The torch did not seem strong enough to keep the trap door open, as both the floor and the vault door started to close. Vard veered the corner to see the female creature crouching in pain, as the guard ran around the other side with blood in his eyes, ignoring the orders that were barked at him. However, it seemed it was only Fain's soft spoken logic that got through to him, as he paced and breathed heavily for a moment, before ultimately lowering his weapon. The creature reached for her waist, dropping another dagger and a short sword to the floor and raising her hands in surrender.
Outside the now locked vault, the male creature yelped and as the trap door closed over them. "Ach darant ackresch! Gra mar eisav placknar!" He shouted up to Alenka.
With combat over, Agnes shouted down to Thrym, "Oh dear! Are you okay!" She turned to the others, "Darrell triggered the pressure plate to loosen the floor. Normally it would just catch someone who was fleeing, but I guess since they were already standing on it...Oh dear! Oh dear! What a mess!" Moving forward to the vault, she explained to Vard and the guard how to bypass the switch to open the pit trap and how to use the key to open the door again. With Fain's suggestions of grabbing things to stack from upstairs, they were able to build something that could easily be clambered up. The male creature scrambled up desperately and threw himself at Alenka's feet, her in Undercommon. The other one was roughly dragged out of the vault by the guard and thrown down hard in front of the party. "Circus freaks if I ever saw 'em..." He said as he spat at the pair of them. Both creatures seemed to be shaking and sweating profusely.
The shivering and sweating seems to go far beyond just nerves. Their hands are shaking, their eyes are furtive and they have an edgy demeanor. These are all common signs of an addict going through withdrawal.
"Oh Yondallass Kinder, they've got the Docker's Jaggs but bad the both of them."
Alenka made sure she kept herself between the guard and the creatures. Even though he seemed calmer, she still didn't trust him to not attack again. "They weren't part of the Carnival that I saw and I would have been looking for ones such as this. Mistress Denisen will be able to say for sure."
"I see it too, Fain. I wonder if that has anything to do with why they're here. Maybe someone coerced or used them by taking advantage of an addiction."
Switching to Undercommon she pointed at the female's wounds, <"Will you allow me to bandage that?">
Looking at both of them she reiterated, <"We won't hurt you as long as you cooperate and don't try to hurt us. Can either of you speak Common well enough to answer questions or do I have to continue to translate?">
<"But let's start with the most obvious questions. Why are you here and did you kill anyone - either on purpose or by accident?">
The female gave Alenka a skeptical look as she bandaged her wounds.
"Speak common? Some. " The male one replied to her. "Why here?" His eyes got dodgy and he grew evasive. "Not say. Humans get...angry. Right to remain silent."
Jenni had stayed at the top of the stairs, keeping a lookout, as they'd agreed. The sounds of battle stirred her blood, and she itched to run down and join it. However, Goggles hadn't called for her, so she clearly wasn't needed. And if it was part of an ambush, then it was important that somebody capable of defending their flank stayed and watched for danger. So watch she did.
When it quieted down again, she risked a peek down the stairs. "Guys? Everything okay? Goggles?"
Alenka heard Jenni call from the top of the stairs, "All clear, Jenni. Join us if you want."
She gave the male a look that suggests she thinks he's an idiot and answered in Undercommon so that there would be no misunderstandings, <"Whatever substance you two were high on has addled your brains. The humans are already angry and if you remain silent, they'll get even angrier. It looks pretty obvious that you guys were involved in robbing this place but two men are dead and they're going to blame you whether you did it or not. Talking to me in your language, or all of us in Common, is the only way to help yourselves.">
Alenka's words in undercommon did not seem to persuade the creature. If anything, he looked even more resolved to stay quiet. He shook his head stubbornly and said, "Not talk. Not fight. Humans take jail?" He held out his hands, as if ready to be cuffed.
Alenka shook her head and muttered, "Eegit."
She sighed, "Someone else try because he won't listen to reason. Maybe I should have offered, in return for talking, to make him whatever he needs to get high again."
Jenni came clomping down into the room, and stopped suddenly when she saw the prisoners. "Wow! Where did these guys come from!" Eyeing the pile of weapons, her eyes widened. "Woah! That's a lot of knives! I bet these are the guys that stabbed the guard!"
She looked around the half-ransacked room, then the prisoner offering out his hands for cuffs. Eyes narrowing, she said, "What were you guys after? Why do you want to go to jail?"
Luk Luk nodded along with Alenka, "Plus I don't think the Miss Denisen is the type to tolerate addicts. Though good sir, could you still see to fetching something to bind them with? It'd be safer." The guards would have a harder time justifying killing them if they were tied up.
Alenka was handling translation is seemed. Luk Luk wasn't familiar with the language but turned to Alenka, "That is a good offer and I'll give you a hand with mixing it up. Alchemist's Kindness perhaps?"
Luk Luk couldn't be but amused at Jenni's question. They wanted to go to jail to avoid mob justice that seemed obvious. "Look, you two are in trouble. It seems clear your boss didn't want you leaving this vault alive too, right? They could've let you out but didn't. We want justice to be done and you two clearly aren't the leaders of this. It is them we want. If you feel better talking in your language," the elf points at Alenka, "She'll translate. Better for you to have us to talk to. Not a carnie looking to have you blamed or a vengeful neighbor, get it?"
Vard looked a little surprised. I thought they were just a bit ragged from being stuck in a vault all day. But addicts? When will people learn that bodies must be kept pure!
Their wanting to be taken to jail seemed reasonable though - they undoubtedly had helped kill Tom, and Darrel had already proven himself to be hot-headed. Understandable, but these guys hadn't killed the pawnbroker or vanished half the stuff in the vault.
"Taking them to jail seems like the best bet. They'll be secure enough there and the Sheriff's people can assist with talking to them. Someone there might recognise them too - if they're addicted to something they might have gotten in trouble before. Besides, we'll need to move them out of here so we can work out what's been taken."
They are Skulks
Skulks are a race of cowardly and lazy humanoids that live on the fringes of society, stealing what they need and doing what they must—even committing casual murder—to survive. Their unabashed cowardice is perhaps their most widely known trait, but skulks don’t see themselves as particularly craven. Instead, they view their dishonorable behaviors as the most expedient method of survival. They hate most other humanoids, viewing them as lazy and foolish, and think nothing of sneaking into a home, killing all the residents, and burglarizing what they can carry off without getting caught.
Skulks travel in small groups, rarely forming tribes of more than 16, for in larger groups bickering quickly leads to violent infighting. Murder between skulks is not uncommon, but they understand safety in numbers, and most frown upon treason within a group that is already relatively small, punishing traitors with a quick death. When possible, they set up camps in discreet spots near other settlements, commonly inhabiting sewers, caves, or forests—though their unsavory, murderous tactics often force them to relocate before local law enforcement, quickly alerted to their presence once the remains of a family of victims are discovered, finds them.
Their camouflaged skin makes them naturally stealthy, but they have no abilities that you know of that would have caused Archivin Walder's wounds or left the large clawed tracks that you saw.
"I'll go get something upstairs..." the guard said gruffly, shooting the creatures a dirty look.
Based on the creature's reactions, you think something Alenka said caused them to become more tight lipped, but it's hard to know what without knowing exactly what was said. However, you also notice that the creatures look a little bit relieved that the guard left the room.
"Not want to go jail. But human rules stupid." He replied to Jenni. He looked like he had a harder time following Luk Luk's questions until he received a translation. "Got stuck in trap. Own fault. Would have left them too."
Jenni nodded vigorously in agreement. "Oh, I agree! Humans have some really stupid rules. Did you know that you have to ask before you cut somebody's hair? Even if it looks really bad? You're not even supposed to brush it without getting permission first! How dumb is that?!" The half-orc looked thoughtfully at their bald heads. "But I guess you don't need to worry about that."
She wondered what it was that Goggles had said that upset him. Only way to find out is to ask! "Did my friend say something to upset you? Don't worry about her, she's so busy doing science all the time that she forgets to be polite. But she's really a nice person, for a human, that is, and smart too! But you can talk to us, if you want to."
EDIT:
Alenka raised an eyebrow, "Would have left them too? So who left you here?"
Thrym followed the creature up from the tip, clambering over the piled furniture and crates. The Ulfen was quite a sight, his hair matted with still-fresh blood from the headwound that had almost ended his life then and there. Once up with the others, he didn’t spare the guard who had sprung the trap on him a murderous glare, wordlessly reminding the man there was now a dept of pain between the two, and Thrym would welcome any excuse to pay it back, with dividends.
Fain nodded as he listened to the exchange with these creatures, "You're Skulks aren't you ... I think these two are Skulks. They are famously disorganized - I mean if families of even a score get together they will fall to infighting. They wouldn't last in a large grouping like the circus, way too skittish, but there may be a small family grouping near town. It's most likely that any others have packed up and left as soon as there was trouble. We should let the sheriff know to check the forest, or in the big culvert under the main road to town. You know, hiding out in places that spiders go to die.
They got no love for other peoples and that leaves them to opportunism. Their social structure isn't unlike hyena, survival by taking what they need, even through killing if past behaviour is any judge.
<halfling>If we want them to talk then appeal to their survival instinct, a 'better their accomplices than them' approach. These ones are going to jail but maybe the 'others' are the masterminds.>
One thing's for certain, they've got nothing that would do what was done to Messeur Walder. It wouldn't be out of character for them to have killed Tom though and they do have short blades.", Fain gathered up the daggers and short swords, "Do we march them through town or should a runner go fetch a sheriff's covered wagon? We do want them to make it to jail."
The skulk just seemed annoyed by Jenni's attempt at relating to it. He scratched at his arm and shifted uncomfortably, then grabbed his head as if in pain. "No talk! Don't listen us! Jail now!" He replied to Alenka with an irritated tone.
Vard shook his head sadly. "<Real masterminds probably didn't even come, just sent these schmucks.>"
"If they are opportunists, then it's unlikely they are anything more than hired thugs - probably paid for in whatever drug they're currently lacking."
"Tell them that we want to know who gave them the key. If they tell us who did that or where they were going to take the stuff, then we'll tell the sheriff how helpful they are and that she should reduce the severity of their punishment.
Fain looked at Jenni and then he looked at Thrym and then he looked at the mouthy skulk, "We say 'Jail Now', not you. Or have you forgotten my arrow already. What I'm thinking is my friends here, Fain indicated Alenka, Vard, Luk Luk, and Agnes, head upstairs. You and your partner can have a chat about who killed the guard with Jenni, Thrym, and Darrell." Fain proceeded up the stairs.
"We're wasting time." Alenka pulled out her dissection tools from inside her bag. "There are other ways to make someone talk but those who are squeamish or faint of heart should leave."
She turned to Thrym and Jenni, "I doubt that applies to you so are you willing to stay and make sure they don't move too much? My work is precise after all."
She turned to Thrym and Jenni, "I doubt that applies to you so are you willing to stay and make sure they don't move too much? My work is precise after all."
"I am in the mood of cracking some heads, as it happens," Thrym rumbled, casting another hate-filled glance at the careless guard who had dropped him in the pit. "My people have ways of making people talk, if you require inspiration. A rat and a metal bucket is always a good way to begin, if you have some spare prisoners to turn into object examples. When they see a crazed rodent burrowing its way to freedom though their friend's intestines, knowing one of them will be next unless someone gives in..."
Alenka's face didn't show the anger that Thrym's did but rather there was a small glint of anticipation. It was hard to tell which was more terrifying. "Even though effective, the rat under a heated bucket is quite inelegant. I prefer numerous well-placed cuts which may not be fatal but are excruciatingly painful."
The skulk initially scoffed at the threats. "Not serious." He said derisively. However, as they began to discuss specific methods and Alenka began to pull out some very specific looking tools, it's eyes widened and its voice grew fearful, "Not serious!?!"
He shook his head, "Not fault! Had to do! Humans bring shivers! Make us need shivers! Only give shivers if we do what they say!" He looked around nervously, worried that his words weren't coming across clearly enough. To avoid risking confusion he spoke directly to Alenka in his own language. "Ein e thacklarsk et rah protal et dracko thakli univesk et hoarst! Rask ent eir thacklen! Rask driar eneke et schaslk! Norcimar ne mortraz...drackosen ent mortaz eir laeirt! Ickst crangar momentarsk et exprickagar. Dracko mortraz univeepern obstractricsh!" He shook his head pleadingly, "Not fault! No rats! Take jail!"
"Shivers" is probably a slight mistranslation of the drug Shiver, a potent and highly addictive hallucinogen sold in black markets across Golarion.
"Well Thrym we've tried being nice," Luk Luk was getting annoyed with these idiots. It was a irritating reminder of the tribe from her childhood. Oh, and Thrym was giving her ideas, "My tribe tended to use rats for stew. Cutting worked except sometimes the stabber got too enthusiastic. Cuts then bugs worked good, but fire, well my tribe was kinda crazy for that," the elf laughed.
And then the things started talking. "Aww, but unburdening kuuc tac of knowledge with fire was a community event. Could be these folks would've liked it. Oh well," the elf is all smiles as she shrugs.
Luk Luk frowned as a look of disgust crossed her face. "Addicts, how wretched," and she turned her red eyes upon Alenka, "So Alenka? Do you think they've said enough to earn to go to the jail or do Thrym and I need to introduce them to our tribe's traditions?" Shivers however sounded familiar. Aside from a common symptom she might have heard something about it.
Fain waited upstairs in the shop with Agnes and anyone else who joined him Hmm, Luk Luk stayed. She seemes such a positive person. Well, I don't know much about her past. Not looking Agnes in the face, "When I woke up this morning I was a gardener. I'll go to bed a thug. I just shot a creature, a sentient thing with language and a future. Still, we will find out what happened. The right person will pay for Messer Walden.", he went to the front of the room and looked out the window at the unburdened passers-by.
Thrym growled a curse in Skald and spat on the floor as Alenka translated. Someone pushing drugs on these poor creatures to turn them into their minions, kept at a leash of physical and mental dependency? Despicable. Rats were too good for a slaver or souls like that. No, with one such as this, time should be taken to see to a proper punishment.
"Break his bones, then heal the wounds so he won't die. Chain him to a wall inside a dark cave and keep him there, in darkness and silence, until the cries of his victims and the worms of his own mind consume his reason," the shaman growled, thoroughly disgusted at what he had heard. "This leader, who brings you the Shivers. You will describe him to us, so we may find him and end him. Slowly."
The skulks gave Thrym a terrified look, not entirely sure if his wrath was directed at them or the man he called their leader. The male one shook his head in fear. "No name. Hides face." Struggling to find the words, once more he slipped into undercommon. "Lach notrex ein pascka ert strhad a shadran liechara. Oithreafra especha draxt ledt dranzieh eit draconar ellithsz...Especha mulfich eirtana...Ein especha deilt elthazt. Took two from tribe. Kymeth and Onamae. They bring orders. No shivers. Traitors. Work for them now." He looked genuinely fearful that he didn't have more to tell the angry Ulfen.
As Goggles and Thrym started threatening the two skulks, Jenni slowly made her way back upstairs. At Fain's inquiring glance, she said, "They're talking now. But I don't like scaring people like that. It's not nice." She heaved a sigh, her mind moving back to waking with Goggles at her side in the yellow fog. They both had heavy secrets, her and her friend, and they didn't remember most of them. Jenni was glad that Goggles didn't mind doing the mean stuff - she was better at pretending than Jenni was. At least, she was pretty sure she was pretending.
Vard remained downstairs to make sure things didn't get out of hand. The threats admittedly were working, but he was feeling decidedly uncomfortable about some of the specifics. Time for the good cop to step in, I think
"That's enough, you lot." He turned back to the two skulks. "Just tell us where you were supposed to take the loot, and we can take you out of this vault and to a nice cosy jail cell."
So it was as Alenka had suspected, their addiction had been exploited. What she hadn't expected is that whoever was pulling the strings had also gotten the Skulks hooked on Shiver to begin with. It was going to get even rougher for the Skulks as they went through withdrawal.
Alenka continued to translate for the benefit of the others but asked her own questions in Common. "Did you give anything to this leader? Did you manage to remove anything from the vault before you were trapped?"
"How do you know where to meet this man or woman? Where is the rest of your tribe? Could they be in danger?"
"How long have you been working for this man?"
The skulk continued to answer questions, allowing Alenka to translate.
"We were supposed to take everything in the vault, but we started looting upstairs too. We thought if we brought him extra he might give us more...but we ran out of time. Those other guards came back and we ran. I fell into the pit as I tried to escape and then the vault doors shut and I guess Zhakar got sealed in trying to grab another handful of things. I assume that everything the others stole was given to the humans. They probably sent Kymeth and Onamae to pick it up. Why would the tribe be in danger? The humans still got some loot. Worst case scenario they'll just stiff the tribe on the shivers...As for how long we've been working for them?" The skulk shrugged, "A while I guess...I haven't really kept count."
The sound of footsteps could be heard from upstairs and several constables moved quickly down the stairs. "Where are they?" One demanded, as the Locked Box guard pointed at the two skulks. "Well, would you look this sorry pair! Excuse me, coming through...Sheriff's gonna want to have a word with you. Oh yes she is!" He began handcuffing them. One of the other constables asked the party, "They confess anything to you?"
"So if you started upstairs and the others were upstairs, did anything get taken from the vault and given to the humans? And if you don't know how long then did you start working for them before the Carnival came to town?"
Knowing how prone others were to misunderstanding her words and her tone, Alenka left the summing up of information for the guards to the others who seemed to like people more. Although if it was up to Alenka, they'd wait and tell the Sheriff first what they'd found out. But she wanted to stay and keep looking around. She was curious as to what had been in the vault that these skulks had been sent after.
"About this drug... in case those poor creatures prove unwilling to compromise their source of the filthy stuff, perhaps we could use the drug to find the people involved with the enslavement of that clan," Thrym rumbled once the guards had escorted their prisoners away far enough not to overhear. "They said there were several people, men and women, pushing that stuff... what does the drug look like? How is it made? Is there any easy way of finding a stash of it, or an obvious way of hiding it if you wanted to smuggle it across the land."
Alenka quickly tried to throw out a few more questions as the guards made there way in. The skulk responded quickly.
"We were tossing stuff out of the vault to them. So they made off with a bunch of stuff." To her second question, he gave her a look like he didn't understand, "Carnival?"
However, the guard was already starting to cuff him. "Quiet you. What's he sayin'? Speak common!" The creature just responded, "No more talk? Jail now?"
Fain was upstairs when the Sheriff's people arrived and when he later heard about 'shivers'
Luk Luk was the first one to answer the guard's question, "They've confessed to using shiver and being sold it by a human man and woman in exchange for being their minions. Said humans offered them shiver with the command to rob this place," the elf shrugged, "they were not alone and were left behind by the others. They're NOT the brains."
Then the elf turned to Thrym after the guards had left. His suggest had merit, "Agreed. Slavery in any form should be stamped out. I am unfamiliar with narcotics myself. I preferred more explosive applications of alchemy. As a thought," she questioned Alenka, "do you know of any way to trace it? Or could we fake its appearance to be a carrot for those two addicts?"
If the two creatures were that hard up for their fix then they might give up their source.
Alenka added, "They are not with the Carnival. This has been going on for longer than they've been in town. We will give a full report to the Sheriff when we are finished here."
When talk turned to the drug Alenka shared what she knew, "We are dealing with what is called Shiver and I know what it looks like. With enough time and proper resources, I could even make it...but of course, that would be illegal."
With all this talk of drugs, skulks, shivers, and plots, Jenni's head was starting to ache. Good thing Goggles has lots of brains. Hers certainly felt useless at the moment.
"Can we go to the zoo now? I want to see all the animals, and try to find who made those claw marks."
Vard's face darkened and the grip on his warhammer tightened as Alenka translated.
A whole tribe, addicted to this Shiver! And someone deliberately did this to force them to steal for them... although Fain was saying skulks tend towards darkness anyway - hmm.. if they were forbidden from killing before, why allow them to kill now? Was it because those behind this had already killed the pawnbroker? We shall have to track down the tribe carefully
He shook his head to clear it as the constables arrived and started handcuffing the skulks. He asked the guards, "Do you recognise them? Or have you seen skulks before?"
--
Alenka added, "They are not with the Carnival. This has been going on for longer than they've been in town. We will give a full report to the Sheriff when we are finished here."
"Yes, I'll go with them back to see the Sheriff. She may have ideas about who could be behind the drugs, or where the other skulk may be living. I'm also a bit worried about these two - could be whoever's behind this might not want them talking. They should be safe in the cells, but I want to make sure they get there first."
"Can we go to the zoo now? I want to see all the animals, and try to find who made those claw marks."
As the guards haul the skulk and his wounded accomplice away Fain gets that screwed-up look on his face again, "That's a smart idea Jenni. I'd like to see the zoo keeper's assistant again. He can fly but he seemed much too shy to hurt anyone.
And, there's so much to ask about. We should try to get an idea of what the shop owner did at the carnival. Did he get into something that got him killed? When did he leave? After the fireworks? Did he leave alone? Did he leave with the female accomplice to the shiver dealer? Agnes was concerned about his faithfulness, although I think it was idle worry.
I'm wondering if the human man the skulks talked of, the one who maybe can change his face, was the one who hired Berthold for the private show. A red beard? Is there anything that is more distracting from someone's true appearance?
Was the 'baby dragon' set free as a distraction? If so a distraction from what?
The second tracks you discovered were covered up. Did this face changer happen upon Archivin's body? Did he use that moment to steal the key, cover up his tracks, then concoct a rushed plan to empty the vault? He already had a team of drug addicted skulks stealing for him - but there was something rushed, or urgent this time. 'Kill anyone in your way' the skulk said.
Maybe none of that's true. Maybe the key was stolen much earlier. I do feel like we're dealing with two different motives here. We are certainly tracking two different killers.
Vard, if you're going with the Sheriff's Men remember, the other skulks names are Kymeth and Onamae. Also, could you ask Sheriff Feldane if Umbra or Mistress Denisen have been in Illsurian before? We should also meet up to figure out what we are doing tonight. I feel like Agnes is safe for now but perhaps we should keep an eye on the carnival ... or the skulks.
Lunch anyone?"
"Also, someone needs to remain here for a while, to check the items remaining in the vault against the ledgers, to see what was taken, in case one of those items was the cause of the raid," Thrym added.
Alenka was torn between wanting to go to the zoo and wanting to do a thorough search of the vault to figure out what was taken. "I'd like to study the animals as well and see which, if any, match my measurements. But I also agree with Thrym in that we need to check the remaining inventory in the vault and find out what was taken. Something in this vault was worth killing two people for."
The constables both shook there head. "Nope. Never seen this type around here before..." They loaded both skulks into their wagon attracting the attention of several bystanders who whispered amongst themselves. The wagon took the pair to the center of town, where the skulk were promptly thrown into a jail cell. "We're going to go update the sheriff, if you want to come." The constables said, before heading to the sheriff's office. Those who agreed, we lead back to the office where Sheriff Feldane stood awaiting a report.
Luk Luk let out a sigh at Fain's monologue, "I'm not exactly trusting on their confession. Being drug addled as they are their description of the suspects should be, uh," the elf laughed in amusement, "poor would choice here, but," still laughing the elf shrugged, "yes we should suspect their description of the suspect. It could have been a face changer, makeup, or multiple dealers."
She then looks are Vard, "If we are splitting up again I'd recommend not doing it alone. We have stealthy skulks to worry over. We should certainly check the vault's contents. Though given how they ransacked upstairs Alenka," Luk Luk points a finger up, "this could have been simple greed then something specific. Though to resort to violence after avoiding it," the elf folded her arms as she thought.
"To switch suddenly needs a catalyst. Perhaps the dealer's supply ran out and they wanted a big score before fleeing? Not to be a skeptic of current ideas but someone should always argue a counter point. Keep us from making facts match theories instead of the other way around. Ha, I did pay attention to some debate instructions."
Unfolding her arms, Luk Luk turned her crimson eyes on the Northener, "So Thrym, whom would you like to stay and help you with the inventory? And whom would Alenka like to go with her to the zoo?" At least she assumed Thrym was running the inventory.
Unfolding her arms, Luk Luk turned her crimson eyes on the Northener, "So Thrym, whom would you like to stay and help you with the inventory? And whom would Alenka like to go with her to the zoo?" At least she assumed Thrym was running the inventory.
"Anyone who can read," Thrym grunted, shrugging his shoulders. "It might be that the raid was motivated only by greed and had no one specific item as its objective, but we need to know what was stolen in case we stumble across the items. Find the loot, find the looter, as they say."
Luk Luk let out a sigh at Fain's monologue ... "To switch suddenly needs a catalyst. Perhaps the dealer's supply ran out and they wanted a big score before fleeing? Not to be a skeptic of current ideas but someone should always argue a counter point. Keep us from making facts match theories instead of the other way around. Ha, I did pay attention to some debate instructions."
Luk Luk seems to think I have some insight. I have so few facts and so many theories - I have no idea what's going on here. Are the two murders even related? Alenka seems to think so. Am I behind everyone else?
"I'd like to go to Umbra but will stay here and look over the inventory. I don't know anything about accounting but maybe it's a simpler task involving tedium and perseverance. After I'm done I'll come find everyone at the carnival.Jenni, could you take a look at the zookeeper's assistant? He seems nice but Archie was killed by someone or something that can fly. I don't think he did it really. He has been around the animals a lot though and may even be able to help locate this creature.", at that Fain made a little determined kind of a huff and set off for the vault again for a long afternoon of reading.
"Anatomy was not my best, or ever, a field of study. And here," she points down at the floor,"will take less time the more folks are looking." She looks to Vard, "Are you safe to return on your own? I know you'd be walking with the guards to the sheriff and all. Or would you like my help with talking to the sheriff? Otherwise I'll stay here to help speed along the inventory check. Besides," the elf shrugs, "magical knowledge could help with identifying valuables."
Luk Luk would assume the Jenni would be going with her goggled friend. She had no problem going to the sheriff or staying here.