Mission H - Completed!

Neglected Count: 0 - 2 Coin

Mission Ad:

• There’s a building in Warehouse Row that has been getting broken into and sabotaged during the night, causing delays in production. Security personnel report being chased out by a Spooky Monster. The situation needs to be investigated and amended.

Warehouse Row is the industrial heart of Lake Arcania. It’s a smoggy, hectic jumble of manufacturing centers during waking hours and a deserted, sporadically lamplit locale during the night. Many of the Smithies and mills of Arcania are located here or depend on it for their production chain.

The first day of the mission:

• The One Hundred and One Throngdors arrive in Warehouse Row via the Light Rail.
• Toshmo is familiar with this City Quarter, as it houses the majority of the Smithies in Arcania, including the one where he worked.
• 
• The streets are made of black and gray brick, although if you looked closer, you’d notice that they were once red. Soot covers almost every surface in the vicinity, and smudgy brownish clouds and wispy sparks billow from the chimneystacks on each side. The streets are crowded with overflowing materials and goods, and you imagine that during the beginning and end of the day shifts, workers on the move must crowd these paths to a claustrophobic extent. The buildings on either side of the street are tall, generally having at least 3 stories, with some towering above the rest. If you peer in the windows as you pass, you see various scenes of workers plying their crafts and manufacturing to meet almost every need in Arcania.
• The One Hundred and One Throngdors arrive at the address that Chadwyke gave them. This corner is home to some of the largest warehouses on the street, reaching six stories on their highest towers. A colorful sign above the door in front of the party declares: Shroomy Snacks Facility A.
• Inside the party finds a scene different from the glimpses that they caught into the other buildings. Workers are not producing, instead they are cleaning and organizing. Crates of goods have been busted open and their contents strewn across the warehouse floor, as if they were tipped over and dropped from the higher levels.
  • 
• The party notices a number of individuals. Toshmo walks up to one, intent on inquiring about the situation.
  • Obi Bendre pauses his cleaning to answer the questions.
    • 
    • He says that the mess was created overnight, before the day shift started, so nobody here saw what went down.
      • There is a security guard on the night shift, but she’s not currently present.
      • So the day shift workers simply have to clean up and organize what was sabotaged the night before and then try to get manufacturing up and running before the end of day.
    • Bizzle asks if there is anything valuable in the factory that could be the aim of this saboteur.
      • Obi replies that he assumes the company money is stored in the bank, the only things left in this location overnight are product manufacturing materials.
    • Toshmo wonders why it’s clear that this isn’t a case of maybe some animal getting in, instead of this “Spooky Monster” that’s been reported.
      • Obi says that the security guard has reported that it’s a Touched who is to blame.
    • Toshmo asks if there are any other reports of Touched in Warehouse Row.
      • Obi says that he hasn’t heard anything, it appears to be entirely located within this Shroomy Snacks facility.
    • Korarath asks if anything has been detected missing from the facility.
      • Obi isn’t aware of anything being taken, but it would be hard to tell with all the mess.
    • Drogath inquires as to how long this has been happening.
      • Obi says it’s only happened for a couple of nights. He recommends talking to his manager for more information and then the owner to acquire permission to stay overnight.
  • Draven Zuberi, the manager, pauses his supervision to speak with the One Hundred and One Throngdors.
    • 
    • Draven says it’s the second time this week that the incident has occurred. It’s very frustrating for his workers, who are grumbling about the cleanup work. The line workers, who are meant to only be focusing on manufacturing, have to help the custodians with cleanup before they can start the day’s manufacturing. This is not in their job descriptions, and there is apparently open talk about considering trying to get hired by the competition.
    • They’re happy that the One Hundred and One Throngdors are here to help suss out what’s going on and put a stop to it.
    • Toshmo requests a map of the facilities to help with their investigation.
      • Draven promises to get them the floorplan once he has a second to spare from their supervising.
        • Korarath asserts that middle management is very important.
          • Draven agrees, saying that they were recently promoted after working very hard and have a new appreciation for the role.
    • Draven recommends visiting the owner of Shroomy Snacks next, up in his tower office.
    • Bizzle asks about the means of entrance and egress during the night.
      • Draven says that he’s heard that some side entrances have been being broken into, but recommends asking for more information from the night shift security guard.
    • Toshmo asks about the light situation.
      • Draven says that some of the lanterns are on during the night to help with the guard’s patrol, but not all.
    • Korarath says that nobody wants to work these days in reference to there only being on night shift security guard.
      • Draven says that he suspects that some day shift workers might be swapped to night shift or replaced by more security guards if this continues to happen, but things are uncertain while production is halted and money is tight.
    • Drogath asks whether the Shroomy Snacks are psychedelic (they are not) and starts sampling the product.
      • Toshmo asserts his love and nostalgia for the snacks.
• The One Hundred and One Throngdors arrive at the owner’s tower office and meet the Elven C.E.O. Elsworth Breise-Harpour.
  • 
    • Bizzle is immediately attracted.
    • Drogath is immediately suspicious.
  • Elsworth is happy that the One Hundred and One Throngdors are here, satisfied that his contacts at the Guild were sufficient in fast-tracking his request for assistance.
  • He invites the party to investigate the area thoroughly, giving them full access. He informs them that the first night’s break-in has already been repaired, and the second break-in location will be repaired soon.
  • Elsworth is asked if he has any suspects in mind.
    • Elsworth states that the only real competitor that comes to mind is Jolrath StreamStrider Filintolia, who owns the large Fishy Jerky Co facility across the street. They have made offers to acquire Shroomy Snacks in the past, which Elsworth considers to be a bit insulting to his efforts. He doesn’t suspect that it is in Jolrath’s character to sabotage his business, even though they are rivals.
      • Elsworth, noting that his own profit margins are razor thin due to the rapid expansion that he’s been chasing, admits that he may have to revisit Jolrath’s offer if the sabotage continues for another week or so, but that doing so would be embarrassing and disappointing.
    • As Bizzle introduces himself, Jolrath realizes that he is of Bizzle’s Fizzles and Grizzles, and says that it is a pleasure to make his acquaintance.
      • Drogath tries to be a good wingman for Bizzle, who attempts to flirt. Korarath covers Drogath’s ears.
    • Elsworth says that as far as disgruntled former employees go, the company has been expanding so rapidly that they haven’t let anyone go recently.
    • Korarath asks if there is a union.
      • Elsworth replies that there is a union.
    • Bizzle asks if they have dental.
      • Elsworth says they do not have dental.
    • Elsworth says that he trusts the security guard Lonnie implicitly, and does not blame her for not being able to apprehend the Suspect. He’s hoping that the One Hundred and One Throngdors can solve the case before he is forced to bleed money in hiring more guards.
      • Korarath asks whether Lonnie actually saw the Suspect.
        • Elsworth says that as weird as it would be for a Touched to be in the area, so far from the Lake Arcania proper, Lonnie has reported personally observing many convincing features: skin with a decaying appearance, ragged hair, long, and blade-like finger and toenails. However, she has reported that is able to swiftly evade her, not shambling like one would expect from a Touched.
      • Toshmo wonders why a Touched would be here in the first place.
        • Elsworth wonders the same and seeks a quick explanation. He hasn’t heard anything similar from the nearby businesses and wonders why Shroomy Snacks is being targeted.
      • Bizzle wonders whether The Touched would send out a coordinated scouting mission.
      • Doodledip asserts that this behavior is very different from what he’d expect from a Touched and suspects that something else is happening here. The party agrees that staying in the facility overnight is a priority, to determine the truth of what’s really going on here.
  • Korarath is interested in investigating the locks, while Doodledip wants to interview Jolrath across the street.
    • Elsworth clarifies that he doesn’t want to cast suspicion on Jolrath, he only mentioned her because he was asked about competitors.
      • Bizzle and Korarath contend that she might have useful information nonetheless.
    • Toshmo recommends splitting up the gang to tackle both areas of investigation. He and Korarath will check the busted door lock while Drogath, Doodledip, and Bizzle will talk to Jolrath.
• Draven leads Toshmo and Korarath to the doors in question.
  • The repaired door from the first night has no suspicious nature about it.
  • The busted door from the previous night is now inspected.
    • It’s a heavy metal door with a padlock that has been pried and busted open.
      • Korarath, glancing at the scene, can’t tell if a tool was utilized. Toshmo, with his smithing experience, identifies clear signs of metal-on-metal, and notices a crowbar wedged into a shelf in the alleyway nearby the door.
        • It seems strange that a Touched, with their long nails, would be able to utilize a hand tool efficiently.
        • Korarath takes the crowbar.
  • They notice some workers with different uniforms being rowdy and loud nearby in the alleyway near Shroomy Snacks’ rear garage door.
• Meanwhile, the other half of the party arrives at Fishy Jerky Co across the street.
  • They wait in the lobby and inspect some snacks. They pick up scents of salty, savory notes, like soy sauce. The pictures on the front of the bags display crispy, breaded strips.
    • Drogath is aware that Fishing is popular in Lake Arcania, and that this food source is not necessarily associated with The Touched even though they have Lake Arcania in common.
  • The group is eventually ushered into the back of the building, where Jolrath’s office is.
    • Jolrath StreamStrider Filintolia is a muscular and androgynous Goliath, with pale gray skin and wide tribal face tattoos. Their demeanor is calm and quietly confident. She’s wearing a pinstriped suit and short silk gloves. His hair consists of dark red locs.
    • Drogath excitedly shakes their hand and says, “Hi Jolrath, I’m Drogath, I’m also a Goliath.”
      • “It’s nice to meet you Drogath!”
      • Drogath explains why they are there and says that they are not necessarily accusing Jolrath of anything, they are only seeking information. Elsworth only had nice things to say about them.
      • Jolrath says that Elsworth is certainly a worthy business rival. They have not noticed anything besides the commotion next door, but have hired on some extra security personnel to ensure that it does not spread to his facilities. Their security force hasn’t seen anyone besides Lonnie go in and out of the Shroomy Snacks facility.
      • When asked about industry insights, Jolrath says that he’s heard that Elsworth has been in dire financial straits, which is why he’s made offers in the past to acquire Shroomy Snacks and secure Elsworth’s investment while growing Jolrath’s hold on the market. But Elsworth has always maintained his intention to survive and grow on his own terms.
      • Drogath asks if the two are friends. Jolrath says no, they are associates. There is always tension among direct competitors on the market, but Jolrath would prefer not to have personal tension.
    • Bizzle introduces himself and inquires whether the recent sabotage has had an effect on Jolrath’s offers of acquisition.
      • Jolrath says that his offer stands as is, it has not been reduced considering the strange circumstances. Part of the Goliath code, is of course, to establish fair competition on a level playing field.
    • Jolrath and Doodledip recognize each other from the gambling scene, and there is some polite warmness between them.
    • Jolrath agrees to make sure that her security personnel peek across the street from time to time.
    • Drogath and Jolrath begin to bond a little. Jolrath suggests that perhaps they can go shopping together sometime and gives some off-the-cuff fashion advice. She also agrees to have a Fishy Jerky Co sampling box delivered.
• The party reconvenes out back of the Shroomy Snacks facility, intent on questioning the rowdy individuals.
  • 
  • “Hello, fellow rowdy Orcs!” says Toshmo.
    • The Orcs don’t notice the party over their raucous play. They are throwing mushrooms at each other and smashing some crates.
    • Toshmo reminds the party to be sensitive: not all Orcs are troublemakers.
      • Drogath gets excited about the prospect of a possible fight regardless.
    • Korarath notices that the boxes that they are playing with are marked with Shroomy Snacks branding, but it may be discarded product as it is next to a dumpster.
    • Drogath takes a mushroom and throws it at the Orcs.
      • They take delight in Drogath getting involved and throw a box back at him!
        • Drogath smashes the box, and they cheer. They say, “this is so much better than working!”
          • Drogath asks where they work.
            • They respond that they are Teamsters, and they’re in charge of ferrying product and materials back and forth for a number of businesses here in Warehouse Row. Their uniforms check out.
              • It’s common knowledge that Teamsters are predominantly Orcish and are one of the most vital and common professions in Lake Arcania, similar to the Fishers. Large parts of the Arcanian manufacturing supply chain are dependent on their labor.
  • Bizzle inquires what they’re destroying, and they respond that this is spoiled product due to the sabotage. They’re delighting in the fact that they do not have to work currently.
    • “Hey Pinky!” a mushroom thumps into the back of the head of the Orc that’s currently talking to the party. The group erupts in more laughter, and Toshmo throws some for good measure as well.
  • Doodledip inquires what they’ve heard about the break-ins.
    • Pinky says they’ve all heard about the supposed Touched and it’s hilarious.
  • Korarath wonders whether they ever work at night and have seen anything.
    • They don’t normally work at night. They come around in the morning to drop off materials and in the evening to pick up product, but recently they haven’t had much work to do for Shroomy Snacks due to the delays in production. Their next appointment is coming up soon across the street at Fishy Jerky Co and they’re just killing time. They still get paid even if Shroomy Snacks can’t make the appointment slot.
  • Korarath asks them if they left a crowbar around recently.
    • They haven’t. Their main equipment in view are long flat carts for ferrying crates around.
  • “Rock on!” The party leaves the Teamsters for now.
• The party decides to talk to one last contact before the day shift ends: a line worker who was present when they first arrived. She’s now bringing a small box of finished product out to the Teamsters, and she crosses paths with the party. She’s a Half-Folk named Sevilia.
  • 
  • Drogath introduces the party and Toshmo asks how she’s been faring vis-à-vis the recent break-ins.
    • She says that she’s the union leader and it’s a rough position currently because of the low morale.
  • Drogath says they should have dental.
    • Sevilia says that they did go on strike last month to get expanded benefits, but their strike fund ran out and they had to compromise with only marginal improvements secured.
  • Drogath asks Sevilia what the general opinions are on upper management at Shroomy Snacks.
    • Sevilia admits that while Elsworth works them hard, she can’t believe that he’d be behind all of this.
    • Opinions on Draven are a bit more mixed. Sevilia was hoping that she’d get the position instead of him. She believes that she is more plugged into the needs of her fellow workers more, so maybe that’s why he was chosen over her, as he’d be less empathetic.
    • She believes that they’re probably both good people, and doesn’t have strong feelings against either of them.
  • Doodledip inquires more about pushback against the union.
    • Sevilia says that management certainly played hardball against the strike effort. They had ten demands and were only able to secure three of them before running out of their fund.
    • There’s little motivation for more union agitation at this point, the strike fund has to be built back up before further action is possible.
  • Drogath wonders about the union presence at Fishy Jerky Co.
    • Their union has high membership and good benefits.
    • Drogath and Bizzle think that if Shroomy Snacks was acquired by Fishy Jerky Co, the employees would probably be happy with their new contracts.
  • Drogath asks Sevilia if she has any personal suspicions about who is behind the sabotage.
    • Sevilia would be absolutely shocked if Elsworth himself was behind it. He works them hard, but she can’t see him sabotaging his own factory.
    • She also doesn’t think that Draven has any motivation, his recent promotion should satisfy him, and he wouldn’t want to sabotage his own workforce.
    • She also doesn’t suspect any of her fellow workers, despite their disgruntled feelings. But it’s hard for her to get a true read on the situation, because the team has expanded so much in recent weeks, so nobody in particular stands out in her mind as having motive or suspicious connections.
  • Bizzle asks whether anyone besides Lonnie has stayed overnight.
    • Sevilia isn’t aware of anyone doing so.
    • She states that Warehouse Row goes from being one of the most active locations in Lake Arcania during the day to absolutely desolate during the night. She doesn’t know why anyone would be here if not on a night shift.
• The party, having received the floorplan from Draven, start their preparations to stake out the facility overnight.
  • 
  • The facility’s first floor mostly consists of a large, open area where product is manufactured. Also on the first floor are some additional rooms with side and back alleyway access through small metal doors. Two large garage doors also exist, one in the front through which workers enter and exit, and one in the back through which cargo is passed.
  • Above are two additional floors that are accessible from the ground via cranes and pulleys. Stored materials can therefore be accessed from below, and the crates have apparently been pushed into this open space from the higher levels by the Suspect, causing them to fall and smash open.
  • The building is topped with two narrow towers of offices, each three stories tall in their own right.
  • Sets of staircases connect the floors.
  • The party considers the advantages of monitoring the doors and merchandise, and decides to space themselves out inside the facility.
• As Sevilia leaves for the day, she stops by the party.
  • She wants to offer some insight into the characterization of Elsworth being so hard on his workforce.
  • She’s heard that his first business venture failed pretty spectacularly, and consequently his leading position within the Breise-Harpour Family was scandalously brought into question. This might explain the way that he runs his business.
    • Bizzle, at this moment, has a memory click into place. The name Elsworth Breise-Harpour has sounded so familiar, and now he knows why. Years ago, a prototype for a product named Bouncy Boots hit the market. An early tester tragically died. Bizzle’s own wall walking shoes were a direct competitor, and only through demonstrating their safety features was he able to absorb the market share left behind by the spectacular failure of Bouncy Boots. The founder of Bouncy Boots was Elsworth Breise-Harpour.
• The party takes a quick nap while waiting for the night shift to start.

The first night of the mission:

• Lonnie Hiroto arrives for her night shift.
  • 
  • She’s heard that the Guild was sent to help, and is thankful for the presence of the One Hundred and One Throngdors. It has been very difficult for her to try to tackle this issue all on her own.
  • Korarath explains that they’re planning on stationing themselves throughout the building to get a broad view of the area. She asks what route Lonnie will be taking.
    • Lonnie says that she’s contractually obligated to switch up her route every night to stay unpredictable and reduce possible vulnerabilities.
  • Drogath requests an account of what Lonnie has seen during the break-ins.
    • Lonnie agrees, hesitating nervously. She takes a second to catch her breath, and then begins to describe what she’s seen.
    • She says that she saw a creature that looks like a humanoid with decaying flesh, with long, ragged, white hair, and long, dirty, thick, blade-like nails on its hands and feet.
    • The first night, she didn’t witness anything besides the sound of the crashes and the mess left behind.
    • The second night, she was more prepared and personally witnessed this creature while it was engaging in the sabotage. She says that she called out for it to stop, and it sprinted away from her. She was unable to catch it as it descended the staircases, but she found the broken-in door where she assumes that it entered and exited from.
  • Bizzle asks her to go into more detail.
    • She’s never seen a Touched up close before this one, but she’s heard that they normally shamble, due to the awkwardness of their long toenails. This one, however, was so fast that it was able to lose her easily.
  • Drogath wonders if it was wearing a mask and costume. What did its shoes look like?
    • Lonnie hadn’t focused on its feet and can’t remember if they looked out of place.
    • Bizzle knows that Bouncy Boots were quite minimalist in appearance, using Weird Science glyphs on the bottom to emit propulsive pulses.
  • Drogath casts Empathy to gain knowledge of Lonnie’s basic emotions.
    • She is very, very nervous.
  • Toshmo inquires about how Lonnie feels about her job.
    • She started at Shroomy Snacks about a month ago and until two nights ago, it was a quiet and easy position.
    • Korarath asks what happened to the previous security guard.
      • Lonnie says that they trained her and retired.
• Bizzle has come to the conclusion that it’s important for the party to be hidden in place to utilize the element of surprise. Therefore, the situation may appear unchanged with Lonnie’s patrols but the rest of them will be prepared to intervene. The party settles into their stakeout spots.
• Hour One:
  • Passes uneventfully.
  • Toshmo leans against the wall, bored, eating some Shroomy Snacks.
  • Korarath busies herself practicing knots with her hemp rope.
  • Doodledip sits in a barrel, unbothered.
  • Bizzle is slinking around the building, poking around in nearby crates.
  • Drogath is eating some snacks, doing an attentive ocular pat-down of the area.
  • Lonnie patrols by.
• Hour Two:
  • Passes uneventfully.
  • Those who aren’t eating snacks start to feel their tummies grumble.
  • Toshmo heads to the breakroom and gets something from a vending machine.
  • Doodledip stoically deals with his hunger.
  • Bizzle snacks on shrooms.
  • Lonnie patrols by.
• Hour Three:
  • Passes uneventfully.
  • Lonnie patrols by.
• Hour Four:
  • Passes uneventfully.
  • The party starts to get a little tired, but stay alert.
  • Lonnie patrols by.
• Hour Five:
  • Passes uneventfully.
  • Toshmo says to himself, “this is the hardest mission that we’ve had yet.”
  • Korarath and Bizzle doze off.
  • Lonnie patrols by.
• Hour Six:
  • Passes uneventfully.
  • Toshmo succumbs to his sleepiness.
  • Lonnie patrols by.
• Hour Seven:
  • Passes uneventfully.
  • Lonnie patrols by.
• Hour Eight:
  • Doodledip hears the unmistakable sound of a crowbar prying metal at one of the doors in the distance and a lock popping off. He blows his whistle shrilly.
    • Korarath, Toshmo, and Bizzle stir awake, confused for a moment as to where they are.
  • Drogath notices shuffling noises on the floor directly below him and sets off towards the noise.
    • Korarath hears someone running as Drogath passes her.
    • Drogath detects heavy scraping sounds and shouts out “Bizzle, there’s something down here!”
      • Bizzle responds drowsily, “hub wha?”
  • A crash resonates throughout the building, originating from the ground floor.
    • Korarath glimpses a glint of Moonlight bouncing off a crate as it falls, as well as a flash of wispy white hair.
  • Drogath unsheathes his sword as he runs.
  • As a second crash resonates throughout the building, Bizzle and Drogath come face to face with what appears to be a Touched, which is approaching another crate near the edge of the second level.
  • Bizzle pulls out his glue gun connected to his back-mounted glue bag and sprays it on the Suspect, successfully using Entangle.
  • Drogath grabs a lantern and shines it on the Suspect, just in time to see it claw the glue from itself and tumble off the ledge to the first floor.
  • Korarath, not seeing Lonnie nearby, activates a Mind Link with her.
    • “Hey, the Touched is in here, it’s on the ground floor, get in here!”
    • Lonnie responds, in a panicked tone, “I heard it, I’m on my way!”
    • “Do you have a gun?”
    • “Yes.”
  • As the Suspect lands below, its momentum translates into a bounce, and it lands close to one of the alleyway doors.
  • Toshmo considers chasing after the Suspect with his hammer but hesitates when considering the possibility of being infected.
  • Doodledip reaches for his grappling hook and realizes that he never replaced it after the previous mission. He grabs his net instead, but it lands short as it sails across the room.
  • Korarath moves into position from above and shoots her bow at the Suspect. The arrow lands, making the Suspect shaken. The Suspect summons the willpower to recover as it attempts to flee.
  • Toshmo, emboldened, lands a glancing blow, reshakening the Suspect. The Suspect once again recovers from shaken.
  • Bizzle shrugs on a different back-mounted glue bag, this one with enhanced strength glue, and shoots the glue gun again at the Suspect from his position above.
  • Drogath jumps down to the ground floor, throwing his sword across the room where it lands a glancing blow on the Suspect. The Suspect is now shaken again, but the blade helps cut through some of the glue, enabling the Suspect to disentangle itself.
  • The Suspect stumbles through the door in front of it. The door slams shut behind it.
  • Toshmo rushes over to the door. It doesn’t open.
  • Korarath shouts through her Mind Link, “Where the fuck are you Lonnie!?!”
    • There is no response.
  • Toshmo slams the door with his hammer. The door caves in a bit, showing that a crowbar has been wedged through the handle, creating a makeshift lock. He tries exiting through a neighboring door, but its padlock is intact.
  • Korarath feels a stabbing pain in her side through the Mind Link, but is able to shrug off its effects.
    • “help…” is heard from Lonnie.
    • Korarath informs the party that she believes Lonnie has been stabbed. She peers out the nearby window and sees Lonnie’s body, crumbled on the ground in the alleyway.
  • Doodledip attempts to pick a padlock, but he’s unsure how to do so.
  • As the rest of the party coalesces by the doors, they realize that they can reach through the dent that Toshmo made and slide the crowbar out of its position to open the busted door.
  • Toshmo approaches the body. “Lonnie, are you alive!?!”
    • She says that she’s alive but has a wound in her side.
  • Bizzle, being a Doubting Thomas, attempts to put his finger in the wound, but Drogath swats him away and casts Healing instead by placing a gentle kiss on Lonnie’s forehead.
    • The wound is covered with glittery shimmers and appears to be healed when the shimmers fade.
    • “Thank you, that’s so much better.”
  • Lonnie stutters, trying to catch her breath.
    • “I heard the crate smash, and then I got your message. I looked down from up top, and saw you guys going for it. I exited through a window and tried to stop it in its tracks as it escaped outside. It just fuckin’ pushed me over when I tried to apprehend it and I got cut on the exposed metal of this dumpster!”
  • The party privately wonder whether she’s lying about how she sustained her wound, and whether the Touched infection has already taken hold, despite the healing.
    • Korarath tries to remember how long it takes for the infection to turn someone, but isn’t sure.
    • Doodledip tries to use Empathy to read Lonnie’s emotions, but is unsuccessful. All he’s able to determine is she looks pale, but relieved.
• Hour Nine:
  • A cool breeze whistles down the alleyway, giving the party goosebumps. Everyone is still catching their breath. Lonnie has sat up and is staring blankly at the first light of the morning as it casts a faint glow into Warehouse Row. She’s got a hand on her side, where only a moment ago she was bleeding heavily. Her uniform looks sticky with dark red blood, and her face is still quite pale. In this crowded, narrow space between the buildings, there are a number of crates, dumpsters, and shelves of random bits and bobs.
  • As the adrenaline leaves everyone’s systems, they remain on edge. Nobody is outright terrified, but some anxiety definitely lingers, especially for Korarath, who shivers a bit, slightly dizzy and nauseous thinking about how if the Suspect is indeed a real Touched, a single mistake could rob her of her life.
  • Just at that moment, they see a figure peering slowly into the alleyway from the far corner at the main road. They feel fear strike at their hearts for a paralyzing moment, as they wonder whether the Suspect has returned for more… until they recognize the form of Urrakka walking towards them with a lamp.
    • She says that she recovered from her illness and reached out to Chadwyke to find out where she might find the party.
    • Drogath asks if she saw a Touched walk by, but she did not.
    • The party gets Urrakka caught up on the current situation.
  • Lonnie looks up at them from her seated position, and starts to talk, but stutters. Then she takes a breath and tries again: “If you want to search for any clues inside, this is probably your only chance, the day shift workers will be arriving soon.”
  • The party considers whether they should restrain Lonnie, because they are suspicious of her account about how she sustained her injury. They decide that they should bring her to Elsworth’s office and keep her supervised by Drogath and Toshmo. Urrakka snoops around Elsworth’s office.
  • Doodledip confirms that the door the Suspect used and Toshmo dented had its padlock busted off, and finds the crowbar nearby, as fits the pattern.
  • Bizzle and Korarath check out the area where the Suspect pushed the crates, and find a savory, smokey, slimy, sticky liquid covering the area. There are residual trail marks on the ground, as if the liquid was used to lubricate the crates and make them easier to slide. The same substance is on the smashed crates themselves on the ground floor. Some footprints coated in the substance show that the Suspect walked around this area.
    • Korarath immediately wonders if the liquid is related to Fishy Jerky Co, recognizing the scent. Bizzle tastes some and confirms this suspicion.
    • Doodledip joins up, having returned from investigating the door.
    • The three of them follow the trail of footprints, which leads to a wall on the second floor. Korarath inspects the wall to see if anything was mounted on it. On a second look, she notices a thin crack in the wall, and levers it open with her crowbar, revealing a hollow crawlspace. Inside is a small barrel of Fishy Jerky Co marinade, and some razor sharp blades, fake, flimsy blades, and long white wispy fake hair. They realize that the marinade is the liquid, and the other items are components used to make a Touched costume. Korarath takes the evidence.
  • While Drogath eats and shares snacks from their bag, Urrakka rifles through Elsworth’s desk. She finds a carbon copy of correspondence from Elsworth lobbying the political elite of Arcania to ban Bloodsport, with bigoted implications and a condescending tone.
    • Urrakka, moved with anger in defense of her Orcish culture, throws down the letter, then picks it back up and rips it.
  • Toshmo and Urrakka take a stroll around the third floor, to determine whether anything seems amiss. Through the windows, they notice the lights and patrolling security detail across the street at Fishy Jerky Co.
  • Drogath asks Lonnie if she has any suspicions. She says that she’s really not around during the day so she’s not familiar with the other employees. She did, however, notice Draven Zuberi hanging out with the Teamsters last night, which she found to be odd, since the Teamsters normally only arrive at their appointment slots to drop off materials in the morning and pick up product in the evening. She also wishes that Jolrath lent some of his many night shift security guards at Fishy Jerky Co to help keep an eye over here, since it seems like he has a surplus.
  • The party reconvenes and shares their findings. They consider the implications of the evidence and who the Suspect and their motivations could be.
  • They walk over to Fishy Jerky Co and ask a security guard if they saw anything tonight. The guard says that the only person that they saw outside was Urrakka, but they can really only see the upper half of Shroomy Snacks and the main road in front of it, not its alleyways. Doodledip suspects that investigating the alleyways on foot may therefore be useful. They also alert the guard to finding the Fishy Jerky Co marinade barrel, and say that they will talk to Jolrath about it.
    • As the guard turns to walk away, Doodledip notices that their shoes have glowing glyphs on the bottom.
      • Urrakka draws her warhammer and orders the guard to halt. Noticing the weapon, the nearby guards all draw batons and flintlock pistols. Drogath draws his weapon as well. Korarath defuses the situation.
        • The guard says that the shoes are Leap Sneaks and they were supplied as part of the uniform starting a few weeks ago.
          • Bizzle, reading the glyphs, recognizes them as the very same glyphs as Bouncy Boots once had, with some minor protective modifications.
        • Toshmo informs the guard that someone was bouncing around in the Shroomy Snacks facility. The guard asserts that all Fishy Jerky Co guards in uniform were accounted for during the incident. Korarath asks if any guards are off-duty tonight, and is supplied with the names Isolde and Yujin. Their Leap Sneaks should be in the locker room.
  • Doodledip, following his hunch, discovers a crumpled Touched costume, presumably what the Suspect was wearing, covered in Bizzle’s glue gun residue in one of the alleyway dumpsters around the corner from where the party last lost sight of the Suspect. The party is now certain that there is no true Touched involved.
  • Toshmo wonders whether it’s common knowledge that Elsworth is lobbying against Bloodsport, giving the Teamsters a motive, but he isn’t tuned in enough to the local politics to know for sure.

The second day of the mission:

• Korarath isn’t feeling well and heads back to Charriott Lodging.
• The party waits outside of Elsworth’s office. He arrives at 8 in the morning and welcomes them in, wanting a full report.
  • They catch him up.
  • Elsworth denies any knowledge of the crawlspace or Fishy Jerky Co marinade. He’s relieved to know that the Suspect is not a true Touched, only a Faux Touched, but is still concerned about the possible dangers. Hearing that Lonnie was injured the night before, he takes her off the night shift until the matter is resolved. He implores the One Hundred and One Throngdors to take the necessary time to prepare and figure out the issue once and for all tonight.
  • Elsworth inspects the Bouncy Boots taken from the Faux Touched costume and agrees that they appear to be a modified version of his own product from years ago. He asserts that after his failure, he stopped all work on them. He seems exasperated and frustrated, unable to think of who might be selling them, and considers pursuing copyright litigation after Toshmo informs him that the security guards at Fishy Jerky Co are all outfitted with them.
  • Elsworth says that the Fishy Jerky Co marinade should be returned to Jolrath, as it feels wrong to have it in his possession.
• When the party returns back downstairs, they find a scene of Draven begging some workers not to walk off while Sevilia stands to the side, holding a broom and looking sad. The party overhears some workers saying that they’re tired of cleaning up and there are openings at Fishy Jerky Co with better benefits, so they’ll go there instead.
  • When Sevilia is asked, she says that it looks bad for Shroomy Snacks, as they’ve lost about a third of the workforce over the past few days: 7 of the 20 workers stationed at this facility. She has a feeling that at the end of this, there will sadly be some people out of a job, even if some of them can get hired at other facilities. She’s going to see if she can negotiate some kind of situation with Elsworth to alleviate the burden on her union members, even if they can’t afford a full strike again after last month’s.
  • The party tries to talk to Draven, but he’s busy dealing with the situation.
• As the party exits Shroomy Snacks, Obi Bendre walks up and says “Hey, there’s something you guys should know… So, if you’re interested, I propose that we go somewhere to share information.”
  • He leads them to an alleyway a block away from Shroomy Snacks, sits down on a crate, pulls off his Shroomy Snacks branded hard hat, and fastens an ascot around his neck.
    • “I started working here a week ago, before all this Touched stuff began. But I actually came here because I’ve been hired as a private investigator for an interested party about a separate matter. However, my employer has taken an interest in this haunting and sabotage as well, and has given me permission to join forces with you to get to the bottom of this. So I need a recap of what happened last night, any information that you think might be useful.”
    • Toshmo convenes with the party and confirms that they trust Obi enough to share their information.
    • The party catches Obi up to date. He thinks that they are on the right track, but seems conflicted, as if he wants to say more than he’s allowed to.
    • He then says “I don’t know if this is any of our business, but I think that it may be useful in narrowing the list of suspects.” and shows the party a Cannon Camera print that shows Elsworth and Sevilia in a romantic embrace outside an upscale residence. The time marked on the photo is last night, during the sabotage, so if this photo is correct, the two of them cannot be the suspect that was there last night.
    • Obi goes on to say that he thinks Bizzle had the right idea with the glue, but due to the nature of the suspect, they need something stronger and faster. They need to plan a trap.
      • Urrakka offers to be the bait for the trap, wearing the Bouncy Boots.
        • Obi says, “I understand that this may be scary, but… would you do it for a Shroomy Snack?” The party tears into a bag of the delicious snacks.
    • Obi recommends that the party makes sure they get a chance to rest during the day shift, and he promises to bring some charged lemonades to help keep them awake that night. They can prepare the trap together in between the day and night shifts.
• The party agrees to meet back up with Obi later and go on to question Jolrath.
  • After filling her in on what went down the previous night and morning, they return the Fishy Jerky Co marinade barrel.
  • Jolrath is concerned about the secrecy of the marinade recipe, but suspects that a large portion of the missing liquid was likely wasted during the sabotage, not analyzed. They say that the barrel was noticed as missing about a week ago.
  • Jolrath admits that they are Obi’s employer, and hired him to investigate the marinade theft. Only someone with proper ID could have been able to access the barrel storage in the first place, and while there are still many questions left unanswered, finding the barrel in Shroomy Snacks is at least a start to figuring out what went down.
    • Obi was placed at Shroomy Snacks because Lonnie Hiroto was fired from the Fishy Jerky Co security team about a month ago for trying to secret out a barrel of marinade. Jolrath was suspicious when she was immediately hired across the street by his rival.
  • Drogath and Jolrath talk a bit more about suit shopping.
  • Jolrath confirms that the Leap Sneaks were sold to him by a traveling salesperson about three weeks ago. He was unaware of any other implications of background surrounding the product.
  • Jolrath is not aware of Sevilia, but knows that Elsworth has a wife.
  • Jolrath requests that the party not alert Elsworth to Obi’s true identity.
• The party considers how they should design the trap and prepare for the Suspect’s arrival that night.
  • They decide that the trap will consist of a bucket of Bizzle’s glue on the third floor of the Shroomy Snacks facility. Urrakka will be waiting in plain sight at the second floor stairs and lead the Suspect on a chase to the bucket location.
• At the end of the day shift, the One Hundred and One Throngdors return to Shroomy Snacks and watch all the workers leave the building, including Draven exiting through the back cargo doors.
• Obi meets the party and they construct the trap together into the early hours of the night.

The second night of mission:

• The Moonlight casts a pale green glow into the building from the skylights above.
• The party positions themselves strategically within the facility.
• The Suspect enters by Bizzle, who assumes that the door opening noise was one of his compatriots and is not alerted.
• Urrakka sees a flash of long white hair emerging across the gap from her on the second floor. The Suspect bounds across towards her. She maintains her composure and leaps up the stairs with the aid of her Bouncy Boots, beginning to lead the Suspect towards the trap location.
• A chase sequence begins, and Action Card order is determined. The Suspect starts 3 segments behind Urrakka and will come closer to slashing distance of her when it is the Suspect’s turn or a party skill check is failed.
  • Urrakka very impressively bounds over a pile of crates that are in her way, gaining a segment of space.
  • The suspect follows, vaulting over the crates effortlessly, reducing the space between them by a segment.
  • The crane’s metal arm is swinging in the path of the chase. Toshmo shoves the crane, but clumsily shoves it more into Urrakka’s path, who has to expend a segment of space to avoid it. The Suspect is now 2 segments away from attacking her.
  • There is a large industrial bucket on a hinge full of mushroom waste goop in the way of Urrakka. Doodledip uses his elemental manipulation to influence the water in the goop mixture and tip it over onto the Suspect, hindering it and maintaining the distance.
  • There are heavy industrial ropes hanging from the ceiling. Bizzle climbs the crane to the third floor and drags the ropes into the way of the Suspect, which tangles them up and maintains their distance from Urrakka.
  • There’s a shipment of doors, ordered to replace the one that was busted up by Toshmo, in Urrakka’s way. Urrakka and the Suspect are racing through them, opening and closing them as they go. Obi leans out from his position on the second floor and times a Cannon Camera shot to blind the Suspect with the flash. The distance is maintained.
  • There is a bunch of random bits and bobs on the floor that Urrakka has to navigate past. Drogath throws a crowbar at the Suspect, thudding into their stomach and causing them to lose their footing.
  • The Suspect scrambles to their feet and leaps towards Urrakka. The two of them sprint for a moment, then look down and realize that they are running in place on a conveyer belt. Urrakka leaps off the belt just as the trap triggers, covering the Suspect in a pile of glue. Urrakka does a Bouncy Boots jump in celebration. The Suspect struggles, trying to escape, but is unable to free their arms to cut their way out with the costume’s blades.
  • Urrakka designates Toshmo with the honor of unmasking the Suspect. Lonnie is revealed, her face red and flushed, and she spits in Toshmo’s face as he steps back. She looks furious.
    • “So, you did it, huh. You just had to trap me, instead of following the obvious clues like you were supposed to. I literally sloshed the patented Fishy Jerky Co marinade all over the place, the security guards over there all use the same fuckin’ Bouncy Boots as my costume, and we’re actively bleeding our workers to Jolrath. It’s so obviously his fault! Why couldn’t you capture him instead? It would’ve been perfect. He’d have learned his lesson, and I would’ve gotten away with it, too, if it wasn’t for you meddling Guildsfolk!”
    • Drogath shakes his head, saying “I used my healing powers on you.”
      • As he says that, her eyes flit over his shoulder for only a split second, and Drogath’s danger sense kicks in. He turns around to see that Elsworth has crept up behind the party, and has a blunderbuss leveled at them. Drogath throws his sword at Elsworth. The flat end catches the Elven C.E.O. in the throat, and he drops to the ground, gasping for breath, the blunderbuss skittering to the floor. Bizzle grabs the gun, safely removing it from play. Elsworth and Lonnie are both restrained.
        • Drogath looks Elsworth in the eyes and says, “You’re a very puny, pathetic, little man. And also your suits look like shit. Get pinstripes.”
          • Elsworth cries as his whole world crashes around him.

In the ensuing days, the full truth comes out about what went down in this especially busy corner of Warehouse Row:

• About a month ago, the labor union strike at Shroomy Snacks was a close call for Elsworth Breise-Harpour. He had just barely been able to wait out the workers, and realized that he had to make changes in his business strategy if he wanted to stay afloat. He began a two-pronged plan:
  • First, utilizing the close conversations that he had had with Sevilia during their negotiations, he began to subtly manipulate her, toying with her emotions by weaving a sob story about the pressures from his family, and eventually, beginning an illicit affair with her. He ensured that further union activity would be softened by this relationship, buying him time.
  • The second part of the plan would require a partner. Elsworth carefully contacted Lonnie Hiroto, who was at the time a security guard on the night shift team at Fishy Jerky Co, the main competitor of Shroomy Snacks. She agreed to steal a barrel of the special patented marinade, but was caught by another guard in the process. She was fired from her position, but was promptly hired onto the meager security team at Shroomy Snacks. They began plotting another attempt.
  • About a week ago, a barrel at Fishy Jerky Co did go missing. The owner, Jolrath StreamStrider Filintolia, wanting to keep it under wraps that his secret recipe was out, hired Obi Bendre, a solid private investigator, to find it. The obvious first location to look was in Shroomy Snacks, since it was Lonnie’s new place of employment. So Obi went undercover, getting hired as a line worker. When the abnormal sabotages began, Jolrath tasked him with uncovering the truth to them as well.
• Elsworth Breise-Harpour and Lonnie Hiroto’s strategy, however, did not stop at simply stealing a secret recipe this time. In truth, their schemes had much more ambitious aspirations, and at the core of it all was the haunting by a supposed Touched. They had used a third party to rebrand Elsworth’s old failure, Bouncy Boots, as Leap Sneaks, and sell them to the security team of Fishy Jerky Co, and they bribed the Teamsters, with their full access and proper IDs to the facilities of all of Warehouse Row, to smuggle out the barrel of the distinctive marinade to leave traces of it as the Suspect. Elsworth hired a surplus of workers and then pushed the workforce extra hard, giving them incentive to leave and find work at Fishy Jerky Co, creating a direct business link with the sabotage. They were going to next plant the Touched costume at Fishy Jerky Co, solidifying the accusation and ensuring the imprisonment of Jolrath, when they were stopped by the One Hundred and One Throngdors.
  • Not only would Elsworth and Lonnie have uncovered the reasons why Fishy Jerky Co snacks were so delicious, and use the secret to make new flavors of Shroomy Snacks, but they would have casted suspicion on Jolrath and end the rivalry between the owners once and for all. Elsworth would have acquired Fishy Jerky Co after Jolrath was imprisoned, and Lonnie, for her contribution, would have become co-owner in the enterprise.
    • Lonnie was so desperate to gamble on this career leap, that she was willing to play the part of the Touched herself, putting herself in grave danger. Fashioning razer sharp blades to a high-end costume, and donning the unreliable Bouncy Boots, she had put on a show for the One Hundred and One Throngdors, but panicked when they almost caught her on the first night. Once she was alone in the alleyway, she stowed the costume in a nearby dumpster and slashed herself, coming up with a story on the spot to deflect suspicion. The whole time, her nerves were on edge, terrified that the party would see right through her.
• Meanwhile, in a story of significantly less cunning and complexity, Draven Zuberi, the ambitious recently-promoted middle manager, found opportunity to line his pockets further amid the chaos, using chances created by the sabotage. Each night, after the day shift left but before Lonnie arrived on site, he would leave out a few crates of viable merchandise by the trash out back, where the Teamsters would take it in exchange for some Coin.

Drogath sets a date to go suit shopping with Jolrath.

Doodledip hopes that the workers affected by this whole debacle end up somewhere with better conditions.

• Urrakka gives Guild referrals to some of them who are interested in adventuring.

Bizzle secures a small bottle of Fishy Jerky Co marinade for his own purposes.