Zg Session 06

Aleith|DM: Forty years ago the city of Flint was a second-tier port, mostly a haven for fishermen and loggers. Still struggling to overcome the stigma of having once been the domain of a perilous coven of witches, Flint was prosperous, but played little role in Risuri affairs.
Aleith|DM: Then the Third Yerasol War ended and the new king declared Flint would be his nation’s seat of industry. Mines in the Anthras Mountains poured iron and coal downriver to Flint’s harbor. Old forests within the city limits were clear-cut and factories erected in their place to build guns, refine alchemicals, and forge steel rails and train cars.
Aleith|DM: Thousands of immigrants and gold-seeking villagers crowded into shabby flophouses and tenements around the factories, then when those were filled they built new slums on the sides of the city’s steep hills. Smoke and soot poured forth from factory roofs, and criminal elements took root beneath these gloomy clouds, growing strong and feeding on the desperation of a new population of workmen, prostitutes, and orphans.
Aleith|DM: In places, Flint’s historical beauty still endures—in the governor’s island mansion fortress, high atop haunted Cauldron Hill, deep in the breeze-swaying branches of the Cloudwood, and on the bayou plantations west of Pine Island. And the confluence of people from so many stations has inspired great art and technological innovation. But cracks between competing groups are straining the peace, and all it would take are a few disasters to rive the city apart.
Aleith|DM: -
Aleith|DM: It’s just before 11 a.m. on the 1st day of Summer, and you're are at the main office of the Risuri Homeland Constabulary going over leads in the Gale investigation when your superior, Assistant Chief Inspector Stover Delft, interrupts them.
Delft: "Time for some field work, constables. We just received a delightful report about the perfect lead for you. Young woman, identity unknown, jumps out of the fourth floor window at the Danoran consulate, impales herself on the spires of the compound fence, and perishes. Technically half of her is in our jurisdiction, which is good for you because the fence she landed on was forty feet from the window. Seems like our young victim thought she could fly."
Zane: "Forty feet. She had help."
Aleith|DM: There's a carriage waiting outside to take you to the scene.
Phyllis: "Short burst of flight, possibly. Not a sustainable one."
Garrett: "It's also a really good shot. Impalement over just pancaking."
Gerald: "Huh."
Garrett: "Let's have a look-see and a sitdown." He pockets some teabags and picks up a small wooden cup off his desk before leaving.
Zane gets his cloak, taking a minute to adjust the collar and run a hand down the front. Then he heads for the carriage.
Chandrasekhar: "Someone knew what they were doing." He's already walking for the door.
Aleith|DM: Even with official seals on the carriage doors to help clear the way, the ride takes nearly an hour. The late spring morning is warm and muggy, and a foul breeze blows a cloak of smog over the normally clear-skied North Shore district.
Aleith|DM: The street that runs past the consulate has no buildings on its opposite side, just beach, but four Flint police officers are trying to block off access to gawkers. A black coroner’s carriage waits outside the consulate gate; the back door is open, and its driver sits on the slab where a dead body should go, looking bored.
Aleith|DM: One of the officers looks at his pocket watch as you approach, then walks forward, with an impatient gait. He introduces himself as Officer Alfred Bellastair.
Bellastair: “We responded to some panicked witnesses, and by the time the first of our men got here the Danorans had taken the victim off the fence and carried her inside. But everyone had pretty much the same story. They heard gunfire, saw the woman jump out the window, and she landed on the fence. One scoundrel apparently stole stuff off her body and ran away as she was bleeding out. The Danorans wouldn’t let us inside, but I yelled at them that you’d be showing up, and they said they wouldn’t get rid of the body. The guy you want to talk to is the security chief, Julian LeBrix. "
Bellastair: "You can handle the investigation from here without my men, right? We’ve got better things to do than sit around for another hour while the ‘special constables’ drink up the hospitality of the Danorans."
Garrett‘ can’t help but laugh.
Zane: "I think we can handle it, yeah."
Gerald‘ tilts his head to one side.
Garrett: "We’ll be okay, officer. Easy as it goes, yeah?"
Phyllis: "'Jumps,' though. That's a funny choice of word for it, like it's willful."
Ernst nods to the others before making his way to the building proper. "Let's get to it, then."
Phyllis waves Bellastair off, already lost in thought.
Zane: "Well yeah, nobody ever gets pushed forty feet through the air…"
Aleith|DM: The officer nods curtly, then waves to his men and they get ready to leave.
Zane: "I dont suppose your men managed to get any descriptions while they were waiting? The man that looted the body? The items taken?"
Chandrasekhar: "Still could have been compelled, either way. Or desperate."
Garrett‘ slides past the officer and heads for the consulate.
Phyllis: "Right, is that all the information your men gathered?"
Aleith|DM: Officer Bellastair shakes his head. "Between dealing with the Danorans and keeping the crowd away from the scene, we haven’t had much of a chance."
Phyllis nods. "Fair enough."
Gerald‘ follows Garrett in. "He didn’t seem very friendly."
Aleith|DM: An old, balding man meets you at the gate to the consulate, while cleaning staff work to scrub blood and viscera off the fence just beside the gate. LeBrix introduces himself, then walks you in through the courtyard gardens into the entry hall of the consulate.
Zane: "Right then."
Garrett: "Eh, well, sop's probably had a hard day. Stonewalled by the Danorans, holding off the rabble, nothing to show for it."
Chandrasekhar: "Cannot particularly blame him."
LeBrix: "This is a mess. I took a diplomatic post to avoid having to see blood and death anymore. It has our people shaken up—none of them ever saw war—and so I hope you can take the woman’s body and go quickly. Better for everyone I think if the consular doesn’t have to be bothered. He has more important things on his mind than a burglary. We have treaty negotiations, trade contracts, and you don’t want powerful men thinking about death when they’re deciding our fates, you know?"
LeBrix: "The woman went by the name Nilasa Hume. She’s been in a few times these past few months. Seemed nice enough. She brought us breakfast this morning. One of our security personnel, Braden, was dating her. She used him to case the building, and must have overheard someone talking about upstairs."
LeBrix: "I noticed she slipped out while everyone else was eating the food she’d brought. A hunch led me upstairs, and I found her slipping gold forks and spoons into her pockets."
Zane stays outside for a moment, looking at the fence and the window the victim jumped from. Then rejoins the others.
Zane: "Your people have gold forks and spoons?"
Garrett: "What happened then?"
LeBrix then pulls out a small padded bag, then pulls from that a tiny ceramic egg, beautifully decorated with gems and gold.
Lebrix: "She also had this. It’s worth thousands, and we had it sitting out on display. I saw her, drew my pistol. She ran. I realized she was about to jump out the window. I thought she was trying to kill herself, so I fired and hit her in the leg. Then she jumped. Flew straight through the glass. Now I’m thinking she’s about to escape, so I reload and shoot her in the back. That’s when she fell."
Lebrix: "That all happened within the consulate grounds. I’m within my rights to have taken these actions, though I wish I hadn’t had to."
Aleith|DM: The secretary watches you all as you head inside, but as the security chief throws her a sidelong look, she gets back to work. LeBrix takes you down a hall and stops outside a storage room.
LeBrix: "We’re all professionals here. It would help me if you can take the body and leave quickly."
Zane: "Jumped through the window.
Aleith|DM: Inside the storage room, a bloodied white tablecloth covers Nilasa’s body. Braden sits in a chair beside it, stunned and grieving.
Garrett: "She jumped through the window, -after- you shot her in the leg."
Aleith|DM: Zane: Outside, a fourth-floor window is broken, and beneath it the staff are cleaning blood off of two of the fence poles as well as the gorund around it.
LeBrix nods.
Zane: "And you had time enough to reload and shoot her in the back."
Phyllis: "Ernst, mind giving the body a quick look to see if her wounds correspond with his story?"
Chandrasekhar doesn't let whatever emotions he may or may not be having show on his face. Which might actually be more unnerving than anything else he could do.
Gerald‘ squints at the man’s gun. Nothing fancy or customized about it, yeah?
LeBrix motions to his second gun. "Two guns, didn't need to reload yet."
Ernst nods to Phyllis before moving in to examine the body. "No objections, I hope?"
Zane: "Mm."
LeBrix shakes his head. "You can take a look first."
Garrett: "Should've joined the long-range police unit."
Aleith|DM: Perception check first of all to examine the body.
Gerald‘ hops onto the windowsil, peering out it.
Ernst rolled d20+8 and got 7 ( Total: 15.0 ) for Perception
Aleith|DM: The window sill is on the fourth floor. You’re on the first
[OOC] Gerald: oh woops
Aleith|DM: Ernst: Immediately obvious are the two fence punctures to the abdomen, a gunshot to the back left thigh and shoulder, and glass wounds on the arms.
Aleith|DM: Heal check to examine the wounds.
Garrett‘ walks over to Braden, puts a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Ernst rolled d20+8 and got 15 ( Total: 23.0 ) for Heal
Garrett: "Tea?" He produces the cup and one of the teabags.
Aleith|DM: …it seems that the gunshots came from above after she was impaled on the fence.
Chandrasekhar keeps a stonefaced eye on LeBrix. If his -eyelid- twitches the wrong way, he’ll notice.
Aleith|DM: Insight check?
Phyllis: "You caught a well-known recognizable face stealing, but you didn't consider grabbing our assistance?"
Chandrasekhar rolled d20+10 and got 16 ( Total: 26.0 )
LeBrix: "This is legally Danoran territory."
Ernst chews at his lip before giving a queer look to LeBrix. He looks like he wants to say something but since he's there his expression just screams that this guy is full of shit.
Zane: "Hey, Singh. I'm a little fuzzy on the whole 'jurisdiction' thing. Like since we only had half the body on our turf, does that mean I can only break half his fingers to make him stop lying to us?"
Aleith|DM: Chandra: You have the feeling that LeBrix is following orders with the stuff he's not telling your, or improperly telling you.
Zane: "I'd hate to have to get at his toes that fast, you know it messes up my rhythm…"
Aleith|DM: I'm pretty sure all of you know that would cause an international incident, and LeBrix does to. He just glares at you.
Aleith|DM: Braden accepts the tea gratefully. "I can't believe she'd….do something like this."
Zane smiles widely. He's just a dumb halforc, what does he know about international law?
Chandrasekhar: "Not sure, Bieito. You'd have to distribute the broken fingers across him and whoever's ordered him to keep his mouth shut, that might be difficult."
Zane: "Hm…"
Zane: "I do like a challenge."
Chandrasekhar: "Unless…"
Phyllis: "And what are your rights as a Danoran resident when encountering a trespasser on your own property?"
Aleith|DM: LeBrix frowns at that statement, but otherwise doesn't say anything.
Garrett‘ gauges the man’s accent and features. Danorian or Risurian?
Aleith|DM: Definitely Danoran.
Chandrasekhar: "I mean… he could work with us and be granted immunity. That is always an option, yes?"
Garrett: "It seems pretty out of the blue on this end too, yeah. Was she acting a bit queer earlier in the day?"
[OOC] Phyllis: hachi and aleith both mean braden, yeah?
[OOC] Garrett: I do at least
Aleith|DM: both are Danoran
Zane: "Ugh, if he gets immunity I can't cripple him for lying. Not sure how I feel about that…"
LeBrix: "Can you just take the body and go? I'm close to retiring and I don't need anymore trouble here."
Gerald‘ rolled d20+9 and got 3 ( Total: 12 )
Gerald` just kinda casually heads out of the room.
Chandrasekhar: "Now, now. He is just doing his job. Surely you can respect that. It would be a shame if such an upstanding public servant’s… career were tarnished, so close to retirement, though."
Aleith|DM: LeBrix speaks loudly at you as you try to sneak out. "Where are you going? The body's still here."
Chandrasekhar: "Let us hope that nothing like that happens, shall we?" His stoic face breaks into a seemingly-genuine and even more unsettling smile and he heelspins towards Zane with an obnoxiously twisty eyebrow.
Gerald: "Gotta take a piss? Unless you want me to do it in here, I don't mind either way."
LeBrix: "I'll show you where it is. Braden, you're okay here?"
Aleith|DM: He follows you out.
Gerald‘ nods. "Lead the way then!"
Zane: "Well I mean, if he’s acting on someones orders, surely they have made sure he'll be richly rewarded. A nice villa, maybe a little bit extra in the pension… Hey Singh, who has the authority to boss around someone in this guys position?"
Phyllis nudges Garrett with a whisper. "We should at least see the crime scene, though."
Aleith|DM: Braden nods, then turns back to Garrett. "She was so nice and cheerful with everyone…"
Garrett: "(Go, gogogogo, now, go-)"
Aleith|DM: Gerald: He shows you to a washroom on this floor, past some of the other employees.
Chandrasekhar: "Presumably someone higher up in the Danoran chain of command. There are… options."
Aleith|DM: He's got an eye on the storage room from here, though.
Zane: "Hmmmm."
Gerald: "Thank ya kindly, I'll be just a couple of minutes." And he heads in.
Chandrasekhar surreptitiously shifts and stands in the way of his eyeline just to be a twat.
Braden: "The consular would be the one above him."
Aleith|DM: Gerald: Insight check
Gerald‘ rolled d20+4 and got 12 ( Total: 16 ) for untrained :(
Chandrasekhar: "Ah, he answers that high up. Good to know." The -actual- genuine smile for the poor guardsman.
Aleith|DM: You notice that, despite an attempted buglary and a murder, the other employees here seem to be oddly upbeat.
Garrett: "Was she any less cheerful tonight?"
Aleith|DM: Today*
[OOC] Garrett: *last night
[OOC] Garrett: *yeah
Braden: "No, about the same as always. She was happy to drop off those chocolates for everyone."
Zane: "… Chocolates?"
Zane: "I dont suppose thers any left?"
Phyllis: "What was her usual business here? Other than bringing food."
Aleith|DM: Ernst, I’m going to assume you also searched the body a bit, so you came up with a bail certificate in her pocket.
Garrett: "How'd you two meet?"
Ernst definitely searched the body when he looked it over for wounds yes.
Aleith|DM: The document is from the Parity Lake police station, and reveals that she was picked up in a contraband raid recently but released on bail, paid by one 'Heward Sechim.' Law requires her to carry the certificate until her trial.
Braden: "I met her at a tavern a few months ago."
Braden: "We hit it off after that and we've been seeing each other since."
Braden: "The chocolates are in the staff longue. I can show you if you like."
Chandrasekhar: "I am sorry for your loss. Yes, please do."
Garrett: "Lead the way."
Aleith|DM: He shows some(?) of you to the kitchen, nodding to LeBrix as you pass.
Aleith|DM: Most of the chocolates have been eaten, but there's a few left in the box.
Phyllis: "Ernst, any thoughts?'
Zane deftly pockets a few of the chocolates. "Thanks."
Ernst glances at Phyllis. "Regarding the document, you mean? Or the body?"
Aleith|DM: It's a box of chocolate brigadieros, a variety with some sprinkled in castor sugar, granulated chocolate, or grated cocount.
Aleith|DM: The box is markede with a inkstamp mark with the icon and the name of the Thinking Man's Tavern.
Phyllis: "… you haven't said a word, so both."
Garrett: "She ever mention she was in any trouble?"
Zane takes one of the remaining chocolates and splits it with a knife. Yeah he's checking it for poison. What?
Aleith|DM: Thievery?
Ernst nods. "The woman was shot after she was impaled on the fence, not before. Our victim was also recently involved in a contraband raid but released on bail. Some guy called Heward Sechim. Heard of him?"
[OOC] Zane: Class feature? I'm not trained in Thievery… ;_;
Aleith|DM: You could ask someone else to check.
Chandrasekhar murmurs. "-My- question is, what's the real story about that egg." Beat, listening to Ernst, then nods. "Have not heard of him, but I am sure someone back home has."
Aleith|DM: Arcana would work too
Braden: "No, not really. She liked hanging out at the tavern the chocolate's from, the Thinking Man's. Heward's her employer."
Phyllis: "Need a hand there, Zane?"
Garrett‘ considers. Have I heard of the place?
Aleith|DM: It’s a tavern that lies a few streets off from the main docks of Bosum Strand.
Zane: "Yeah. Trying to see if there's something up with the chocolates, but I dont have my kit with me." He passes it to Phyllis.
Phyllis: "The staff seems … cheerful, despite everything. I forgot food was involved."
Garrett: "Ahh, yeah, I know the place."
Phyllis rolled d20+11 and got 1 ( Total: 12.0 ) for Arcana
Aleith|DM: Phyllis: Nothing's odd about the chocolates
Chandrasekhar: "Worst case scenario we hope they don't melt before we get back."
Zane: "Mm."
Phyllis: "Doesn't seem unusual. May I?" She asks Braden.
Braden nods. "Sure? I guess so."
Phyllis pops one of the chocolates in her mouth.
Garrett: "Listen, take a day off- get sorted."
Chandrasekhar knows how -this- story goes.
Aleith|DM: Phyllis: After a couple of minutes, you start feeling happy and giddy.
Aleith|DM: Chandra, Garret, and Gerald are all pretty sure youv'e just taken fey pepper from the change in attitude.
Chandrasekhar: "Well? Have we found our next office caterer, Phyllis?"
Gerald‘ still taking a leak! But he can confirm when he’s done.
Garrett: "Buy you a round later, help you come down from this."
Phyllis: "They're amazing, but um. Hee."
Aleith|DM: You can probably examine the chocolates at a lab at the office later.
Zane: "…"
Zane: "Yep."
Chandrasekhar: "Remind me to tell you about- well, no, I should probably get her permission when she is sober before telling that story."
Garrett‘ suppresses a grin, trying to continue talking to Braden.
Phyllis: "Probably not entirely legal."
Braden: "Sure, that means a lot to me. Thanks."
Zane: "Sounds like I’m confiscating them." *the sound of more chocolates vanishing into a pouch*
Aleith|DM: LeBrix knocks on the bathroom door.
Garrett‘ gives him another pat, leaves him the mug. "Keep strong, keep on."
Gerald: "Huh? Oh, yeah I’m good lemme dry my hands off." Couple more seconds, then he's back out in the hall. "Sorry. Garrett bet me I couldn't drink the entire delivery of milk this morning. I uh. Probably shouldn't of taken the bet." Gerald rubs at the back of his neck then rolls a shrug.
Aleith|DM: Braden nods.
Aleith|DM: LeBrix rolls his eyes as you come out. "The rest of them are in the loungue right now."
LeBrix: "Probably looking at the chocolates."
Garrett: "You should have one, they're delicious."
Zane: "Alright, time to check the crime scene and then we can take the victim and get lost."
Gerald: "Oh, sweets." Gerald glances from side to side, then follows the noise.
Garrett: "Might as well be a bright spot for the rest of the day."
Phyllis covers her mouth with a hand, trying to hide her grin.
Gerald‘ glances at Phyllis, then Garrett. "Did you slip her something while we’re working?"
Phyllis: "I thought they were poison…"
Chandrasekhar pats Phyllis on the shoulder good-naturedly.
Zane: "Dont worry, they are."
Phyllis buries her face in Chandra's shoulder.
Zane: "Just not lethal."
Aleith|DM: LeBrix sighs and shows you to the fourth floor.
Gerald: "Oh, I guess that's why everyone seems so upbeat about the dead girl."
Zane: "Oh right. Where were you keeping the little egg? I am assuming not with the goldware…"
Aleith|DM: LeBrix glances at Gerald, thinks for a moment, then nods.
Garrett‘ grins at Gerald.
Aleith|DM: After he hurries you past the offices, he shows you to the gallery with the window broken. "The stand for the egg this one by the wall.
Aleith|DM: Perception?
Gerald: "(It would have been SUPER WEIRD if they were just happy about the incident…)"
Gerald` rolled d20+9 and got 12 ( Total: 21 )
Zane rolled d20+2 and got 8 ( Total: 10 )
Aleith|DM: Looks like one of the rugs have been moved
Phyllis rolled d20+3 and got 4 ( Total: 7.0 )
Garrett` rolled 1d20+7 and got 3 ( Total: 10 )
Gerald` carefully walks in behind Chandrasekhar and Phyllis, pokes Chandra in the back once, then gives the dwarf a shove in the rugs direction from behind, discreetly. "Woah you okay? Must not be used to uh, recreational substances, huh?"
Phyllis: "You didn’t - you didn't get up to any shenanigans while Gerald was peeing, did you?"
Aleith|DM: As Phyllis kinda trips over the rug, you can see some blood under the portion that flipped up.
Garrett‘ elbows Gerald a bit and looks for blood splatters.
Phyllis: "Not since my university days, dear. Almost a century ago."
Aleith|DM: After moving the rug, you can make a heal check to examine it.
Chandrasekhar lets go of Phyllis on command so she goes stumbling and tumbling. Gerald’s -good-.
Gerald: "Ah, yeah I can't imagine you got much resistance to it then, dwarf or no."
Gerald: "If the entire worlds starts spinnin', that's normal."
Aleith|DM: Maybe I should have capitalized Heal
[OOC] Phyllis: Maybe you should highlight Ernst
Zane heads over to the window and looks out at the fence.
Aleith|DM: There's a good clean angle for a shot.
Phyllis sways towards the wall, using it to steady herself.
Aleith|DM: At where the body landed.
Zane: "Hm."
Zane: "OK. Ernst, give me something good on that bloodstain."
Ernst rolled d20+8 and got 18 ( Total: 26.0 )
Ernst grins. "Something good, huh? Well…"
Zane: "Garret, you or Phyllis try and make nice with the staff. She's high, she'll fit right in. And you're… well, you."
Aleith|DM: The blood splatter on the ground was from a slashing weapon that flicked blood sideways from the victim, not a gunshot that would cause a puncture and spurt. You don't remember seeing a wound like that on her.
Phyllis gives Zane a salute and wanders off to the staff. "Hello, dearies…"
Garrett: "Nah, I'm on the crowd. More my kind of guys. Chandra's good for lookin' shiny for these diplomatic-living types."
Ernst: "Definitely not a gunshot."
Garrett: "We should really pick up more of these chocolates for the office, too."
Garrett‘ heads back down, and outside.
Phyllis holds up a finger back at Garrett. "For off-hours. After hours."
Aleith|DM: The staff is pretty cheerful for the most part. With a bit of questioning, yes, it’s clear that the upbeat ones had a chocolate. Most of them don't really know anything about the incident.
Aleith|DM: Diplomacy check?
Zane: "Gerald, go look very busy in the hallway and block the door for me. Ernst, you may want to help."
Ernst nods to Zane before gesturing to Gerald.
Gerald: "Okie-dokie."
Zane smiles at LeBrix. "Now. Let's… chat." [Intimidate]
Gerald‘ pulls out a pocket notebook, starts scribbling into it while stepping into the hallway and ocassionally mumbling towards Ernst.
Zane rolled d20+11 and got 20 ( Total: 31 )
Aleith|DM: He frowns. "Look. I caught her stealing, she ran, I shot her, she fell out the window and landed on the fence. The end. That’s all you're getting out of me here."
Phyllis rolled d20+7 and got 11 ( Total: 18.0 ) for Glib Tongue and only Glib Tongue
Garrett‘ addresses the crowd. "I need the one of you with the most teeth in your mouth to answer some questions." [Diplomacy]
Aleith|DM: Phyllis, talking with the secretary, Tia Jedeau, she recalls Nilasa speaking with a foreign doctor.
Zane: "Good, I like a civil servant that can be reasonable. You’re at a premium. As a token of my appreciation, I'll buy you a meal. Oh, look at the clock. Care for some lunch?"
Garrett‘ rolled 1d20+9 and got 4 ( Total: 13 )
Aleith|DM: She shows you his casefile: Dr. von Recklinghausen, from the minor Malice state of Arrovia.
Aleith|DM: Garret, Zane, I’ll get back to you
Phyllis: "What business was he here on?"
Tia: "He was trying to get a visa to visit Ber."
Aleith|DM: The case file mentions he was staying as a guest at a hostel called The House of Blue Birds in North Shore. Of his two references, Dr. von Recklinghausen listed his primary contact as a local surgeon named Dr. Barnaby Camp, and he listed his secondary contact as Lynn Kindleton, a professor of human biology at Pardwight University.
Tia: "He's had to make a few trips back and forth between the two consulates by now."
Phyllis blinks owlishly at Tia. "Let me… let me write all that down."
Aleith|DM: Garret, after half an hour, you learn from some witnesses that a man with a goatee went up to the dying woman, and she handed him a bundle of papers and folders, then whispered something before she died. The man yanked a yellow pendant and necklace off the woman’s neck, before running away.
LeBrix: "No, I'm terribly busy with things. Maybe I'll join your friend and Braden for that drink tonight, though."
[OOC] Aleith|DM: ^ Zane
Zane: "Alright, that's fair."
Chandrasekhar has also been making his way around talking to the staff. Kinda curious if their stories match up - they can't all be being commanded to put a lid on it by the consulate, and he knows enough to talk to the sort of people the higher-ups don't see. [Diplomancy]
Chandrasekhar rolled d20+10 and got 17 ( Total: 27.0 )
Aleith|DM: You learn that Consular duNadria had a guest in the basement meeting room. People know he had a Risuri accent, but no one recalls what he looked like.
Aleith|DM: That's probably all you can learn from the staff.
Phyllis: "Oh. Oh, do the others know what was in the chocolates, by the way?"
Tia: "More chocolate? They were pretty good."
Ernst rubs the back of his head awkwardly before glancing at Gerald. "So… uhh… how you liking the work?"
Phyllis: "Right. Yes. I'll have to get the recipe."
Phyllis turns back around to reconvene with the others.
Gerald: "I mean, there's a lot of paperwork, but other than that it's kinda fun!"
Aleith|DM: Garrett, you and any others that want to spend another half hour questioning the crowd and chasing down witnesses can make a check.
Zane rejoins Gerald and Ernst. "Alright, gentlmen. You have made admirable door-blockers. Go give me a quick sweep of the grounds around the landing area and get ready to head out. I think we're almost done here."
Garrett‘ widens his search a bit. [Streetwise]
Garrett` rolled 1d20+0 and got 4 ( Total: 4 )
[OOC] Garrett: well, +9
Ernst nods. "Sure thing. I’ll see if I can come up with anything."
Gerald‘ salutes, then heads on down!
[OOC] Garrett: still 13
Chandrasekhar will do that while the others deal with pilfering I MEAN PERFECTLY LEGITIMATELY OBTAINING CUSTODY OF the victim’s corpse. [Diplomacy? Insight? Either way:]
Chandrasekhar rolled d20+10 and got 17 ( Total: 27.0 )
Phyllis turns right back around after hearing Zane and keeps talking with people, trying to figure out what they know. [Diplomacy]
Phyllis rolled d20+11 and got 13 ( Total: 24.0 ) for Suggestion this time!
Aleith|DM: Okay, you got all the leads from chasing down some witnesses, they are:

  • The woman crashed out the window, hit the fence, and then there were two gunshots, a few seconds apart. When she jumped, she had her arms covering her face, as if to shield herself.
  • Someone was up in the window, but he looked like he was completely black, except for something shiny, perhaps a gun. A moment later he had vanished.
  • A man sprinted down the street then turned down an alley, carrying an armful of something. (The witness can point out the alley.)
  • When the Danorans took the woman’s body off the fence, her face was covered in blood. People matching the description of LeBrix, Consular duNadria, and a third unknown man got into a brief shouting match as the body was being carried inside.

Aleith|DM: This in addition to the description of a man who grabbed the bundle of documents from Nilasa. The goateed man sounds like Tia's description of Dr. von Recklinghausen, Phyllis.
Aleith|DM: The landing itself turns up nothing of note.
Aleith|DM: Back in the consulate
Phyllis continues to write all this down, not confident in her cognitive abilities at the moment.
Garrett: "Hey, I've got a dark alley to check out, who wants to watch my back?"
Zane: "Gerald does."
Gerald: "Oh yeah!"
Garrett: "Gerald's a reliable guy." He beckons him over and heads for the alley.
Aleith|DM: In the alley, you find signs of a brief scuffle, and a fallen piece of paper in the mud, which looks like a copy of a deed of ownership for a canal barge, marked with the seal of the Danoran consulate.
Aleith|DM: Perception or Arcana?
Garrett: "Hmmm…" [Secrets of the City]
Garrett‘ rolled 1d20+9 and got 2 ( Total: 11 ) for streetwise in place of arcana
[OOC] Garrett: goddamn these rolls
Aleith|DM: Anyone else examining the alley?
[OOC] Zane: Gerald is! chop chop, boy!
Phyllis follows the other two. Could be where the doctor-like person went…
[OOC] Zane: *Ice is checking in like fifty people.
Phyllis rolled d20+11 and got 8 ( Total: 19.0 ) for Arcana
Aleith|DM: You can sense the recent use of electrical magic in the alley.
Ernst glances around before making his way to the point where the victim fell again. He looks up at the window and then at the point she got impaled. Now that he knows more facts it’s best to reassess how things actually went down.
Phyllis: "How would electricity magic play into this?"
Aleith|DM: The blood's pretty much all gone, though a few stubborn stains show the two fence poles she landed on.
Garrett: "Murder. But no body here…"
Aleith|DM: Perception?
Chandrasekhar: "Could have been used to knock someone out, I imagine."
Gerald‘ rolled d20+9 and got 16 ( Total: 25 ) for ya’ll coulda rolled for me you knew I was in the office :E
Garrett: "How do the planet things go, again?"
Aleith|DM: There's some oddly-coagulated blood in the mud.
Gerald: "Planet things…? Also, the blood looks real weird." Gestures with his boot but doesn't touch it.
Aleith|DM: Arcana to examine it.
Garrett‘ looks down towards the blood.
Garrett` rolled 1d20+9 and got 4 ( Total: 13 ) for streetwise in place of arcana again. this is literally the best skill
Aleith|DM: Seems like blood.
Phyllis rolled d20+11 and got 8 ( Total: 19.0 )
Aleith|DM: With some help from Garrett, you sense the blood is infused with strong necromantic energy.
Aleith|DM: As you’re examining the blood, someone walks towards you from other end of the alley. "Constables, right?"
Gerald: "Yup!"
Gerald: "Need some help?"
Garrett‘ looks at the person.
Jack: "I’m Jack Byron. I picked up a doctor from here, but he stiffed me so I came back to see if I could get the money from someone who knew him. I'm a carriage driver."
Garrett: "Sure, if you can tell us were you took him."
Jack: "When I saw the investigation coming on I came looking for you, actually."
Phyllis: "A doctor? Did you catch his name? I may know -of- him, but…"
Jack: "He had bloody hands when I picked him up, carrying some kind of bundle. Maybe it was his surgical tools? Took him to a hostel about two miles west called the House of Blue Birds."
Jack: "Didn't catch his name, unfortunately. Would've made tracking him down easier."
Gerald: "Dr. Goatee!"
Jack nods. "Yeah, he had one."
Gerald‘ makes beard stroaking motions with his hand, nods to Phyllis.
Jack: "He said he was in the middle of a surgery, and needed some specialized surgical equipment back at the hostel."
Chandrasekhar raises an eyebrow.
Jack: "Had an accent too. Couldn’t place it, but it was from North of the Avery Sea."
Garrett‘ slowly turns to look at the assembled group, looks back at the man.
Jack: "After dropping him off, I waited half an hour for him before realizing he’d ditched me."
Phyllis: "A Malice state. Yeah, we just heard of the guy." Time passed, let's assume Phyllis recounted that information to the others already, yeah?
Aleith|DM: Yep, you've compared some notes by now.
Garrett: "Right, what's the damage?" He's asking to pay the fare.
Aleith|DM: He gives you the amount. Seems about right for the distance. You can write it off as an expense.
Garrett‘ does so. "Mind if I just have a peek in your carriage?"
Jack: "Yeah, sure. I still need to clean it, but it’s probably better for you guys."
Gerald: "Mages love weird blood."
Garrett‘ nods, following the man.
Garrett` also pockets the deed they found earlier.
Ernst meets up with the others before glancing at Phyllis. "… what did you manage to find out about this doctor?"
Zane arranges to have the body removed from the embassy and rejoins the others.
Gerald: "He’s a bad tipper."
Aleith|DM: There's blood on the seats on one side of the carriage. Examining it, it doesn't seem to have that necromantic feel to it.
Gerald: "Also flagged down a cap and went back to his hotel after getting whatever he took from the lady."
Phyllis blinks at Ernst, pulling out her notes. "He's been trying to get into Ber. Name's Dr. von Recklinghausen, and the secretary mentioned he was staying at the same place Jack said. House of Blue Birds. He has a few contacts around the city, too."
Zane: "Trying to get into Ber?"
Garrett: "Geez."
Ernst: "Do you know when he last spoke to the victim?"
Aleith|DM: Casefile said it was for a business trip.
Phyllis: "From the sound of it, as she was dying on the fence."
Phyllis: "Exchanged a few words, took a few items, and ran off."
Zane: "Mm."
Ernst: "Any idea what the papers were about?"
Garrett: "Papers and a necklace."
Garrett: "Found this-" He produces the copy of a deed of ownership for a canal barge, marked with the seal of the Danoran consulate.
Gerald: "So like,"
Aleith|DM: The carriage driver departs after being paid, leaving you to discuss the case.
Garrett: "We should probably get over there, now."
Gerald: "We're all thinkin' 'spy' now right? This case is gunna be SO COOL."
Ernst: "Which one of you interviewed her boyfriend?"
Chandrasekhar points to Garrett.
Phyllis: "Oh, he also interrupted before I could bring it up, but - that odd-looking blood, Gerald? Necromancy was involved."
Garrett: "Something happened in that alley, and there's so much blood in that man's carriage it can't just be from 'I touched her and there was blood on my hands.'"
Gerald: "Huuuh."
Garrett: "So someone tried to off him, which means they might still be trying."
Zane: "Or from when he took a bunch of stuff off the victim while she was impaled on a fence."
Garrett: "I hope so."
Zane: "But someone trying to kill him does seem reasonable, too."
Garrett: "I'd hate to have to talk to two dead bodies."
Gerald: "Well."
Garrett: "There was magical riff-raff in an alley he ran down…"
Aleith|DM: Actually, the blood on the seat doesn't look like that much, Garrett. Like the blood on his hands dripped onto the seat.
Ernst chews at his lip. "I honestly have a feeling that they covered up something about the body. This doesn't add up."
Garrett: "Well, anyway."
Aleith|DM: You could always take another look at the body.
Gerald: "Other than none of the evidence matching dude's story, you mean?"
Ernst: "Just based on testimony. There is an obvious lack of damage in certain places that you'd think you'd see damage from a fall."
Ernst does in fact check out the body again.
Zane: "Body's being held in the morgue at HQ until we release it, so. Ernst and Garrett, get digging."
Aleith|DM: Another Perception check.
Aleith|DM: I thought you guys had told the morgue cart to wait.
Ernst is going to check the head in particular this time. The fact that NOTHING was wrong with it from a fall seems odd.
Ernst rolled d20+8 and got 20 ( Total: 28.0 )
Phyllis takes another look, herself, inspecting it for any magical influence. Just to confirm or rule out similar necromantic shenanigans as the fight in the alleyway. [Arcana?]
Aleith|DM: You find a couple things you missed before.
Aleith|DM: First, there's an unusual wound on her scalp, which seems to have been caused by necrotic, and was healed after the fact.
Aleith|DM: You can make another Arcana check, Phyllis and/or Ernst.
Phyllis rolled d20+11 and got 2 ( Total: 13.0 ) for Arcana
Aleith|DM: You also find an empty elixir vial in her top.
Ernst rolled d20+10 and got 15 ( Total: 25.0 )
Aleith|DM: The vial held an elixir of invisibility; creating or possessing such an elixir is a crime without the proper permits.
Chandrasekhar whistles.
Chandrasekhar: "…so I guess the real question is, what did she -actually- steal and where is it now."
Aleith|DM: On her body you find magical residue of the recent healing, consumption of the invisibility elixir, and the use of flight magic.
Aleith|DM: Nilasa herself does not seem to have had magical ability.
Aleith|DM: And there's no trace of a flight elixir.
Ernst nods to himself. "Right. So I've made the following assertions. Firstly, someone had a reason to cover up the fact that this woman suffered necrotic damage to the head. Secondly, based on her bail with narcotics and this vial I imagine that she likely had involvement with some sort of alchemical dealer or possibly even one of the factories proper."
Ernst: "Thirdly, I believe that she used this invisibility potion to try and enter a room in the consul. Did anyone find a room that showed signs of breaking and entering?"
Gerald: "Well, I imagine it's still with Dr. Goatee." Directed at Chandrasekhar. Gerald sort of squints at the vial.
Garrett: "We should find this man before he becomes unfindable."
Gerald: "No, but they didn't exactly let us down into the lair."
Phyllis: "Good on the first, not sure on the second. I'd guess she had a run-in with the unnamed mystery guest in the basement."
Chandrasekhar: "Thus, what the consul's trying to cover up."
Zane: "Mm. No healing magic on her back?"
Ernst shakes his head at Zane.
Zane: "So somebody else got cut in that room."
Zane: "And good."
Aleith|DM: None, just the head wound. Which looks like it was from a slash.
Gerald: "You gunna uh, do the thing with the dead people, Garrett? Or should we get after the guy? I can never remember how long that takes."
Ernst: "The only healing that was done was to cover up the necrotic damage. A slash to the head."
Garrett: "Ehh she's got some time before her spirit is completely gone."
Garrett: "Anything burning in particular we want to ask her?"
Chandrasekhar: "Could that slash have been what caused the blood on the floor?"
Aleith|DM: It's likely.
Garrett: "We know the guy she handed the papers off to-"
Zane: "Who killed her?"
Garrett: "Not sure what the amulet is about…"
Gerald‘ scratches at the back of his head. "We’d probably have better questions after we find her accomplice, I think?"
Chandrasekhar: "Someone hired her, through the tavern to lift something, or several somethings, from the Danoran consulate."
Garrett: "Yes… she probably owed to Heward Sechim, but to go this far?"
Garrett: "But it's… awfully specific."
Chandrasekhar: "I would bet this Heward fellow has his fingers in any number of pies."
Ernst: "I am having my doubts that we are going to find this doctor at the House of the Blue Birds. From what I can tell, something is being covered up and if I was actively trying to clean up a mess he would be a dead man walking."
Garrett: "We have to be faster than the cleaners."
Chandrasekhar: "We should be trying to get there first, yes."
Phyllis shrugs at Zane. "Who do we know at the scene that has necrotic powers? The gunshots and the window seem to have been done after the fact."
Garrett: "Let's move and talk." He hails the morgue carriage. "Can you take us somewhere, first?"
Gerald: "Shadowy guy no one can actually remember clearly, obviously!"
Zane: "Nobody yet. We'll know more after Garrets drink with the victims boyfriend."
Chandrasekhar: "My money is on the rather alarmingly caliginous individual that was seen in the window."
Aleith|DM: The RHC carriage is still there.
Phyllis: "My thoughts mirror Gerald and Chandra's."
Gerald: "Cali… what?"
Aleith|DM: Not all of you are gonna fit in the cart with the body.
Phyllis: "Ernst, he had a few contacts around the city."
Phyllis: "A surgeon and a professor of biology."
Chandrasekhar jazzhands at Gerald. "Shadowy and spooky."
Phyllis: "Ahem. 'Emergency' contacts."
Phyllis: "This qualifies as an emergency for him, no?"
Chandrasekhar: "Pitch-black from head to toe."
Chandrasekhar: "With something shiny. Perhaps the gun."
[OOC] Garrett: will all of us fit in and -on- the cart? :D
Gerald: "Ooh. So what I said but with more two silver words, okay." Gerald nods in understanding.
Aleith|DM: Well, maybe. The driver'll grumble a bit though.
Ernst: "Did anyone find a lead on Heward Sechim?"
Aleith|DM: No address or anything. Might be able to find out at the Parity Lake police station though.
Chandrasekhar: "We have a tavern. That ought to be enough."
Phyllis: "Gerald. I have something very important to ask of you."
Gerald: "Hm?"
Phyllis: "How quickly … does this stuff wear off."
Garrett: "Everyone in and on, let's ride."
Gerald: "Hahah."
Ernst: "This man paid the womans bail which led to her doing this. If we found out his name this easily I'm sure others have too. I'd imagine he's in as much danger as the doctor."
Gerald‘ glasps Phyllis by the shoulder.
Gerald: "How much chocolate did you eat?"
Phyllis: "Just one."
Gerald: "Probably an hour or two."
Gerald: "So you’ll probably be goodish by the time we get there."
Aleith|DM: Phyllis does seem be getting a bit more like her normal self, yeah.
Phyllis: "Thought so."
Aleith|DM: Where are you going?
Aleith|DM: It's about 1:30 PM now.
[OOC] Garrett: I'm directing this guy towards the house of the blue birds
Aleith|DM: Okay!
[OOC] Garrett: if y'all want to come you can
[OOC] Garrett: if not y'all can play hide the sausage
[OOC] Gerald: lewd
Aleith|DM: The ride's probably only going to take several minutes, it's not that far. Doing any questioning in the meantime?
Phyllis: "Sure, but the doctor has sensitive items on their person, I'd imagine."
Aleith|DM: And who else is coming with the morgue cart?
Aleith|DM: There's the RHC carriage if you wanted to split up to investigate.
Ernst is heading back to HQ. He needs to look up Sechim.
Gerald‘ isn’t sure why we're taking the morgue cart instead of our own but he'll go with Garrett, leaving him alone didn't work out so well last time.
[OOC] Zane: I think we were done with the consulate and crowd. All aboard the meatwagon unless you have a contact to exploit in Parity Lake?
Aleith|DM: Ernst: It'd probably be better to head for Parity Lake station to ask about the bail sheet.
Chandrasekhar hops on board. It's that or try and track down the tavern before it gets burnt down anyways.
Aleith|DM: HQ isn't going to have files on anyone and everyone, or all the crimes reported in the various districts.
[OOC] Phyllis: hell yeah I got a contact
Ernst: "I'm going to look into our other lead. Meet up at the tavern later?"
[OOC] Garrett: The reason I'm going with the morgue cart is so that we don't lose track of the body
[OOC] Garrett: At least that's why I'm doing it
Garrett: "Works for me."
[OOC] Garrett: unless you tell me 'hachi the body won't disappear if you turn away'
[OOC] Aleith|DM: it won't
[OOC] Garrett: okay then we can just travel normally
Ernst nods. "Make sure to look for signs of other people rummaging through the hotel. I don't think you are going to be the first ones there." He then goes to find his own way to Parity Lake station.
Aleith|DM: Who's going to the hostel, and who's going to the police station?
Zane is headed to the hostel.
Garrett‘ hostile hostel
Ernst seems perfectly willing to go by himself for what it’s worth. He was mostly fact checking anyways.
Phyllis heads to the hostel, as well.
Chandrasekhar heads to the hostel, yeah. Don't split the party!
Gerald‘ trusts Ernst to solo the record department at a police branch, yeah.
Aleith|DM: WHen you get to the hostel, the staff here recalls ’the doctor with the foreign accent', and remember him rushing in, claiming he was coming back from a surgery, and asking for water and a towel to wip blood from his hands. Then he hurried to his room and a few minutes later exited through a back door.
Aleith|DM: An hour afterward, a man with a pencil thin mustache came to the hostel and asked about the doctor. He showed a police badge with the name Officer Roger Porter, so they let him into the doctor’s room. After five minutes of flipping over mattresses and pulling any stray personal item into a small bag, he left.
Phyllis: "Beat to the punch, it looks like."
Aleith|DM: One of the cleaning staff noticed him wince in pain a few times, and thought she noticed a bandage and dressing on his chest. She didn’t see any blood, but when he left his shirt did have an odd black stain there, and he smelled oddly like scorched engine grease. The same cleaning woman took a blackened rag from the doctor’s room after he left, before the officer showed up.
Zane: "(Necromancy… Lightning… Odd blood…) Do you still have the rag, miss?"
Gerald‘ makes sure to ask if anyone happened to catch the officer’s badge number!
Aleith|DM: She nods and hands it over.
Aleith|DM: No one did, sadly.
Gerald‘ will go search the room for anything that might’ve been missed, just in case.
Phyllis: "The trail of our caliginous guest, it seems like."
Aleith|DM: The rag has small quantities of oil used to maintain a sword, as well as a large amount of…black fluid?
Aleith|DM: Perception?
Aleith|DM: for the room
Gerald‘ rolled d20+9 and got 12 ( Total: 21 )
Garrett` rolled 1d20+7 and got 10 ( Total: 17 )
Phyllis rolled d20+3 and got 8 ( Total: 11.0 )
Aleith|DM: Doesn’t look like there's much of anything left in the room. Just what's there from the hotel.
Zane rolled d20+1 and got 10 ( Total: 11 )
Gerald: "Hum. Yeah I'm not seein' anything." And so he slips out the back exit.
Chandrasekhar: "And the doctor scampered off into the alleys…" He follows Gerald.
Garrett: "Roger Porter probably has it all, yeah."
Zane: "Hmm."
Aleith|DM: Phyllis, examining the rag, you notice the black fluid possesses shadow energy.
[OOC] Aleith|DM: A roll of 1 for you beats the DC for that.
Phyllis: "More than just oil, it seems."
Phyllis: "Definitely on the shadowy killer's trail here. The doctor scampered off to either of his friends. So if we split up between the local hospital or the university and ask them, we may have a better idea of where he left."
Gerald: "Hmm. Okay."
Zane: "Neither of which are my strong suit, but I'm probably better at the university than the hospital."
Phyllis: "I know people at the university quite well, myself."
Aleith|DM: Ernst, after arriving at the Parity Lake station, after about three hours they finally receive a thin hand-copied file of what information the police have on Nilasa Hume. Details are sparse, but they include her last few known residences, a list of accomplices and their whereabouts, and detalis of her various arrests.
Aleith|DM: Of particular interest is her latest arrest, when she was picked up in a raid on a known den of criminals just a week ago. She was charged with Supporting Criminal Activities and told to appear in court a few days from now. Her bail was paid by Heward Sechim, whose address is listed (he lives at his factory). The document notes that she was picked up with two men-Ford Sorghum and Travis Starter, both of whom are currently serving a term for parole violation, locked up in a loating prison in Flint Bay called the Goodson Estuarial Reformatory.
[OOC] Aleith|DM: http://storagebin.wikispaces.com/ZG-Case+Notes
[OOC] Phyllis: "I'll just add this to the <span style="color: #ff8000;">Court Record</span>."
Ernst gathers his things before nodding. Seems he needs to pay a visit to this factory to get the story, then.
[OOC] Aleith|DM: You guys can use that to put other notes if you want to keep track of them.
[OOC] Aleith|DM: Adding Nilasa's pic quickly that was in the file.
[OOC] Aleith|DM: done
Aleith|DM: It's about 5 PM by the time you have the file, Ernst. It'll take you about an hour to get to the Thinking Man's Tavern, just in time for 6 PM.
Aleith|DM: If you don't mind being late, though, Heward's place isn't that far.
Aleith|DM: Garrett and the rest of you: Is the morgue cart still with you or did you send it off while checking in the hostel?
Ernst sadly is punctual if nothing else so he'll show up to the tavern at the set time. There's a small possibility of running into trouble by himself at the factory anyways.
[OOC] Garrett: sent it off since it wasn't oging to walk away but now I'd like to question the corpse
Aleith|DM: Okay. It's 2PM now. HQ is about an hour away, as is the university. The hospital and the surgeon's residence are in this district and maybe 10-15 minutes away.
Garrett‘ does the timewalk
[OOC] Aleith|DM: meaning what?
Phyllis heads to the university. It’ll be good to see Wick again if possible, though she'll have to try and find better circumstances later on. Either way, she figures he'd know where the biology professor is.
[OOC] Gerald: so to move this along: zane/phy to the university, chan/gerald to the hospital, garret to the body I think??
[OOC] Garrett: I'm going to the body
Aleith|DM: Sure.
Aleith|DM: Chandra and Gerald arrive at the surgical theatre Dr. Barnaby Camp teaches at first.
Aleith|DM: He's just finishing up one of his classes, and after it's finished you head up to talk to the portly, curly-haired man.
Camp: "What can I help you gentlemen with?"
Gerald: "Have you seen Doctor Goatee - er… Ron… What was his name again, Chandrasekhar?"
[OOC] Aleith|DM: Wolfgang von Recklinghausen
Chandrasekhar knew the name, of course. That's why he's here!
Camp: "Ah, Wolfgang? Yes, the goatee. He was a student of mine many years ago."
Gerald: "Yeah, Doctor Recklinghausen. Have you seen him recently?"
Camp: "We've kept in touch with occassional letters, and a few months ago he referenced some marital problems and a desire to travel alone to Ber, so I arranged for his residence here in Flint while he was arranging for a passport to there."
Gerald: "Hmm."
Camp: "Another officer…Porter? was here a bit ago looking for him, too."
Chandrasekhar: "Tch."
Camp: "I offered to let one of my students treat his injury for free, in exchange for letting the class watch, but he refused. Rather rudely, too."
Gerald: "I don't suppose he mentioned helping someone steal documents from the Donarian consulat did - Oh, dangit. Porter was here too?" Frown.
Chandrasekhar: "Don't suppose you happened to catch Porter's badge number?"
Camp: "Wait, what? Stolen documents? I haven't spoken with him for a couple of days. When did-oh, that's what Officer Porter must have been here for, wasn't he?"
Camp: "Can't say I got the number, sorry."
Chandrasekhar: "There is an ongoing investigation."
Gerald: "Yeah and we're pretty sure Officer Porter is actually not an officer of the law and is attempting to track down and murder your student over whatever was stole."
Chandrasekhar: "If you hear from him, could you please send word to the Constables?" A pause. "Where was he before coming to Flint?"
Aleith|DM: Camp blanches. "Oh dear. Oh…dear." He sits down heavily on a seat nearby.
Gerald: "We're uh, RHC by the by."
Camp: "…can I see your badges?"
Gerald: "Of course." Gerald produces his. It's still got the new badge shine. He takes care of it!
Chandrasekhar produces his as well. It looks a bit scuffed up compared to Gerald's.
Aleith|DM: He grabs a sheet of paper and a pencil off of a table at the side, and writes down those numbers.
Gerald: "Good call, all things considered. So what did Mr. Porter ask about? And how exactly was he wounded?"
Camp: "Provided you two check out, I'll contact you or the RHC Headquarters if I hear from him."
Camp: "Porter was asking if I'd heard from Wolfgang, or knew where he would be. He said he'd already been to the hostel, but I didn't really have any other leads for him. The man himself had some kind of chest wound, but it was wrapped and I couldn't tell what exactly."
Chandrasekhar nods. "Thank you. And I appreciate your concern." -he gestures towards the actually-validating-their-badges note.
Gerald‘ nods. "Did you bring up the university by chance? Or give some other kind of answer."
Camp: "I hope you find Wolfgang and help him with whatever trouble he’s got himself into."
Chandrasekhar: "We hope so, too. Thank you very much for your help."
Camp: "The university? No…oh! Professor Kindleton. No, I forgot to mention her."
Chandrasekhar: "Good."
Camp: "Probably for the best, in this case."
Gerald: "Hmm. That's good, then." Gerald nods.
Camp: "Lynn and Wolfgang are friends. I suppose you already have her contact information?"
Gerald: "Yeah, we have two other Constables headed there now, so hopefully they can find a lead on the Doctor there."
Gerald: "Did you give Mr. Porter any potential leads though? Might be able to track him down if you did."
Aleith|DM: Dr. Camp nods to the first statement, then shakes his head at the question. "I couldn't come up with much. I helped him get settled but haven't spent a lot of time with him."
Gerald: "Hmm alright. Well, hopefully everything gets resolved without any further bloodshed. Thanks for your time."
Camp: "Of course, officers. You're welcome."
Gerald‘ nods, then heads out. Checks around with people to see if anyone saw where Mr. Porter headed off too. but doesn’t expect much luck there.
Aleith|DM: No, nobody really seems to have noticed the injured officer.
Aleith|DM: Zane and Phyllis arrive at the sprawling campus of Pardwright University. After asking at her residence, you find the morgue she lectures at a few blocks away from there.
Aleith|DM: Seems she's in the middle of teaching.
Phyllis scans the crowd of students in the meantime.
Zane murmurs "(Lets hang back and listen. If we interrupt class, we're gonna get remembered.)"
Aleith|DM: Class is probably gonna go for another hour or so, judging by her talk.
Aleith|DM: Most of this is review for Zane, at least.
Zane can always use a refresher.
Phyllis nods at Zane. There's probably some way to cancel class with some subtlety, but … that'd just be rude. And it'd deprive students of valuable time.
Gerald‘ rolled d20+1 and got 14 ( Total: 15 ) for range skill selection is poop btw
Aleith|DM: Gerald: After about an hour of asking around, you haven’t gotten much of a lead on Porter or von Recklinghausen.
Aleith|DM: It's nearly 5 when the lecture wraps up.
Aleith|DM: Students start streaming past you, heading out.
Aleith|DM: Dr. Lynn Kindleton looks up as you approach. "Can I help you with anything?"
Phyllis stands up to approach Lynn. "Good evening, ma'am. We're with the RHC, trying to figure out the whereabouts of Dr. Recklinghaus - do you have a moment to speak?"
Zane unobtrusively slips through the crowd down to the base of the seats. He shows her his badge when Phyllis announces they are RHC.
Kindleton: "Wolfgang? Why? Did something happen?"
Zane: "That's what we're hpoing to find out. He's involved as person of interest in a case we are looking into."
Kindleton: "Oh no! When? I just saw him yesterday."
Phyllis: "Earlier today. We were expecting him to run into either you or his other emergency contact at the hospital."
Kindleton: "Oh. No, I haven't heard from him-I've been teaching all day."
Zane: "What was his visit about yesterday?"
Kindleton: "Oh, we had some dinner at a restaurant and talked about work and his upcoming trip to Ber. He hasn't been in town that long and we've been catching up since I last worked with him some years ago."
Zane: "I see. And his area of focus?"
Kindleton: "He's a surgeon like myself, though he has been looking into mixing medicine with magic for treatments."
Kindleton: "He learned most of his surgery in Danor, and magic here, and we spent some time working together during his stay."
Zane: "… I see."
Phyllis: "Necromantic, no doubt."
Kindleton: "Hmmm? There was some of that, but he was more focused on lightning magic."
Zane: "Well if you see him, please contact RHC right away. And if another officer shows up looking for him… Porter… Please don't mention us."
Phyllis: "That too."
Kindleton: "Porter? Why?"
Phyllis: "Do you recognize the name?"
Aleith|DM: She shakes her head. "No. Is there something wrong with him?"
Zane: "He's not actually an officer, I don't think. I can't really give you anything more than that since its all suspicion and no evidence. But he's been chasing Wolfgang, and interfering with our gathering evidence."
Phyllis: "Yes. Porter is likely impersonating an officr, though we'll have to verify that at some point. In the meantime, you can check our badge numbers - " she scribbles some down and hands the note to Lynn " - at the station if you need to know who to trust between us and the other person that just looks official."
Aleith|DM: She frowns. "And how do I know you're really RHC, then?"
Aleith|DM: She takes the note. "Hmmm. I will."
Kindleton: "If you check out, I'll let you know."
Zane nods. "That's all we can ask. Thank you, ma'am."
Aleith|DM: As you head out….Perception checks?
Phyllis rolled d20+3 and got 11 ( Total: 14.0 )
Zane rolled d20+1 and got 6 ( Total: 7 )
Aleith|DM: …no, it's nothing.
Aleith|DM: You have just enough time to get to the Tavern in time for 6.
Aleith|DM: Garret: You arrive back at HQ around 3.
Garrett: "Afternoon, lads." He goes right for the morgue.
Aleith|DM: She's on a trolley, covered by a clean white sheet this time.
Garrett‘ pulls back the sheet from her face and pulls up another trolley alongside it. He hops up onto it, sitting cross-legged, and reaches into a little pouch of his.
Garrett: "Wakey wakey," he starts, putting a pinch of feyweed under his tongue. "-eggs and bakey."
Aleith|DM: Religion check, by the way
Garrett` rolled 1d20+9 and got 18 ( Total: 27 ) for SECRETS OF THE CITY COVERS THAT TOO
Aleith|DM: oh well you auto-pass that.
Aleith|DM: From her apparel, it’s apparent she's a follower of Seedism with some Vekesh tendencies, and this lets you use Bluff if you want for her questions.
Aleith|DM: A faint image of the half-elf appears before you.
Garrett: "Afternoon, Nilasa."
Garrett: "What were you trying to steal in the Danorian consulate?"
Aleith|DM: Skill check?
Garrett‘ rolled 1d20+9 and got 6 ( Total: 15 ) for diplomacy
Nilasa: "I stole a bunch of documents from the Consular’s office. I didn't try. I just didn't get away."
Garrett‘ sighs, long-sufferingly.
Nilasa: "Any kind of records of the Danoran’s business I could get my hands on, really."
Garrett: "Can you describe who all attacked you?"
Garrett‘ rolled 1d20+9 and got 3 ( Total: 12 ) for diplomacy
Nilasa: "A…man?…all in black. Or covered in shadow? He asked me to surrender, but when I ran for the window he was suddenly there, slashing me across the face. I couldn’t see through the blood, but jumped through the window using my necklace…but not far enough."
Nilasa: "Thought the fence was closer."
Garrett: "What did you tell Doctor Wolfgang von Recklinghausen, right before you died?"
Garrett‘ rolled 1d20+9 and got 15 ( Total: 24 ) for diplomacy
Nilasa: "I forced the documents and my necklace on him and told him, ’take this to Nevard'."
Aleith|DM: She gives a bit of a wave and fades away.
Garrett‘ waves, even after she fades.
Garrett: "Requiescat in pace, Mularbora."
Aleith|DM: Afterwards, heading to the alchemical lab to examine the black fluid on the rag from the doctor’s room, you identify it as a strange mix of burnt oil and human blood.
Aleith|DM: It took over two hours, and you're gonna be a few minutes late to the Tavern, but the examination was finished.

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