[OoC] Death & Taxes Clues

Feb 28, 2020 6:52 pm
So what we're hired for: Get 15ish years of back taxes back.

What we found out: Tax collector was sent a month ago. No response, wife has issues with him being a deadbeat. Know gambler and general screw up. Currently cleaned up nicely and working for Baron (Little different then what I thought, possibly dipping into tax money (unconfirmed)).

Buzzard Ford: Don't like Lizardfolk, don't like outsiders, general isolationist mentality. Unconfirmed if money was officially paid out.

Lizardfolk: Don't like Poachers.

Poachers: Looking for easy scores in general.
Mar 3, 2020 3:35 pm
Bruv got some general cultural information about the area, some of which may be outdated, but some of which may not.

You know the villagers of Buzzards' Ford raise razorwings as pets.

Bruv learned that the Buzzards' Ford villagers have a reputation for turning over poachers to the Barony's agents of law and order.
Mar 9, 2020 1:27 pm
SavageBob says:
Buzzards' Ford villagers have a reputation for turning over poachers to the Barony's agents of law and order.
So, all this time they have been turning on criminals to the barony... but not paying taxes?
Mar 9, 2020 1:38 pm
CESN says:
So, all this time they have been turning on criminals to the barony... but not paying taxes?
Seems that way. Your client claimed it was an oversight that no tax collectors had been sent, and the tax journal itself bore that out. So, presumably, the village didn't proactively send someone to pay taxes.
Apr 16, 2020 1:44 pm
Remnant says:
So what we're hired for: Get 15ish years of back taxes back.
Can't find it now but I think there was something about a spike in taxes and then nothing right?
So the "nothing" happened 15 y ago... when was the tax spike just before that?
Last edited April 16, 2020 2:01 pm
Apr 16, 2020 1:57 pm
This is 15 years of back taxes that weren't noticed that need to be collected in total or in payments since the book/ledger was misplaced in the office moving 15 years ago and new tax personnel taking over the position so unpaid taxes.
Apr 16, 2020 2:32 pm
Yes, the 15-year figure is for when the taxes stopped being collected. Evidence you have gleaned suggests negligence and incompetence on the part of the baron's tax office rather than anything nefarious. I can't recall if we discussed dips and trends in the taxes before that. But it's not giving anything away to suggest that the payments were consistent before the ledger went missing. They were small for the barony (since this is really a tiny village), but higher than one would expect for a small village.

No one in the tax office until now has presumably made the connection that this village has somehow avoided the blight affecting the rest of Cailn. But now that you're here, it's not a stretch to assume that this place has been off the radar for some time due to its small size and remote location. It wouldn't be surprising to learn that previous generations of tax collectors may not have done more than arrive at the gate, get the taxes, and leave. Or that previous generations of villagers send someone to pay them in person.
Apr 16, 2020 2:54 pm
Right! I found the posts. It was Hildar that mentioned it referring to the tax ledger

Regular tax payments starting 92 years in the past.
Relatively low for the first fourteen years of the village's existence, which a note blames on poor harvests.
Collected tax amounts go up quite precipitously for a few years—it's really quite surprising.
The tax payments stop eleven years back, just as Vintoloness said they did.
So, bad harvests from 92 (village founding?) to 78 years ago and then a surprising revenue up to 11 years ago, when they suddenly forget to collect it.

OOC it looks like they started to pray about 78 years ago. Then, whoever was responsible for the tax collection must have moved on 11 years ago, because the tax collector would think about looking for the ledger, right? Maybe these are two relevant time points?
Last edited April 16, 2020 2:55 pm
Apr 16, 2020 4:07 pm
Quest giver found a lost ledger when cleaning the office which lead to realizing the oversight and our current quest. Lost/misplaced a few years before she took over so she didn't know about it initially just after the fact I figured.
Apr 16, 2020 4:17 pm
Remnant says:
so she didn't know about it initially just after the fact I figured.
Yes, but the one before her must have known about it right? Maybe interesting to follow up on bob's tip about how taxes were done previously as well :D
Apr 28, 2020 7:57 am
OOC:
Old building
The old church is just across the way if you're interested old buildings.
The Courbet place is up by the mayor's manor." He leans in, conspiratorially. "Careful with that one... kids say it's haunted!" He lets out a raucous belly laugh as he waits for you to leave.
Apr 28, 2020 7:58 am
OOC:
Evil purple stuff
Now, if it's poachers you're after, I wish you luck. You'll find no pipeleaf here, but I'm glad you're not here to try to stop our people growing it. We know full well those damned purple plants are against the Baron's law. But they're such an important part of our religious devotions to Nature's Lady, I'm sure the Baron would understand.

"This material...." Hildar says fingering the fibres he spotted on the effigy as he moves to join the others "it has narcotic properties if ingested or smoked. As with other pipe weed it is illegal in the Barrony, usually at least. It’s presence here is puzzling"
Last edited April 28, 2020 6:17 pm
May 11, 2020 8:00 am
So this was a productive weekend: spider cults, hidden map with 3 locations and missing beauties :D
Possibly no real receipt from paying the taxes with forgery of the local records
[ +- ] A pattern emerges...
May 11, 2020 1:12 pm
The map has 4 locations circled, actually: mayor's manor, trading post/smithy, weaver, and ferry. :)
May 25, 2020 9:14 am
looks like Erfan Eswyse may be bullied into knowing that the taxes have been gabbled away. He really thinks we're here to get them on drugs consumption (pipeleaf)

There is a pig in the festival... which will give us a bonus later...
May 25, 2020 2:34 pm
More that you have a bit of context about the pig that you otherwise would not have had. (I'll start up Session 3 later today!)
Jun 2, 2020 10:14 am
In the brief time the group had alone Hildar relayed the following information:

* Found an old book that Hildar has kept hold of. Contains a number of rubbings taken from what appear to be ancient stone carvings. The rubbings seem to be prayers or similar to a "Sovereign of the Silken Thread"
* "Sovereign of the Silken Thread" is a praise name for a goddess named Arachne, associated with spiders, and venerated by the native inhabitants of the Zanagan continent.
* Hildar isn't sure whether there is a connection between the "Sovereign" and the tale the Lizardman guide they had told them on the journey here about his tribe exiling several members for trying to spread knowledge of some sort of Demon Gods (he isn't 100% on this point as he wasn't paying too much attention to the Lizardman).
* He is drawing the conclusion that the goddess that the people here worship may actually be an aspect of this "Sovereign" rather than Aris
* He studied the map and writ that Nera found and concluded the writ is genuine based on a comparison with the one they were issued. The map had a number of locations marked on that seems to heavily suggest that Kellis Isle both was at the mayors residence for a considerable period and that someone spilled some drink on it whilst studying (most likely Kellis given where the map was hidden).
[ +- ] Marked map
Jun 2, 2020 10:24 am
mcneils5 says:
the tale the Lizardman guide they had told them on the journey here about his tribe exiling several members for trying to spread knowledge of some sort of Demon God
I had completely forgotten about that!
Last edited June 2, 2020 10:24 am

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