Thadeus and Elizabeth come in from the festival, and the house greets them with a faint buzzing under the silence. The living room feels wrong in the way a room does when something small has been watching from a hidden place.
Elizabeth Bathory
It is behind the couch.
She kneels, reaches back, and finds a small device plugged into the wall outlet, tucked low where the fabric shadow covers it. The little box is wired tight, cheap plastic, blinking like it belongs to nowhere.
Thadeus Jovanović
Elias, I found a device behind the couch. It is plugged into the wall, and it is buzzing.
Elias
That sounds like a cheap transmitter. If it is wired into your house, somebody was trying to push a signal through the room.
The answer snaps the festival back into place. The agitators were not aiming at noise, they were aiming at what the music was carrying.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure Thadeus's house
“Thadeus carefully checks every room of his house. The kitchen is empty, the dining room is safe, his office is undisturbed. Thadeus goes upstairs, checks the bathroom, and it's clear. When he checks his room, he finds a disturbing sight. The bedroom is in disarray, the closet door is open, clothes strewn about everywhere. In front of the closest door is a large pile of black ash, and resting on the floor is his prized weapon, Peacebringer, its blue glow lighting up the closet itself. Thadeus thinks to himself, "Someone tried taking Peacebringer. They had no idea."”
SUCCESS (Good Investigation, rolled +1)
Thadeus starts with the kitchen, then the dining room, moving room to room with quiet care. Nothing is out of place until his office, where the papers sit untouched and the air still feels his own.
Upstairs, the bathroom checks out clean. The hall is ordinary, but his bedroom waits like a bad memory that has not finished speaking.
The closet door hangs open. Clothes are scattered across the floor, drawers pulled partway out, and a dark mound of ash lies right in front of the threshold.
Thadeus Jovanović
Someone tried taking Peacebringer. They had no idea.
Peacebringer rests on the floor, its blue glow washing the closet in cold light. The ash is the only sign of what touched it, and the room now feels claimed and violated at once.
Downstairs, the house is no longer just a home. It is a compromised site, and whatever came through here knew exactly what it wanted.
“Thadeus picks up Peacebringer, focusing his energy on changing its form, and the weapon becomes a fountain pen. Thadeus places it in his pocket and goes downstairs to meet Elizabeth. Thadeus shares his findings from the bedroom. Elizabeth has concern growing on her face, "This is my fault, Thadeus. I've attracted unwanted attention." Thadeus responds, "It's alright, this wasn't your doing. Marcus will have to answer my questions tomorrow. Why don't we find a hotel to stay at for the night?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled -1)
Thadeus lifts Peacebringer from the carpet, and the blue glow tightens around his hands. The chain collapses inward, metal thinning into a smooth black fountain pen with a pale blue cap.
Thadeus Jovanović
He slips the pen into his pocket and heads downstairs.
Elizabeth is near the lower hall when he reaches her, paused beside the living room like she has been listening to the house breathe.
Thadeus Jovanović
I found something upstairs. Someone got into the bedroom, and the closet is torn open.
Elizabeth Bathory
This is my fault, Thadeus. I've attracted unwanted attention.
Thadeus Jovanović
It's alright, this wasn't your doing. Marcus will have to answer my questions tomorrow. Why don't we find a hotel for the night?
Her concern sharpens, but Thadeus's pocket feels solid against his hip. The house holds its silence, and the missing presence behind the couch is now a known thing, not a mystery.
+ New Item Acquired
Peacebringer