Chapter 4 - The Creature Walks Among Us

[Skyrock]

Nadja wakes up with a massive hang-over, and Fuyuko also learns a valuable lesson about overindulgence, and why both would be better advised sticking to candyfloss.

The following days are otherwise uneventful as you complete your equipment procurements, with Lusica off the trail and less skilled investigators unable to pierce Tanya's disguise.

Eventually you set off to pay a visit to Kovel Mansion in Old Chancel. It looks uninviting, its windows boarded up and its overgrown garden filled with trash, litter and refuse. The gates in the wall hang off the hinges, offering no resistance to your intrusion.

At the northern side of the building is the main entry - and also the only apparent one.
To the west of the mansion are number of huddled and partially dilipated wooden outbuildings

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The main entry to Kovel Mansion is marked with secret signs:
- "Fellow thieves"
- "Trapped"
- "Danger"
- "Stay away"

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In the grass in front of the main entry lie a rapier and a dagger sized for a small person. You recognize them as the weapons of Lusica. By the dew that has settled on them they must have laid out overnight.

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There are about 18 different medium-sized humanoids going in and out of the building.

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There are tracks about 24 hours old, made by four medium and one small humanoid. They only lead into the building, not out.

There are fresh tracks of a medium-sized humanoid going in and out of the outbuilding marked #3 on the map.

[dman]

Hank walks up to inspect the ground. "Niko, look at this."  He points to the tracks.  "It looks like there is a lot of traffic here for a condemned building...  Hmmm... Those are Lucy's weapons, and see here!  It looks like she went in with four guardsmen and didn't come out.  David would you mind getting a birds eye view for us?"

The gnome gives a curt nod. His eyes roll back into his head and with an eerie whistle a dove pops out of his front pocket and alights on his ink-stained forefinger.  He casts the dove up in the air and it flies around the mansion, stopping to inspect a few areas of interest before landing back on David's hand and crawling into his front pocket.


Hank asks, "Did you see anything?  Can anyone make out what it says at the entrance?" 

[Skyrock]

The only thing visible from the sky is the unroofed inner courtyard. It is completely devoid of life at this time, but surprisingly clean and kept in much better condition than the exterior of the house suggests.

[Nanshork]

Niko grunts dismissively at Hank.  "I saw.  Do we follow or see what was of interest in that building?"

He points at outbuilding 3 on the map.

[Raineh Daze]

"Even I couldn't hide in a shed for long, it should be quick to check."

[Skyrock]

The trip to the outbuilding is quick and uneventful. It is filled with soiled straw and rusty iron cages, suggesting that it used to be a kennel for dogs.

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In the far NE corner there is a hunchbacked figure in rags hiding among the debris, bugs and insects crawling through its full beard and clutching a cheap club.

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It is a caliban, human spawn crippled through alchemical pollution, birth defects or other outside influences. Despite the rumors especially spread through such a theocratic town, they aren't inherently evil, but many of them turn that way under the treatment they receive, and more than a few become servants of necromancers, sculptors of flesh golems and other dubious masters.

[Raineh Daze]

Having no idea about if the figure was unusual in any way--though fairly confident that they wouldn't be a threat if they did try something--the ninja spoke up first. No doubt Hank would go into some proselytising rant or talk about turning their life around; she would rather just know who they are. Maybe bribe them with food. Or soap. Soap seemed like a good idea.

"Not an awful hiding attempt. Why are you here?"

[Skyrock]

The hunchbacked figure clutches its club even tighter as it is found out,

"You. Humans. Leave. Now! I found those edible bugs first!"

[Raineh Daze]

Giving the figure a dumbfounded look, Yuki reaches into a pocket and the pouch within, scattering rations--up to a day's worth--towards the figure, albeit not so far as to immediately come off as an attack. It wasn't like someone eating insects would care about food winding up on the floor.

"You're just looking for food?"

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It's just the contents of a pouch of everlasting rations.

[Nanshork]

Niko rolls his eyes at the accusation that he might want to steal some bugs to eat.

[Skyrock]

The figure wolfs the food down with one hand, but without letting go of its club and without letting you out of sight or coming too close to you.

"What you want? This my home and my bugs!"

[Raineh Daze]

"The mansion. Does anyone go in there? If you tell us what you've seen, we'll leave."

[Skyrock]

"You are not here for my bugs?" He still seems a bit suspicious.

"Bad and dangerous people live there, ruffians and thugs and thieves, the whole lot. Many traps too. Not a good place to go, best to avoid it.

Yesterday there were some red guards. Didn't come for my bugs or my home, they came to bother them instead. I just laid low and preferred it to leave it that way."

[dman]

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Swift action shift +dex to +cha

"We are not here for your bugs, Mr........?"  Hank waits expectantly for a name.

"In fact if you could give us some more details about what you know about them and this place we'd be happy to clear those dangerous people out and you could have the bugs of the whole property if you'd like.  How does that sound?"

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42

[Skyrock]

"I'm not a Mister Something. I'm just Spider, hiding in the dark nooks and crannies and eating the bugs."

He laughs as if he had told a great joke only he gets.

"I don't want to live in the big house. I prefer my home. The big predators ignore it, it has enough space to house me, and it is mine. Although I think they went in here and stole some of my bugs when I wasn't looking. I swear I should have more.

There's not much else to tell. I haven't seen their big boss in some weeks, guess they backstabbed him or however thieves get rid of their big boss.
The three sub-bosses don't seem to have determined their new leader yet, heard some bickering on quiet nights. In fact I heard some bickering just last night, something about what to do with that Red Guard tart. They are some sorcerous ginger tart named Lyra, some big beefy dude named Crven who can huff so hard that he blows embers, and some creepy hook-nosed guy named Haakon.
A couple of weeks ago they had three young and pretty ginger tarts showing up, sisters and orphans from what I have overheard, looking to get inducted. They must have been desperate to try their fortune with this lot."

[Raineh Daze]

"Useful."

Yuki looks at the others, then exits the little outhouse. That was probably all the useful information that they were going to get out of the man, and on the chance he was under the employ of the bandits here, then talking about Lusica or what they should do to his face was no doubt a bad idea. The safest thing to do was kill him, as with any witness you didn't want to speak out, and hide the body. But no doubt someone would complain about the practical option.

[skydragonknight]

"There's no point bargaining with their kind. Caliban understand but a few things." Mist says.

She steps forward, picking up a cockroach and holding it in her hand. Her normal poker face turns into a grin.

"You will show us around this place." she says, before eldritch energy appears in her palm causing the cockroach to violently explode. "Or No. More. Bugs."

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Intimidate of 30

[Skyrock]

The caliban trembles, then without further comment runs out of the outbuilding and for the hills.

[Raineh Daze]

"I would have just snapped his neck, but I suppose that works too."

[Skyrock]

The other two outbuildings used to be the groundkeeper's cottage judging from the rusty gardening tools, and the hound master's cottage judging from the rotting leashes, slings and other tools of the trade. Neither contains anything of worth or notice.