D&D Adventure #3: Vicious Circle

[Dog Pants]

Yes please, come track. My thoughts on that are that either we'll pick up the tracks again in the grass and someone took a running jump to try to convince the guard that they disappeared, or we don't find them (assuming we didn't miss them) and they did disappear. I'll be looking for possible vertical avenues of escape (Please Grimmie), but otherwise I think we're looking for something magical like teleport or rope trick. I can't be arsed explaining everything I've already done in character though.

[FatherJack]

Let's have a look:

Survival:
Roll(1d20)+1:
16,+1
Total:17

This is to see if there's anything to follow not to actually follow them until the rest of the part is ready.


I think it depends on the hardness of the ground (I'm guessing a city street is pretty hard) and the size of whatever might have made the tracks, so a fail doesn't mean there's nothing there. Thor can try again every hour I think, but the others can check for more magical/acrobatic escape routes in the meantime.

[Grimmie]

Right, I'm off on holiday - if the guard buggers off I'll ask Mrs Pyn about Elven dude, if not I'm heading to the Library to give this book to Baliame in case there's anything vaguely mystic in it.

Emma allows Glibberig to take the book, still convinced that the Gnome is actually operating above the law, but the guard doesn't seem to be taken in with his tales of sailing and is quick to usher him out.

What would you like to do with the book, Bali?

---

Thor doesn't have much more luck than Forenrond did with tracing the footprints, they seem to end abruptly after the six foot-steps as if somebody launched themselves from the ground. After a thorough examination the light is starting to fail - the alley descends in to darkness as the sun dips down and starts to set. It's our equivalent of Autumn at the moment, and the days are getting noticeably shorter as they pass.

Forenrond, the Infirmary to your north-east is a short one storey building made of timber, it looks scalable. To your south-west is Prince's, which is a three storey building made of stone, it doesn't look as though anybody could climb it without a kit or rope, but there are ground-floor windows that lead in to the kitchens for ventilation.

[Dog Pants]

Any of those buildings look like they're within leaping distance?

[Grimmie]

Depends how big your leap is, but no. You'd have to have a special spring in your step if you were going to leap on top of the infirmary, or in to one of the kitchen windows.

[Dog Pants]

Looks like the thief approach is out then, which leaves us with sneaky feet or magical disappearing act. Any of you wiggly fingers know if you can pick up traces of spells cast recently?

[Baliame]

I can. We have come to consensus with bits before that we would be heading for the crime scene.

[Grimmie]

No need to roleplay the journey over unless you want to stop off and do something on the way.
Feel free to do your stuff n' cast spells.

[Baliame]

Welp, I stand near where the body used to be and I cast Detect Magic!

...Do I need to roll for this?

[Grimmie]

Nope! You only have to roll for stuff like that if you're being distracted, that'd be a concentration skill check.
As it is, you're just having a leisurely spell-casting party.

I'll update when I get home.

[Grimmie]

Okay, had to do a bit of research on this..

You concentrate on the crime scene, looking down the alley towards the footprints, with the murder spot nearest you.

1st Round: You feel the presence of magic in the area, but that's not too unusual. Orhedge has its fair share of magic users.
2nd Round: The auras of magic start to solidify, there are one or two in the infirmary, and one in Prince's kitchens.
3rd Round: You feel that all of these magical auras are faint, but as none of them are in your LOS, you can't check their school of magic.

There doesn't seem to be anything on or above the footprints, but that's not to be unexpected. You know from your studies that low-powered magical auras tend to dissipate after a matter of seconds, and only truly strong ones or continuous ones leave a signature that lasts.

[Dog Pants]

Well the infirmary traces are probably healing magic things, but what's magic doing in a kitchen? Is the soup that good? Bali, can you scoot over there and try to spot what it is through the window?

[Baliame]

Why yes I can, unfortunately, I'm fresh out of Detect Magics so we'll have to do it the good old-fashioned way, so I'll look through the window!

Spot:
Roll(1d20)+1:
4,+1
Total:5

Let me guess, I spot the window I'm looking trying to look through.

[Grimmie]

No, it's not hard to spot the soup that appears to have a bright-fuchsia cartoon-like face smiling away in it. Some kitchens employ basic magic users as chefs to make their food look more appealing (and more edible).

[Baliame]

Which means the soup is actually, indeed, that good. Probably.

I'm not sure I want to eat that anymore.

[Dog Pants]

Hmm, okay. So we're no closer really. Right, well my next idea is to break into the mortuary and check out the bodies. I'll do that on my own once it's dark. Anyone else any ideas? Only other thing I can think of is to keep talking to people.

[FatherJack]

My Pappy used to tell me the story of the great detective, P'Waro the Barbarian. He used to gather all the suspects in a room and tell them he'd solved the murder. Then he cut off all their heads with his axe.

[shot2bits]

I can try detecting magic again if we feel the need to have a closer look at the kitchen or infirmary, but it doesnt look like theres any unexplainable traces around anyway so its probably worth saving it for if we come across anything else later on

Also for clarity is everyone now back together at the crime scene?

[Dog Pants]

Spazzing back for a recap, I think it's worth chatting to the militia about links with a blood cult, and the guards about the first crime scene. Both might involve copious hanging around in taverns, so I think I'll do my sneaking before that.

[Grimmie]

Sooo.. Sneakies?