Kintobor

For those of you who are wondering what music to listen to as the party rummages through Costello's house, this should do the trick.

Karie continues to stare at the woman's plate. She then notices the barmaid come over with a pot of tea. "Lucky..." Karie mutters under her breath. "Sleepy at best. Feel free to sit somewhere at the bar. There's enough room." Karie notices the girl sitting beside her disappear suddenly, her tea pot still sitting on the counter. "Waste not, want not." She shrugs as she slides the tea pot over and pours herself a cup. "There's no milk or cream in this, right?" She asks the barkeep, a hint of worry in her voice.

Looking about, Em deduces that the two individuals dragged a resisting individual through the house and out the front door. However, Em can't deduce where they went from there, since the road outside is thick with fresh boot prints and wagon tracks.

Grimwald make his way around and carefully picks the thick book up, shaking off any liquids inside. Grimwald flicks through the various pages inside only to find various complicated formulas and definitions, as well as diagrams of various methods. Notes have been scribbled about the book, but one bookmarked page catches Grimwald's eye. The rest of the book is nothing more than diagrams and long winded text on the creation and procedures used to create various potions in altering ones feelings, thoughts, and susceptibility.

OOC: We're all at the bar. Karie looks up at Haldor, giving a small smile. Finally, someone who wasn't Wolfgang OR naive OR quiet. "That's what he thinks." Karie responds. She yawns. "Tired too, I see? As the old saying goes, "keep the dream alive, go back to sleep." Anything of interest happen while I was away last night?"

The red substance appears to have spilled off the bookshelf and onto the floor, drenching most of the immediate area after impact. Examining the substance, it doesn't have the same density as blood. Looking about, Em can distinguish three different sets of footprints. Two muddy footprints lead into the room, however, three pairs lead out, one of which appeared to be struggling. The mud has turned dry, as if it has been here for a while. The mess between the table and work space appears to be a combination of various chemicals spilled from broken glass containers and various bits of lab equipment, most likely forced off during a struggle. A lone book sits drenched in the mess, it's dark tan cover surprisingly intact. The title of the book is "The Alchemist's Handbook: Volume Four- Theories Behind Creating Thought Reading, Altering, and Erasing Elixirs". The book has many notes protruding out of it, and despite sitting in a puddle of chemicals, it appears to be in a rather readable state still.

"Here for money, eh? Well you'll find that. Make an impression on some of the bigger heroes, and you'll be famous. As well, I assure you your longing for blood will be quenched in due time." Karie states dryly. He was rather off putting. She wondered if he was joking about the bloodshed or if he was a violent person. Karie takes a moment before speaking to Romulus, a sense of irritation in her voice. "Hello Romulus. If you insist in taking a seat, you may do so next to the new kid."

Not even getting a chance to stabilize himself, the door creaks open as Em's hand presses against it. It appears to have been forced open. Looking down the hallway into the dark house, a single light illuminates the end of the hall leading into another room. A noxious smell wafts out of the house. Proceeding forward, the party comes across a disturbing sight. What must have been Costello's lab has been turned upside down. Pieces of glass sprawl about the floor, making it difficult for the party to move without the potential to have glass shoved up their feet. With different potions and powders intermingle with one another, it's a miracle the house hasn't blown up yet. OOC: You can still explore the front of the building if you so wish, I just want to give you guys some more exploration options.

Karie finishes her sandwich as she looks over at the woman sitting down at the bar. The barmaid comes over with a slice of cake, and sets it down in front of her. Due to her lactose intolerance Karie never knew what certain things tasted like, such as cake and cheese. She began to stare at it's moist texture and icing.

"Listen kid. You can train all you want, you can prepare yourself by purchasing all the consumables in the world, it doesn't make a difference. Nothing can prepare you for what's out there. Trust me, I should know." She takes a bite out of her sandwich, the eggs yolk running down the sandwich and onto her plate. Despite her roguish appearance, she had to keep good manners. "Now, then, why did you join Heroica?"

The Gnome inspects the barrels by the door. They both appear to be commercially available alchemy ingredients. One barrel is labeled "Baby Blue Sapphires (20 per barrel), the other "Preserved Newts (10 Jars of newts)". A postal notice on one of the crates dates back six days ago.

The torches have the house number engraved on them, as well as the seal of the company that made them. It appears they were purchased recently, as one of the tags is still on it. OOC: Crud. Just ignore the lamps, it's an oversight on my part.

Karie takes a bit into her sandwich and swallows before talking. "I don't know. I'm bored, and I want someone to talk to." She takes a drink of her orange juice before continuing. "I see you've been hanging out with Johon. Trying to train you, is he?"

"Very well then chaps. Best of luck to you in your search. Do take care." Abbot leads the heroes out of the mansion and outside where he bids them farewell as they head back into Eubric. The journey to the city's as boring as the first, probably more so due to the lack of action or travelers on the road. After asking about the area, the party manages to locate 12 Barkley Avenue around five fifteen o'clock. The lights appear to be turned off inside the house. What does the party do?

Karie wakes up from her nap and looks around the eerily quiet hall. After what happened two days ago, she had wondered what her adoptive family would say about her dating a vigilante who was the head of a secretive organization that carried out special tasks from the Town Watch which she was a member of. She felt famished and headed for the bar. "Orange juice. And some eggs on toast too. Top that with bacon and sprinkle some pepper on it." She wondered what Masson was up to. She did offer help if he needed it to move his lab equipment. Perhaps someone would come to let her know where he needed his stuff moved. Perhaps she'd be called to help with something serious. Keeping both jobs would be tricky. Thankfully Heroica was less demanding. She noticed the new kid in the hall. "Looks like fresh meat just wandered in." She says to herself. Her sandwich is placed in front of her at the bar. "Hey, new guy! I want to have a word with you!"

"None that I'm aware of. He was a rather quiet chap."

"No, we don't. There was never a need to hide... until now I suppose..."

"He was laid off from the Guild of Invision about a year ago. He never went into full detail about it, but since then he's been working on his own mixtures and what not. Even afterwards, he still has respect for the guild. Either that or he's afraid of what they'll do to him if he's caught selling the Guilds's products. Last I heard, he was working on distilling Metasimian ale to make it's alcohol content less strong, but it's effects on the drinker more potent."

"So, it seems one of you is ready to head out. It would be best to get to Eubric before dark. You don't want to run into wolves or highwaymen after dark. It's four thirty as of now, you'd make it to Eubric by five o'clock if you hurried." OOC: No rush here. When you're ready to leave, simply state so in some manner. Then we can let the fun begin.

"But of course! He lives in Eubric, around the Three Gates area. Here it is!" Abbot begins to scrawl the address on a piece of paper, and then hands it to Em. "Seeing as how you're party leader, I'll give it to you. The address is 12 Barkley Ave., Three Gates, Eubric. You can't miss his house. It's the only one with black roofing on the street." Name: Unknown. Most call him "Em," though his real name remains largely mysterious. -Party Leader- Unknown age male human ranger Level 13 Power: 21 Health: 18/18 Gold: 155 Equipment: Aquabow (WP: 7, Water-elemental), Ranger's Quiver (+1 WP to all Bows/Crossbows), Syndicate Cowl (SP: 2, Immune to Doomed effect) Inventory: Consumables: Smoke bomb, Grating Stone x2, Nostrum x2, Potion x4, Remedy x4, , Venom, Ice Bomb, Grand Potion, Mead x2, Quest Items: Costello Watt's Address (12 Barkley Ave., Three Gates, Eubric) Equipment: White Marksman's Hat - (⅙ chance of Assassination vs. Flying monsters; Headwear), Gentleman's Hat (SP: 1, suitable for men, headgear. The wearer has a 1/2 chance to not be affected by Asleep.), Bedroll, Shovel, Pickaxe, Bow(WP:5)

Abbot shakes his head. "No, I don't. He could be perfectly fine, sitting in his house doing whatever it is he does now, but it's just that I fear based on the contexts of this letter that he's in trouble, especially since all the letters I have written to him since this one haven't been replied to. I would go check on him but... whoever kidnapped Costello could be after me as well, so... that's why I haven't investigated any further."

"Alright, let's finish this up. Abbot, the key?" "Yes, it's right here." Abbot retrieves a dull key from his pocket, and hesitantly hands it to Lilith. She grasps it in her hand, and then nods. "You can expect a fine in the mail. I don't know how you got a hold of this key Abbot, but if I find out you somehow got back into the sewers, I assure you it'll be worse than a fine! Now if you don't mind, I'm going to leave. I have enough paper work to last me till Grogmas..." She begins to walk out of the room, nodding to the heroes as she does so. Not noticing where she's going, she walks into a small display table, nearly toppling a vase. She looks about, rather embarrassed, before making a hasty retreat. "Well, that was... disappointing... No matter. Sorry for the interruption. My name is Abbot Watt, Professor of History and Archaeology at the Academy of Enlightenment. Now then, I have to bring most of you up to speed on the events that lead into you being here, so please, find a chair and take a seat." As the party finds chairs to sit down on, Abbot pulls out a large book from a shelf, and begins flipping through noted pages. "A long time ago, before the founding of Eubric and before the Orc war, the island of Uland was part of the Moon Elf kingdom. About one thousand years ago, the very site of Eubric was the location of Nu Mercution, the capital of said kingdom. The proud race was known for their worship of Azazot, and is part of the reason why the great kingdom no longer exists. The ruler of the kingdom, Haerasias also known as the Mad King, met his demise after the city was sunk by Ennoc priests along with the surrounding islands. All that remains of said kingdom are Moone and Uland, with the rest of the empire having been sunk into the Crystalinne Sea. A few weeks ago, the day after the Foundation Day Ball, myself and a group of heroes, one of which was Mr. Gligin, went into the sewers in search of a potential Moon Elf relic beneath the city in the sewers. What we found was something even more spectacular: the vault doors to Haerasias's personal vault. However, the door's are shut tight, and I have no idea how to open it as of now. I believe I have a lead, but it's useless without the assistance of my brother, Costello." Abbot tosses the heavy book aside and grabs a letter on his desk, holding it in his hand. "About a week ago, my brother Costello contacted me and claimed he was being tracked by a shadowy individual. Me and my brother both shared an interest in the Moon Elf kingdom as children, and despite myself being more versed in it's history, he can actually read Moon Elf script. I'd call in an actual Moon Elf, except trying to find one is like trying to find proof that Messie exists: it's darn near impossible. That and I fear about my safety since I haven't heard head nor tale of him since then! So, your task is simple. Find my brother, and bring him to me. Only then can we continue with the expedition and figure out what we need to open the vault. Of course, you will be paid the one hundred and fifty gold as I promised, as well as a bottle of Ambrosia. So, is there any questions involving either my brother, the task at hand, or the abridged lecture? Typically that whole spiel is given over two weeks with enough information to make a hand swollen, so I hope you get a grasp as to the archaeological importance here."