Hi-Lo (mercantile)

[Quonundrum]

Andronichishche gazes thoughtfully at the desk while Liam and Dexter examine the shelves and cabinet. From what I've learned of the late Mr. Nehru he seemed to have been the miserly type, not necessarily the userer I originally suspected. So, then why the elaborate desk ...? "This desk appears very out of place for such a utilitarian office. It's obviously hand crafted by a talented artisan and necessarily would command a hefty price even in Niole Dra."

Andron turns to address Glansandi, "Constable, if you would be so kind to assist me?" He motions to the desk with a wide sweep of his arm. "I suspect there may be hidden compartments crafted into the desk and your investigative skills would be most helpful."

Andronichishche proceeds to first check the exterior, looking for any unusual lines or seams, then the drawers with attention to the bottoms and the underside of the desk's central pullout.

[OGRE MAGE]

Before being ushered back out of the room by little Daisy, Nallissa makes it clear that she is somewhat embarrassed by the revelation of magic items in the locked cabinet. She hangs her head in shame and divulges a bit of information. "I knew those things would come back to bite him in the ass! I assure you all that I had nothing to do with the items inside there! That stuff was all Mr. Nehru's idea. Oh well, I guess the blame is pretty moot at this point."

Glansandi speaks up next as he helps Andron with the beautiful desk."Lets remember to treat these things with respect. All of these items are still usable, and poor Nallissa will need to make heads and tails of the everyday goings on for the business end of things here. So try to be as neat as possible with your searches." The elf and the half-elf begin going through the high quality construction of the desk, but they are unable to find anything secret or concealed anywhere on it. Can I get a percentile roll from Andron in your next post, please? The constable's pointed ears perk up a bit with the mention of the grey ooze pits, but he decides to address that bit of information once the search is completed.

Quark keeps his nose in the shipping ledgers, not finding anything of note to share with the investigation. Liam begins going through the bookshelves, finding several tomes on natural jungle flora and fauna, among many other mundane titles, but he doesn't spot anything that jumps out at him as important to the current dealings. Dexter has a closer look at the locked cabinet, finding its make to be of good quality, but nothing nearly as nice as the desk. He believes the lock on the door is of average make and difficulty, and he doesn't see any obvious signs of it being trapped or dangerous to open.

[SirOwen]

Dexter Broadleaf

"So," says Dexter, jerking a thumb in the direction of the cabinet. "Is this cabinet part of the investigation? Did anyone ask the young lady if she has a key to it? And if the late Mr. Nehru had the key, would you like me to attempt to open it?" He looks at the lock again. "It's a pretty fair quality lock. I'd guess my odds are about 50/50 without damaging it."

[Bluehorse]

Liam

Noticing the reaction from the constable regarding the ooze makes a mental note of it, planning to ask later. He begins going through the books, one by one, flipping through the pages looking for notes in the margins or loose leaves of paper. When hearing about the lock, he looks up. A key would be best, but if we do have to bash the lock, I have one I am willing to donate as a replacement until another one can be secured.

[Quonundrum]

Andronichishche will take another quick look through the desk drawers for anything he may have missed in his search for secret compartments; unusual notes, items, etc. "There does not appear to be anything hidden within the desk itself, although for some reason its existence is so incongruous that I feel we're missing something of significance." Andron, about to step into the store's main room, stops briefly as he overhears Liam and Dexter conversing about the locked cabinet. "Indeed. I had meant to ask lady Nallissa a question just now, I'll inquire about a key as well."

Andron proceeds into the main room and bows slightly to Daisy and Nallissa. "Excuse me ladies, for interrupting. Lady Nallissa, would you perchance have a key to the cabinet?" He holds up a hand to delay her response, "Rest assured I believe you had no involvement in the acquisition of the objects, you seem to have quite a bit more common sense than the late Mr. Nehru. However, would you be able to tell us what you do know about them? It may be pertinent in our investigation."

"Oh ... and one more thing", he says starting, as if remembering why he came into the room in the first place. "The office desk, do you recall when Mr. Nehru acquired it and from whom?"

Percentile: [1d100] = 52

When you're not sure if high or low is bad, middle of the road is a comfortable place to be.

[OGRE MAGE]

Liam doesn't find anything interesting hidden in any of the books he searches.

Nallissa continues pouting as Daisy tries to calm her.

"So, if he is dead, then what about all of this?" She waves her arm to indicate she is speaking about the store itself and all of its meager inventory.

"I don't consider any of this to be mine, but I guess someone has to stay here and keep people stocked with stuff, right? I still don't know if I can handle all of this!"

Once Andron appears again, she replies. "Mr. Nehru was just misunderstood is all. He had plenty of good sense. It was hard for him to be the boss around here, but he knew that someone had to do it. And he was better than most at it, I'd say. And yes, I believe there is a key for the lock, unfortunately he always kept his keys on him. Did you bring back his body? You could check his pockets, I suppose."

After a long pause of thought, she continues."The items inside the cabinet aren't dangerous, but I think that some of you will find them.........a little........well, just open it up and see for yourselves. Then you can decide if you want to judge me about them or not."

She answers the last question without hesitation. "Why yes, I actually do remember that. It was crafted right here in his office. By a very nice wizard type, I think his name was Al. Al Valley, maybe? He bartered transportation and his initial supplies for his skills as a artisan. I think it turned out beautiful." She starts crying again."Mr. Nehru really loved that desk!"

[Quonundrum]

Andronichishche smiles with gentle concern at Nallissa, "My dear lady, you were very loyal to Mr. Nehru, but it was entirely his responsibility for procuring those artifacts ... besides, you've already shown me enough kindness that not even St. Cuthbert himself could convince me under threat of lawful punishment that you have anything but good intentions in your heart."

With that, Andron returns to the office to relay Nallissa's responses.

[SirOwen]

Dexter Broadleaf

Dexter, always preferring keys to lock picks, looks at Liam at the mention that Nehru had the key on him. "Sir?" he asks. "Any chance you found said key on Mr. Nehru when he met his unhappy demise?"

[Bluehorse]

Dexter Broadleaf

Dexter, always preferring keys to lock picks, looks at Liam at the mention that Nehru had the key on him. "Sir?" he asks. "Any chance you found said key on Mr. Nehru when he met his unhappy demise?"

Liam

Is silent a moment as he considers how to answer that. The late Mr. Nehru's body and possessions were unable to be recovered. he gives Dexter and the Constable the "I'll tell you later" look.

[OGRE MAGE]

Nallissa stops crying long enough to thank Andronichishche for his kind words.

Back in the office, Quark speaks up from behind the ledgers. "I don't see anything out of order in these records. My books are up to date until 3 days ago. Bings shipping activity stops completely and has been inactive for a full month now."

Constable Glansandi nods at Dexter. "Go ahead and put your skills to the test, master Broadleaf. After that disclaimer from her, I am curious to see exactly what Nehru was hiding in there."

Looking over the papers on the desk again, Andron finds the notes he saw earlier:

It seems that Nehru was suspicious of Bings activities for some time, concerned that the man was doing a little piracy on the side. There are paranoid notes about some of Bings men actually watching the town from a distance for a while.

There is another mention of someone named Gorman, an evil priest who took over some ruins out in the jungle. The expedition Nehru had set out on was somehow related to this man. Liam's name comes up a few times in the notes as well. Apparently he accompanied the group that Nehru left with.

A final scribble reads: Ask around about this Bonnie.

[SirOwen]

Dexter Broadleaf

Dexter nods to the constable, removes some of his picks and tools from a pouch on his hip and settles in to see if he can open the lock. At first, the halfling looks very hopeful, but then he seems to hit a snag of some kind. His brow furrows, and after a few minutes, he sits back on his heels. "Sorry," he says. "It's a better lock than I anticipated. I can probably break it. But then.... well, it'll be broken."

Attempt to open cabinet lock (45% chance) [1d100] = 51

[Quonundrum]

Andronichishche waits patiently while Mr. Broadleaf plies his trade on the cabinet's lock. "Mr. Nehru's notes are as I remember them, nothing appears to be missing or amiss. Constable, do you recall meeting this wizard ... Al Valley? He likely isn't involved with the current mystery, but perhaps he assisted with the magical acquisitions." Andron gestures to the cabinet with this last comment.

He nods his head when Dexter leans back, admitting defeat, "Considering the circumstances, breaking the lock is the best course of action. Time is not our ally in this investigation." Tilting his head to regard the crouching halfling directly, "I trust your training also includes lock destruction techniques? Care must be taken with how we do so ... the cabinet's contents may be volatile or fragile."

[Bluehorse]

Andronichishche ...Care must be taken with how we do so ... the cabinet's contents may be volatile or fragile."

Liam's eyes go a little wide and he steps well away from the cabinet. It would appear he had a healthy fear of magic and dying.

[SirOwen]

Dexter Broadleaf

"Yes, sir" Dexter says. "I can break just the lock. Don't worry about the contents.... unless Mr. Nehru actually set up some kind of failsafe to destroy the contents. I find that really unlikely, though." The Halfling puts away his picks and tension bar and pulls out a small chisel and hammer. All sense of delicacy goes out the window and Dexter basically uses the chisel to pry off the lock's faceplate and then shears his way through the pin system. It's loud, it's clumsy, and it will take a whole new lock system to close the door again. Looking at the destroyed lock, Dexter says, "Sorry, not terribly professional, I know."

[Quonundrum]

Andronichishche watches on as Dexter expertly dismantles the cabinet lock. He nods approvingly when the work is completed, "On the contrary, Mr. Broadleaf. As a fool would hunt deer with a catapult, and the wise man would use a bow ... the professional knows to not hunt on the King's land. Your skills have been well suited to the task." Andron steps to one side of the cabinet, arm outstretched to grasp the edge of the cabinet door. "I suggest keeping clear, gentlemen ... as a precaution." Once the others are out of line from the cabinet he will slowly open its door. if nothing goes awry, Andron will proceed to cast a Detect Magic spell and scan the contents of the cabinet.

By my count (oops, missed one) this will be 3 x Detect Magic, and 1 x Detect Evil cast today.

[Urson]

Daisy

Daisy has wandered over and stands just outside the door, watching. She's ready to rush in and provide first aid and healing as needed.

[OGRE MAGE]

Quark and Glansandi watch as Dexter destroys the lock with his hammer and punch. Once Andronichishche swings the door open, the contents of the cabinet are revealed. There is a silver coffer with a closed and locked lid, another strong box with 3 complicated looking locks built into its construction, A very fine leather trench coat, an unremarkable looking robe, and a medium sized stoneware crockery jug of some kind that sits on the floor of the cabinet.

Once the priest of Rao casts his detection spell, he finds that both the robe and the jug light up with the obvious glow of magic.

The others eagerly await his findings as the constable makes his usual dry remark."It appears that master Broadleaf will get plenty of practice with his lock picking skills before this is over."

Nalissa stays in the next room, but asks Daisy what is going on after she hears the hammering.

"Well, did they find them? Do they look mad?"

[OGRE MAGE]

By my count (oops, missed one) this will be 3 x Detect Magic, and 1 x Detect Evil cast today.

Thanks for keeping track of this! It should prevent me from having to go back through the threads since I wasn't actually keeping track myself.

[SirOwen]

Dexter Broadleaf

Dexter leans in close and examines the coffer and the strongbox. "This strongbox looks particularly tricky," he says. "But I am willing to try both of them. Unlike the cabinet, if I have to break the locks, anything fragile might be at risk. So let's see if I can do a little better job this time. This small chest first, I think."

Dexter reaches for the silver coffer and turns the lock towards himself. Once more he takes out the small picks and a tension bar and goes to work. And once again, after several minutes, Dexter says, "I'm afraid you're all going to think I'm not much of a locksmith, but this one has gotten the better of me as well."

Trying to open the silver coffer. (45% chance) [1d100] = 55

Dexter looks at the very complex lockbox. "I'll be happy to give it a try," he says.

[Quonundrum]

Andronichishche carefully scans the cabinet's contents for a minute before finally announcing his findings, "Of the objects in the cabinet, only the robe and the earthenware jug radiate of magic. I detect no emanations from either the coffer or the strong box. They may be shielded in some way to prevent such detection, though." He steps halfway outside the office to address Nallissa, "Lady Nallissa, would you be so kind as to join us? We are in need of your insight." As before Andronichishche holds up a placating hand, "No need for concern, the magic objects we have found are quite mundane in appearance and any information you have would be most helpful."

Turning back to the small gathering in the office, his expression lost in thought, "I suspect lady Nallissa was not referring to the robe or the jug in her worry ... let us hope nothing has gone missing." Andron kneels down to study the jug more closely. "From her testimony the objects are not dangerous, but identification of their properties is not a simple endeavor. I do know a spell that is capable of providing such information, yet ... it's not guaranteed to work. The spell also requires a valuable pearl with each attempt, and the power of the spell itself would render me unconscious for a full day." He points up briefly to the hanging robe, "The robe however, may reveal its power simply from donning it, although more likely one would need to wear it for quite some time before anything is evidenced."