Bungled but Blessed

Once more, the party chose to split with Besella and Bhenhi focusing on collecting intel on the innkeeper while the other three burgled the blacksmith as Caldwell and Gourm were more likely to be recognized by the innkeeper due to the previous poisoning attempt.   Besella focused on distraction, with a spectacular display from Coda keeping the patrons of the inn thoroughly entertained and even catching the eye of the innkeeper himself. This distraction allowed for Bhenhi to slip into the back where they found their way behind the scenes. First, they attempted the office but found a locked door so quickly moved on to the kitchen. A teenage member of the serving staff noticed them back there but seemed not to care just asked for them to get out of the way while grumbling about the confusion with the new chef. Bhenhi also noticed a handful of missing items along the shelves of ingredients.   They went back outside and chose to go upstairs, finding a window down into the office from the outside to avoid making too much clatter forcing the door open. They used stepping stones to form a circular staircase down to the office and was able to force open the window though breaking the latch in the process. They searched the office and desk for hidden items and found a narrow lockbox behind a illusory panel in the desk.   As Besella continued their musical masterpiece, she noticed Borovik get suddenly and inexplicably distracted from her performance and begin heading back to his office. Shortly after, Bhenhi appeared at the front door as a metallic clang clambered over the crowd. Not entirely sure what was happening but recognizing a sense of urgency on Bhenhi's face, Besella took to the air on Coda to begin spreading silver coins around the inn to set the crowd into a fervor stunting any chance of pursuit as Bhenhi sprinted off into the night.   Meanwhile, Stela and Gourm kept watch at the forge while Caldwell slipped in unnoticed. With an assist from Stela, he knew to look at the base of the forge and focused his search there, finding an illusory brick and a metal lockbox behind it. He began working on the intricate lock, but a few moments later a dwarven figure came around the corner heading straight for their location. Gourm attempted to distract, but the dwarf was not swayed. The moments were enough for Caldwell to set himself as attempting to "protect" the location after seeing a "shadowy figure" run off into the distance. He took advantage of a momentary lapse in the blacksmith's gaze to stumble into the lockbox and continue his Good Samaritan guise though at the loss of the box as the blacksmith took it back with him to his home.   Once back at the inn, Caldwell was able to unlock the other lockbox in the window where Stela was able to temporarily disable the magical effects of the lockbox. Inside were a litany of notes and pages including many in the code previously broken by Besella from the Volskra and the Oiled Hand. This was likely the smoking gun the party had been looking for.  

Total XP: 135 (268)

• 50xp for getting the lockbox from the innkeeper (Besella/Bhenhi)
• 30xp for finding the location of the blacksmith lockbox (Gourm/Caldwell/Stela
• 10xp for opening the innkeeper lockbox (Caldwell)
• 10xp for Stela RP in using Dispel Magic and Detect Magic efficiently while searching for the lockbox
• 15xp for Caldwell RP in playing off getting caught to avoid raising any additional suspicion
• 10xp for Bhenhi RP in using the steps to get down to the other window rather than forcing their way in the front door
• 10xp for Besella RP in sacrificing her coin to help Bhenhi escape

 

Losses

• 50sp that was sprinkled into the crowd to turn the crowd into a barrier from pursuit (Besella)