A Puzzling Incident

Writers: Ames, Avery
Date Posted: 22nd April 2015

Characters: Wirnan, Corran, Halata
Description: Wirnan finds out about a storeroom issue and tasks Corran to investigate.
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 12, day 18 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: Karhal, Zathris

Wirnan

"Ah Corran, glad I caught you," Wirnan called out as he saw the guard.
Walking up to him, he took a moment to catch his breath.

"I was searching for one of you. I just was speaking to one of the
lower cavern workers and it seems we've got some mischief makers on our
hands," Wirnan informed the guard.

"What sort of mischief?" Corran asked. He vaguely recalled some reports of
unusual activity.

"The woman I spoke to said someone had taken a few of the bags of
grain and scattered it throughout one of lower tunnels. She wondered
if it was leading somewhere. She also mentioned some scratchings on
the walls, which was definitely _not_ there before. I haven't gone to
check it out for myself. I would love your assistance if you are
free?" Wirnan had hoped to bring one of the guards with him so they
could investigate the matter further.

"I'd be happy to accompany you," Corran said. "Wasn't there an issue with
foodstuffs at the Vintner Hall as well?" he added.

Wirnan hadn't put the two together until Corran mentioned it. "I did
read a report about something along those lines at the Vintner Hall. I
wonder if there is a connection. We'd best find out what's going on."
Wirnan led the way toward the corridors that the worker had given him.
There were many store rooms in this area so it took a moment to find
the right one. Once they did it was evident right away that the
problem started here. There was a literal trail of grain heading down
the corridor away from the room. A few of the kitchen workers were
inside, waiting.

Upon seeing the Steward and guard, they jumped to attention, "We were
told to wait here and keep watch."

Corran nodded at the workers. "When did you notice this?" he asked.

It was a visible enough problem that it couldn't have stayed hidden
for long. His eyes tracked along it. Possibly a small animal could
have grabbed a bag with its teeth, tearing a hole, and running off
with it down the halls. It was unlikely that could have happened, but
it was still possible. However, when he added in the Vintner
information, it seemed less likely.

"Well," the one worker started, "We weren't the ones who actually
_found_ it, but from what I understand this room wasn't used for
anything yesterday. Then this morning when one of the cooks needed a
special flour, a worker named Kalar came here and found the mess."

"What time did Kalar find it this morning, and when was the last time
anyone had been reported entering this room?" he asked. If it had been
disrupted sometime between yesterday evening and this morning, it
pointed to someone inside of the Hold. But if the room hadn't been
checked since two nights ago, that meant plenty of time in the
daylight for someone to have snuck in and did it.

"Well," the worker thought for a moment. "They called us at just past
8 this morning. Kalar was still here. Said he'd come down about a half
a candlemark earlier. As for the last time the room was checked." He
paused and looked to the other man, who looked back to him. They both
shrugged. "You might have to ask Halata. She's the one who requested
the flour. She keeps some of the more special ingredients in here. She
might have a better idea."

Wirnan was watching, listening, and taking everything in. There had
been far too many little incidents like this in recent days. He was
growing concerned that something was going on and they needed to
figure out what.

"Let me take another quick look around and then let's talk to her. Could
someone bring her down here?" Corran asked.

He inspected the lock carefully, looking for signs of force. There was
indeed signs that the entryway had been forced, which meant whoever did it
didn't have a key. That could point to children performing a prank. Though
if food was missing, maybe it was a theft.

Then he walked slightly farther down the hall, wondering where the trail
led to.

Wirnan motioned for one of the workers to go get the cook, while
examining the area without getting in Corran's way. Two sets of eyes
were always better than one.

In a short time Halata returned with the young worker. "You called for me?"

"I wanted to know if your words what happened here. What's stored in this
room usually and how often is it checked?"

"Well," Halata thought of all that had happened. "I keep some of my
more favorite ingredients here that some of the other cooks don't
always use. There are some special spices, some extra ground flours,
and a few different _types_ of flour that the other cooks aren't fond
of." Halata ticked off the rest of the supplies she kept in the rooms
and then added, "We also keep extras of many things in here that we
often pull out for parties and other events." She pointed to trays and
other things that were stacked on shelves along the walls.

"As for how often the room is checked." She thought back, "I'd say at
least once a sevenday, sometimes more. The last time I know of anyone
coming here was three days ago when I wanted a bag of the special
flour I use for one of my soups."

Three days...so it could have happened any time in the last couple of
days. He tried to remember if there had been any other reports of
suspicious activity. "Two questions: One, who knows what's stored in here?
Two, does anything appear missing?" he asked.

"Hmm," Halata thought, "well, most of the cooks and kitchen staff know
what is here, as I'm sure the Steward," she inclined her head towards
Wirnan, "and a few others do. I mean it's nothing all _that_ valuable,
just unique ingredients mostly." She thought of his other question and
looked around.

"Well, aside from a bag of the finely ground flour, which you can see
spilled down the corridor," Halata checked the room, frowning and
pondering. "We'd have to do a more formal count of _every_ item that
was on the list for this room to know if anything was missing."

"One of the serving trays is gone!" Piped up the kitchen worker who
had stayed silent up until now. "I mean, at least it's not here. I
know because I was the one who returned it two sevendays ago. I don't
_think_ anyone else has used it since then."

"I'm sorry it would take some time, but that inventory might be a good
idea," Corran advised. "It's possible that these thefts were done by
children who wanted to steal special food. But it could be a thief
unfamiliar with the hold, breaking into the locked storerooms one by one
looking for something more."

"Alright," Halata nodded, "I'll get a team of some drudges and workers
on it right now. We should have the report to you in a day or two, no
more."

Wirnan turned toward Corran, "We' might need to increase how often
these rooms are checked," he noted. "Perhaps a daily patrol down the
corridors. You'll have to let me know what is reasonable. There are
_alot_ of tunnels so it might not be feasible to check them all
daily."

Corran stepped aside from the workers to speak to Wirnan in a lowered
voice, mindful of his next words.

"I'll talk to the guard captain about that," he told Wirnan. "As the
Steward - do you think I should brief him and then have him brief the Lord
Holder? Or not yet?"

"I think if there is any mischief or thievery taking place, both need
to be informed. I can speak with Lord Zathris if you would like,
unless of course you or Karhal prefer to," Wirnan knew Zathris would
want to be informed. Even with all going on in his own personal life,
he took problems in the Hold _very_ seriously.

"I'll speak to Captain Karhal, and then he'll let you know?" Corran
suggested. He wasn't in much of a place to make decisions about who should
do the highest level briefing, after all.

"That's fine," Wirnan replied. He knew he would report to Zathris
either way, but he actually preferred if the guards gave him the full
details of what they think had transpired. It was Wirnan's job to
coordinate all those within the Hall and keep the Lord informed, but
he was no expert on matters such as this.

"I think I've got as much as I can from the interviews, but if you don't
mind, I'd like to keep examining the storerooms before I report," Corran
added.

"That's fine," Wirnan replied. "Keep me posted on the progress of the
investigation." With that he turned to head back to see to his other
duties of the day.

Last updated on the April 23rd 2015

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A Puzzling Incident