Over the Next Two Days ...

Saul Vancaskerkin is taken away by the gendarmes. Unlike constables in other towns. It is more about taking away the loser than caring about the events of the night. They also haul away any still living thieves or bodyguards, and city body disposal is called to pick up the dead.

Deed to the Goblin: The deed to the Gold Goblin is kept in an iron chest in the night vault. It’s a DC 30 Open Lock check to open the chest—but one of Saul’s keys works as well.

Still, Sol wanted to test himself. He couldn't open it casually, but it took him 8 minutes to be able to do a more dedicated safe-cracking. Then he locked it again and used the key.

An examination of the deed notes something interesting—the deed specifically states that it does not grant ownership of any smuggler’s tunnels that might exist under the property. This is standard boilerplate text for Riddleport deeds—smuggler’s tunnels are a sort of secret “public works” owned by no one but utilized by many. Not all of Riddleport’s buildings have tunnels below them—but in the case of the Gold Goblin, there are. Note also that in Riddleport, possession of a deed is pretty much all that’s required to own a business—with this deed in hand, Sol Flood is officially the owner of the Gold Goblin.

He's surprised upon learning that, and being as responsibility-minded as he is, he gets to work calling back the workers and getting a plan for the Gold Goblin Gambling Hall to be up and running again, but that the hall will have to be closed for a few days while things are figured out.

Distinctive Stink: The wine cellar had that strange funk to it, and Sol performs an alchemical analysis and verifies that it is likely troglodyte musk. This hints to troglodytes having come up from smuggler's tunnels ... likely invited, given the complexity of Saul's hand-key ... and having gotten into the wine stores.

Larur’s Remains: Saul had Bojask feed Larur Feldin’s remains to Pigsaw. A search of Pigsaw’s filthy cage uncovers bits of bone and Larur’s signet ring mixed in with the boar’s droppings. Because Larur had no known decedents, Sol will give the PCs the signet ring (valued at 50 gp) as a meager attempt to repay what they've done for everyone at the gambling hall.

Records: Area 26 contains the Gold Goblin’s financial records. Anyone who studies these papers for a few hours notes that the majority of these pages are in Saul’s handwriting, and something seems off. Unfortunately, what that is and how to look at these records properly is beyond anyone's ability, so Sol ... or one of the PCs who is interested in this lead ... might need to hire outside help.

Saul’s Key: The key on Saul’s stump, contrary to popular belief, does not open the night vault or any locks within—in fact, its size makes it useless for opening ANY obvious lock in the Gold Goblin. The key unlocks the secret trap door in area 39. His normal set of keys open all the other functionary locks in the Gold Goblin.

Sol comes to the group, which since he has been putting them up, isn't hard to do. "Okay, so a few things I'm concerned about. First, it seems that Vancaskerkin had dealings with troglodytes below. No more Saul, no more business, but that doesn't mean they won't rise up in anger. So, I was curious if we could maybe clear out any weapon-wielding vagrants that are in the Smuggler's Tunnels. I mean, I technically don't own it ... but it is a safety concern.

"After that, I need to get hold of someone who is good at looking at expansive economic records. I think some of them might even be in code.

"And I know that free room and board and a nice ring might not be enough, but given the recent turnover here, I've been wondering if I could employ you at the Gold Goblin. Let's figure that out after we figure out the What Lies Beneath problem, though."