The State vs Nora Sommer

Sandra is in a hurry to get to court but is very happy to see our friends. “I hate to do this but I am in desperate need of help or my client will hang. She is being framed for murder and I have no idea why. And now my investigator has gone missing. There isn’t much more I can do, if we don’t find some evidence then she’ll be found guilty tomorrow morning when her trial resumes.” She takes a file from her case and hands it to them, “please see what you can find out and bring it back to my home tonight,” she gives an address in the Udell Ziek, “hopefully with some good news!” And with that she is off again.

Summary of the file:

• Victim: Garlen Ormit, owner of Ormit Properties (Tulpe Street, Warei Ziek), murdered in his home (Huss Way, Old Town Ziek), cause of death: blunt force trauma.
• Accused: Nora Sommer, owner of hat shop On Your Head Be It (Bern Square, Park Ziek), old friend of victim, was seen leaving victim’s house by Lenet Pylund, neighbor across the street, on Wednesday.
• Valet and others say she was yelling outside victim’s house on Tuesday about ‘extortionate rent’. Maintains innocence, says she met with victim on Monday to pay monthly rent, did not go on Tuesday or Wednesday. I am very much inclined to believe. Being set up? Why?
• Lead detective Lieutenant Trull not willing to investigate further.
• Hired Flint Strenkann. First report encouraging, good, judge is ready to throw book. Second report is frustratingly brief, again, we talked about this!
• Set up a meeting for tonight to get details. Flint didn’t show for the meeting, very unlike him!
• Tuesday morning, still no word from Flint, Lili hasn’t heard from him either!

Investigator reports:

• Wounds show this was no human, also weird shoe print. Looking into other suspects.
• Found witness who saw Sommer on Monday, BOCC. Also learned of other meeting on Sunday. Good lead!

The Valet

The house of deceased is nearby so that is their first stop. The door is opened by a gentleman in his fifties, he is tall, is balding but has some white hair left and speaks with a Miforan accent. His name is Stedd Marsk, and he is the valet. Our friends explain why they are here and he invites them into the house. The corridor is full of boxes, it seems someone is moving. The valet explains that Garlen's nephew, Otto Ormit, has inherited the house and will be moving in soon.

Stedd has only good words for his late employer: “Master Ormit was a good man, it’s terrible what was done to him. What they did to his face, what kind of person does that? He was doing so much good, improving life for his tenants, it was really heartwarming.” Later the party learns from him that he too inherits; a month's pay for every year he was employed, which was almost 23 years. Otto will very likely not need his services, Stedd is thinking about retiring to his homeland and maybe opening a little shop.

When they ask about the accused he tells them the following: “Ms. Sommer visited on Monday as usual, I served them a light supper. She was wearing a black top with some kind of fish motif, a dark yellow skirt, a silver necklace with the letter M, and a brownish-yellow hat.” He saw her on Tuesday out in the street acting very much out of character and ran away the moment he opened the door. He tells them that Nora used to be a friend of Garlen's late wife who died 25 years ago. Ever since she came by once a month to pay rent but that was really just an excuse to see each other, normally renters pay at the office.

When the party asks about the murder the valet tells them: “I so wish I had been home Wednesday when the killer came by, maybe things could have been different. I was out to the market, the pork chop I bought the day before was of deplorable quality, I couldn’t serve that to the master, it was only fit for dogs. So I went back to see Mr. Lack for a replacement and to give him a piece of my mind. I was gone not even fifteen minutes and when I came back I found the master in his office like that,” he sniffs, holding back tears.

Our friends then as to see the office where the body was found. Everything has been thoroughly cleaned, although the carpet is still a little discolored where all the blood pooled. They learn that Otto instructed Stedd to clean everything after both Lieutenant Trull and Flint Strenkann had given their ok. Zayn does a very thorough search of the place and finds a few splatters of blood that were missed. They corroborate Garlen being killed where he was found.

Stedd can confirm that Flint found strange footprints in the blood and took a sketch. The prints led to the front door. The office has a window that looks out on the backyard, at the end of it is a wall with a door that leads to the alley that runs behind all buildings in this block. The backdoor was locked, and so was the front, so maybe Garlen let his killer in, with no one else in the home, he would open the door if anyone knocked.

According the the valet nothing was taken from the office, or elsewhere in the house, as far as he can tell. A quick search of the backyard shows plenty of hobnail booted prints, likely the Military police investigators. The locks on both the front and back door seem to be fine and not tampered with.

The Neighbor

Across the street lives Lenet Pylund, who apparently saw Nora on the day of the murder. A butler opens the door and the party is brought to the parlor and served tea. A number of minutes later Lenet enters. She is in her 60's, has grey hair, is well dressed and wears a pearl necklace. When asked about the murder she has this to say: “I still can’t believe what happened. Garlen was such a sweet man, reminded me a lot of my late husband. We saw each other quite a bit, always coming over, having tea or dinner. I am so going to miss the kind soul. I hope that woman will, if you’ll excuse my language, burn in hell.”

And when they ask about Nora: “When I came home on Wednesday, I saw the woman leaving dear Garlen’s house, she was acting really furtive, looking this way and then that, and then she quickly walked away, in the direction of the citadel. She was wearing a woolen black sweater, a mustard-colored skirt, and an ochre pillbox hat.” She didn't see her on Monday or Tuesday so she can't help there.

The BOCC Witness

It turns out the offices of Bowman-Outersea Cereals & Commodities are a little down the street, this might well be where Flint found his witness and it turns out to be Maureen Pruitt, who runs the place. She has a little time to talk and tells them: “I actually know Nora a little, I’ve bought hats from her and ran into her, here and there, I can’t believe she murdered Garlen. I knew Garlen as well, of course; he was an influential man.”

“I saw her on Monday as I was leaving the office. She was wearing a coquettish hat, talking to a woman in the street. Then she left in the direction of Park Ziek. Nora was wearing a dark top, a mustard-colored skirt, and an ochre pillbox hat. The other woman? I didn’t pay her much attention, I think she was human, in her 30’s or 40’s, she was wearing a green pleated skirt and a white vest, I think, her hair was maybe shoulder length? A brunette. She walked down the alley after their conversation.” A later quick stop at Lenet Pylund learns that she doesn't recognize this women and hasn't seen her.

The Alley

Izzy and Kieran have a look in the alleyway and they spot strange footprints, probably at least two different pair; it looks like one was standing around for quite a bit. The prints look like shoes with a typical outline but then maybe with really thin soles as you can also see a distinct heel and ball of a foot.

The Store

Boldrek and Zayn go to On Your Head Be It and first have a talk with the head of sales. Nora wasn't acting strange in the days before the murder, things were all quite normal. The shop is doing well, as far as she knows, she doesn't do the books but she has no reason to suspect otherwise. She is asked about any competitors but tells them that don't really have any in their segment. There's other hat shops, certainly, Petje Af, Goed Gemutst, etc. but none are really a concern.

Our friends go up the stairs to check out Nora's apartment and find it has been ransacked, likely the work of the Ott investigators. Zayn looks for hidden compartments and other clues but there isn't really anything of note to be found. Back downstairs they ask to see the books and ask if anyone has seen Nora on Tuesday and Wednesday at the time when she was supposedly on Huss Way. Unfortunately that was at least an hour after closing on both occasions and no one can alibi her.

The Investigator's Assistant

Izzy and Kieran are the first to arrive at the office of Strenkann Investigations. It's right on the border of the Udell, Warei, and Pottpic zieks and housed above a tavern, the Sly Harlequin. As they enter the place reeks of tobacco. Sitting at her desk is Flint's assistant; Lili Kahn, she's a tall blonde with blue eyes and a hoarse voice. A single rose sits in a vase on her desk.

They explain that Sandra Diest asked them to help out and Lili is very happy for their support. “Please find him and bring him back safe, I miss that crazy dwarf and his stupid pipe.” She explains that much of her job entails taking Flint's rather scanty notes, copy them and correct the spelling, and send them to their clients. She has the sketch that Flint made of the footprint found at the crime scene and it matches what they found in the alley.

Last she spoke to Flint, Sunday afternoon, he told her a contact gave him a lead on a warehouse the woman Maureen Pruitt mentioned had been seen. Flint has loads of contacts all over town, she doesn’t have a list of them, unfortunately. They are all kinds of people, some criminals, some Ott, tavern-keepers, urchins, etc. When asked she tells them that Flint is one of the best investigators in town and well respected.

They ask about Flint's pipe and learn he owns multiple meerschaum pipes. They search his office and his apartment; he lives next door. Unfortunately nothing useful turns up. Boldrek and Zayn arrive and they discuss their findings over a quick lunch. They now realize they have more questions for the the valet and return to him.

The Valet, tell it

They ask about a meeting on Sunday, as mentioned in Flint's note. “On Sunday the master had two visits; one was his nephew, Otto Ormit, who has been in charge of the office ever since the master took a step back, and the other was Ms. Dana Farnf of Abraxis Combine. Mr. Otto comes to dinner every Sunday. They usually talk about business and family. Mr. Otto was unhappy about something but that’s not unusual. Ms. Farnf is not a regular visitor, I’d say maybe once a year, last time she came by was maybe four months ago. She has a high-up function at Abraxis Combine, I don't know exactly what. I was not privy to their conversation but when she left she looked irked.”

They learn more about Garlen's company, Ormit Properties. It rents both residential apartments and commercial buildings, stores, offices, etc. Stedd doesn't know all that much about the business, he does know they don't own any warehouses. He suggests talking to Garlen's nephew who runs the day to day operations and who has now inherited the company.

The Alley, pal-y

Since it's close they go have a look with everyone together and Zayn uses his investigative talents again. He finds a few husks of wheat in the footprints. The prints lead down the alley to the Avenue where the alley ends, the prints disappear on the clean cobbles but there's just enough to indicate they go in a northwestern direction. Our friend split up again since they have so little time left.

The Merchant

The offices of Abraxis Combine in the Eagles Ziek are housed in an imposing building. Boldrek and Zayn ask the receptionist to speak to Dana Farnf and some time later her assistant, a rather preppy young man, arrives to see them. Unfortunately he tells them that she is out for a meeting the rest of the day. Our friends want to know more about the meeting on Sunday but he tells them he is not allowed to comment on anything. Even when they tell him a life is at stake, he doesn't budge.

Zayn uses his Awakened Mind ability and tells Boldrek to keep the assistant talking as they leave. The warlock goes out the building and makes himself invisible. This is seen by one of the many people on the street but apparently they don't care much and walk on. The half-orc then goes back into to the building, touching Boldrek to signal him to go.

Zayn follows the assistant up the stairs and they arrive at a swanky office with a nicely painted sign: Dana Farnf, Chief Operating Officer. The assistant has his desk outside the actual office and the door is closed. On his desk is the appointment book, also closed. Our friend pushes a potted plant from a filing cabinet and when the assistant goes to fetch a dustpan, Zayn has a quick look at the appointments, unfortunately none are listed on Sunday.

He then enters the office right before the assistant returns and starts to search it. There are quite a few papers on the large desk but they are all business documents and not something the half-orc has much experience with. He then decides to go through the filing cabinet but after only a few minutes he can hear running footsteps coming towards the office. The warlock opens a window and then casts Gaseous Form and floats up into the space between the ceiling and the next floor.

Two people enter the office, at least one of them is a spellcaster and she casts Faerie Fire to try and find any invisible interlopers. The two security people start their sweep and Zayn decides to float on and exit the building where Boldrek is waiting for him.

The Nephew

Izzy and Kieran arrive at Ormit Properties, it's only a few streets from their house on Rosen street. They ask to see Otto Ormit and are brought to his office. On the way the two have discussed how to approach him and have settled on a confrontational approach. Otto is tall with dark hair, hazel eyes, and a small mustache. Kieran tells him that they are investigating the murder which Otto is somewhat surprised at. He has already talked to Flint, which was already unnecessary in his view, as Lieutenant Trull has told him it's an open and shut case.

The talk starts out sort of alright and Otto is asked why Dana Farnf might have visited Garlen. He doesn't know, Ormit Properties does no business with them, they are not renting any buildings or anything like that. Maybe she was there because of his uncle's charity events? Though Abraxis people and charity...

Then Kieran starts to explain that Nora isn't guilty and how this is bad for the nephew, he doesn't let Otto interject at any point, instead going on how, when Nora Sommer will be exonerated, and she will, Kieran tells him there is a lot of exculpatory evidence, then Otto will be the only real suspect, he is the only one who stands to gain from his uncle's death.

Otto's face has been gradually getting more red during this exchange, he is incensed at the way he is being treated, in his own office no less! Being accused of murder and told things in direct opposition to what Lieutenant Trull has told him earlier, steam is about to shoot from his ears. He tells them to leave but Kieran persists. Then he calls for his people to go out and find a military police patrol.

This certainly puts a clock on their conversation so the paladin firsts casts a Zone of Truth and then uses a Command spell to make Otto answer his next question: is he in any way involved in his uncle's murder? The nephew's answer is a succint 'no'. Which is lucky cause he could have replied with 'I don't answer to you'.

Our friends then leave the office and Izzy darts into a corridor and casts an Invisibility spell when no one can see her. Kieran leaves the building with Otto following him, calling out for a patrol to come for his help, fortunately none are in the street right now. A patrol arrives when the paladin has been gone for almost twelve minutes, he went back home to lay low.

Otto invites the sergeant into his office and offers him a peach brandy as Izzy listens at the door. Over drinks the nephew explains what just happens and that he wants these people caught and punished. He is a tax-payer and upstanding citizen, one who provides an important service and keeps people gainfully employed. The sergeant nods and assures Otto that a city-wide alert will go out for these people and they will be caught. Otto is able to provide quite a detailed description of the holy warrior of Ehlonna and his mastiff. Izzy is a little harder to describe but her cloak is certainly very distinctive.

Izzy slips into Otto's office after the sergeant has left and observes the nephew. He tries to get back to business but as he is sitting there at his desk bent over his papers, he keeps muttering about how those people dared to treat him that way. Izzy exits the building before the spell runs out and also returns home.

The Nephew, askew

Back home Kieran writes a letter to Otto, apologizing for what happened but also saying that many leads were pointing at the man, and that, now that Kieran is convinced he's not behind the murder, he might be the next victim. Boldrek and Zayn have come home and the paladin asks if any of them might want to deliver it, otherwise he'll send his mastiff.

Izzy has given Kieran a piece of her mind and decides to double down, using the Hat of Disguise before going invisible again outside the Ormit Properties office and entering it again. Otto doesn't seem to be doing anything nefarious so Izzy eventually goes to stand behind him and whispers, threatening him. She explains how they are investigating the murder, they are doing good work, he should have the alert on her and the paladin pulled.

When the nephew nervously agrees she decides to drop the invisibility and sit opposite him to have a longer talk, discussing who might be behind Garlen's murder, as she is sure it's not Nora. Otto doesn't know of any enemies his uncle might have had. When Abraxis Combine is mentioned, Otto suggests that they could just go to the Ott if they wanted to get ownership of one of the Ormit properties, there would hardly be need for murder and taking over the entire company.

The Lawyer

Our friends go to Sandra Diest's house for a late dinner and the share all they have learned so far. Unfortunately it's not nearly enough to get Nora free. She can help them with the alert on Izzy & Kieran, should Otto not have told the MP's to drop it; she'll go to a judge tonight and pay a fine for them. After discussing what to do next, the best bet seems to be the trail in the alley, and that's where they go.

The Riverfront

Unfortunately the mastiff loses the trail from the alley all too soon but all signs point to the Riverfront Ziek. They go there and split up; Boldrek & Izzy will go see if they can find any of Flint's contacts and see if they know anything, Kieran & Zayn will see if the mastiff can find Flint, they brought some of his clothes from his home for the scent.

The barbarian and bard find a contact or two but unfortunately they don't learn much of use. The paladin and warlock have more luck; both bad and good. A thin man wearing a demon-like mask appears on a roof and shoots the mastiff with a crossbow before running off. Kieran manages to save the animal [though that shouldn't have been possible] and Zayn gives chase but the man made a lot of progress down an alley and the half-orc decides to return to the half-elf.

By pure happenstance both groups run into each other and decide to continue following the mastiff. The thin man appears on another roof and shoots the dog once more before fleeing. Kieran saves it once again and Zayn calls off any chase, figuring it might lead them into a trap. They stick near the mastiff and eventually it finds an old, disused warehouse with an Abraxis sign on it.

The Warehouse

If the dog is correct, Flint must be inside. Zayn and Izzy climb onto the roof and try to look inside. It's very dark in there and there are only tiny windows on the roof. But that is enough to show that in the southwest corner small offices or something have been built, and candlelight shines from an office window.

Zayn uses Gaseous Form and floats downwards. Inside the office are two men and women, all human, one of the two women might well be the person described by Maureen Pruitt. There's a second office and once the warlock floats there he sees a dwarf shackled to the wall, covered in blood, and what might be porridge; Flint!

The half-orc goes to report at the north side where Boldrek and Kieran are, Izzy also follows along and climbs down from the roof. The small door in the large loading doors are locked but the barbarian breaks it open and they all quickly go inside. They make their way down the warehouse when they see Flint running towards them as quick as his short legs can carry him. "Go, go, go!" he pants. Soon enough one of the people from the office building can be seen giving chase but a fireball spell from Izzy dampens his enthusiasm and from the sounds of it, at least one other person was inside the radius of the spell.

Everyone follows Flint outside, covering the retreat. Once on the street they want to talk but an out of breath Flint tells them they need to get to the safe-house otherwise those people will find them again. Fortunately it's not very far and they come to an ordinary looking row house.

The Safe-house

Flint opens the door and goes inside, followed by the party. He then opens a door to a lead lined room and steps inside, once more followed by our friends. When the last of them closes the door, the dwarf quickly steps out of the other door in the room and closes it again. Then suddenly the floor raises about a foot, dropping some of them prone.

Then a cloud of poison enters the room. Fortunately they manage to all resist the effects at first, while outside the room Flint is cackling about how ironic it was that he killed Garlen and was then hired to investigate the murder. By this point the party is pretty sure whoever is out there isn't Flint. The poison now takes effect on Zayn and he can't help but attack the nearest person. Not much later Boldrek and Kieran break down the door and they all get out of the room.

There is no sign of Flint and as they go out the backdoor to look for him, Zayn finds strange footprints, just like the ones in the alley. This all but confirms their suspicion they are dealing with a doppelganger or another kind of shape-changer. The footprints soon disappear on the cobbled street and there is no sign of their quarry.

The Warehouse, douse

Luckily, Izzy's fireball did not set the place on fire and to the party's surprise their enemies have vacated the premises. Not only that, Flint, the real Flint, they hope, they check his feet, is still manacled to the wall. After freeing him and giving him something to drink they learn that there were at least two doppelgangers. There's no telling where they are now, but Flint reckons his testimony should be more than enough to make sure Nora won't be found guilty of the murder.

The Courthouse

The next day our friends make sure to get the court on time, entering the courtroom just as the a case finishes up. In the dock stands a boy of about twelve years old, with big eyes, curly hair, wide ears, and a trembling lip. The judge pronounces his verdict: "thou shalt return to the place whence thou camest and from thence to a place of execution where thou shalt hang by the neck till the body be dead."

The boy, in tears now, is lead away and Nora Sommer is brought in. Sandra calls Flint to the stand and what he tells about his investigation and subsequent capture by doppelgangers is enough for the judge to find reasonable doubt of Nora's guilt. The case is dismissed and afterwards Sandra thanks Flint and our friends profusely.