, as these were not how elves handled final wishes at all.  She ended up convinced that the romance book Feast, Pray, and No Love was actually the document, but in code.

Meurig blinked, and he started looking.  Ondar, meanwhile, looked over the unconscious assassin again, and found he had a tattoo of the knight dragonchess piece.

There really were a lot of romance novels.

Ten minutes later, they heard steps on the stairs.  Everyone tensed, but it was Arnari and Nohea.  Arnari was wearing her blue and gold leather duster, with a harp case on her back.  Nohea had a very large greatsword, and towered over everyone but Ondar.

Arnari looked the room over; the romance novels, the blood, the corpse, the bound assassin, the cooled tea placements.  Finally she said, "Okay, you're here looking for where that map went, and the what happened?!  And he died?!"

Osric:  there was a thump on the roof, and then Bernard died.
Ondar:  this guy killed him.
Osric:  there were skeletons.
Meurig:  mentioned 'lichess will not forgive you.'

Arnari did not even blink, let alone facepalm.  Instead she said, "Check his jewelry box, for a 500gp diamond."  Ondar went into the kitchen and brought the breadbox.  "Here," he said, handing it to her, and Arnari really did blink, and then put it back.

Glesni failed to find anything in the bedroom.  Osric though, found Bernard's strongbox, which was not locked.  He found 2400gp in platinum and gems, but no diamond.  He told Arnari this.

"He's good," Arnari declared, "I can raise him.  It will take an hour."  Meurig picked up Bernard and put him on his familiar bed.  A chair was brought, while Nohea checked the bedroom (she did not miss the wastebasket, but said nothing), then Arnari took out her harp and settled into playing for an hour.  The music had a haunting quality, which started out seeking, and then made the listener wish to follow.

The others explained to Nohea how the attack happened, then she positioned everyone to guard, because while Arnari could take care of herself, that's a very expensive spell to interrupt.  Glesni was in the bedroom door, where the bow could be used against all ingress.  Ondar and Osric watched the prisoner.  Meurig watched the front door while Nohea took the door to the garden.

Partway through the hour, the assassin started to rouse.  Ondar reached over and flicked him directly on his burns.  The pain made the assassin pass out again.

Bernard revived, and like any old person who was moved to bed after having a trauma, was initially very confused.  He was happy not to be dead, but the last thing he remembered was being run through with a shortsword.  And, here was a very pretty lady!

Meurig came in, and lay on hands, which brought Bernard to full in more ways than one.  Meurig kicked the wastebasket of socks out of sight.  Then the others came in, and Bernard sat up, leaning on the pillows.  The unconscious assassin was visible from the bed.

Ondar gestured at the assassin and said, "This dude ran you through with a sword?  What did you do to deserve that?"  Bernard, realizing what he was seeing, freaked out at Ondar's words.  Arnari looked at him reproachfully, then soothed Bernard and helped him chill out.

Meurig <shrewdly>:  Bernard doesn't remember why.  <to Bernard>  it's very suspicious, your recollection of the details on the lady?  Is there a suspicious gap in your memory?
Bernard:  I did start getting more forgetful when she started showing up.  Once Roberto died, it was better.
Meurig <to Arnari>:  is there something…?
Arnari:  I'll try, but only if assassin goes poorly.
Meurig:  anything you can remember Roberto gave you?  Like something from family you had in your possession?
Bernard:  nothing in particular, but … <thought a bit> maybe remember something about Roberto going to watch music?  Not in Cliffshadow?

Arnari thought, Three Rivers?  Was he going to the Bardic Conservatory?  She scowled, both at the thought of another unknown problem there, and at the thought of Benaitis.  But she spoke soothingly to Bernard, and said to rest.

The Freelancers went back into the other room, but Glesni filled a cup with tea, warmed it with prestidigitation, and brought it to the grateful Bernard.  "Rest," she told him, "you are safe," and shut the door.

The Freelancers looked at the assassin, then at each other.  Arnari composed herself.  Then Osric cast healing word.  The assassin blinked, then sat up quickly, to find himself facing… Arnari.

"Answer our questions truthfully and fully, with no intent to deceive," Arnari said easily to the assassin.  He shuddered, fighting the suggestion spell, then replied, "That sounds like a great idea."

The others looked at Arnari, and she sat back.  "You have the context," she told them.

Ondar:  what can you tell us about the lichess?
Assassin:  I can tell you some things about the lichess!  Black wavy hair and beautiful, I don't know if Lichess if right, but
Glesni <interrupting>:  do you know her name?
Assassin:  I know her as Natali.  She will be very angry with me; I might be a pawn.
Osric:  why is Bernard important?
Assassin:  he might tell you where Roberto is.
Osric:  where is he?
Assassin:  in his lair, near Three Rivers.
Osric <holds out the map>:  is this a map to his lair?
Assassin:  yeah, probably.  It could be Three Rivers and south.
Ondar:  what is Roberto?
Assassin:  Roberto is a bishop; I don't know how he got ahead of me.
Ondar:  how did you get involved?
Assassin:  oh, Natali is so beautiful, who wouldn't want to work for her?
Meurig:  it seem to me, from the chess pieces we found, that there is rivalry between players.
Assassin:  I don't know how there's a rivalry, how could anyone challenge Natali?
Ondar:  how many people are working for Natali?
Assassin:  I am not privy to all of Natali's plans.  On this skylith, think just myself and Roberto.
<Arnari and Glesni exchanged a glance.>
Glesni:  what is the relationship, do you keen, between Natali and the Academy of Magic?
Assassin:  the Academy of Magic?  They couldn't possibly teach her, she is far too advanced for that.  She would teach them.
Glesni:  where is Natali from?
Assassin:  I really have no idea.
Glesni:  You mentioned other skyliths.
Assassin:  I – Natali has many plans on many skyliths, but I don't know what they are.
Ondar:  how did you pick up our trail?
Assassin:  I was only watching Bernard?
Osric:  how was Bernard relevant?
Assassin:  nobody questioned him, til now!
Osric <floored>:  so we showed up, and you kill him?
Assassin:  yes!
Ondar:  the question remains.
Assassin:  was suspicious enough Roberto died; wanted to wait.
Glesni:  to what end is Roberto installed in a lair near Three Rivers?
Assassin:  I do not know plans.
Ondar:  what would we expect if we visited Roberto?
Assassin:  traps? Undeads?
<Ondar became visibly frustrated.>
Assassin:  I've not been there.
Glesni <reasonably>:  why you call it a "lair"?
Assassin:  what else would you call it?
Osric:  how did Natali end up recruiting you?  ...how did you get involved.
Assassin:  Natali saved me from a series of poor choices.
Ondar:  turn back time.
Assassin:  I tried to steal from the wrong people; Natali saved me.
Ondar:  what people?
Assassin <darkly>:  rich people are the same everywhere, and they get especially grumpy if they are Pteroti on Commerce.
Glesni:  how long ago was that?
Assassin:  ten years ago.
<Glesni looked at Arnari.  Wasn't she on Commerce then?>
Ondar:  exactly how did she save you?
Assassin:  she busted me out of Pteroti prison and saved me.
<Arnari shook her head slightly.>
Glesni:  we found pawns on the skeletons.
Ondar:  where did the skeletons come from?
Assassin:  stored in the pawns until I needed them.  <looked regretful>  single-use, though.
Ondar:  tell us everything you've done in her service.

Ondar was looking for patterns.  The assassin launched into a litany of stealing, stabbing, killing and capturing people on Duquesne, Commerce, Pembroke, and Sullimany.  Some of the killings were street people.  Glesni leaned over and quietly asked Arnari, "Any word from Three Rivers?  We noticed nothing when there [for the ankhegs]."  Arnari said, "No."

Osric:  who started calling her "lichess"?  Did she ask you to call her that?
Assassin:  it's her title; we have the chess pieces.
Glesni:  like the last syllable of her name?
Assassin:  I dunno, it's what she's called.

The Freelancers withdrew to discuss, with Nohea keeping a watchful eye on the assassin.

Arnari:  it might not be the safest thing, but perhaps the City Guard, turn him in.
Glesni:  maybe the Mayor.  Isn't he a wizard?
Arnari <shrugged>:  functionally the same
Ondar:  use him as bait, if he were sent to kill Bernard, they will come after him because he knows more.
Arnari:  this has merit; will discuss with Kaiea.  My worry is if this is their peon, the people they send will be powerful indeed.
Glesni:  bad for City Guard, then
Arnari:  I will consult with Kaiea, and then maybe bring you to consult!
Ondar:  hoping to draw Roberto from his lair, to fight on not-his-terms.
Glesni:  am concerned they called it a lair.
Osric:  would you prefer they call it a keep?
Glesni:  "the lair" makes me think he's trying to turn into a lich himself.

Osric told Arnari about the stone he found, and offered to sent animal messenger, because someone has to have the stone.  "Or is there a… Freelancer call center, where someone has many sending stones?"  Arnari didn't grace that last with an answer, but she did take the stone, and told him she'd give it to Nyls.

Arnari decided.  The assassin would go to the City Guard, and she would consult with Kaiea about his disposition.  She got his name:  Lautaro.

While she was doing that, Glesni brought Bernard another cup of tea.

Ondar:  Bernard has to go into hiding.  Ondar is concerned others will come for him.
Osric:  what if we fake Bernard's death, and plant a map in an empty coffin?
Meurig:  great idea.
<Arnari's eye twitched.>
Glesni:  he has to be moved; he is in danger.
Arnari:  this is up to Kaiea.

Arnari closed her eyes, and cast sending to Kaiea.

Need detachment of City Guards.
1 for guarding person in danger
1 for escorting criminal to lockup

Kaiea responded quickly.

They will be on way shortly.
If you have spell slot, is there anything I need to know?  Give me info.

Arnari relayed this answer, and Bernard was unhappy at the idea of having City Guards nearby.  However, he was less happy about being on the receiving end of a short sword.

Arnari contemplated her day, and also that Kaiea was the reason the Freelancers were involved in the first place.  After some mental wordsmithing, she cast sending again.

We've captured assassin working for Natali Lichess who is connected to Roberto Wendehal and have his location near Three Rivers.

All she got back was silence.  In the background, Ondar was still asking Lautaro questions.

Ondar:  did you help fake Roberto's death?
Lautaro:  I helped.
Ondar:  whose body did you use?
Lautaro:  I have no idea.  Bodies are easy to come by

Kaiea's voice suddenly echoed in her head.

Natali Lichess??  I used to know a Natali but... that was far too long ago.

An hour later, a contingent of the City Guard came.  A cohort took Lautaro away, but others stayed, including a caster, to guard Bernard.

• Glesni → lvl 5!