Trust in Crime (IC)

[lonewolf1210]

Korranberg, Zilargo:

Nestled against the base of the Seawall Mountains, Korranberg is the oldest city in the gnomish nation of Zilargo. It is home of the famous "Library of Korranberg" which was founded 3000 years ago and is the greatest source of general knowledge on the continent, maybe even the whole world. The colleges and study halls along with the library itself dominate about a quarter of the city. Aristocrats and scholars from all over Khorvaire live in the city for their studies and education. Aside from that, there are 2 major differences you have noticed in Korranberg in contrast to other cities you have visited in Khorvaire before:
- Size: with about 60% gnomes, 10 % dwarves and another couple percent halflings, goblins and kobolds, about three quarter of the population is dwarf sized or smaller. While you are used to taverns and other public buildings also having areas suitable for the smaller people, here it is the other way around. The bar and most tables in an inn are small sized with a couple of medium sized tables at the side(which sometimes have to be shared with other medium sized guests). Not all buildings and streets are big enough for medium sized people to be comfortable in, and its not unusual that 2 medium sized people find themselves unable to pass each other on one of the smaller side alleys. In a crowd, medium sized people tend to stand out. That means its harder to hide in one, but at least you usually have a pretty good view.
- Appearance: Gnomes like their cities clean. Even in poorer districts, you wont usually see trash on the streets and someone throwing trash on the street can expect angry responses from the locals. Also suprisingly there doesnt seem to be a city watch of any description. The only watchmen you can see in the city are obviously private security for wealthy non-gnome foreigners. Nevertheless, petty crime seems to be incredibly low in the city. Troublemakers have a tendency to quickly vanish without a trace

Like any larger city in Khorvaire, all of the dragonmarked houses have some kind of presence in the city, but none that rival the main Enclave of House Sivis, located close to the library. Many different temples also call Korranberg their home, including the Codex Vault - Khorvaires largest shrine to Aureon.



Introduction:

It is hot. Since you have arrived in the city 2 days ago, the temperature daily reached the mid to high 30ies(Celsius, cause thats how gnomes measure temperature ;) ), and the high humidity isnt helping either. Today, on the 20th of Lharvion(~July) the heat didnt drop much, but at least a fresh breeze from the sea makes it seem less miserable.
You have traveled to Korranberg to find Professor Samuel Ledune, who teaches Academical Ethics at the colleges surrounding the libary of Korranberg. He was asked to lead a disciplinary commision, dealing with suspected corruption in Arcanix, which lead, among other things, to the explulsion of Eidas from there. Eidas chose him as the first target of his revenge for 2 reasons: He hated the selfrighteous attitude of the gnome, making him most responsible for the expulsion, but also since he is one of the few targets that has no known magical talent himself, making him an easier target. But his highly respected position in Korranberg also assures a thorough investigation if he is assassinated, which suggest a careful approach would be most prudent.

[Archmage1]

Ah... heat. It is a nice change. But there is work to be done, and time is, as always valuable. I need to find the target, this Samuel Ledune, identify his habits, and work out a way to make him either disappear, or to have an accident. Or possibly be killed in a robbery gone wrong. But first, he needs to be found.
Saric, wearing light robes, appearing human, and carrying an armload of books, wanders through the universities, moving just fast enough to appear that he's late, his face and body are almost totally unremarkable, just another tourist. His illusion is quite good: sweat flows down his face, and his robes seem rather sticky. As he explores, he's looking for a registry, hoping to determine where his target ism this Professor Samuel Ledune.


[roll0] disguise, using his hat of disguise to appear as an average human.(+5 for minor details, -2 for different race)
[roll1] perception, hoping to spot a registry

[3SecondCultist]

As he sits out on the veranda and watches the hubbub around him, Eidas recalls the loveliness of winter blizzards. He would rather be suffering from frostbite in the Mror Holds, than in this maelstrom of sweat and odor. To be fair, Korranberg is a fairly clean city, he thinks to himself. The air shimmers with heat, but a more structured municipal structure is hard to find. He appreciates the efficiency of the gnomes, if nothing else.

As the gnome server arrives with his drink, Eidas makes sure to throw in a few extra coppers as a tip. It's only polite, and whoever he reports to will have something to say about Eidas other than the fact that he ordered a tonic water to not drink. When he is reasonably sure nobody is watching, Eidas substitutes sips from the glass with swigs from the flask of clean magical water hidden in his robe. Anything could be poisoned here, in this capital of intrigue - best to bring your own food and water.

Leaning back in his chair, Eidas contemplates the distant silhouette of the great Library of Korranberg. Although he has only just arrived in the city, the temptation to visit one of the greatest repositories of knowledge on Khorvaire is sorely tempting. Not yet, he chides himself. Not until after Saric has finished the job. He can't have anyone in this city knowing that he is in town when Ledune bites the dust. It would look suspicious. And yet... he is here. For a multitude of reasons, Eidas is here. Perhaps it is because he wants to see Ledune dead himself. Perhaps it is because he does not entirely trust his new blade to get the job done right. And perhaps it is because he enjoys the thrill of murder more than the average person probably does. All of these occur to the changeling around the same time. He smiles coldly. This is going to be a good day.

Once he is 'finished' with his drink, he gets up and begins to walk down to the streets. He has a murder to plan, and Saric should be done with his reconnaissance soon.

[lonewolf1210]

Saric finds that the universities are larger and more difficult to navigate than he could have imagined. To his suprise, he quickly finds out that unliky similar institutions, the colleges in Korranberg are organized in a decentralized manner, with more than a dozend different colleges each specialized in different academic areas only loosely bound together under the umbrella of the Library.
It takes him about an hour of searching and asking around until Saric finds out that Professor Ledune works in one of the smaller colleges, The College of Philosophy. Talking to the registry there, he can get the room number of his office, as well as the (rather short) office hours.

[Archmage1]

Saric heads to the College of Philosophy, still using his rushing disguise in an attempt to distract attention from himself, hoping to arrive in time to talk to the registry, and learn where the mark's office was, so he could follow the mark home.

[lonewolf1210]

The College of Philosophy is located in a 3 story stone building which looks almost as old as the library itself. It clearly comes from a time where the gnomes were less concerned how comfortable other races might feel there, as ceilings are mostly about 5ft high, with doors beeing even a foot shorter. At the entrance of the building a middle aged gnome woman sits in a porters area and seems to be welcoming the distraction as Saric asks her about Professor Ledune. That doesnt however make her very cooperative. She leans back in her seat and asks with a superior tone of voice:
"What is this in reference to, sir? Our Professors here are very busy and dont want to be disturbed by students complaining about their grades."

[Archmage1]

Saric smiles at her, but it's a worried smile.
"He gave me an assignment, and he told me he needed it back by the end of the day, but if I miss him here... I can't miss him here! If I do... that would be bad. Can you help me? Please? I'll find a way to make it up to you, I promise!"
[roll0] bluff

[lonewolf1210]

The gnome smiles back to you:
"Sure thing. Just give it to me and I´ll make sure he gets it."
She shifts her attention away from Saric, seemingly thinking the conversation mostly over.

[Archmage1]

Saric blanches at the horror of the idea.
"Last time I asked someone else to deliver an assignment to him... I really, really don't want to talk about it. This time, I'm doing it correctly."

[lonewolf1210]

The womans eyes narrow while glancing back at you.
"Are you calling me incompetent to deliver an assignment?! I´ve worked here since before you were born. Do you think I got this job on my looks alone?"

[Archmage1]

Still looking worried, Saric shakes his head.
"No, no, it's not you, it's that he told me to report to him in person, so that's what I'm going to do. Can you please tell me his office number? Please?"

[roll0] diplo

[3SecondCultist]

Arriving outside the door, Eidas pauses for a moment. It took him a little while to remember how to get here, but here he is. Will he really remember me, after all of this time? He reaches out, his gloves hand inches away from the paneled wood. And then he knocks.

"Nabor! Verule Nabor! I'm here on behalf of the Aundair police!" An old joke between classmates, hopefully the gnome remembers their secret code. A smile plays across the changeling's lips as he stands, waiting to be recieved.

[lonewolf1210]

Sarics eyes get met by a death stare from the gnome lady. It seems that every word out of his mouth makes things even worse. With a tone in her voice that clearly indicates that she is trying to restrain herself she says: "Give me that assignment, or GET THE HELL OUT!"



--------------------------------------



A young, attractive, and obviously very pregnant gnome woman opens the door to Eidas with a confused look on her face. "Yes? Who are you sir? And what do you want from my husband?"

[Archmage1]

Tears forming in his eyes, Saric retreats.
"Fine! I'll give it to him in class, and say you wouldn't let me deliver it!"
With that, he departs, intending to head out of sight, before sneaking back in, hoping to find a placard, or someone more helpful inside.

[lonewolf1210]

While circling the building, Saric finds an open back entrance and sneaks in the building. It takes him a while to navigate the maze-like building, but after 20 minutes he finally finds the Professors Office, which is located at the end of a corridor on the second level. Entrance seems to be only possible through his assistants office. As usual in the building, Saric has to duck a bit all the time to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling.

[Archmage1]

Subtly glancing into the office, hoping to avoid notice, Saric tries to determine if the professor is in.


Checking if he hears voices, sound of a pen, sees light inside the inner office, that sort of thing.
[roll0] perception

[lonewolf1210]

Listening to the door, Saric hears a faint conversation between a male and a female gnome. Its too quiet to make out every word, but the male is doing the lions share of the talking and after a minute of listening, Saric guesses that the male is dictating some sort of text to the female.

[Archmage1]

Good. He is here. And now, I just need to see him, and then follow him home. Should be simple. Assuming there is a good observational position around. Out of sight, since I imagine that female gnome will be less than happy if she finds me.

Satisfied that his target was in his office, and not really wanting to make a scene of things, Saric looks around, hoping that there was either an empty office, or a convenient nook where he could wait for the professor to leave, planning on following him home.

[3SecondCultist]

Eidas blanches. Oh no... He didn't know that Verule had a wife! By the Host, when did that little monster have the time to get married? It was too much. Adopting a smile, the wizard relaxes his posture on the doorstep. Best not to appear too threatening. He is vaguely aware that he hasn't said anything to this female gnome yet.

"Ah... a practical joke. I'm very sorry. My name is Eidas ir'Wrynn, I used to study with your husband, back in Arcanix." Every word out of his mouth is true, and yet he knows if she knew his purpose, she would slam the door in his face.

Not sure if a Bluff or Diplomacy check would be useful here. I'm not really lying, so I guess I'll go with the latter.

Diplomacy: [roll0]

[lonewolf1210]

Saric cant find an empty office, but he does find a small storage room filled with mostly office supplies from where he has a good view on the corridor. He waits there about an hour before something noteable happens. A young male gnome from exits a different office on the corridor and walks down it. Saric doesnt pay him much notice, waiting for him to pass until he realizes at the last second that the gnome is actually trying to get into the storage room he is in. He only has a second or two to react before the door opens. With almost no cover in the small room, hiding in it seems almost impossible (-15 on the check). What does he do?


---------------------------


The gnome womans face turns into a smile. "Eidas! My husband has told me much about you. Please come in!" She opens the door further for Eidas and asks him inside. But as soon as he tried to move in, he soundly hits his head as he walks into an invisible barrier. That along with loud laughter from behind the window is all Eidas needs to disbelieve the Illusion in front of him revealing that the real door was closed all the time, and that there is no gnome women. In between hysterical laughs, Verules comes out of the house. "Now THATS how a practical joke is done."
As soon as he has recovered from his laughter, Verule opens the real door, lets Eidas in and offers him something to drink. As soon as they´re settled he asks: "Now what has brought you to my home?"

[Archmage1]

Seeing the gnome coming towards him, Saric knows that he has but moments to act.
Could kill him, but then I need to dispose of the body, and I would prefer to avoid that much work. Which means that I need to evade him, but I can't do it in this room. Time to move, and take advantage of the corridors.
Focusing for a moment, Saric steps through the shadows, appearing well behind the gnome, and seeking another good observation point.

[3SecondCultist]

Eidas doesn't quite know what to make of Nabor. He hasn't changed. The urge - sudden, virulent - to kill the gnome right here in the middle of his own home comes and goes. He is here for a different purpose. Laughing alongside his old colleague, he accepts the drink... but doesn't actually raise it to his lips. There's something to be said for precautions against poison when in Zilargo.

"I'm here on a business errand, I'm afraid. How have you been, my friend? How has your new position been treating you?"

Rolling for Sense Motive on Nabor's answer. This is largely a fact-finding mission, and Nabor's potential access could prove invaluable.

Sense Motive: [roll0]