"Sir, I respectfully request the chance to interrogate Miss Rell. Our good caster of magics may attempt his whiles on the other assailant. Something tells me the handmaiden to the Duchess is going to be less pliable to such techniques."
you are underestimating me Joseph replied the elf with a smile
Delft spits a large wad of chaw into his brass spittoon and says, "I don't really care who does what, I want damned results... if you want the warlock to interrogate a sewer rat I can care less.. Just hurry up already before their escorts comes to take them to Slate, this is me calling in a favor for you..."
He then looks Joseph up and down and says, "I know you're a tail hound but when you come in the office you need to come correct, cannot have you embarrassing me to OUR superiors"
"I'll come with you guys". "Maybe add a little muscle, but don't count on my charming personality".
Joseph stands in front of Delft for a moment, gauging how angry he really is about the whole thing. Best not to annoy my superior officer as I may need his good graces later.
"Sir, my current appearance will be of use during the interrogation. I believe she will be more likely to try and placate me as it is currently still noticeable that I was wounded last night and can convince her I have been building a case against her all night rather than let my wounds slow me down. Misdirection can only be to our benefit at this time." Now that I say that out loud, it isn't a half bad idea. Maybe play to the wounded hero angle again, worked with one woman didn't it. "If there is nothing further sir, with your permission I will leave to interrogate the prisoner at once" Joseph quickly salutes and awaits permission to leave.
Joseph
Wintry, Chretien and Merle
"What motley crew of interrogators we've got here... heh...
Joseph, Mithas, and Johnathan
magical power (generally defined as casting
a spell or using a supernatural or spell-like
ability), the cuffs glow, make a warning whistle
sound, and deal 1d6 points of electricity damage to the wearer. A creature
reduced to 0 hit points this way is knocked unconscious, not killed.] Sokana Rell, who up until last night was the handmaiden of the Duchess Ethelyn of Shale, sits daintily with her two hands open facing the ceiling. She stares at you nonchalantly.
Cretien says nothing in response.
Before going into the interrogation room.
So what do we really want to know?
Joseph swaggers into the little interrogation cell, a smile on his face and a whistle on his lips. The sound of metal on stone squeals as he drags a chair a crossed the floor. Joseph places the chair firmly in front of the young lady, just far enough out of reach to discourage an attempt to grab him, the sound of it thumping into place cracks the air in the otherwise quiet room."I hope you don't mind me sitting my dear, coming close to death tends to wear a man out." The discomfort splays it's ugly lines a crossed Joseph's face as he sit down in the chair, his coat is slightly open barely concealing his bandage side. The faint head notes of a sandalwood perfume begin to waft delicately out into the room.
Josephs tone is low, his voice filled with weariness and sorrow."Ahh Miss Rell, I would have so loved to meet under different circumstances. Perhaps if I had met you sooner we could have been having this discussion over a fresh caught ghost fish in lemon pepper cream. Maybe with a nice bottle of Crisillyiri white, year 487. A little strawberry delight after. Yes, I am very sorry we didn't meet in better times." Joseph leans back a bit in his chair allowing his coat to open fully, the bandages obvious for any who is looking. Blood still stains his under shirt, dried now but still not started the process of rusting. The heart notes of his perfume waft out now, agarwood and patchouli blend with the sandalwood to give the room a pleasant woody scent.
Joseph stares into Rell's eyes, a moment of warmth flashes in those eyes and he almost reaches for her hand to comfort her before he shakes his head and looks away. Halfheartedly he brings himself to look once more in to her eyes."I am not going to insult your intelligence by pretending I can make your charges go away. Neither will I insult your resolve by trying to intimidate you or resort to torture. Those things are beneath you. All I will do is ask you a simple set of questions. Why did the Duchess decide to try and kill her brother and everyone else on board, what did she hope to gain. I do not have to ask why you would join her in this scheme, your loyalty to your mistress is commendable." Joseph waits calmly for her reply.
Watches Joseph, blinking, baffled.
After listening to their exchange for awhile, he starts pacing, looking at the ceiling of the cell, and asks:
"Why the firedust, why was that important? That poor woman, behind the firedust...the dream said--I saw the firedust, but why?"
He rubs his hands together a moment then wipes them on his pants, though they seemed clean to begin with.
Delft hears Wintry's question and starts to rub his forehead in disbelief.
"Dammit, I don't know anything about the assassination attempt!!! Where the Duchess is? Do I have to do everything myself" says Delft in utter frustration.
He then relents and says, "First, get me his name. After being revived by our healers, and us working him over pretty good we still don't have his name. "
Later, the high elf in the chair across from Joseph seems utterly apathetic to his posturing. After he speaks, she thaws a little.
"For Risur"
She then looks at Johnathan and says, "Skyseer, huh, a young one, doesn't get it... hmmm... why firedust because it explodes."
Whether he answers or not, "I have a few more questions for you as well. Whether you answer them or not is up to you. I won't be roughing you up, it looks like that has been done already. These are not the hands of a man who punches things." he says, displaying his hands. " I'm not even sure why they sent me to ask you, if the beatings didn't loosen your tongue. But, I'll ask them anyway, because that is a part of my job, and whether you answer them or not, I'll still go home because I have more enjoyable things to attend to, and the boys who like punching things will probably come back."
"What was your part in the incident on the ship?"
"What is your connection to the Duchess and Rell?"
"Do you know where the Duchess is right now? Did she indicate where she might have gone?"
"Had you been on the ship before? If so, for what purpose?"
Halfling:
"If I didn't answer your colleagues, think i would answer you Danoran... Fighting your influence is paramount!!!! yells the halfling at Chretien.
"Eh, figured I'd give it the old college try. Rot in prison then. I honestly didn't think you knew anything, anyway."
Cretien turns to leave the room. Obviously his race will prevent him from getting anything the fists of the halfling's previous interrogators didn't.
Arvanvail will wait until the halfling calm down.
can you two leave us for a few minutes please ?
assuming they do.
i don't have much time but let me help you suffer less.
Will save for halfling , fail.
The halfling says, "My name is Ilton Thistleton, I was born on a farm on the outskirts of Shale. My village was ransacked by the Danorans during the last war." He then starts to cry.
Arvangail will comfort him...
there there, so how did you come about all this? you sure came about a long way from the farm near Shale
The halfling continues,
"Orphanage in Shale, recruited by the Family their, trained as a sneak thief, got caught trying to rob the governor, I mean the Duchess' home. She somehow knew about my family life and helped me to be her helper. My job for the ship was to run interference if there was trouble. I was supposed to jump out of a porthole with Rell if all went well and either get picked up by the duchess or the navy as one of the lucky few... I would have tried to make it to Shale but where is the Duchess... have no idea."
you have no idea where you were supposed to regroup ,meet with the dutchess, how many work for her that you know of? continued Arvangail
"I was either supposed to get picked up in the water or meet her in Shale. Rell may know more than me. They were real tight. She said something like contarpamentalization or some werd I cannot say right."
says Ilton.
Is there anything i can do for you withing the realm of my possiblities?
Merle leaves the room when asked. He's not real quick witted for questioning, and would be better serving as the guy that holds him down when he's being "questioned" traditionally.
"Miss Rell, how could the plunging of our fair land into another war possibly have aided our cause? Risur would have been weakened by the loss of her flag ship; her military heads slain outright in the blast; most of the noble houses crippled; war begun with Danor; and worst of all you and I would both be dead." Joseph places a little more emphasis on the you in that statement.
Joseph slumps forward in his chair, seemingly exhausted by the whole prospect."Now we are in an even worse situation. Now instead of war with an enemy nation we can beat, we will have a war within our own. Brother against brother, mother against son, and in the end we will emerge weakened and our enemies will descend like ravenous dogs upon our peoples. Not one will show us mercy. If the King wins it will be Crisillyir with the Clergy gleefully converting and slaughtering our people. If it is the Duchess who comes out victorious Danor will claim hell for the threat of death to their countrymen and maybe even whatever Danor born slut that has wormed her way into the King's bed. I wouldn't put it past them to have her killed quietly just so they would have a reason to move in." Joseph sighs and shakes his head"What could we possibly have gained from this? Some sense of revenge? Danorans have wrong all of us at some point, but what does revenge help? Better to outpace them in technology bolstered by our magical edge."
Joseph's eyes bore into hers, the intensity of his voice gaining as he spoke."Now you have thrown away your life. You will get death if you are lucky, slave labor among prisoners who have not seen a woman of such beauty since the last Mirror Moon is more likely. A short life spent slaving away building weapons for Risur by day, and trying to fend off nasty vile men by night, probably failing more than succeeding I am sorry to say." Joseph looks her dead in the eyes, sympathy and sadness displayed for all to see"Why would you allow her to do this? Is there some endgame I can not see, one where the country comes out stronger, not just dead? If you love Risur as I think you do, then help me to understand. Tell me what you know so I can stop this civil war before it starts. give me what I need to help Risur, hopefully help you. If not, we will all surely perish beneath the booted heel Danor will be placing on our collared necks."
Looking at Joseph and then Johnathan, she then sighs and says, "I can only guess where my mistress' rift with her older brother began and frankly it really isn't my place. One ship isn't a fleet. A few dignitaries aren't a nation. We really believe what Skyseers see and Duchess Ethelyn made her move because of it. You"
Pointing directly at Johnathan, "You fight against your gift, you need to embrace it for it to be an ally not an enemy. Allying with Danor will cause a rippling effect, you think the other great nations will be happy about that. The godless and magicless Danor is not who we should trust in. We may have a civil war now, the Duchess had to try dammit she just had to. She never wanted to kill her brother but he gave her no choice, he is betraying Risur's legacy, her faith, her culture for some Danoran hussy and the promises of a better life with machines and no magic.... the die is cast young one, the die is cast."
Halfling:
He moves in real close to Wintry and says, "Give me a lock pick or a piece of wire and I will escape and jump the train"
you know i cannot do that. you need to ask me something that i can give not something that will get me sentence to death for treason. replied Arvangail with a smile.
Johnathan steps a bit closer when Rell first mentions him being a Skyseer, then hesitates, listening to Joseph.
When she points directly at him he gradually clasps his hands together near his chest, tense and keeping his distance.
"You can't look too close, focus too hard, she says I have to relax, not so focused, if I let go, I'll slip away, off to sea. Have to fight it, a little. Are you like her? A teacher in dream?"
He edges closer, hands a little white from the tension.
"How do you know so much about Risur's future, is that what the dreams are like, with experience? The certainty?"
As if realizing his colleagues were in the room, he glances at them and backs away from Rell a few steps. He murmurs an apology as he sits down on the floor of the interrogation room.
Rell interrogation
Mithas seems unimpressed,
"Criminals always have excuses. The Duchess will be brought to justice, though I doubt the King will hang his own sister. You, I think, will not be so lucky. Perhaps if you share the names of any others you know that are involved in this madness, you might spare yourself some unpleasantness before you meet your end."
Rell smiles when she hears Johnathan talk, and says, "Neither I or the Duchess are Skyseers, You, young man need to trust in the fey. I wish I could help you in the ways of the Skyseer, I am alas a laywoman in such things" [b] says Rell
In response to Aran, [b]"It is easy for a man who has turned his back on his homeland to quickly call others criminals. We are loyal to Risur and its people not necessarily its king. All I know is the halfling's name, which is Ilton and the two were killed on the Coaltongue which a spirit medium would be able to find out. Jenner and Ostermann. I accept my fate freely"
Halfling:
"No worries, " says the halfling.
Arvangail will replied very well. i will come as often as i can during your stay here and offer what help i can in order to alleviate your ordeal. he then gets up and outside of the room and give his report to his fellow in the RHC.
Delft comes into the room with five guards and says, "Alright fellas times up. They are wanted for questioning by the big wigs in Slate and well, there is not much more we can do here. Our counterparts in Slate and Shale are going to have to the majority of the heavy lifting for now, but don't worry I am not going to let Flint branch be sidelined for long. You better believe that," he then slams a closed fist onto Rell's palm where you can hear bone crackle. "Get them out of my sight!!!" he yells towards the guards.
Even though you are the heroes of the hour, most of the major investigations are done by other higher ranking officers for the more critical assignments. Others in the constabulary are given the task of figuring out who was involved in the plot, and most of your tasks involve following up on the work of other
investigators, which you realize is taking place primarily in the cities of Slate and Shale.
Assistant Inspector Delft keeps you somewhat busy for the next few
days conducting low-level interviews, filling out paperwork for search
warrants, and the like.
A few journalists seek to interview you, and you briefly enjoy some mild local celebrity.
Three days after the Coaltongue's launch Mithas receives an invitation from Thames Grimsley inviting him to a docker's party to happen in ten days time.
Johnathan seems happier, more focused, doing busywork. He's easier to understand, almost normal. He only manages awkward conversion with the team--except Cretien, who he pesters for tutoring any time he sees him.
He avoids the journalists like lepers, almost immediately breaking into a sweat when they look for him--and once went out on the ledge of his window to hide from one.
In his free time, he searches for someone who could teach him more about the Skyseers, Rell's words still echoing in his head.
During the week, Arvangail will try to get some more information on the background and the distension between the duchess and the king.
Merle spends the upcoming week training, and performing his normal guard duties.
Joseph will spend the week making time with the young widow. Every young widow needs an even younger confidant. Using his new found connections in the political circles he will try to glean as much fact from rumor as he can.
Edit:Apparently spending more time on her than on information. I am really ashamed of this character.
We are so bad at gathering info.
Crerien divides his time between teaching classes, filling out RHC paperwork, and entertaining Johnathan's questions as best he can by using the university library (educating himself a bit on the subject as well).
About a week after the Coaltongue’s launch you are in the main RHC office early one morning, filing some boring paperwork. 'Hey', says Dima a colleague from another team pops his head in the door. 'Assistant Inspector Delft wants to see you guys in his office. Pronto'
Assistant Inspector Delft is not alone in his office. 'Sit down', he says and points to a straight-backed tiefling in her late twenties dressed in a rich formal coat of red and purple. Her coat is all business: tailored to give her a lot of freedom of movement, fancy looking, yet suited for a sword fight. And indeed she has a sword at her hip; it looks like a rapier, but has some tiny mechanical device attached at the guard and the sheath is thicker than one would expect for a rapier. 'This is Lya Jierre, Danor's Minister of Outsiders' Delft introduces her, somewhat in awe.
Lya smiles and directs your attention to a strange collection of items on Delft’s desk, as Delft gives you a wry and cryptic smile. There are three ivory towers, each three inches tall with a steel plate on its base. Next are three stone rings - one red, one green, and one blue - each just slightly larger in diameter than the towers. Each ring has three strands of thread clipped to it, and each of the nine strands ends in a small silvery magnet, which can stick to the bases of the towers.
Lya Jierre does not introduce herself or ask your names, instead opening with 'The three towers are about to be attacked. They must be reinforced by magic that flows like water from three portals - fire mana is red, earth is green, water is blue. The wires are canals through which the mana flows. But if the mana streams cross, they’ll destroy their respective portals. How do you arrange the portals, towers, and streams of mana so that each tower gets all three types of magic, without any of the streams crossing?'