Post by hubertbartels on Feb 17, 2024 15:16:08 GMT -5
Merchant District
Using the laundry carts as a cover, we were easily able to avoid the Merchant District’s many patrolling guards and pull up behind Alder’s rowhouse. Zayd picked the lock on the back gate, allowing us to pull the carts into the backyard.
We wanted to get in the house without being seen by the servants in the kitchen so we used the plantings in the backyard to provide cover while we made our way to a double door in a row of floor-to-ceiling windows. Stepping into a salon, we made our way through the double doors at the far end, through a sitting area and out into a broad hallway. Working our way down the hallway, we avoided the open doorway where an governess was instructing the daughter of the house.
Near the front of the house, the hallway opened into a great hall with a stairway leading upstairs. A locked door on one side of the great hall led into Prisco Alder’s office. Again, Zayd picked the lock and let us inside. The office was decorated with curtained windows giving a view of the street, a desk and several cabinets. Talariel searched the room for hidden compartments while Zayd examined the desk. Prisco Alder was a neat, organized person with everything in its drawer and every file in its place. Careful records covered every bit of his business. But we could not find any trace of Tercel company records.
An examination of Alder’s cabinets turned up a large amount of Tercel Shipping stock certificates – by his ledgers, he now controlled 45 percent of the company. All the stock had been sold by Madame Tercel – her poor understanding of money left her selling stock every time she wanted more gold. In a locked cabinet, we found a large amount of gold and fewer silver coins.
In another file cabinet, Zayd noticed that the drawer for the bottom ledgers was thicker than the other drawers – a closer examination turned up a hidden compartment. Inside the compartment was the Thrice Lucky’s ship’s rutter and three testimonials, duly notarized by Helena Carter, from sailors that witnessed Silas Snakeye cutting the belaying ropes of Master Tercel and his son.
With the testimony portfolios and the ship’s rutter in hand, we left the house, living almost no sign that we were ever there. At the Last Resort, we sat down and studied what we had found. The ship’s rutter was not very helpful, noting that the “strange incident” of the storm and the loss of Master Tercel and his son. The testimonials were from three sailors – Calvin Crowfeet, Selma Threeguns and Anders the Hook.
Cassander and Alessa went to Freeport’s courts and learned that Helena Carter is dead, having been garroted ten years ago near the docks. A check with the drunk, Barnacle Joe, let us know that Calvin Crowfoot was found floating in the water, ten years ago and no one has seen Selma Threeguns for years. A fight club near the docks featured an elven gladiator that fought with the same hook sword that Anders the Hook used.
Asking at the fight club, the Ring, we talk to the owner, Daren Ray. Daren is an older man with the muscles, scars and bulk of an old fighter. He knows of the elf with the hook sword, an elf named Calabas. Calabas could be found at the elven restaurant, the Rose Garden where the elven owner runs several fighters in his stable.
Off the main square in the area, down a side alley called Rose Street, we find the Rose Garden. We sit down and order food and drinks. After a while, the owner, an elf named Glenthalian, comes out to chat. When asked about Calabas, he mentions that the hook sword came up in a pawn shop a decade ago. The previous owner had gotten drunk and was killed in a fight. That was odd because Barnacle Joe mentioned that Anders the Hook was a level-headed sailor who never drank. When asked about Selma Threeguns, Glenthalian surprised us by remembering her. An old boyfriend is still in his fighting stable. The owner asked us to come by later to talk to him.
We went back to the Nightingale to talk to Merix. We wanted to bring him up to date on what we had found and the lack of any evidence tying Madame Tercel to the killing. We also needed to send a note on our investigation to Madame Tercel to let her know that we were still doing her job. Since this would involve Madame Tercel knowing that we found Merix at the Nightingate – we wanted to warn him.
Back at Rose Garden, we got to met Lorthien, her former boyfriend. He did not trust us, saying that Selma had gone into hiding because two of her former shipmates had gotten killed. She would be glad to answers questions relayed to her through Lorthien but refused to make herself a target again.
Then we returned to the Nightingale to see if Madame Tercel would send any visitors – like that nasty Celestine - to take care of Merix.
Using the laundry carts as a cover, we were easily able to avoid the Merchant District’s many patrolling guards and pull up behind Alder’s rowhouse. Zayd picked the lock on the back gate, allowing us to pull the carts into the backyard.
We wanted to get in the house without being seen by the servants in the kitchen so we used the plantings in the backyard to provide cover while we made our way to a double door in a row of floor-to-ceiling windows. Stepping into a salon, we made our way through the double doors at the far end, through a sitting area and out into a broad hallway. Working our way down the hallway, we avoided the open doorway where an governess was instructing the daughter of the house.
Near the front of the house, the hallway opened into a great hall with a stairway leading upstairs. A locked door on one side of the great hall led into Prisco Alder’s office. Again, Zayd picked the lock and let us inside. The office was decorated with curtained windows giving a view of the street, a desk and several cabinets. Talariel searched the room for hidden compartments while Zayd examined the desk. Prisco Alder was a neat, organized person with everything in its drawer and every file in its place. Careful records covered every bit of his business. But we could not find any trace of Tercel company records.
An examination of Alder’s cabinets turned up a large amount of Tercel Shipping stock certificates – by his ledgers, he now controlled 45 percent of the company. All the stock had been sold by Madame Tercel – her poor understanding of money left her selling stock every time she wanted more gold. In a locked cabinet, we found a large amount of gold and fewer silver coins.
In another file cabinet, Zayd noticed that the drawer for the bottom ledgers was thicker than the other drawers – a closer examination turned up a hidden compartment. Inside the compartment was the Thrice Lucky’s ship’s rutter and three testimonials, duly notarized by Helena Carter, from sailors that witnessed Silas Snakeye cutting the belaying ropes of Master Tercel and his son.
With the testimony portfolios and the ship’s rutter in hand, we left the house, living almost no sign that we were ever there. At the Last Resort, we sat down and studied what we had found. The ship’s rutter was not very helpful, noting that the “strange incident” of the storm and the loss of Master Tercel and his son. The testimonials were from three sailors – Calvin Crowfeet, Selma Threeguns and Anders the Hook.
Cassander and Alessa went to Freeport’s courts and learned that Helena Carter is dead, having been garroted ten years ago near the docks. A check with the drunk, Barnacle Joe, let us know that Calvin Crowfoot was found floating in the water, ten years ago and no one has seen Selma Threeguns for years. A fight club near the docks featured an elven gladiator that fought with the same hook sword that Anders the Hook used.
Asking at the fight club, the Ring, we talk to the owner, Daren Ray. Daren is an older man with the muscles, scars and bulk of an old fighter. He knows of the elf with the hook sword, an elf named Calabas. Calabas could be found at the elven restaurant, the Rose Garden where the elven owner runs several fighters in his stable.
Off the main square in the area, down a side alley called Rose Street, we find the Rose Garden. We sit down and order food and drinks. After a while, the owner, an elf named Glenthalian, comes out to chat. When asked about Calabas, he mentions that the hook sword came up in a pawn shop a decade ago. The previous owner had gotten drunk and was killed in a fight. That was odd because Barnacle Joe mentioned that Anders the Hook was a level-headed sailor who never drank. When asked about Selma Threeguns, Glenthalian surprised us by remembering her. An old boyfriend is still in his fighting stable. The owner asked us to come by later to talk to him.
We went back to the Nightingale to talk to Merix. We wanted to bring him up to date on what we had found and the lack of any evidence tying Madame Tercel to the killing. We also needed to send a note on our investigation to Madame Tercel to let her know that we were still doing her job. Since this would involve Madame Tercel knowing that we found Merix at the Nightingate – we wanted to warn him.
Back at Rose Garden, we got to met Lorthien, her former boyfriend. He did not trust us, saying that Selma had gone into hiding because two of her former shipmates had gotten killed. She would be glad to answers questions relayed to her through Lorthien but refused to make herself a target again.
Then we returned to the Nightingale to see if Madame Tercel would send any visitors – like that nasty Celestine - to take care of Merix.