Embedded Files
OWLBEAR RODEO LINK:
https://www.owlbear.rodeo/room/FhvmmGN1IN5u/The%20Washy%20Jab
ZOOM LINK:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85777904672?pwd=aLceC3vXgwcTQ2KEJb0nCvAitMQU4D.1
Meeting ID: 857 7790 4672
Passcode: 772245
411’s Detective Notes:
· Investigated possible murder at Morgrave University based on clues from the local rag.
· I first tried contacting Barnibus Blastwind and Saeth Crowley at The Citadel, but they were not currently available. The receptionist told me they are busy dealing with issues related to the inferno in The Cogs. She offers to take a message and leave it for them when they return.
· Given the poetry in the Sharn newspaper, I proceeded to the famed library at Morgrave and located the head librarian, a male gnome named Tivri Canatar. Inquired about any recent deaths or bodies being discovered unexpected on the campus grounds and Tivri replied he is unaware of any such incidents. He goes back to restocking the shelves.
· I walk the stacks and halls. Looking for a janitor to student to ask questions of. Assuming there is a serial killer loose from what the newspapers already revealed.
· I am sure that someone was murdered at the university.
· Professor ir’Tassan's death proves it. I want to ask about the professors past, see if I can get into his office and find something the detectives missed. Also, look up what he was a specialist in.
· Side note: I am intrigued by how artful the raven is. So, I am thinking the killer may be in the arts... probably an angry musician or performer. (dr. Phibes vibes.)
· From the poem, there may be a shopkeeper or silver smith also murdered. Who fears silver? Look it up in the library.
· Side note: pehaps the villain is a shifter. They dont fear silver but did get troubles with the Silver Flame in the past.
RE: PHIARLAN MUSICIANS RETIRE EN MASSE Article
· Marlowe inquired into the recent (Forced) retirements within the Phiarlan Musicians. Maybe there is bad blood. One of them is called the Sparrow. Perhaps if one of them is a disgruntled writer or poet?
· I made my inquiries regarding the forced retirements among House Phiarlan Entertainment & Artisans guild. So far, no one has expressed any threats or disgruntled feelings towards the change. One of them is a poet: female elf named Thalirae Duskwhisper. She is ancient, even by elven standards. Known for weaving double meanings into her poetry. She has been highly regarded for decades if not centuries, but has definitely become more frail in recent years.
411'S Additional notes on “Silver”...
· There may be a shopkeeper or silver smith also murdered.
· Who fears silver? (Dnd-wise lycanthropes don’t any more...but would 411 know anything along this line?) Look it up in the library. Perhaps the villain is a shifter. They don’t fear silver but did get troubles with the Silver Flame... I'm intrigued by how artful the raven is. So I am thinking her would be in the arts... probably an angry musician or performer. (dr. Phibes vibes.)
I’ve learned the following from my research:
· Creatures that fear or are vulnerable to silver typically include lycanthropes, many types of Devils, some Undead (like Wights, Wraiths, Vampires), and specific Fey or fiendish entities.
· Lycanthropes have existed in Eberron. Many were hunted and killed by the Silver Flame, but it is believed (or known) that some do still exist.
· The Church of the Silver Flame has had a complex, often tense relationship with shifters, stemming from the historical Lycanthropic Purge, where zealous factions of the church hunted lycanthropes, mistakenly targeting innocent shifters too, leading to deep mistrust and persecution, though some shifters fought alongside the church, and some joined it seeking redemption or to fight true lycanthropes.
Book Missing
· While I was looking through the information on shifters at the Morgrave University library, the head librarian, Tivri Canatar (male gnome), come up to me and asked if I was here in response to their report of a book theft.
· I told him I was investigating what might be connected issues. The missing book may be one. Interested in how valuable the book might have been, what its topic was, rarity, and who checked it out last, and when you noticed it was missing, if you keep such records of that. This can make me more helpful.
Tivri told me the following:
· The missing book is The Invisible Path, a novel by Martin Bellgrave. It is quite rare - only a few copies are known to exist. The Library had one of them. It’s been missing for weeks - not sure exactly how long. Almost 8 weeks by our account.
· The book was a collection of poetry by an author named Martin Bellgrave. Professor Harold Drew is … was, a close colleague of Professor Lithan ir’Tassan. He may know more, as it was 1 of the books on Professor ir’Tassan’s reading list for 1 of his classes.
· Lithan had used the book in one of his classes as a example of less than stellar poetry.
I inquired about our Detective Friends
· Discovered Inspector Barnibus Blastwind and his assistant, Saety Crowley, were here to take information from some of the faculty and staff after Professor ir’Tassan’s body was discovered. The gnome mentioned to stolen book to them, but they barely acknowledged his complaint.
Conversation confirmed Professor’s Death
· The gnomes’s reply on my inquiry was so strong, I’ve captured it here. “Demise? Professor ir’ Tassan was exanguinated. It was literally a bloody mess. His room couldn’t even been cleaned for 3 days due to the Watch declaring it to be a crime scene."
· (Professor) Lithan had used the book in one of his clases as a example of less than stellar poetry.
Discovered an associate of the deceased, Professor Drew.
· Professor Drew’s office is across the Commons in Lareth Hall, second floor, number 21. He was able to give me a description of the missing book.
Missing Book Description
· He describes the book as nothing special looking: gray cover, somewhat yellowed, with a brownish-red binding. Roughly 11 x 8 inches in size. Runs somewhere between 60 and 75 pages. Has the title printed on the front in gold leaf. He’s never read it.
· “I prefer the classics and elven poetry, not that self-indulgent human prose trash. You warforged are all alike. Always in a hurry and eager to please, but no commitment.”
Current Theory
· Feels like there is a serial killer loose and it’s somehow associated with the missing book. The game’s afoot. Need some help researching the book and following a few more lines of inquiry.
The Sharn Inquisitive
Zor, 16th of Vult, 998 YK
Editor-in-Chief: Haftak ir’Clarn | Price: 2 cp | Published in Upper Central, Sharn
PROGRESS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST THE BLACK WINTER
By Talandra ir’Vey, Staff Reporter
The City of Towers has enduredmonths of unnatural frost, ravenhaunted skies, and nights that
stretched far beyond their natural bounds. Known as the Black Winter, this calamity transformed our bustling metropolis into a frozen ashpile, halting skycoach traffic, crippling trade, and driving many citizens to illness and even death. Now, thanks to the combined efforts of civic leaders, emergency crews, and arcane scholars, signs of thaw are finally appearing.
A City Under Siege —
From the heights of Skyway to the depths of Ashblack, Sharn’s districts were blanketed in snow and ash from the overwhelming inferno in the Cogs. Crops from the surrounding Brelish countryside withered, and the city’s famed markets fell silent. “It was as if the towers themselves were mourning,” said a merchant from Middle Dura, recalling the eerie silence broken only by the
cawing of spectral ravens circling above.
Signs of Recovery —
The raven flocks have dispersed, the fire in the Cogs has been almost extinguished, and the unnatural snowstorms are finally starting to fade. Skycoaches have resumed cautious flights, and markets in the Bazaar are reopening. Yet the scars remain: frozen aqueducts must be repaired, and many families displaced by the frost still seek shelter. Captain Deynar ir’Korran of the Watch urged vigilance: “The Black Winter may be ending, but its echoes linger. We must never faces such peril again.”
SKYCOACH SAFETY COUNCIL PROPOSES NEW REGULATIONS
By Dalen ir’Korran,
After a series of near-collisions in the crowded skies above Middle Central, the Skycoach Safety Council has proposed sweeping new regulations to improve aerial traffic.
Among the measures under consideration are stricter licensing requirements for pilots, mandatory enchantment inspections every six months, and the installation of new elemental beacons to guide traffic through the busiest towers.
Council spokesperson Liranne d’Lyrandar emphasized the importance of safety: “Sharn’s skyline is a marvel, but it is also a maze. We must ensure that every skycoach is properly maintained and every pilot properly trained.”
Not all citizens are pleased. Several independent skycoach operators argue that the costs of
compliance could drive them out of business. “We’re not House Lyrandar,” said one pilot from
Lower Menthis. “We can’t afford constant inspections.”
The City Council will debate the proposals next week. In the meantime, citizens are advised
to exercise caution when booking flights during peak hours.
Part Four: The Shining Silver Star
Among the shelves of gleaming light,
A final breath escaped the night.
No blade was seen, no voice was raised,
Yet silver’s edge left onlookers dazed.
The beast was still, the tale was done,
A reckoning beneath no sun.
So mark this verse, and mark it true—
The past will always follow you.
– Quoth the Raven
Latest articles by The Raven published in The Sharn Inquisitive:
“The Cowardly Shifter”
Part One: Beneath the Towers
In Sharn’s embrace of stone and spire,
A figure walked with fading fire;
Not hunted, yet not truly free—
A soul entangled, bound to flee;
The whispers clung like morning mist,
Of deals struck with bloodied fist;
The city turned its gaze aside,
But secrets never truly hide. — Quoth the Raven
Part Two: The Beast Within
A shifter cloaked in hardened skin,
With eyes that spoke of things within;
The kind who roared when coin was near,
But trembled at the scent of fear;
His past was carved in alley walls,
In broken oaths and midnight brawls;
Yet silver held a quiet dread—
A truth he feared, a thread he fled. — Quoth the Raven
Part Three: Cassan’s Descent
The bridge was still, the sky was low,
As footsteps echoed soft and slow.
A shop aglow with silver’s gleam,
A place where guilt begins to scream.
He entered not with pride or grace,
But shadows clinging to his face.
The door closed tight, the air grew thin—
And silence welcomed him within. — Quoth the Raven
The Sharn InquisitiveZor, 2nd of Vult, 998 YKEditor-in-Chief: Haftak ir’Clarn | Price: 2 cp | Published in Upper Central, SharnBLACK WINTER, UPDATEBy Tali d’Jorasco, Staff ReporterAs the Black Winter enters its fourth week, the city remains shrouded in unnatural cold and drifting ash. Yet, for the first time since the crisis began, officials report signs of progress in containing both the inferno raging in the Cogs and the storm that has blanketed Sharn in snow and soot.Firefighting Efforts Gain GroundTeams of House Cannithartificers, working alongside theTwelve, have successfullystabilized several key elementalconduits deep within the Cogs.These repairs have slowed thespread of the subterraneanblaze, allowing the Watch andvolunteer crews to reclaimportions of the lower foundries.“We are no longer losingground,” declared Captain Harld’Deneith. “The fire is containedin some sectors, and we arehopeful for further gains in thedays ahead.”Citizens Find HopeThough illness and hungerpersist, relief caravans organizedby House Ghallanda and HouseJorasco have reached several ofthe hardest-hit neighborhoods.“It is not enough yet,” admittedhealer Serala d’Jorasco, “but it isa start. People are receiving food,medicine, and warmth.” Suppliesof coal and firewood remaintight, but new shipments fromBreland’s interior have begun toarrive, easing shortages in thelower wards.A City EnduresSharn is not yet free of the BlackWinter, but the tide may beturning. Fires are beingcontained, wards are holding,and supplies are trickling in. Forthe first time in weeks, thepeople of Sharn can look beyondthe ash-choked skies andimagine better days ahead.MURDER IN THE UNIVERSITYDISTRICT: PROFESSORLITHAN IR’TASSAN SLAINBy Jorlan Dath, Staff ReporterSharn, Upper Menthis Plateau —The city awoke yesterday togrim tidings from MorgraveUniversity: the body of ProfessorLithan ir’Tassan, a noted butnotoriously prickly scholar ofliterature, was discovered in hisoffice under circumstances thatinvestigators have described as“deeply unsettling.”Professor ir’Tassan, long afixture of Morgrave’sDepartment of Literary Studies,was found late in the evening bya junior researcher. Witnessesreport the scene bore signs ofdeliberate staging, though Watchofficials have declined to releasedetails. Rumors swirl of strangemarkings and a chilling signaturethat some whisper may heraldthe work of a killer already beingdubbed “the Raven.”A Difficult Man, A Brilliant MindColleagues describe ir’Tassan asbrilliant but abrasive. Hislectures on the epics of Galifarand the poetry of ancientDhakaani were said to be bothdazzling and scathing, with littlepatience for students he deemed“unworthy of the text.” “He hadenemies, certainly,” admittedfellow professor Deyra Vath, “buthe also had admirers. Hisinsights into the interplay ofliterature and politics wereunmatched.”(More than anything else, it wasthe public's hunger for the nextinstallment of this mysteriousnarrative that kept us up untilour everglowing lanterns ran outso we could get the SharnInquisitive back into publication.That, and the death threat sentby its anonymous author if wedidn't release the next chapter inwhat he referred to as his'manifesto.' -- Ed.)Tales in Blood, Part IVTo ink and press, I send my song,Of blood that flows where truthwent wrong;Beneath the towers, in soot andsteam,I carve the lies from nobledreams;One fell last night, a teacher’spride—His integrity could not his guilthide;The Watch will search, but neversee,The Raven flies where souls breakfree.— Quoth the Raven
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