GM Silbeg's "Murder on the Throaty Mermaid" (Inactive)

Game Master Silbeg

giggety

Once everyone has calmed from the battle, and the shock of losing Sephrial has abated, but for Ibid this sensation now morphing into a dull thud of disappointment and a sickened stomach. Ibid begins his investigation by speaking to his companions and reviewing what each knows and has witnessed so far. The old man knows they will only be able to solve this mystery as a team, and that each member will have valuable information to add, even Cyrus, so long as he can keep his eyes and mind off of Azuretta.

I'm going to make the assumption that we have all compared notes on what we have learned thus far for the remainder of the post :)

After hearing each account of his companions, the old man sits on the deck of the ship, letting the cool, salty air and misting spray of the sea rejuvenate his weary and troubled mind. In a flurry of feverish movement, Ibid scrawls madly within his journal finding his mood improving with each piece of observation and clue etched into the book, as if each word and note drew the very troubles and sickness from his tired, old body. When at last he had enough notes to form a framework of this tragic event, Ibid attempted to speak to his companions, in order to express his thoughts to them all at once.

When Ibid had the other pathfinders gathered around him, perhaps in Sephriel's room, he opens his journal and begins to speak. "I know there are a lot of questions running through all of our minds, so I think it may be best to establish a plan for how to approach this investigation, and to determine what pieces of information we will need to begin crossing names off of our, rather long, suspect list."

"For my part, here are some observations I have, and few questions I'd like to find the answers to," the old man begins.

"One. Based on the location of Sephrial's room, there is a lot of foot traffic in this area, so it is plausible for anyone aboard this ship to have a reason to be in the area of this door."

"Two. I believe we need to verify the alibi of Thanzeril, the bodyguard, with Azuretta, the moral officer. To verify they were in fact together when the attack occurred. This will be a little difficult as she is currently with the captain. Though I don't supposed you might want to go bang on the captain's door and ask, do you Lort?' Ibid says in jest, prepared to stop the half-orc if he in fact moves to question Azuretta, while interrupting the captain's session of morale boosting.

"Three. Thanzeril left the room when the murder occurred, but Thanzeril does not have a key for which to enter the room himself. Which for me raises two question. Who aboard the ship has a key to Sephrial's room? And, who aboard the ship would Sephrial have willingly opened the door for?"

"Four. Sephrial was slain with a dagger. Now most, if not all, sailors will have daggers, but do the aquatic elves? During the combat, I did see them wielding javelins and tridents, but not daggers. The elves not carrying daggers does not prove anything by itself, but it may help us to rule them out. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, and all that."

The old man looks around at the others before bringing up his last point. "Thanzeril left his post at the exact moment the attack occurred. As others have stated, this cannot be coincidence. Could Azuretta have lured Thanzeril away from his post in order to allow another access to Serphrial? And if so, we go to the trouble of coordinating an attack by the aquatic elves if the killed already could access the room? Unless the entire purpose of the attack by the aquatic elves was to provide a scapegoat for the murder."

"I wish Sephrial's room hadn't been unlocked," the old man thinks to himself, with a twinge of guilt but overshadowed by a sense of ghoulish disappointment. "A locked room mystery would've been a real challenge."

Miro nods as Ibid goes over each point, thinking back and confirming in his mind.

"Of course, the captain would have a key to all the cabins, I would imagine, and he could very well be going over his alibi and/or be plotting with Azuretta for Thanzeril to take the fall for this as we speak. Or maybe he just likes to f#*% the stress away?" He shrugs, grinning.

"Has Thanzeril confirmed the identity of our dead ambassador? I know it seems trivial and unlikely, but I would like to know that is indeed Sephriel. He very well could have plotted his own death, for some reason!" The halfling seems overly excited by this prospect, having really got into the spirit of the whodunnit mood.

"I say the first order of business is to find out who has keys to that cabin. From what we've heard and what we know, Sephriel declined access to all."

As Ibid goes around speaking with each of the pathfinders, and Lort does his business with the captured elves, Cyrus does indeed notice that the bow is not currently attended. Not wanting to miss out on the opportunity, he non-chalantly makes his way up, and pockets the pipe from the figurehead.

Stealth: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

Sleight of Hand: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13

That felt clumsy, I hope everyone is too busy, and sleeping, or... flanking... to notice that.

It is a climb or acrobatics check to get out there... I will assume that Cyrus wants to go acrobatics
Cyrus: Acrobatics: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29
Seeing no one watching him, Cyrus giggles to himself, and runs up to the prow of the ship. He eyes the pipe in the mouth of the Throaty Mermaid's figurehead, and dances out onto figurehead, pulls out the pipe, thinking to himself, 'This thing is almost as big as Milo!'. Giggling to himself as he makes his way back, he tucks the pipe under his shirt as best he can, and hides it in his gear, back in their cabin.

As he is doing this, Lort carries the two injured, but no longer dying, elves into the cabin. He notices Cyrus doing something, evidently very pleased with himself. He channels twice, but the two elves are still not conscious. He then pulls out wands of cure light that the Pathfinders have entrusted him with. The two awaken, not completely healed, but conscious.

Answering Miro, Thanzeril says, "Yes, yes. To my eternal shame, that was the Ambassador. I did not agree with his conservative views... we should have opened the Azlanti ruins. I am sure that it would have been beneficial to both our peoples. But he would always wait... always waiting for the right time. Now, I fear, my people will never open the ruins, claiming you are all too barbaric, too young, to be trusted with the artifacts of the greatest of mankind's empires."

Lort, all, you may question the prisoners. Also, you are welcome to "share" the cabin with them, though you'll likely have to sleep in shifts.

Woohoo! Roll for me more often! :)

now if I can just keep my mouth shut about how cool it was to tango out to the end of the figure head... It's hard to show off when you do something everyone else isn't supposed to see... Well at least I can tell my friends when we get out of this mess.

Cyrus goes about his business with a spring in his step, organizing and cleaning his armor and weapons. He whistles the little tune he has been trying to create for the lovely maiden back in Absalom, all very pleased with his accomplishment. He smiles as he slowly sharpens his daggers the way ibid taught him, and using the technique he learned from Lort.

The prisoners however, only see the thin wiry man apparently gleefully going about the task of sharpening knives just before the hulking half orc prepares to question them.

Intimidate, aiding Lort: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

-Posted with Wayfinder

Actually, Cyrus, Lort hasn't taken any ranks in intimidate or even intimidating prowess as yet - next level, next level. ;-) Cyrus, I believe, has the best intimidate score in the party. If GM Silbeg is okay with it, we can make your roll the primary roll and Lort will assist.

In between healing attempts on the elves, Lort listens intently to Ibid's brilliantly detailed summary of the investigation and his insightful analysis. Lort was about to speak when Miro mentions that the captain would have keys and instead nods along with the halfling and mumbles his agreement.

"Yes, Miro, quite right. We should also consider the possibility that the lock was picked. From what I've heard of his skills with a hairpin and pen, I'm sure Cyrus if given enough time or luck could bypass this lock," Lort ponders the remainder of Ibid's conclusions before raising his head to speak once more, "We also can't overlook the possibility that the whore was unaware of her complicity in the ambassador's death. She is, after all, available to do all kinds of things for money. All she would need to do is seduce - no offense intended to Thanzeril - a randy and pent-up elf away from his post at the right time on a quiet night after several uneventful months at sea. She may also have been paid earlier to remove the key from the captain's quarters. I'm sure she would have had ample opportunity, Veane seems to require an inordinate amount of 'stress relief'."

Lort finishes healing* the trussed up** elves to consciousness. He leans in close and gives them a wide smile. Lort leaves his face there for long enough that they would be forced to inhale the delightful aroma that comes from a half-orc eating only fish and pickled or dried meat rations for a whole week. Let them feel as uncomfortable as possible... oh, right, they're aquatic! They must be thirsty.

The half-orc cleric pulls a goblet from a pack and fills it with pure, cool, fresh water.

"כຈົ້эņэ ₩ņэຈົ້" (create water)

Sipping noisily from the goblet and savoring every drop, Lort turns back to the elves. Slowly and deliberately he places the goblet well within sight, just next to one of their immobile hands.

"Now, I know what you must be thinking," he begins slowly, "That half-orc is going to torture us and try to elicit information from us. Right?" Lort pauses briefly to let it sink in before shaking his head, "Wrong. I am a tool. Just a tool. Our interrogator is the Keleshite who is skipping happily behind me. I don't know why he's so happy, but you can probably imagine. He's going to ask you some questions. If he needs to use his tools..."

Lort removes a gauntlet and slams his bared fist into the healthiest looking elf***. Ooh, that felt good. Don't let these murderous scum get the best of you, though. Control, control.

"If we don't like your answers, or you don't answer, we won't need you alive to testify to the Mordant Spire elves about what really happened here." Lort says candidly, "The captain of this ship wants nothing more than to slit your throats and leave you in the sea as a warning to your kin. Don't give our interrogator the excuse he needs to let her." Depending on what they say, I may just obey the captain after all. No way I'm sleeping on the top deck on a night like tonight.

Intimidate assist: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8 (Well, attempted assist anyway, unless GM Silbeg decides to give me a bonus of any kind. Next level, next level.)

Finarin turns towards his distant cousins, the aquatic elves.

"To call you ... brethren is a disgrace to all elves. You both made me sick. Answer my friends .... truthfully, or feel the pointy end of my rapier"

Intimidate assist: 1d20 ⇒ 7

they secretly laugh at me - jerks

The old man waits patiently as the half-orc speaks to the aquatic elves, and masterfully weaves a series of veiled threats, and Finarin lays the full weight of their disgrace onto their shoulders. While waiting for the elves to answer, Ibid opens his journal, writes a few notes, and eagerly awaits their responses.

Looking over the elves, Ibid eyes their cloths, facial features, and mannerisms, trying to determine where they might hail from and what motive they might have for attacking the ship.

Is there a knowledge check which could help to determine which country the Aquatic elves originate? If so, Ibid can attempt all knowledge checks at +7(+1d6).

The reference to the keleshite snaps Cyrus from his little party in his head. He quickly realizes he might have missed some important detail in the conversation until Lort references his tools. Looking at the dagger in his hand, and piecing the rest together from the veiled threats, Cyrus pauses for a moment, then carefully, slowly, cuts a strip of cloth from a random blanket nearby.

"Perfect. I'm not sure I've ever gotten them this sharp before," he says to himself, but purposefully loud enough for others to hear.

Walking over towards the elves, sickle in one hand and newly sharpened dagger in the other, he casually flicks, rolls, and spins the weapons in his hands. He pauses for effect right in front of the bound prisoners, and then squats down, sitting on his raised heels, now eye to eye with the capture assailants.

"This is actually going to be very simple. I'd like to give you a quick run down of the next several minutes. I like to make sure everyone has a clear understanding of the situation, so no one is caught off guard. Here is how the next snippet of our lives are going to go.

Now, that is a sad, tragic tale. It pulls at my heartstrings. A life wasted! Death with no purpose! There could be no greater tragedy."

Cyrus takes a deep breath, and wipes a single tear from his eye. He lets the silence seep into the room, not willing to look at the elves just yet.

Perform, Oratory: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

"Men, warriors, noble elves, I.... I can't bear to watch as this all plays out. Spare me, would you please? Who hired you? What was your que to attack? Did you know the purpose of your attack was to cover a cold blooded murder? I beg you, answer these questions and those of my friends!"

Leaning closer to whisper in their ears, "I beg you, please spare me from the inevitable slaughter. Answer our questions, and I will try everything in my power to stage your death and subsequent 'burial at sea.' Give me a reason to convince my friends to spare you! ... I am.. afraid... of how much I am going to enjoy drawing your life out of your body, sliver by sliver..."

Intimidate: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

Miro listens to Cyrus curiously, at first, his expression turning dark as the man went on. He thinks about leaving the room, but the possible strengthening effect it might have on their prisoners stays him, for now.

The halfling looks almost pleadingly at the elves, silently willing them to answer. He uncharacteristically holds his tongue, not trusting himself with a questioning of this kind. He shrewdly eyes the prisoners to watch for the telltale signs of a lie or misdirection.

The elves look at each other, visibly shaken by Cyrus's tirade (though unimpressed by Lort. Miro has to suppress a giggle at that.

One elf speaks, in elven, which is translated by Finarin. "We are members of the Defenders of the Steaming Sea, an organization dedicated to protecting the purity of the Mordant Spire from 'low-bloods' such as you and your masters in Absalom. We have been sent to execute that traitor, Sephriel, thought it appears that someone beat us to it.

"Now, low blood, do what you will. We knew what fate we would face, should we fail. We have made our peace with Gozreh, happy that our mission was a success, even though you meddling humans and," looking at Lort, "half-breeds prevented us from doing it."

Bonuses for everyone!!! Of course, Cyrus pulled it off on the initial roll. Cyrus, what was the perform oratory for?

Miro nods in appreciation of Cyrus' efforts as the elves start speaking. It looked like the young ninja knew what he was doing. Cutting in, Miro asks Finarin to translate, "Do the Defenders of the Steaming Sea have any distinctive markings or identifiers? Clothing? Weapons?"

Woah. Cyrus has a serious dark side. I almost confessed in place of the captives. Well, seems like they're asking for death. When my friends have finished questioning them, maybe I'll grant their wish. Tying their corpses to the mainsail may be a little muh, however...

Lort goes to his quiet place and starts to hone his blade once more.

GM, do we believe their story?

With the length of the speech, I had a whole, impassioned performance going on in my head, of him walking around, raising and lowering his voice for effect, and figured it would be appropriate to add to the effect of the intimidate check. I wasn't sure if I even needed to roll the second intimidate check, due to the one up above, but I did just in case. I should have been more clear about my intentions, sorry!

Back to the character

Cyrus swallows back a bit of rising bile in his throat. Too much of my past is creeping up into my present. I never thought watching Hrakime torture his rivals would teach me anything I could use, other than to remind me how evil he was. I need to take a shower after this... Ugh, listen to this chump talk. What a pompus cur. Mental note, let Finarin know how much you appreciate his... world view.

How did you know what ship carried the ambassador? Of all the ships that pass through here, there must have been some sign, or you must have known what ship to look for before we even set out. Answer Miro's question first, then mine.

Well there is one motive... Who else on this ship wishes to see the Mordant Spire stay closed off to the world?

Fianrin turns towards the elves
"لم المدافعين عن البحر تبخر لها أي علامات مميزة أو معرفات ؟ الملابس؟ أسلحة ؟

Not going to keep on doing this but I just spent 1/2hour looking for elvish scripts on the Internet, oh Internet how I hate you sometimes.

Just use Google Translate and hit Arabic. We won't know the difference.

Yes, Lort, you all seem to believe them. They seem afraid of what all will do if they don't talk."

LOL I did

QED

Finarin looks at the elves, pondering his next question, not knowing how long they will be agreeable.

كم من الوقت قبل أن تقرر رؤسائك بك الهجوم فشل وإطلاق هجوم آخر ؟"

The old man does not look up from his journal, but speaks to his companions. "For what it's worth," he begins. "I think we're on the right track, and it is worth pressing more, to see how this lot knew our ship was the very one they sought. They seemed to know where this ship would be in the wide, vast ocean, and were able to launch their attack at exact moment Sephrial's guard was absent."

"It appears to be more than mere happenstance. They are either the luckiest souls on all of Golarion, or they had at least one accomplice aboard this vessel... possible many."

One of the elves replies to Finarin, "أرسلت نحن مع أوامر إلى النجاح، أو أن يموت في المحاولة. لا نعتقد أن هناك أي فرق أخرى إرسالها."

I will assume that the team will be sleeping the rest of the night, and that everyone has healed up. The only charges uses are the two that Lort used to wake up the elves. If you wish to change spells memorized, you are welcome to do so, just post that you have. Your investigation can continue in the AM, and you now have been given full access to the ship (including the lower hold, where you were prohibited from going. Captain Veane has backed off somewhat in his hostility, and wants you to know if he indeed has a traitor in his crew.

Miro awakens, feeling refreshed. The murder of the previous day is a muted effect in the back of his mind, now, and he is excited about the prospect of solving this mystery. He eagerly awaits the awakening of his companions, sitting still for a few moments before tapping his fingers on the desk, pacing around the cabin, humming a tune to himself, looking down at them every few moments to see if one of them is stirring.

"Gentlemen, I asked whether these .... elves have another team that will arrive. They have told me that they are on their own. I do not know if they speak ... truthfully.

Then:

Miro nods. He had not understood their language, true, but he had understood their body language, the facial tics, the cut of the eyes, well enough. "I would hazard to say that they speak truthfully."

Lort finishes his morning prayers on the main deck, sprayed by the salty air. He normally prays in the cabin, but the presence of their prisoners made him consider other options.

I would like to pray for Abadar's Truthtelling. I have Inner Sea Gods and Curse of the Crimson Throne (it appears in both). If it is not appropriate, if it could derail the plot or you simply feel it is not in flavor for a cleric of Kurgess, just let me know and I'll keep bless instead.

Relieved that Captain Veane has had some time to calm down, Lort returns to his companions.

"Well, how about we figure out how to approach this thing?" he asks those assembled, without any other greeting, "Ibid's the expert in these matters, but I say our first move should be to question the whore. Her part in this is the most apparent, and she should be able to lead us to whoever else was involved - if only someone who paid or forced her to participate. She may be unwitting, in which case it may be even easier to extract the information. However, we should also accept the possibility that she was a knowing accomplice to this crime. What do you think?"

Do the elves answer any of our other questions? There were a few about how they knew what ship, if there was anyone on board working with them, etc...

"I believe that to be a wise course, Lort. Of course, we should question the bodyguard soon, as well. Perhaps something about the woman was...calling to him. Or maybe she sought his attentions a bit more forcefully than she normally would."

"I appreciate the compliment, Lort." the old man begins, nodding in the thanks to the half-orc. "But I'm no expert. We're all stumbling through this mess, trying to figure it out as best we can."

"And I do agree with your plan of action, Lort. And yours, as well, Miro's. If I may suggest one step to begin with though, could we ask the elves directly how they knew where this ship would be and when to attack? I would like to know if there are persons aboard who are accomplices to the elven attack."

"Miro, I think your intuition is spot on, and asking Thanzeril why he left his station before we speak to Azuretta is a very good idea. Hopefully we can determine if he was spoken to, suggested upon, or coerced before up and deciding to leave his post and allowing his master to be slain." Ibid pauses for a moment. "If he was lured away or under the effects of suggestion, it might explain why he did ask one of us to guard his post in his stead."

"After that, my vote would be to speak with Azuretta directly. And hopefully we can have a few pieces of information up our sleeve by talking to Thanzeril prior to her."

"Yes, talk with woman. Strange that captain did not let us talk her last night. Who do talking? Me and Kaisharga could go check lower hold."

Btw, can anyone do message? We could interrogate Thanzeril and Azuretta at the same time...

"It depends on whether we want to be nice or not. I think I'm quite capable of performing a pleasant interrogation, whereas Cyrus has demonstrated his capacity for a darker interrogation quite well."

No Message for me.

Lort, if you want to memorize it, go ahead. However, realize that this is a hardened crew of criminals, and the spell has a relatively short duration. In fact, the scenario gives me pretty good hints as to handle "polygraph spells"

@Cyrus, I missed all the questions in the wall of text. Sorry. They were not working with anyone on the ship, and don't know anything about cold blooded murder, other than what they were attempting to undertake. They knew the route that the ship would take, and what ship it was to be. It can be assumed that their secret organization has information within the Mordant Spire government, though they don't say anything like that... just that they were under orders. Pretty clear to you all that they are fanatics. Elven Al Qaeda!

So, for the investigation... I have moved the NPCs to their "normal" positions. In order to make some sense of the chaos, I will ask you to move your character to the person you are talking to, and then once everyone has been moved, we'll deal with each conversation. We'll deal with these as "social interaction rounds", so to speak.

So, move your characters, and we'll start. We'll do one NPC at a time... I'll start the interaction with a post by the character. Seem fair enough?

Works for me. Miro's vote is to see the whore first. He's more than happy to talk nice with her, or to step aside for Cyrus' more interesting interrogation techniques.

Before we move on, what do we want to do with the elves?

I'll take bless instead of the truth spell, then. I was worried about the flavor as it was. For the elves, I thought the decision was to leave them trussed up in our cabin and station watches through the night.

"My friends, we should begin talking to the crew." Lort says to his companions, "I think the best way to go about it would be to invite them to our cabin to talk, and try to pry information out of them together. That way, it will be somewhat private and we'll be able to apply the most pressure and have the best chance to discover if they are lying. Let's retrieve that whore first. Then we should perhaps follow up with an inspection of the lower decks."

Azuretta first +1. I've placed Lort next to the whore, but she's in the captain's quarters with the captain... could be awkward. Feel free to move us both out to the deck (or have the captain move so we can question her in the captain's quarters instead of ours).

Assuming that we are talking to the whore somewhere with Thanzeril

"Well met again .... Lady...Azuretta and Thanzeril. May I refer to you in the familiar Azuretta? Thank you so much.

To Azuretta

• How long have you been an ... officer on this vessel? What other vessels have you ... worked on?
  
• Was this Thanzeril's first ... visit to you?
  
• Do you spend a lot of time back in Cheliax when you are ... off duty?
  

To Thanzeril:

• Do you often bed ... Forlorn?
  
• Why did you not retrieve one of us when you left for your .... lust?

We were planning to question separately, Finarin.

Got it - ignore the 2nd set of questions then until we get with Thanzeril

Cyrus hangs in the back as they question the harlot. When Finarin finishes, as she offers her answers, he adds, "What do you know of the Mordant Spire? And, has anyone ever asked you to seduce another person on this ship?"

Whoa there hoss! Did we decide on bad cop for this one? LOL

"Please understand, Azuretta, we are just trying to get to the bottom of this terrible tragedy. Your cooperation is certainly appreciated, and needed to not only catch the killer, but to exonerate yourself, as well. Your answers might tell us little, or much, so leave nothing out, not one detail. Ok?" Miro smiles at the woman reassuringly.

Diplomatizing +10

"Uh-huh. All friends here. Just want to get bottom of this"
Aid diplomacy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18

With so many questions in the air, Amaranti decides not to add any, and stays around in case some rougher methods are required.

since I was nice I can aid

Since everyone else seems to be piling on anyway...

"Who asked you to steal the captains key?" Lort assumes guilt straight away, "Don't worry, we won't tell Veane you stole it, provided you didn't know about the murder plot, we just want to get to the bottom of this. Your cooperation will go a long way to convincing us that you were an unwitting participant in a much greater scheme. Perhaps you were paid to do it - in which case, who could blame you? Everyone has to make their own way in life."

Lort places a hand on her shoulder and speaks in an uncharacteristically soft manner, "If you fear the consequences of telling us the truth, know that we can protect you. We will do a much better job than that elf. Did you see what we did to the invaders? All dead or bleeding to death in under a minute... and that was when we weren't even standing guard."

Diplomacy assist: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (16) - 1 = 15

Lort will conduct his business fully armored with his honed greatsword strapped to his back. He expects trouble. This is how he was attired while standing watch over the ambassador's cabin anyway, so no-one would think anything was amiss, I would guess.

Would help if I rolled, I am also fully armed and and spell component pouch

Diplomacy assist: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

The old man, hearing the sequential questioning of his companions, opens his journal and readies his quill. For a brief moment, Ibid bites his lip in frustration, knowing he has already fallen behind on documenting what his companions are asking, and so immediately begins scribbling in his notebook, trying keep up with their rapid-fire questions.

Looking over the top of his weatherworn journal, Ibid's eyes focus on Azuretta as he eagerly awaits her answers. The thrill of solving this mystery causes his index finger to tap the untidy page of scrawled notes with great expectancy.

Guess you are all ready to force the issue ;) And no one is going to talk to anyone else. Finarin, Thanzeril is not with her.

Azuretta turns to Finarin, and placing her hand delicately on his chest. "Sweetie, can't we just talk about this... in private, together?" She sums up the situation, and then continues.

How long have you been an ... officer on this vessel? What other vessels have you ... worked on?

"I've been... serving... on this crew for about five years now, I guess. This is the only ship I have... served... on. The Captain treats me well, and I take... pleasure... in my duties."

Was this Thanzeril's first ... visit to you?

"Darling, I don't usually kiss and tell. But, since you are so cute, I guess I can make an exception. If, of course, you can get the brute," she looks towards Lort, "to back down a bit. Tell, him that I can help him to relax his nerves, later. But, for now, I am no threat to anyone on this ship. Well, unless you might have an uptight Paladin with a Vow of Chastity or something. Of course, that might be fun, too!" She winks at you.

"But, back to Thanzeril. Yes, this was the first time that he 'visited' me. As it turns out, his timing was rather horrible, wouldn't you say? But, for sure, he was with me throughout the fight."

Do you spend a lot of time back in Cheliax when you are ... off duty?

"I don't know what that has to do with the investigation, but, no, I try and keep away from Cheliax as much as I can. If you've spent any time there, you'd realize that the Chelish people have little tolerance for 'half-breeds', as they put it, and my 'noble' family disowned me. I grew up in orphanages, and was forced to make my own way in the world. Calistria granted me a pleasing form, and I chose to make the best of it." She flips her hair and subtly changes her form...

She then turns to Cyrus, turning the full force of her charms the way of the young ninja. He somehow manages to keep his senses while he asks his questions.

What do you know of the Mordant Spire?

"Well, we are heading that way, aren't we? And the two elves are from there? I guess I don't know that much about the place, save that we're not allowed to go there." She pouts a little... in a very tantalizing way.

And, has anyone ever asked you to seduce another person on this ship?

"I don't know what you are suggesting here, Cyrus! I provide a service to the crew," she sits up, and wraps her arm around Cyrus's shoulder, whispering into his ear, " and occasionally for passengers, if you are interested." She backs off quickly, leaving Cyrus sputtering. "I've never been asked to seduce anyone. I've always done it on my own. And, if you are suggesting that I was asked to seduce the bodyguard, I promise you he came to me! The poor dear was frantic with need, and it was my pleasure to fulfill his needs."

She looks directly into Cyrus's eyes, "Do you have needs that need fulfilling, dear?"

She is then taken aback by the big half-orc's bluster.

Who asked you to steal the captains key?

She sputters, "What? I... steal the key? No! I didn't have anything to do with it! I was in the hold with Thanzeril!"

If you fear the consequences of telling us the truth...

She composes herself, even though Lort is quite intimidating. "I have no fears of the crew. I know that Captain Veane would never do anything like this murder, he wouldn't risk it. I have his protection, and he can more than handle this crew, I should think."

She pauses for a moment, leans in towards Lort, strokes his arms, and whispers in his ear, "But thank you for your offer of protection! I am sure a big, strong man like you would protect me with his life... and who knows what his reward might be?"

Miro pouts, having not been the object of whispered promises and tantalizing touches. Still, that was one suspect down. The woman seemed to love the bedroom, but was likely innocent of any wrongdoing in this manner.

A sudden thought comes to him. "Can any of you detect mental tampering? It could be that our bodyguard was 'coerced' to seek Azuretta's comforts."

Lort is frustrated, and not at all sexually so... well, maybe a little. Just look at that grotesque set of teeth, Lort. All blunt and no underbite. That's it, look at the teeth and nowhere else. Dammit man, eyes up.

"No mental tampering that I could tell," whispers Lort to Miro. Just to be on the safe side, though... Lort leaves the cabin briefly to utter a private prayer to Kurgess.

"∆э†эכ† ∏Åğḯכ" (detect magic)

Lort returns and scans the room.

Assuming he finds nothing untoward.

"Well, thank you for your time, harlot," Lort says with a sharpness he doesn't mean, "If I find myself insensible and with an excess of coin, I may speak to you again. For now, though, I bid you fare well."

When the companions have time to chat together again, Lort turns to them, frowning in frustration. "Well, that was a waste of time. Shall we question the first mate next? 'Marzack Mallick' was it? He was the one who discovered the body, perhaps he knows some more about what happened. Maybe he saw someone walking around down there. Perhaps he was the one who did it! After all, how did he know Sephrial was dead in the first place?"

Lort pauses briefly, "Otherwise, we should question that poisoner who works in the kitchen. The dwarf is there at all hours brewing up her disgusting cuisine. The longer we can put off talking to that ugly, grumpy dwarf, though, the better." Yeah, poisoner. If I have to choke down one more bowl of codfish stew, I doubt I'll survive the night.

"Good Lort, I was actually thinking of questioning Thanzeril more in-depth. It seems awfully odd that he would abandon his post at JUST the right time. However, if he was magically convinced to do it, that changes things." He grins at the larger man. "Of course, then we shall have to talk to the First Mate."