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Sat 17th Dec 2022 07:05

What to do now?

by Laraena Silver

Turning away from the Magistrate's house we discussed what to do next. We finally decided to go see Bamidele, the alchemical supplier in the market. We told him he could re-open using his old supplier. He was happy and we headed back to tell Xhokan that Bamidele was going back to his old supplier and would have alchemical supplies for him within the week. He rewarded us with a credit at the Powder Pile, worth 200GP! We bought some Elixirs of Life & made our way to see Teacher Janatimo. We informed him how things were going and asked if we could possible get the Crown of the Companion back. He said he had tested it and found no problems with it. He gave it back to us & we gave it to Moselani. Janatimo was glad to hear we had decided not to investigate the smuggler's dens ourselves. He said that was a wise choice & he would send some folks he knows to see what he could find out about Froglegs and the trouble they were causing around town. We then headed back to check the message board at our dorm. There was only one notice on the board for combatants wanted in the Leshy clearing!
We decided to rest today and head over tomorrow morning fresh! Arriving at the clearing it was clear the Leshies had recognized us and were happy to see us again! A few friendly jibes were thrown & the rules were explained, then the fight was on! We cleared the 1st round fairly well. We rested, then prepared for the 2nd fight! This fight went well for us. Afterward, the lead Leshy came and told us to come back the following day as he did not want the final fight to be unfair for us. We agreed and headed back to our dorm to rest. The next day we returned and fought their largest golem yet! This single creature, while huge, was fighting us alone. It was a tense fight, but no real danger. When we emerged victorious the Leshies swarmed around us, congratulating us. We headed back to our dorm to recover.
When we got back we found a note resting on Laraena's bed. It listed 3 requests for assistance.
1: Ghost Stories
Requester: Lesedi
Please meet me at my office
2: Busker Woes
Requester: Janatimo
Please meet me at the Speakers Stage
3: Tell a Tale
Requester: Janatimo
Please meet me at the Black-Crowned Cane Restaurant
We discussed and then decided to head to go see Teacher Lesedi about her "Ghost Stories". She asked us to go see Tokku, a friend of hers, at his home. We went o see him right away. He explained a Poltergeist was plaguing him. He told us that the one time he saw it that it appeared as a catfolk & asked that we get rid of the creature. As soon as we stepped inside debris started flying around, some smashing Laraena in the face. She was furious, yelling out at the whirlwind and the creature that appeared from it "What the hell is your problem"?? This caused the creature to pause in surprise. He spoke to the group, surprised that anyone took time to talk to him. It had been some time since anyone had tried. Laraena was able to tell this really was a Poltergeist. Upon being questioned it told them that he wanted a Leopard figurine of the most beautiful rainbow hues returned. He introduced himself as Gerrus, telling us this had been his home. He felt a couple of years had passed. It was stolen by someone he thought was his best friend, Kalembi, who murdered him and took the statue. Laraena recognized this name. He was one of Nantambu's wealthiest traders about 20 years ago. Obviously this Poltergeist did not have an accurate sense of how much time had passed. She recalled information about both his export business and where his home was. She was not sure if he still resided in the area. After some discussion we decided to head to Kalembi's manor. Some guards asked our business, then passed us through when we identified ourselves as mages from the Magaambya. The manor was very run down, having obviously seen better days. We met with Kalembi, asking about the whereabouts of the statue. He tried to lie, saying he did not know anyone named Gerrus. When we explained what had become of Gerrus, his demeanor changed. He looked crestfallen, explaining he did not know it would come to this. He began telling us his story. He explained he had the most successful import business in Nantambu. He was careless and became indebted to a crime lord named Habu the Cudgel. When he could not pay his debts he had to do their dirty work or they would kill him. He was to work with a burglar, who picked the locks, letting Kalembi in to steal items. They eventually insisted that he steal the statue from Gerrus. He picked a night when he knew Gerrus was not home. However, he was wrong and happened upon Gerrus. He knew it was him or Gerrus. He chose himself, killing Gerrus, stealing the statue and taking it to Habu. We gave him no sympathy. He told us the burglar that had assisted him was a Grippli, whose name he did not know. She had been Habu's second in command and he had heard she had now taken over Habu's shady dealings. He felt that Habu had probably kept the statue as a trophy & that the Grippli had probably inherited it when she took over. He then pulled out a thick leather bound manifest. He was able to look through it and identify several gambling houses that would be likely places to look, as they were fronts for this crime syndicate. He gave us the manifest to take with us. TIX3 convinced him that he should go apologize to Gerrus. He seemed convinced and said he would try. We walked back to Tokku's house, where Moselani went in first to speak with Gerrus in hopes that Gerrus would not kill him out of hand. She warned him that Kalembi was there to apologize, explaining what had become of Kalembi. Gerrus agreed to speak with him. After some conversation, Gerrus agreed to let Tokku live there in peace until we could return the statue. We took our leave to update Teacher Lesedi that Tokku could return home in relative peace.
We decided to take some time to contemplate & think about what we had learned recently. During this downtime we heard rumors about random fires starting around campus in the middle of the night. It is probably just some students practicing in abandoned buildings. The fires are quickly extinguished and have resulted in no lasting damage.