The Missing of Galdem
General Summary
Late at night, in an alley behind the Golden Goose Casino, Sula watched a halfling lead Gorath into the darkness. He was followed by a dwarf, who fell upon him and nearly killed him. Sula jumped into help, but the dwarf ran, and escaped. The only clue she had to the dwarf's identity was a black brand on her face. She went back to check on Gorath, who was injured but alive.
Together they returned to Gorath's home and Gorath had her send out several messages. One to a warrior he knew, Strife Cloud, one to a tracker, Xy, one to an artificer who owed him a favour, who sent her apprentice Smerdas, and one to the Helmite Abby, who sent their problem priest, Wilson Heath.
He offered them four gold a day, for up to five days, to help him find Ray, a missing man. He had been hired by Petrona Denforth to find him. She had last seen him a week ago, on June 23rd, 2954. So far, Gorath had determined he had a large debt at the Golden Goose Casino, he had tracked down Ray's cleaning lady, and gotten a list of some regular clients, and found where his apartment was, but no one had answered when he knocked on the door.
Smerdas was able to explain that a branded X on a dwarf's fate meant they had been exiled from their dwarven fortress for the murder of a non-dwarf.
The team started in the alley, and Xy was able to follow the dwarf's tracks to the Dockside Prison, at a side door. They knocked on the door, and when a guard answered, Sula used Charm Person on him. She asked if any dwarves worked here, and he said Korrine Grannitespine had left early, as she wasn't feeling well.
They went to Grannitespine Manor. Strife tested the lock on the front door, and found it open. He tried to walk inside, but some force prevented him. Xy waved his hand inside but found nothing. Then Taggart, the butler, asked if they needed anything. Sula attempted to Charm him, but he resisted, and then raised an alarm. Strife and a guard on the roof had a long standoff, and the others left.
They decided to look into Ray's Apartment. Smerdes distracted his landlord, Simone Mills, in her pottery studio on the ground floor, and Xy climbed in and went in through the window. There was a note in his bedside table stating that if he went missing, Grush was to blame. His apartment seemed untouched. Simone told them she had seen three women: a large woman, a dwarf, and a waif, hanging around the last few days, and had had the guards chase them away. They left, and regrouped.
They decided to speak to some of Ray's clients. They tried at Armand's, but the owner was not in until six that evening. Next they spoke to Vashira at the Cartographer's Guild, who had last seen him on June 18th, and was worried when she heard he was missing.
Next they spoke to Zekial Grazen, who told them Ray had once worked at Lavender Waters but had left on bad terms. The last time he had seen Ray was on June 22nd, when he offered him a deep discount on services. When asked directly, Zekial remembered seeing a waif in a heavy coat outside of Ray's the last time he was there.
Continuing to interview clients, they next spoke to Elodyn at the Long Road Theater. She had last seen Ray in April, when his old boss from Lavender Waters had used Charm Person on her to get to Ray and his client at the time, and ruin a performance with a shouting match. Elodyn remained furious at Ray, as this wasn't the first time she had caused her trouble.
They attempted to speak to Armand, but his Maitre D, Leopold, informed them that he did not see anyone. Sula charmed him, and had him take a letter to Armand. Armand responded he had last seen Ray on June 2nd, and would help them punish whomever took Ray.
At the command of The Voice of The Deep, Sula drank a goblet of fish blood during the conversation with Leopold, which made him twist fate in her favour.
Deciding to follow up on a new lead, they went to Lavender Waters Gaston, at the front desk, told them very little, but when they asked about his boss, Wilson noticed he became afraid. Then, a very small half elf in a dark cloak with a hood nearly bumped into Sula. Sula tried to slip a scrying charm on her, but failed. Later, she tried to tail the woman, but was nearly consumed by fear from a magical source, and chose not to pursue further alone.
Armand sent a message he would meet them at 1 am. He waited behind a curtain, and was able to tell them that the Waif was likely Isabella, the owner of Lavender Waters and an accomplished enchantress. He mentioned and Ray had a number of arrangements so Ray could eat at his restaurant, and that they rarely met at either of their homes. He had sent a letter to Ray 3 days ago, but received no response.
That night, Strife watched Lavender waters, and saw a hooded Dwarf stumble in. An hour later, she headed to the nearby tavern, The Iron Ring , where he saw her branded face with her hood down. She sat with a giant of a woman. He ordered a beer and tried to eavesdrop on their conversation, but couldn't hear much.
The next morning, the team went to the Golden Goose Casino to see what else they could learn. The met with the owner, Grush, a pallid and unhealthy man. He wanted Ray found, as the man owed him 750 gold. He would pay 10% of the debt if they could bring him in. He was also able to tell them that the large woman was likely Nara, the current women's champion of the Iron Ring. The dwarf was likely Verra Spinecrusher , a local enforcer. Both often worked with Isabella, who owned Lavender Waters. In the early hours of June 24th, Ray had been in gambling, and was on a losing streak. Though he had originally avoided the three women, when Grush cut off his credit, he changed his mind and left with them.
The halfling that had led Gorath into the alley caught Strife's eye and met him outside. She told how the three women had led him to a side door of the prison, and knocked in a specific way. The door had opened, and they had gone inside. When the women emerged an hour later, Ray wasn't with them.
Looking further into the Dockside Prison, the group decided to check the records at the Dockside Courthouse . There, Wilson made a disturbing discovery. In the last three years, ten prisoners had vanished under Korrine Grannitespine 's watch. Eight of those who had gone missing were in the prison for crimes against dwarves. Of those who had vanished, there had been inquiries to three of them. The first inquiry, made a year and a half ago, had been chalked up to a failure in records on a transfer, but Korrine had been punished for it. The next to inquiries had both been settled by wereguilds, when Korrinne produced the coin the prisoners who had committed crimes paid to clear their names, even though the regular paperwork for this settlement was missing. The last individual to have a dead-end paper trail signed off by Corrine was a sailor named Orrick, who had stabbed her cousin.
Something seemed off at Dockside Prison
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