"No. Nothing strange. Two nights ago, you think? No... I remember it well. I had bought eighteen pounds - I got a great deal - of spuds after work, and was carrying them through the street when I came home. There was a hole - in the bag - and I was trying to stop the potatoes falling out. I stopped just over there to lean against the wall and recover. I remember" he chuckles slightly "There was another man with a big sack, and he was having trouble too. Swearing up a storm. I offered to buy the bag off him when he dumped the body, but I was joking - I'd have gotten blood all over the potatoes!"
He shrugs "Like I said, nothing strange."
Isama starts a bit. Dumping a body, sir? she starts thinking of what kind of magic would cause a hole in a potato sack to be more worthy of comment then a corpse being dumped.
"Sorry?"
"Wow, that is a super handy sense of taste."
Isama tries a different tack.
Ah, well, how'd ya end up getting your potatoes back home? And did ya happen to see where the man with the good quality sack went?
The trip through the sewers has done a number on Isama it seems like. Even disoriented and seriously wanting to call it a day she's still somewhat affable.
Loy rubs his right eyebrow, as if there is a pain in his head. "Oh, I soldiered on after a while. Not sure where the man went... I guess..." he looks confused "I'm not sure where he went with the sack. It didn't seem very important." he looks troubled now "Why didn't it seem important? I can still see it now, and remember it wasn't... but why?"
Isama pats the man on the back reassuringly. S'alright Sir. Just wanted to make sure yer potatoes got home safe she raises her eyebrows at the others.
"You are describing this so casually and it seemed so unimportant because magic was used to veil these actions, and it was messing with your mind. These were noteworthy events you witnessed! Do try your best to remember everything you can."
"There are alchemical substances that can enhance perception and thus memory, would you be willing to ingest some?" Ophelia queries. Helpfully she adds while starting to fiddle with some suspicious coloured vials. "There are no known sideeffects."
"I... I don't know. I didn't remember. I don't want to remember. Can't you ask someone else? Someone else must have seen him!"
Isama's pats change to a firm grip as Isama looks up into the disturbed man's eyes. Sir, I unnerstand this is mighty difficult fer ya but this is important. The man you ran into has been doing terrible things to many people and he's using strong magic to make people forget they ever saw him. You're the best lead we've got all day. Yer our best hope of finding this monster and puttin' an end to his torturin' and murderin' people. I'll try an' help you through this best I can. Is that alright?
"My co-guard is right, Sir. We are aware this is shocking, but we are talking about a mass murderer here who is not following a pattern. What we are asking may be hard on you, but the alternative is that more people will die."
It is cruel that we have to push this guy beyond his limits. But it's true...if he can remember anything at all, that may help us put an end to this killing spree that much earlier, save lifes. I'll try and make it up to him a bit...
"On the plus side, while all of this is strictly internal knowledge still, we can offer a reward for hints that lead to the apprehension of this criminal. If you do cooperate and remember, and what you tell us helps track down the culprit, a shiny platinum piece will be yours."
~Ugh.. this is gonna get ugly.. Maybe we should get him a teddy bear?~
Loy - with obvious reluctance - agrees.
The guards take him home, sit him at a table and hand him Ophelia's noxious, fuming brew. He knocks it back - with a vodka chaser - and shudders as it takes effect. He closes his eyes and relives the now traumatic event.
"Alright. I can see him. Normal clothes - lot like mine. Good condition. Don't seem to fit too well, he keeps hitching up his sleeves, and his belt's halfway up his chest. Eyeglasses - fancy silver ones. Wearing fancy shoes too. Smells like... barbecue, and smoke, and... cologne. Yes, must be wearing a lot of it. Smells like a florists. Sweating, a lot. Mopped his face while he was talking with a fancy handkerchief."
"Are we done?" he asks anxiously.
Gathering up her supplies and stashing them inside her bag, Ophelia sits down to join the interrogation.
"Could you describe the glasses. Did they seem out of place - or did they have any distinct features? Whom was he talking with?"
"Huh? Oh, he was talking to me. When I said we could swap sacks. He said... Uh..." "Very gracious sir, but the sack is not mine."
"The eyeglasses did have a weird thing on the side." Loy grabs a knife and carves the design into a nearby apple.
Any odd accent on the gent, sir? Anything fancy or foreign? High pitched or deep? Anything would help
"No. Well - maybe a bit fancy. Not foreign though."
"Mia, any last questions before we let the man off?" Diene didn't seem all too concerned for the man, but still didn't want to push this into a full blown interrogation.
"Hmm..." Ophelia hums and stares intently at the apple. Something --- hmm. No? After failing both to melt it with her gaze or vibrate herself to pieces she carefully places the apple into an empty jar and fills it with alcohol. Perhaps if she had time to think about it - or consult a library?
"I have no further questions, at this time. Except - may we have your address sir? It may be useful should something come up. Or simply for us to double check that the spell has left no harmful aftereffects."
"By what you say, he talked fancy when you addresed him. But you also mentioned he was swearing up a storm before. Anything you can remember there? A name, a location perhaps? If he was aware of magic shielding him, he may have been careless in how he formulates his cursing...also, any details on how the man himself looked? You described his garment well enough, but are we looking for a middle-aged, short, bald, fat man? Or a young, slim, tall one with oiled hair? Most importantly, would you recognize him if you saw him again? Even if we apprehend him, we may need confirmation before we can pay your reward-"
Mia focused on the basics. While something seemed odd about this fellow, the symbol told her nothing...or maybe Loy's carving wasn't too good. If they would need to survey other potential dump sites, people would need to know who to be on the lookout for.
Loy thinks "Normal height - 5'9, perhaps. Young - maybe late 20s. Black hair. Pale skin. Not sure what he was cursing, sounded like..." he proceeds to vocalise sounds that could be badly remembered Draconic.
"Catch the bastard." he says, with some venom.
"Oh, don't worry, I'll be doing a fair bit more than that." Diene smacked her hand into her palm heartily.
"Indeed. The penalty which our suspect is suspected for will more then likely result in him being able to utilize two coffins." Ophelia echoes Diene.
"Aye, thanks a lot for your help...if we find the bastard, I'll come back to let you know...it was good you helped!"
"I'm sorry, we're just closing up."
"Aw, don't worry, no trouble at all, we'll just wait till you're finished. We're with the guard and we have some questions for you about the owner of an item you've sold."
"Yep, so closing up is something we would have suggested anyway...means we won't get interrupted by potential customers, but since you were about to close anyway, neither will we disrupt business. Excellent timing, is it not?"
Mia casually strolls in past the woman, standing in a position where she would not be in the way, but can keep her in view.
((Subtext/Secret message/Body Language)) We know exactly why we are here, and we have proof linking you to this reason in a way, and you best cooperate or there could be trouble.
After the door closes again, while Marya continues to close up, Daria considers the woman being unwilling to cooperate..."I'll check on the back...", she tells the others, casting Message 3 times, then casually strolling past the store-front, taking a few seconds to look through the walls and see what Marya is doing, then moving on.
Business places like this often had one entrance in the front, and another to the back. No way to know without checking...as soon as she finds a place nobody can see her, she'll turn her guard armor in civilian dress and move on into the back streets.
Keeping silent, intending to follow Marya after she leaves, to see if she meets up with someone...
Marya is reluctant to hand over details on her clientelle, but is eventually talked around
"Aspex, of house Tulthin." she explains "He wanted glasses that let him see the invisible. It was a real challenge - I had to design them from scratch. The house symbol was an Aranea holding a book."
She looks around at the guards "He didn't tell me what he wanted it for, but he wanted it pretty badly. He came to me thinking I was peddling those goblin knock-offs, but he stayed even when I told him how much it would cost. He paid in jewellery, and I'm fairly certain they were his family jewels."
She rustles through a series of books locked in her safe. "He changed address from a high class house near the university to one of those dreadful reclaimed underground shelters from the war. Ah - here it is."
Diene is handed a card with "Aspex of Tulthin" and an address written on it.
"Thank you very much for your cooperation." Diene gives a little off-handish casual salute before turning to her more knowledgeable companions.
"Soo? Anything special or we head to the address?"
Once outside again Ophelia shares what she can recall. "The shelters are barely better then the sewers. And probably accessible from there too ... Given their location we ought to prepare something should he attempt to flee that way. And given his desire to see the unseen, we ought to prepare something similar. And something for his mind-affecting tricks?"
"This Tulthin, I recently read about them. They were a Taldan house based on wizardry and made a gamble for the throne 80 years ago. They failed, and their family line was all but wiped out. As far as I can tell, he's the last of his lineage...they mostly got killed by assassins or in attempts to reclaim their ancestral magical power"
Pondering Ophelia's suggestion, Mia responds:"He can see the invisible and I think it would be smart to make similar preparations...but can he see people hiding mundanely? His address shares the main entrance with some neighbours...we could try and see if there are vacancies, and take it from there-we could wait until he leaves, then enter and search his quarters, and surprise him when he returns."
His mind mojo is what ah'm real worried about. Isama says, her worry etched on her brow What he did to all the poor people he's been passing on the street is terrible. We'll need real strong wills to not fall to it I figger. But seems like that's his only way to avoid being caught. Probably wouldn't know what to do if it didn't work. Hey Ophelia. You immune to this sorta stuff?
"So.. Once upon I heard about protection from alignment spells helping against mental attacks, which makes no sense to me. Is that a thing we can use or am I off-base? I'm not much of a magician."
"I am not, barring some migrating circumstances. I would not count on it." Ophelia replies, shaking her head with an apologetic tone.
"The aligned wards may work, yes. A good idea! But I wouldn't count on it being his only defence, given the amount of people already dead. And the amount of power required to pull the trick off in the first place."
"Hmm. I wonder what he is after? Some obscure ritual that requires sacrifices - or consorting with the outer powers? Whatever it is, he seems to have gone 'all in'."