Can you tell to whom this brooch belongs to? If not can you appraise it and make an offer?
Kyoden simply nods and thanks the officer before heading back into the shadows. "Tonight may not be the best night" he thinks to himself as he returns to the church. He then relays the information to the rest of the group.
"The guard is currently too busy with the death of the king. Unrest over new leadership has already begun. Perhaps we wait until morning and check with the Citadel?"
Garran grits his teeth and says, "Aye, I suppose we can, but I'll wait outside while you do it - I'd prefer not to set foot in the Citadel."
Can you tell to whom this brooch belongs to? If not can you appraise it and make an offer?
"Gladly, it would be my pleasure." Giovatia takes the brooch and nods approvingly. "My, my, this is a beautiful replica. Someone certainly spared no expense making it as authentic as possible.... It's..." She looks at it closer, a bit puzzled. "It's really good!"
She then moves over to one of her magical lights and puts on a pair of goggles. "Wait. How can...? This is not a replica!"
She looks up at Edita and the rest, shock on her face. "Where did you get this? Do you know whose this is?! No, of course you don't or you wouldn't have asked, or wouldn't even have it out in the open. Stupid question. But this brooch, my dear, why it belongs to Queen Ileosa Arabasti herself! It's not one of her finest pieces, but certainly not one of her worst either. I definitely recall seeing it on her myself at a gala less than a year ago. How did it find it's way to you?" She glances back and forth at the odd assortment of people, sizing you all up.
Garran freezes, his heart rate increasing. Queen Ileosa's brooch? Seriously? What the hell did we get into? His mind racing, Garran says, "We took it off a criminal last night. How he got it, we can't say."
What belongs to the queen, or to any person for that matter, must be given back. Maybe we could ask at the citadel. What do you think?
Giovatia studies everyone very closely, and then looks over at the guard by the door and nods. The half-orc guard lets out her breath and relaxes, her hand moving away from the hammer on her belt.
"I certainly do recommend returning it. I have not received word of it missing, but once it's noticed, they will surely ask jewelers like myself to watch for it. I will, of course, inform them of what you said, but..." she hesitates once more, examining the group with the precision of someone who devotes her life to details. "But I will wait until they contact me first rather than reporting this immediately. So I recommend returning it sooner rather than later, and being very clear on how you acquired it. In the future, if you have other needs, please keep me in mind. For now, however, I would prefer that as far from my shop as possible." She smiles broadly, "I hope you understand. Thank you and goodbye."
The guard opens the door in a not even remotely subtle hint.
Kyoden gives Giovatia a curt nod and makes his way out of the door. When the rest of the group follows, he turns to them. "I suppose we should make haste to the Citadel and return the brooch as well as make inquiries of the children. We should probably get rid of it as quickly as possible."
Garran quickly follows Kyoden out after thanking Giovatia for her time. "Agreed, and I think we need to work on deciphering Gaedren's ledger as soon as possible. If he had this, we need to know how he got it."
As soon as we have done what is right, everything will turn out for the best. So yes, let's return this little bauble.