Tynan looks around for other footmen nearby, then steps up to the door next to Solrisa.
"Let me have a look at that, Sol. I'm sure Eligos won't mind if we let ourselves in... he might be in trouble, after all."
Tynan quickly inspects the lock for any traps, then works to bypass the lock.
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"You should care about their acid Ascaria" explains Eidi about the black dragons "You already know they are strong and probably you know they are very chaotic and evil. They are related to the water plane. The adult ones have spells, related to darkness and plant growth most of them. And well, yes line acid breaths, and other ways to corrode your body and ideas with their acid"
----------------
Eidi soon uses disguise self to become a stable boy and follows the party as if he was yet another one of the fans.
"Do you think he might be at danger?" asks the half-elf while sitting at the entrance stairs, leaning his staff over the right shoulder and opening a book he starts to read with attention while Tynan works in the door.
Tynan sets to work, and almost immediately picks the lock, just able to find the right direction on the cylinder and pins. For its master quality, the quiet man's mastery of lockpicking is on full display, as the door swings open.
The smell of death greets you, eager to spill across the entrance of the manor to include you all. Entering the manor, you find Reginald soon enough, his body seated in the dining room, his throat slit from ear to ear.
With all due care, you find your way upstairs, into Eligos's private study, where Eligos himself now hangs, hands outstretched towards the central chandelier, feet bound and swung towards one side of the room, where the ropes fasten beneath a bookshelf.
The old man's shirt has been cut away, revealing a large scar from neck to groin, stitched back up to keep the body whole. His eyelids and mouth are stitched closed.
The scarring is similar to that of a mortician's preparation of a dead body, but the marks about the mouth and eyes demonstrates that the subject was alive at the time of the stitching.
There also appears to be wax rivulets around his ears.
The abdominal flesh is moving, ever so slightly. A small undulation.
The room looks otherwise remarkably undisturbed, given the amount of blood spatter on the floor beneath the body.
A small coffer on a shelf reveals a bundle of papers, the topmost marked 'Dear Allustan'.
Tynan flinches as the smell hits him.
"We're too late..."
Looking at the bound form of Eligos, Tynan flinches as he notices movement.
"There's something moving inside him. I'm guessing worms...
Scanning around the room, he quickly spies a note addressed to Allustan atop a pile of papers.
"Oh, this won't be good... it's addressed to Allustan."
Tynan starts to read the paper, careful to step away from Eligos' undulating form.
Weapon Equipped = None
Conditions = Magic Vestment on Buckler (1/10h), Protection from Evil (1/20r)
Life Link (10)(100’) = Eri, Edi, Mort, Sol, Tynan
Channel Energy (8/9)(7/7) (DC: 23)(Avoid 6) (5d6+1+2d6 phylactery)
Amiable Blunder (1/1) (if Diplomacy failed by >5, re-roll to avoid worsening attitude)
Rod of Extend (lesser) (3/3)
Melee Attack: BAB +7/+2, Size +1 Damage: +0
Ranged Attack: BAB +7/+2, Dex +1, Size +1 Damage: +0
Spells (Caster Level 10, Concentration +16)
Once per Day: Arcane Mark, Comprehend Languages, Message, Read Magic
Zero (16): Create Water, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Guidance, Light, Purify Food and Drink, Spark, Stabilize
First (17): (8/8) Bless, Cure Light Wounds, Diagnose Disease, Enhance Water, Liberating Command, Remove Fear
Second (18): (7/8) Burst of Radiance, Cure Moderate Wounds, Lesser Restoration, Light Prison, Pilfering Hand, Protection from Evil Communal
Third (19): (5/7) Cure Serious Wounds, Daylight, Magic Vestments, Neutralize Poison, Prayer
Fourth (20): (6/6) Blessings of Fervor, Cure Critical Wounds, Protection from Energy Communal, Restoration
Fifth (21): (4/4) Air Walk Communal, Breath of Life, Cure Light Wounds Mass
As Tynan falls to work on the lock, Ascaria is uneasy. "Are we sure this is a good idea? I mean, this is breaking and entering!" he tries to look small and inconsequential.
Once in though, he knows that smell. When Tynan mentions worms, he shudders. "Good thing we found him first then." he mutters.
Ascaria recoils. "Knot of Toads! He was alive when they did this to him."
He steps back and protects the group, casting Protection from Evil, communal. He then steps closer to the body again, and Channels Energy hoping to destroy the worms within their sack.
"Tynan, are the worms still in there?" he asks curiously, keeping his eyes on the body.
Tynan confirms that the skin still undulates.
Your previous dealings with the worms demonstrated that once beneath the skin, they were well-protected. Solrisa's infestation was a very good case study, as the worm remained sub-dermal, without infecting her, but without killing it.
Direct exposure to your burst was effective in the past...
The note reads as follows:
My dear friend Allustan— What your associates have stumbled into sickens me to my soul. Every new leaf I turn reveals an even darker secret. Here are my notes. You must take them to our one-time master although I fear that even he may be ill-equipped for what writhes in all of our futures. Until then…
Turning his attention away from the note and back to Eligos, Tynan spots more of the subtle undulating. "They're still there, and active, Ascaria."
Glancing over the note again, Tynan quickly grabs the rest of the papers from the coffer.
"It looks like Eligos knew bad things were afoot. We need to get these papers back to Allustan quickly. We're very lucky that whoever did this to him didn't notice these research papers."
Tynan quickly packs the papers into his backpack, then moves to the window to see if he can spot anyone watching the house from nearby.
"We're going to need to get out of town quickly."
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As you begin to navigate Egorian through its less opulent districts, you find out very quickly the burden of fame.
Mortimer quickly tires of the bottlenecks in the stores, and the gnome pushing him into people.
"If you have to shove me, Canary, aim me toward grown women, would you?" he hisses.
"Hey, I got an idea. Those of you who need to shop still, shop. The rest, come with me if you like."
he bellows, hoping to draw people out of the stores toward the larger spaces in the street.
"Where's a Bard when you need one? Hopefully, they'll grow pretty tired of this in short time," he whispers to any of his group near him.
He begins a solo performance where upon he play-act out the first battle that the Artists and Outcasts fought in the Gauntlet, inviting and allowing anyone in the group or audience who wants to play-participate to join in the spectacle.
He does NOT set out a collection hat.
He does this for as long as it takes to clear up traffic in the shops, and for most of the people to tire of it and wander off.
He does so in the following days for an hour Matinee if necessary.
~~~
"Here to see master Eligos, I presume? Well, I haven't seen him or Reginald for two days now, coming or going. I don't rightly know if they're here to welcome guests. I usually know, because Reggie stops to make sure I know. But he hasn't done so, so I don't know, beggin' your pardon."
"Oh yes, Eligios suggested that he wanted to see much more of me."
"Yah -- but -- he didn't mean it that way -- I" Mortimer cuts himself off short, fuming slightly.
I guess there's no point in asking the Gateman questions...
~~~
[ ... ]
The old man's shirt has been cut away, revealing a large scar from neck to groin, stitched back up to keep the body whole. His eyelids and mouth are stitched closed.
"Gee, can anyone here do something for him? Is he stuffed with worms?!"
"We're going to need to get out of town quickly."
"Wait -- that top letter is addressed to Allustan -- what does it say exactly? What are in the notes? Maybe there is something here still that we need to do!"
He peers up at the corpse of Eligos again. "What do you suppose the wax around his ears is for? Just to keep the worms from bursting out, or is it some kind of timing thing?"
"The note says that Allustan should take the research to their one-time master. Eligos must have been killed before he was able to send them by courier to Allustan. We'll have to look over the notes somewhere safer than here, I'm thinking back at our inn."
Tynan looks over at Ascaria. "Do you think you'll be able to take care of these worms? If we leave him as he is, he's likely to infect anyone who eventually finds the body..."
Mortimer nods at Tynan.
Oh!
"So much for guard skunks. One second."
Mortimer leaves the manor to summon the Gatekeeper into the manor.
"Could you come with me a second -- there's very very bad news. I don't want to have to break it to you, but you should come see what happened for yourself. We walked into it -- I hardly know what to say. Don't touch anything. Did you happen to see anything? Did anyone come to visit Eligos or Reggie in the past week or so?"
Weapon Equipped = None
Conditions = Magic Vestment on Buckler (1/10h), Protection from Evil (1/20r)
Life Link (10)(100’) = Eri, Edi, Mort, Sol, Tynan
Channel Energy (7/9)(7/7) (DC: 23)(Avoid 6) (5d6+1+2d6 phylactery)
Amiable Blunder (1/1) (if Diplomacy failed by >5, re-roll to avoid worsening attitude)
Rod of Extend (lesser) (3/3)
Melee Attack: BAB +7/+2, Size +1 Damage: +0
Ranged Attack: BAB +7/+2, Dex +1, Size +1 Damage: +0
Spells (Caster Level 10, Concentration +16)
Once per Day: Arcane Mark, Comprehend Languages, Message, Read Magic
Zero (16): Create Water, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Guidance, Light, Purify Food and Drink, Spark, Stabilize
First (17): (8/8) Bless, Cure Light Wounds, Diagnose Disease, Enhance Water, Liberating Command, Remove Fear
Second (18): (7/8) Burst of Radiance, Cure Moderate Wounds, Lesser Restoration, Light Prison, Pilfering Hand, Protection from Evil Communal
Third (19): (5/7) Cure Serious Wounds, Daylight, Magic Vestments, Neutralize Poison, Prayer
Fourth (20): (6/6) Blessings of Fervor, Cure Critical Wounds, Protection from Energy Communal, Restoration
Fifth (21): (4/4) Air Walk Communal, Breath of Life, Cure Light Wounds Mass
Ascaria is about to answer Tynan when Mort steps away. While he’s gone, he says, ”We need to cut open the body, but wait - we should have a witness to the desecration.”
He waits and nods when the so-called guard is brought forth by Mort. ”Good call.” he mutters to Mort. He gives the man a moment to take in the scene, before interrupting his thoughts. ”His body cavity has been stuffed with worms, dangerous things that spread disease and death. We need to release them from the body and kill them, but wanted you to see it happen so you can tell the authorities of the danger.”
He pushes the guard back, and suggests everyone take a few steps back… everyone except Sol. ”Sol, you have the best resistance I think. Would you please cut the body open near the waist? Once the worms are flowing, step back and I’ll try and end them all at once.”
He readies to Channel Energy to harm undead and awaits Sol’s action.
(DC 23)
If the worms are all destroyed by their actions, he suggests to the guard, "Go and get the dotarri. We'll keep guard here and search the house for any other unpleasantness." he suggests reasonably.
Mortimer guards the Guard from splash, spill and other damage that might occur as Sol acts.
"We're going to need to get out of town quickly."
"Yes. I like that plan."
"Once the worms are flowing, step back and I’ll try and end them all at once.”
"Ahh, really? Mind if I ready a fireball just in case you miss some?"
"We're going to need to get out of town quickly."
Solrisa turns her sad gaze from the hanging, internally-wriggling body of Eligios to Tynan.
"Why would we want to leave early? Don't we want to find Loris? And also maybe...I dunno...find who did this to Eligios?" Solrisa frowns as she draws her dagger. She nods at Ascaria after everyone is well away from the body.
She cuts the wurms out, trying only to get a few on her person.
Ascaria shrugs with a grin at Eri, "Yeah, definitely light me up if I'm covered in worms."
"Yeah, we still need to deal with Loris and now this. But it sounds like we also need to get that material to Allustan." he thinks a moment, "Hey, what about Raziel? He could fly the documents to him easily enough I bet! Let's ask him when we get out of here."
He stands ready for the worms, necklace in hand.
"Could you come with me a second -- there's very very bad news. I don't want to have to break it to you, but you should come see what happened for yourself. We walked into it -- I hardly know what to say. Don't touch anything. Did you happen to see anything? Did anyone come to visit Eligos or Reggie in the past week or so?"
The gatekeeper loses a bit of color from his face, and steadies himself on the gatehouse wall, before wordlessly following the giant back to the manor. "No. I weren't aware of any guests coming or going. They woulda told me who to expect, you see."
He heaves a low moan over Reginald's corpse in the dining room, before arriving in Eligos's study, where he pauses to take it all in. He then moves quickly to the ropes to untie his master, to remove Eligos from such a sacrilegious pose. He strains to do so, when kept away by Mortimer.
Solrisa births Eligos, a single well-drawn slice unstitching the old man's front, allowing hundreds of worms to pour forth. Some of them futilely try to climb the maiden's weapon, while others seek the darker corners of the room, while still others seek the heat generated by the various individuals present.
Ascaria must channel at least twice, likely more, to make sure that the contents of the corpse are fully singed with his healing energy. Eligos's muscle and blood has been purged, making room for worm between bone and skin. It is necessary to cut mouth and eyes open, and reveal yet more wormsign, as well as removing the wax from the ear canals. Hideous work, and the danger of the worms dictates a rigorous cleaning of the study, and investigation of the entire manor, for that matter. This may take the better part of the day, should you apply yourselves to the grim task.
Raziel waits downstairs with Reginald's corpse, as he doesn't want him left alone, even now.
"Why would we want to leave early? Don't we want to find Loris? And also maybe...I dunno...find who did this to Eligios?"
"Yes, we need to do both of those, but this information could be what Allustan needs to help us stop this plague. I have a feeling Loris is long gone from the city, having failed to end us in the arena. Eidi's spell will hopefully point us in the right direction tomorrow." Tynan gives Sol a serious look. "Don't worry, we'll bring them to justice."
------
Tynan looks at the large stack of documents in his pack, then at the pseudodragon.
"I think this stack is a bit much for him to handle, Canary." Tynan shows Ascaria the foot high stack of papers, bundled and bound with red silk string, in his pack. "He would surely have trouble flying with that much baggage."
Weapon Equipped = None
Conditions = Magic Vestment on Buckler (1/10h), Protection from Evil (1/20r)
Life Link (10)(100’) = Eri, Edi, Mort, Sol, Tynan
Channel Energy (0/9)(1/7) (DC: 23)(Avoid 6) (5d6+1+2d6 phylactery)
Amiable Blunder (1/1) (if Diplomacy failed by >5, re-roll to avoid worsening attitude)
Rod of Extend (lesser) (3/3)
Melee Attack: BAB +7/+2, Size +1 Damage: +0
Ranged Attack: BAB +7/+2, Dex +1, Size +1 Damage: +0
Spells (Caster Level 10, Concentration +16)
Once per Day: Arcane Mark, Comprehend Languages, Message, Read Magic
Zero (16): Create Water, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Guidance, Light, Purify Food and Drink, Spark, Stabilize
First (17): (8/8) Bless, Cure Light Wounds, Diagnose Disease, Enhance Water, Liberating Command, Remove Fear
Second (18): (7/8) Burst of Radiance, Cure Moderate Wounds, Lesser Restoration, Light Prison, Pilfering Hand, Protection from Evil Communal
Third (19): (5/7) Cure Serious Wounds, Daylight, Magic Vestments, Neutralize Poison, Prayer
Fourth (20): (6/6) Blessings of Fervor, Cure Critical Wounds, Protection from Energy Communal, Restoration
Fifth (21): (4/4) Air Walk Communal, Breath of Life, Cure Light Wounds Mass
Ascaria nods at Mort as he keeps the guard back out of harms way. He spends the day going room to room with the party - seeking out worms and burning what he finds with holy power. He uses all but one of his channels on the house to be sure.
He's a little confused at Raziel's protection, but appreciative.
He looks at the stack of documents Tynan holds. "Didn't Eligos have an extradimensional pouch, or am I thinking of someone else? Either way, it could be an options if we find something here." he'll spend some of his time searching for magics, but he leaves anything that doesn't help them in their current quest, and Eligos' last desire.
Assuming nothing is found, he shrugs, "I dunno Tynan. I just know we're being pulled in several directions here and all seem equally important. Warning Allustan is important I agree, but so is dealing with the main threat - Loris, and whomever did this. Assuming it's not the same people, and it seems like it might be."
"While we're clearing worms, see if you can find some clues in that paperwork. Maybe there's something there we can use against Loris before we turn it over to Allustan."
Solrisa stomps and slaughters and stomps the wurms more and more. As she pauses in her stompings, a thought occurs to her.
"It looks like the wurm people did this. Because Eligios was subjected to the wurms, you see," Solrisa points to the corpse. And then she points to the box and notes that were left. "They clearly had plenty of time to do it. So...why did they leave the box and notes for us. Is it a trap? Is it trickery?"
Solrisa smiles, remembering something from her childhood.
"My sister, Rae, who is the best sister ever used to do trickery with me. We used to play the best tricks on Mum. Like when she would go eat extra portions of cake and when Mum came to figure out who did it, Rae would say that I did so I would get in trouble!" Sol smiles, having happy memories of her sister. "But the joke was on Mum because I didn't do it! She would punish me, but it was really just trickery!"
Solrisa looks around to make sure everyone knows how much Sol knows about trickery (which isn't much, obv) but she continues to speak.
"So maybe we should warn Allustan about what we send...it might need to be checked or double checked. Might be trickery."
Solrisa squishes some more.
"Also, since Loris is tied to the wurms here, it might be him who did all this. Maybe," Solrisa agrees with Ascaria.
"It looks like the wurm people did this. Is it a trap? Is it trickery? ...it might need to be checked or double checked. Might be trickery."
Mortimer scratches the back of his head in obvious confusion.
"Also, since Loris is tied to the wurms here, it might be him who did all this. Maybe,"
Mortimer approaches Sol with his hands up. "Yes -- yes, Sol. Don't fall into any rabbit holes. You're right -- Loris and his gang probably did all of this."
Mortimer approaches Sol with his handsupout. "Yes -- yes, Sol. Don't fall into any rabbit holes."
Sense Motive
"There are rabbit holes here!!?" Solrisa asks, both excited and worried. She stops her stomping look around, careful where she puts her feets.
"I wish you would have told me before I opened up that man of wurms," Solrisa says. "I don't want any rabbits to be hurt."
Solrisa looks to be sure that none of the wurms have made it to any rabbit holes.
"Yes. I like that plan [to leave town quickly]."
"You're right -- Loris and his gang probably did all of this."
"Hmm... Yeh, I can see that. Back to fixing the glitch."
The worm purge continues steadily. The gatekeeper speaks up, only to ask when he's free to notify the dottari of the murders.
With a little adjustment, Tynan is able to access a couple of the pages of research pertaining to Kyuss, and the Age of Worms. He is quickly lost on the content, however, as the Knowledge is quite arcane, something meant for the eyes of experts in the field of study.
For those who choose to process Eligos's notes, how long do you spend reading?
"I don't want any rabbits to be hurt."
Mortimer tries not to let the thought of Hasenpfeffer distract him.
"Uh, no," he says, shaking his head. "NOoo rabbits, no holes. No trickery either, though. It was most likely Loris."
Hasenpfeffer...
~~~~
"While we're clearing worms, see if you can find some clues in that paperwork. Maybe there's something there we can use against Loris before we turn it over to Allustan."
The gatekeeper speaks up, only to ask when he's free to notify the dottari of the murders.
"One second, please, Gatekeeper," says Mort, very politely.
When it becomes clear that the knowledge is too Arcane for Tynan to decipher, he turns to the group."Well, how long do you think it will take?" he asks, equally politely.
Ascaria laughs as Sol seeks out the rabbits and rabbit holes in the house. It's a release from the worm hunt.
"I think we can look these documents over elsewhere, no need to hold up the dottari." he bids the gatekeeper to leave if Mort agrees.
After he's left, he suggests, "We might not want to all be here when they return. It could be, ah, annoying and long. They'll have questions. I'm happy to stay here and answer them as best I can, but you guys should head out and pick up our stuff. I'll rejoin you when I get done with their questioning - back at the pub."
"There we can read through these notes more carefully and see what we can discover!"
"Tynan, Is there a table of contents or an index? Do some of the pages have headers or chapter names? May I take a gander at them?"
"How long will it take the guards to get here?"
Eri would like to take half an hour to skim through the pages reading the first sentence of paragraphs and read further into the paragraph if it is juicy. He will have a case ready to put the papers in and send to Allustan via Raziel should the cops show up.
"I think we can look these documents over elsewhere, no need to hold up the dottari."
Mortimer scowls at Ascaria and exhales slowly. He steps aside to the the Gatekeeper pass.
Just remember -- don't touch anything in the manor," he says to the gatekeeper as he passes.
"We might not want to all be here when they return. It could be, ah, annoying and long. They'll have questions. I'm happy to stay here and answer them as best I can, but you guys should head out and pick up our stuff. I'll rejoin you when I get done with their questioning - back at the pub."
"There we can read through these notes more carefully and see what we can discover!"
Mortimer's scowl turns into one of eyebrow raised skepticism. He folds his arms in front of his body and cocks his head. Was that hedging?
He hedges back.
"Don't you think more than one of us should uh, stay behind to deal with the annoying and boring dottari?"
Solrisa does a quick search of the house while others are doing things or dithering. She wants to make there that they are not missing something obvious...which is the things she's likely to spot.
She will be ready to leave and very keen on finding Loris.
"Maybe we should go back to his apartments."
Eidi squeezes one of the worms with the tip of his staff "Worms..." he mumbles "What kind of person mingles like that with such a lesser an disgusting creature... "
The half-elf lets Eri take the lead in the research of the notes, but he will look at them whenever possible during the next days.
"I am kin to cast the locate spell to find him now" answers the elder to Solrisa's desire to find Loris.
"I think I can manage, but someone could stay with me if they stay quiet." he grins.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We said we'd go after Loris when we had our gear. Let's stick to the plan. We can seek him out tomorrow." he hopes he gets through to the hurried.
He waits for the law with foreboding.
Mortimer nods to Ascaria.
"I can keep quiet." He looks down the stairs toward Raziel and Reginald's corpse.
"No sense in letting the dottari be greeted by Raziel alone, I'll wait down there with him, then escort them in."
He starts down the stairs.
[ ... ] [ ... ] marinated, potatoes onions...
When he reaches the bottom of the stairs, he observes Raziel's vigil with curiosity. "Did you know him, then?"
"Tynan, Is there a table of contents or an index? Do some of the pages have headers or chapter names? May I take a gander at them?"
"Not that I've seen, but there are a lot of papers here. We should wait until we're safe back at the inn to dig more deeply into them.:
Solrisa's sweep of the house finds a dead skunk on the back stoop, its skull punctured through and through.
Both Eri and Eidi find the paperwork a little out of their wheelhouse. Perhaps with more time, something can be gleaned of the various sigils and archaic descriptions. The gatekeeper's increasing insistence that the guard be called up presses those who would take more time on-site to study.
"Did you know him, then?"
Raziel turns his small head up to the giant. "He served a wizard. I served a wizard. We're kindred spirits, in a way." The pseudodragon looks back to Reginald, and waits until he's bid to depart.
The documents are being delivered to Allustan. We who remain behind for the law do not have them.
Ascaria sits quietly waiting for the dottari, hoping they are polite, and disinterested. But he fears what they might decide to do in their ignorance. He has little faith they will be helpful...
So he waits uneasily.
Solrisa isn't sure why they are waiting for the dottari, but does what the others do while they wait. She'd much rather be going to find Loris. And then killing him. But she waits for now.
"I'll make sure these get safely back to the inn. Meet me there when you're done."
Tynan touches his hat, and his appearance changes to that of a lower class laborer.
"No one should give me a second look now."
He quickly makes his way out of the mansion and onto the street.
"I'll make sure these get safely back to the inn. Meet me there when you're done."
"He served a wizard. I served a wizard. We're kindred spirits, in a way."
Mortimer nods.
He quietly pays respect to Reginald along side Raziel, then goes to wait for the dottari, letting the others free to leave for the Crooked House should they so desire.
Before Tynan leaves, Eidi provides him with a extended shield of faith using his rod "Take care. Hide the notes somewhere if you get discovered"
Afterwards the half-elf kneels next to Eligos. The elder closes his hand to his old friend remains without reaching to touch his skin "Damn Eligo's, you too are leaving?" Eidi touches his Aroden's holy symbol in a clear sign of praying. A smile appears in his face "You master of trickery, you still managed to hide your notes. We will put to good use your last effort"
Solrisa watches Tynan change and move away, wondering what she even knows of the man. He seems different somehow.
Solrisa is ready to go find Loris, be it via magic or returning to his lair apartments or some combination.
The head of Eligos is still intact, requiring a little reverse autopsy to unstitch the mouth, and bring it functional for such spell weavings as Speak with Dead. But it is possible, certainly.
Tynan takes leave of the house, and with him, the gatekeeper, who moves to assist him with the gate's opening and closing, as well as fetching the dottari to the scene. This leaves the rest of you alone for the span of 15 minutes for any last-minute discussions or castings.
...
The dottari arrive, and with them, the Captain. The stern woman orders her men to examine the house and the bodies, while she remains with you to begin the interviews.
"Tell me what you know. Leave nothing out."
"Tell me what you know. Leave nothing out."
Mortimer fails to suppress a groan. He swallows audibly as well.
Not her again... I said I could be quiet. How do you turn up the charm when you have promised you won't speak?Mortimer tries to smooth his cowlick back into the rest of his hair line, and stands at attention the way he imagines a Royal Guard has to whenever the Queen is around.
Unfortunately, his efforts make him appear more like a sublimely bored bouncer rather than a noble attentive guard.
Solrisa squees happily as her good friend, the Captain comes over.
"Oh, I'm glad you're here! We tried to help as best we could, but it's bad inside!" Solrisa begins to explain. "Our friend Eligios was doing some work for us while we were off winning these fancy belts," Solrisa points proudly to her belt. "We came by to check on him but he was dead and fill of evil green worms. Because the worms are incredibly evil and destructive, we killed them all with magic and my boots." Solrisa points down at her new winged (and now green slimed) boots.
"Then we called for the authorities. And here you are." Solrisa beams.
Diplomacy
Ascaria is about to open his mouth when Sol blunders ahead and fills in the law. When she's done, he's impressed and fills in a little detail about how they destroyed the worms, where they found them, etc.
Largely however, he lets the story stand as she told it.
vs DC 10
Eidi spends the time before the dotari arrives working on unstitching the mouth of his friend.
Although not an expert, the half-elf seems to make a fair job.
The elder closes his eyes while holding Aroden's symbol in his hands and prays for the daily boon of his bond symbol in order to cast speak with dead on Eligo's dead body.
"Who killed you Eligo's?" starts Eidi.
"What else did you hide to your enemies aside from the research notes we already found?" he continues.
The half-elf looks then to his companions looking for suggestions "There are two more questions we may ask". Eidi waits to listen his companions and the answers before deciding what else is worthed asking.
-------------
The elder mystic listens to the dotari conversation while patiently leaning over his staff. He smiles when the dotari look at him trying to make Solrisa's story more amenable.
The head of Eligos makes a macabre focal point for Eidi's necromantic casting. The eyes still stitched closed, the mouth now liberated to move as it will in answer to Eidi's, and possibly others', questions. The body is significantly damaged, and still, words come forth in dry heaves of air passing over withered vocal chords.
"Who killed you, Eligos?"
"Captain..."
"What else did you hide to your enemies, aside from the research notes we already found?"
"..."
Two questions remain.
...
The Captain listens intently on your descriptions, focused on the maiden, and occasionally turning to look at both gnome and half-elf, who color in certain details when it appears that the Captain is leaning towards irritation with Solrisa's chaotic and incomplete accounting.
She begins a slow analysis of the events, opening with several questions of her own.
"How long have you known Eligos?"
"What work was he hired to do?"
"How much was he to be paid for the work done, and have you already paid him?"
"Had he already finished the work?"
"Why do you think he was murdered?"
The belt establishes a quite-ironclad alibi, so the Captain doesn't seem interested in pressing your whereabouts, as one of the attending dottari sets a time-of-death of roughly 3 days prior.
Earlier, Ascaira asks the corpse excitedly, but a little weirded out, ”What Captain killed you?”
- - -
When speaking to, hopefully an other Captain, he speaks honestly, ”We’ve only known Eligos recently - we met him when we came to town several days ago, before the what have you. We asked him to do a little research on a black dragon who’s effects we encountered with some lizard folk in the hinterlands. We’re trying to find this dragon, and Eligos was to help us.”
”To the best of my knowledge, he hasn’t found anything. If he did, it died with him.” Ascaria looks sorrowfully at the corpse. ”We had not gotten to cost. I suppose it would depend on what he learned.”
He looks set in his thoughts, and a little wild when he says, ”I think he was murdered to prevent us from learning of the dragon, but I have no proof of that. It’s just what he was working on for us, and now he’s dead - you see?”
He shakes his head though and adds, "But that's probably my ego talking. Could have been anything I suppose. He was a powerful man I think. At least knowledgeable."
Solrisa nods along as Ascaria jumps all over the question. She was still preparing answers in her mind and welcomes the halfgnome's swift tongue.
She smiles at the Captain, trying to be service.
Eri looks on the scene dumbfounded.
I keep being caught off-guard by these scenes of horror. I wonder when I'll stop being surprised? I wonder if that will be a good thing? I wonder when we can finish this awful business and leave this town.
Later at the head seance Eri will shake his head and chime in, "Why did the captain kill you?"
When the (hopefully different captain) is questioning, Eri nods and keeps his mouth shut.
"What Captain killed you?"
"Why did the captain kill you?"
In short order, the head of Eligos makes a couple of unintelligible rasps, which fade to the quiet of the room, leaving both men unanswered.
...
"I think he was murdered to prevent us from learning of the dragon, but I have no proof of that. It’s just what he was working on for us, and now he’s dead - you see?”
The Captain regards the gnome's more thorough answers. "So you concede that you are possibly to blame for bringing this upon Eligos? He is, of course, a man of means, but I will say that where you go, violence is likely to erupt. I have a mind to detain you." She looks down at Solrisa's boots, then her belt.
"But I won't. Are you still lodging at the Crooked House? How much longer will you stay in Egorian? I have more here to investigate, and questions are sure to arise. I encourage you to remain available, until further notice."
She doesn't prevent you from leaving, but her methodical inquiry drains you of two hours, before you can return to the Crooked House.