Sherwoodshire crime dossier

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This is a short thread to provide players in the Sherwoodshire roleplaying thread with all the information concerning a crime that they will be asked to solve.

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Dramatis personae (N.B. the party have not met the last lot listed - apart from Walker who has met Mayor Tuck)

Lestrade short, lean, furtive male human Head of Foreign Section, Drannasmor Security Guild

Will Stutely male human, dressed all in green Caravan owner (route = Drannasmor – Versifal’s Keep)
Alf tubby, cheerful male human Caravan driver (route = Drannasmor – Versifal’s Keep)

Lady Marian elegant, well-spoken female human Steward to Count Versifal (at his Keep)
Sir Littlejohn very tall, burly male human Captain of Guard at Versifal’s Keep
Count Percival courteous, distinguished male human owns Sherwoodshire, resides at Versifal’s Keep
Kitty Winter charming, windswept female human Keep Druid
Bishop Geraint solemn, thoughtful male human Keep Cleric
Elaine Garlot thin, graceful female human Keep MU (trained by Merlin)
Taliesin enegetic, jolly male gnome Keep Bard
Bedivere tall, weather-beaten male human Keep Huntsman
Mrs. Hudson elderly, efficient, female human Keep Artist
Maria young, agile female gnome Keep Jockey
Violet thin, long-haired female human Keep Stablegirl

Woody converted Ogre Keep Orchard

Much fat human Keep Miller
Sandyman grumpy human assistant Keep Miller

Gate Guards (East Gate)
Gate Guards (South Gate)
Ballista crew (East Tower)
Ballista crew (South Tower)

...

Merlin elderly, white-bearded male human Head of Sherwoodshire MU Guild, based in Freeport
Mayor Tuck fat, bald, cheerful male human Head of Arthurian Tradition in Sherwoodshire
Thrimgol male gnome (magnificent moustache) Head of Arthurian Tradition in Naugrimshire
Dupperda Junior male gnome, charming, piercing gaze Naugrimshire Ambassador to Freeport (etc.)
Morgan Le Fay furtive, sly female human Mordred MU

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Known facts

1. Count Percival's prize brown stallion, Argent Blaze, has disappeared from his stable in the Keep.

2. The hounds in the nearby kennels will bark as a warning if any strangers approach the stables - however they did not bark.

3. Only five people can handle or ride Argent Blaze safely: Count Percival', Guard Captain LittleJohn, Huntsman Bedivere, Jockey Maria and Stablegirl Violet.

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Maps

Keep (ground) https://btcloud.bt.com/web/app/share/invite/IbZx8W5sP1

Keep (battlements) https://btcloud.bt.com/web/app/share/invite/Op13RIJCLR

Disappearance area: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/o13re...dffk1hj1k&dl=0

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Timeline

Based on Violet's confession and the presence of an Unseen Servant, it appears to the party that:

- the gnome arrives with a horsebox and bribes Violet (when she does her daily exercising of a Keep horse)
- Violet prepares to steal Mrs. Hudson's brown paint (to cover Argent Blaze's marking)
- the gnome creates an Unseen Servant and some sort of magical horse
- the gnome sends the horse, ridden by the Unseen Servant to the Keep
- Violet causes confusion by yelling about an imaginary 'Ghost Rider'
- whilst the Keep are distracted by the approaching horse, Violet moves Argent Blaze to the adjacent stable (leaving the Argent Blaze's stable door open)
- Violet paints over Argent Blaze's marking and slips out of the adjacent stable, shutting Argent Blaze inside
- the gnome continues to distract the Keep by shouting and being thrown about (presumably some spell involved)
- the magical horse rides into the Keep and promptly out again
- Violet continues to confuse by shouting that Argent Blaze is leaving
- the Unseen Servant slams Argent Blaze's stable door shut
- the gnome dispels the magical horse (which has left no tracks nor any smell)

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Witness statements

The Count, Sir Littlejohn, Druid Kitty, Bedivere and Maria all reply in turn that they have never heard of a 'Ghost Rider'.
Violet says "I've definitely heard of 'Ghost Rider' - it's an Invisible Being that steals horses!"
Two of the Ballista crew call out from above "That gnome out to the East first mentioned 'Ghost Rider' - he yelled the name when he was thrown off his horse."
(The two other Ballista crew say they only heard the name just now.)
One of the Gate Guards says he heard Violet say 'Ghost Rider'.
(The other Gate Guard says he only heard the name just now.)