William winced as he crawled through the space between wagon floors inspecting the runic patterns inscribed on the bracing. A sudden flare of magic a few minutes ago from outside the wagon had caught him by surprise, leading to a knot on his head when he turned away and banged it on a nearby joist. One of the not so fun aspects of seeing magic and being surrounded by amateurs with little self-control. Note to self: add internal shielding I can turn on to block off or dim the light from external magical sources. After using a healing cantrip to banish most of his headache, he headed for the ladder up.
“Problems?” Wilma Woodweed, his assistant asked as she observed him rubbing his head after he had climbed into the room through the sliding trap door in the floor. A small, tinted window concealed in the elaborate decorations on the wagon side allowed her to see the crowds in the street passing by in the bright sunshine.
“Accidentally banged my head while inspecting the bracing in the interspace. Thanks for asking, but I’m fine now.” Straighten and clean William mentally commanded and then relaxed as all the dirt dropped off him before swirling into a nearby trashcan while the wrinkles in his clothes vanished. That new House Servant spell Uncle came up with is handy at times like this.
Walking over to the cold box and grabbing a juice, he observed Wilma as he considered their assignment and how he could best use her talents. At 2’11”, the female gnome was one of the few people small enough to enter his house, although her head still almost brushed the ceiling in the middle floor when she stood up. She was currently sitting in one of the chairs in the parlor. The ceilings on the first and third floors were too low for her. There was a separate gnome sized section at the rear of the wagon, just a small room with a bed, where she could hang out when she wasn’t driving. Not that she needed to drive. William had decided that using a horse to apparently pull the wagon would help conceal its true nature and might give him an edge if things got dicey.
More importantly, she and her companion Bruno, a brawny half-orc, could be the public face of the team as they dealt with their clients. William would feed them questions and answers using his modified Message cantrip while he used his unique powers of observation to examine scenes and people from concealed locations. The last week had been spent gaming various scenarios so that everyone knew their part and William would only have to slow down his time sense occasionally to communicate. The rest of the time he could put his unique talents and abilities to full use.
“Almost there” Bruno’s deep voice came from the front of the wagon as he turned it into the drive leading to their client’s home. Wilma opened the door to her room and went in. She would exit from there so there would be no sign of the Blur home concealed in the wagon. William walked into the navigation room at the front of the wagon and activated his Window spell so he could see out without anyone else seeing in.
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Stately elms interspersed with ornamental bushes lined the drive as the wagon approached the circle in front of the manor where a group of people waited. Bruno stopped the wagon, descended, and then walked to the back where he helped Wilma down. William paid close attention to the emotions playing across people’s faces in addition to their body language and appearance as he scanned them.
Drummond Stronghold, William identified the rank 7 wizard among the participants. Human, 42, 5’9”, married, owner of the missing Topaz Star Ring, which he claims grants resistance to radiant damage. Uses a staff for power, but his posture indicates that he’s not a melee combatant. Staff and pendant are magical as is the middle finger ring on his left hand.
Tyrolian Boneduster, 4’8”, dwarven male, young adult, reddish orange beard and hair down in braids. Insurance adjuster for the company which insured the ring. Fine clothes, jeweled dagger on one side and ornamental handaxe on the other. Various minor magics on him. Has worked with Bruno and Wilma before.
Thalia Stronghold, Drummond’s wife. 39, human, good shape, 5’4”, blond hair, green eyes. Lightly tanned skin backs up the information that she likes to regularly ride. Currently dressed in a riding outfit. Boots of elvenkind. Interesting.
Ferdinand Stronghold, oldest son at 20. Slender, athletic, 5’10” human with blue eyes. 2 magical rings, pouch of holding, magical rapier. Fancies himself a duelist, some minor magical ability by all accounts, currently engaged to Thelma Thistle, daughter of a minor noble.
Groomsman #1: human, 20’s, 5’7”, brown hair, brown eyes, comfortable around horses and looks ready to drive our carriage to the stables.
Servant #1: human, teenager, black hair, 5’11” and still growing. Muscular, looks like baggage handler.
Servant #2: human, young adult, black hair, 5’8”, stout and muscular. Baggage handler #2 I suspect. Has something magical concealed in his left boot heel. Likely used for more than handling baggage. Expect an attempted break-in.
“Detective Bruno of the M’Craft Investigative Agency at your service.” Bruno said as he showed his credentials to the assemblage. “This is Detective Wilma.” He turned around and locked the door before continuing. “The wagon has various tools and supplies we might need for our work and is magically trapped so please make sure your staff knows not to bother it. Anytime we need something, either I or Detective Wilma will fetch it. Make sure we know where it is parked.”
“Timothy will drive your wagon over to the stables. Is there anything you need Dylan or Krill to carry for you now?” Drummond asked as he pointed towards his retainers. “I was planning to have lunch first before we got into the actual investigation, if that’s okay with you.”
William noticed that Dylan [Servant #2] looked both interested and concerned when Bruno mentioned the traps while Timothy the groomsman apparently couldn’t care less.
“Lunch is fine.” Wilma piped up in a perky voice designed to make her appear more social and less intelligent than she was. “After all, detectives need to eat too.”
“Agreed” Bruno said and with that the party headed inside while Timothy climbed up in the driver’s seat and drove off. Dylan and Krill, having nothing to do, followed the crowd inside ready to help if needed.