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"I'm from Kwanlai, initially. Nation of tengu, sounds a lot more romantic and dreamier than it actually is. The sort of plots and in-fighting like someone is trying to stir up in your community is an art-form there. Still, it's our country and we do what we can.
As far as the Society? Well, they needed a hand with some poor fellow who had been orphaned at a young age in and then grew up in a really poor environment over in Augustana, then they wanted me to check into some school in Absalom a couple of times after finding some old files of theirs.
Used to be more of a healer and not as much of a front-liner, but Grandmother had other words for me, told me to start getting out there and kicking tail-feathers and watching over all Her people.
Most recent assignment dropped us over by Magnimar, Venture Captain Sheila Heidmarch asked us to drop in, check on something for her, visit the carnival and take notes, and here we are."
This is not the first time Andrietta's seen someone 'set up' by another. But usually the people that do this kind of thing are *much* better at it and they're even able to pull the wool over her eyes.
"Alright, full stop. Don't step there, or there, or there. See those claw marks? There's no way Jherizhana made those. If she did, they'd be much deeper and broader. Also, someone tried to wipe away other tracks about *THERE*.
Whoever we're dealing with is somewhat professional but wasn't expecting keen eyes on this. Either the creature was summoned or flew in."
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The Sheriff is intensely curious about all of you, and asks each of you questions about where you’re from, how you wound up in Magnimar with the Pathfinder Society, and whether you’ve been working with the Pathfinders long.
"I was hatched in Vieland, not too far from the University of Lepidstadt. Perhaps you've heard of it?" Stali waits for some indication from the sheriff if she has heard of either place. If she hasn't, he tries to give her a rough idea of where Lepidstadt is in Ustalav.
"I have been traveling with merchant caravans and become curious about the Pathfinder Society. I went to Magnimar to find out more about it," Stali gives a short chuckle, "and met a woman who felt the best way to learn was by doing. Lady Sheila Heidmarch -- the venture captain in Magnimar -- said I would learn more on a mission with these Pathfinders" gesturing to the rest of the group "than she could ever teach with a lecture."
Stali seems both amused and approving of the way he was sent on this mission.
When the group first arrives at the scene, Stali spends his time looking around from the path. Even before Andrietta warns everyone, he avoided walking in the area where the attack happened. Instead he continues along the path for several score yards before turning around and slowly approaching the site from the direction of the carnival. Best give the people skilled at reading tracks the first look at the scene. I wouldn't want to disturb anything. I can stay on the track and get an idea of how good an ambush site this is.
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Kicking the dirt a bit, "Well. um, I grew up an orphan in Absalom, back then I was just a little fledging with black feathers. . but then the pathfinders came to my home and they freed us from the mean old lady that worked us too hard. . but then after that I was on my own and the other kids weren't very nice to me anymore. . there in the alley I felt my powers unleash themselves, the colors danced through the darkness and it knocked all the kids out. . after that I ran. . I hadn't even noticed my feathers had turned all white, like snow. " Embarrassed by her honesty, she'll pull the hood down over her head.
Looking around at the crime scene, listening to Andrietta's description of the area and her findings, awed. "I didn't see any of that, I still have lots of training to do before I'm ready,"
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Hikaru shrugs in a peculiar bird-like fashion, cocking his head to one side as he does so. "I was hatched in Minkai and had a very good life there... I was content and just ready to move on from my home town and seek out a mate, when I fell asleep by a torii. When I awoke, I was in a strange land where everyone spoke a strange language. It must have been a magical torii for I was in Andoran. Luckily I met a nice man who spoke Minkaian and he taught me Common. Turns out he was a Pathfinder named Seijiro. He brought me to Absalom where I signed up to be a Pathfinder too. This is my first mission. I think they sent me because they thought it was a simple mission that I couldn't screw up. I hope they were right, though it IS getting more complicated... and by that I mean more interesting as well."
Hikaru makes mental note of the clues that grandmother points out and vows to look for such anomalies if he ever investigates a crime again.
He catches nothing untoward in Kyra's methods.
"From what you're saying, grandmother, someone has tried to deliberately make it look like the sphinx is responsible for this. Probably the same someones who spread the rumor they saw her flying loose last night. Perhaps if we could trace down the source of that tale, we might find our culprits."
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"Hmm. I'll tell the truth, although perhaps not the whole truth. No need to confuse the poor woman"
"I am from a reasonably well to do merchant family in Opara, the capital of Taldor. Like all of my family, I've had a very strong bond with animals, especially with birds and even more especially with Crows and Ravens.
While I respect the various Gods, especially the good ones, I give my true allegiance to the nature spirits of the world. Vralk here is a gift to me from those spirits. They have granted me several abilities, including the ability to speak to and understand animals.
I joined the Society primarily for the sheer fun of going to new places and meeting new people. I admit that the chance of ultimately getting filthy rich from the connections that I can forge in the Society is a nice bonus to that.
After my adventure finding out more of the Societies history in the basement of the Wounded Whisp and across Absalom I was Confirmed as a Pathfinder field Agent in a Confirmation Ceremony that was more dangerous than perhaps intended.
But this is my first foray outside of the island of Kortos"
On getting to the field, Gallako starts talking to the various animals around, especially any birds. He asks them what they saw, heard and smelled the night before. He DOES use his food and toys to try and entice answers from them.
Feral Speech to talk to them
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"I am Vralk. Gallako says I am spirit made flesh. He not lie so that is what I am. I good at finding shineys and help Gallako identify them.
He join Society so I join too. That way we can help each other.
I talk to spirits and they help me. See"
With that, he uses his prestidigitation to create a breeze, colour a leaf, etc
"Oh, also like Pie. Pie almost as good as shineys"
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“Huh. Here I was, expecting you’d be all from the same place, but you’re from all over. Serves me right for making too many assumptions.” The Sheriff looks over the clues Andrietta found. “I found the site, noticed the blood and the scuffle, but not the way the ground had been swept clean. Nice work.”
“You no eat? Ooh, nuts. Nuts yummy. Like eat nuts. Hide nuts. Bury nu---”
“Oh, dead two legger? He scream big. This nut good. You have more?”
[chews] “Oh yeah. Dead guy. Hunters hunt him, then he die. One hunter big-big. Got claws. Claw him. He scream. More nuts?”
___
“I’d never have believed it if I didn’t see this first hand.” The Sheriff watches Gallako talk to the squirrel in absolute fascination. “Have you seen him do this before?”
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"Grandmother gives us all our talents in different ways. It's by putting them together and using them as a whole that we learn things. There's been some situations resolved through this method Gallako's using, including a certain incident that folks are all confused about happening at the carnival last night.
Didn't think it was proper to mention it, seeing is believing and all?"
Andrietta is rather nonchalant about Gallako and Vralk's antics.
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Stali suddenly stops moving. He looks around himself a little bit. There is a bit of worry in Stali's voice as he calls out "There appear to be signs of s struggle here too!" He points with his claw to some blood.
"Can someone better at tracking come look? I think they tried to sweep it away here too! Sorry if I disturbed any of the signs..."
Looking towards where the obvious animal tracks are, he then calls out "Could someone please direct Vralk what direction the supposed Sphinx flew in from? "
He then looks to Vralk and says "Vralk, please try to fly the path slowly and tell us if you see swathes of broken branches. Only a flyer can really check this for us!"
Gesturing towards the forest canopy, Stali explains "Jherizhana has a body the size of a lion and wide wing span. I want to know if she could have flown down to attack without breaking lots of branches."
Stali will wait until someone good at tracking can tell him where to move to so as to reduce any further disturbance of the tracks. He will take the time to watch Vralk fly in though, so he can better imagine what it would have looked like.
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"It was NOT the sphinx. Sqerrikk (the squirrel) told me that the killer was not a cat and did NOT have wings. There was also more than one killer here. Unfortunately, squirrels count "one, many" so I can't say more than that.
The one who killed him was big, bigger than me. And used claws. But NOT the sphinx "
He turns to Andrietta
" squirrels see colour differently than we do. So it wouldn't be able to tell the difference between red, blonde, light brown, etc"
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"Thank you Vralk!" Stali calls out.
Stali pauses for a moment to reflect on what people have told him. Two ambush sites means they might have killed him here and then moved the body to where they had faked the animal prints.
"Is there anything that might indicate the body was placed there AFTER the animal tracks?" Pointing to the new area that Andrietta is investigating, he says "This would have been a better ambush site for a humanoid attacker, with the bend in the path and the trees giving plenty of shadows."
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The Sheriff leans against a tree, taking furious notes. “Do you think you have all you need here? Should we look at the bodies now?”
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After talking with Vralk, Stali announces "There are no signs of broken branches up in the canopy." Looking around to the others, he says "Right now there is nothing more I can think of to do here." As he says this, he is slowly walking back towards the sheriff, carefully avoiding disturbing any more of the scene.
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"Good eye, Stali, but they didn't do more than scratch the poor fellow here. HOWEVER..."
The grandmother pauses then cautiously walks 'backwards' from the spot, as if she were Archivin Walder...
"It looks like they confronted here, then kept backing him up until he got HERE..." she says as she almost backs into the tree.
"...where they finished the job."
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"I remember, recall, and reminisce about the entry I made unto the world. It was inside a cage stuffed with straw in the back of a wagon on a bumpy, rough, and rocky ride. I think whoever was carrying, transporting, and hauling me thought I was something else, different, and altogether distinct, at least I assumed so, since when we got to the big city and saw what had hatched, they simply dropped my cage off at the side of the road and left me."
His voice trails off a bit as if he was beginning to tell a story that was not altogether a happy one.
The Sheriff listens to the final tale, Chak’s, with great interest on the way back. “I should have guessed someone as proud as you was a self-made man. So... How did you wind up in the Pathfinders? And what’s the story behind the mustache?”
After a short while, you arrive at the Temple of Erastil. The temple is made of wood and decorated with wooden sculptures of various beasts that are common to the forests and rivers in the area. There is a small but but well-tended garden full of vegetables and herbs, and the smell of brewing malt hangs in the air just outside.
Sister Es herself opens the door to your knock. She's kindly looking, though tired. “Andrietta, Sarano and Gallako!” she smiles, then pauses. “I saw the rest of you this morning, and yesterday at the inn, but I’m not sure we’ve been introduced yet. I'd invite you all in to lunch as I've got both fresh bread and some potato-leek soup cooking but...” She glances at Kyra Feldane, standing tall behind you, red hair glinting in the sun. “...this isn’t just a social visit, is it?”
Now that the door is open, you can smell both the soup and the bread. They smell delicious.
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Chak lets out a bit of a sigh as he is prodded to continue with the story.
"I was found, discovered, and perceived by one of another flock in this big city, which is called Goka. And though they took me in, cared for me and adopted me, they would become the next of a long line of victims of the curse, hex, and jinx which must have been laid upon me. The first I assume were my natural parents. I conclude, surmise, and deduce that something terrible must have happened to them if their egg was taken from the nest. I spent the first eleven years of my youth, childhood and formative years watching those who adopted me succumb to tragedy, by accident, aggression, or disease. None of the 3 flocks I lived with were able to keep me for more than four years.
I decided after that I would rather survive, scrape by, and eke out a living alone on the streets of Goka that put another flock at risk. So I lived on the streets. There, in some books left, discarded, and tossed out on the street, I learned about a great general of human history, General Lin Xien Tsung, who would become the inspiration for my life. The mustache I wear as a tribute to him, it was they style he wore in all the drawings.
After three years on my own, I sought out, looked, and hunted for a group of men to lead, be in charge of, and command. I found a group of street kids who were willing to accept, receive and welcome me as one of them. They were not very good listeners, but every general had to start, begin, and commence building his army somewhere.
I thought they would be safe, protected, and sheltered from the curse since they were not tengu, but alas three years after I met them we found ourselves under arrest, apprehended, and captured after an attempted robbery and we were to be confined, incarcerated, and jailed for seven years.
But after four years I was visited by a lady who called herself Amara Li. She said she heard, listened to, and was informed of my story and asked if I wanted to learn how to be a leader, but I told her it was best to leave me to stay in jail, prison, and in lockup so that no one would get hurt who didn't deserve it. I thought I was born in a cage and so maybe that was a sign, omen, and portent that it was the best place for me. But she was persistent, emphatic, and adamant, that I did not belong, so she purchased, bought, and procured my freedom and sent me to Absalom to train for three years.
That's the story of how I joined, enlisted in, and became a member of the Society. I just hope, wish for and desire that my curse does not get any of you killed."
Chak was feeling quite melancholy at this point, but the smell of fresh bread and the warm greeting caused him to perk up a little bit.
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"Vralk, shush. Thank you for your kind offer, Sister. But as you say, this is not a social visit.
We are trying to determine who or what killed Mr Walder. Although the circus and the Sphinx are being blamed we don't think the Sphinx was responsible.
Would it be possible to examine his body? We will treat it with respect and you're welcome to watch over us as we do so"
Assuming she agrees, Gallako will examine the body
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"We do appreciate the invitation, dear, but as the team has noted, we need to look at dear Archivin. While we're doing that, do you mind if we ask you some questions, as well?"
Andrietta is going to be very polite as some of the team looks over the body.
"What can you tell us about the sleepy hamlet of Ilsurian from the faith perspective? Are there any other houses of worship here, any other faiths that make a showing? Was Archivin a devout follower of any of such religions?"
“Come in, come in!” The Sister glances at the Sheriff and repeats, “So... They’re here to see Archivin Walder’s body?”
The Sister has no training as a liar. She was trying to ask the Sheriff if you were only authorized to see Archivin Walder's body, or if it's okay to show you the other one as well.
The Sister gestures around her temple, which though plain, is still lovingly cared for and well-maintained. "We're the most established faith here. There's no other temples, though I know a few people who worship other gods. Archie told me once that he loved Desna, but didn't mind coming here to worship with me. I only hope I'm doing right by him."
Archivin Walder lies in state in a room with some flowers from mourners. There is one simple butterfly, woven quickly out of string and reeds, lying next to a still-capped bottle of Elkbutt. The body is clean and well washed, wrapped in a shroud. "I cast gentle repose on him... to keep poor Archie from deteriorating further." Sister Es carefully unwraps the shroud.
It's a balding man in his sixties. Only a glance is required to confirm that it's the same older gentleman who had argued with his wife about his desire to see the Sphinx last night. Seen like this, devoid of all the life force that you saw when he was arguing with his wife, he looks smaller somehow. His chest has been ripped apart, but there are wounds everywhere.
Sister Es nods. "Poor Agnes. She found him like this, and I think she's more ripped apart inside than he was."
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Looking around, before whispering to the sheriff, "Well um. I was quite afraid, and I thought maybe the Pathfinders would take responsibility since they put me out on the streets. They said I was too little to join but if I come back when I was older, maybe. So I did, I scraped by and survive and got a side job as a healer until I could join the Society,"
Peeking at the body, "Oh gosh, blood, that's not good. Yeah he is dead. Looks like he really was bit and clawed to death. um. which is sad. . cause it wasn't quick."
She'll look at the group and shrug, "Only other thing is, his back has these weird abrasions. um. like he was pushed into a tree. "
"Yes, she found the body. Archie never came home, you see..." Sister Es looks sad. "She roused her husband's guards and went searching, first along the main road, then at the gates along the circus and then along the side scenic path. When they came back with the body, then they interrupted the burglary and found poor..."
She breaks off, and looks apologetically to the Sheriff.
"It's alright, Sister." The Sheriff sighs. "This lot already knows about Daro Manetti's death."
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"I hadn't thought of that. Yes, there are definitely bite marks, bites made by large fangs. Not those of a Sphinx at all.
At this point I think that we can be reasonably sure that the Sphinx did NOT do this. And more than one person was involved.
We obviously need to investigate further to find out what actually happened.
Sister, may we also please examine Daro body as well?"
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The paladin sees through the falsehood easily, but doesn't press the issue because the Sister is doing it for the right reasons.
"I'm having a thought here, but I'm not liking it. However, there's not enough proof, let's check the other body and maybe we might get a better inkling.
I pray I'm wrong."
Andrietta is ready to check the second body.
Sister Esrelda leads you into a small prayer room, quiet and dark. In it a body is laid out, washed and covered with a shroud just like Archivin had been. She touches a small statue of an elk, says a quiet word, and lights it up. Sister Es slowly and carefully pulls away the shroud. Other than the cut throat, the young man before you is good looking -- barely in his twenties, firm muscle tone, clear skin and lustrous dark hair.
“Pretty, wasn’t he? Young Daro always turned heads.” Sister Es shakes her head. “He was good about it too... Didn’t play games like some of the lads his age.” She looks at the Sheriff, faintly disapproving. “It isn’t right for us to keep this quiet. He’ll have friends that’ll want to mourn him.”
“Yep, I’ll release the news soon. The leads I was hoping for didn’t materialize,” The Sheriff says, her voice resigned. “Not looking forward to it though. This town has been a powderkeg. Even though it looks like the Sphinx wasn’t responsible, the circus has plenty of other creatures to blame and people in the village all too willing to blame them.”
The Sister nods, and you can see worry in her eyes.
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"Has it always been that way? Was there some problems in the past with the Umbral Carnival that Almara failed to mention?" Stali asks, honestly curious.
He goes up and examines the wound more closely, comparing it to how he would have struck. He tries his best to guess how tall the young fellow is. While looking at the wound, he asks "Any idea what sort of blade did this?"
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"Sister, making any effort on Archivin's behalf is a good start. I don't think that the Song of the Spheres is going to be too bent out of shape for someone watching over one of Her wanderers, any more than someone watching out for one of Grandmother's flock, et cetera."
"Thinking about it, Sheriff? Archivin and his wife were seen arguing at the carnival. Wife was all kinds of irritated over him wanting to see Jherizhana again.
Could very well be that he went back like he threatened he was going to, she got some guards together to 'teach him a lesson', and it got a bit out of hand. Still doesn't explain the efforts at trying to cover it up with the sphinx unless they didn't expect a thorough investigation and were hoping rumors would shut it all down. Not sure how we'd want to progress to see if that was the case, though.
If we ask the wife and that's the case she's going to say that it was a horrible thing when they found him dead, and 'stop accusing her' after her husband was murdered."
The paladin pauses for a moment.
"Wish I couldn't say I've seen this sort of shenanigans before, but like I was saying earlier? Art form in Kwanlai."
There's another pause.
"Doesn't quite fit what I had in mind, but I was thinking some kind of shapeshifter or such capable of doing animal sorts of things might have wanted to cover their tracks, too? Still not enough information, though I think we're getting a better idea."
"It's a bad day when good kids get taken down like this." Andrietta offers that soberly as she nods in agreement with Esrelda. "But we can't let Daro's sacrifice be in vain, either. If he was a good person and good for the community, the very last thing we could do for his memory is tear the community apart with this sort of thing."
"Though, if we have this idea of the wife doing it, how do we draw her out? Sheriff, does the wife have any sort of barrister or legal documentation in town of what happens in the event of Archivin's death? Just for thoroughness sake, right?"
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"If we ask the wife and that's the case she's going to say that it was a horrible thing when they found him dead, and 'stop accusing her' after her husband was murdered."
"I didn't see it quite the same way. I saw a couple where the wife was hurt and said some things that hurt the man. The man needed some time to recover.
I will be the first to say that there were some things I didn't understand in that exchange. I really hadn't thought humans were that appreciative of plumage. Still, there was something about the way Archivan looked at Jherizhana which bothered Agnes.
In any case, we really need to gather more clues before trying to lay blame on anyone. We don't want to make the same mistake much of the town is, laying blame before we have good evidence.
Right now, all we have is good evidence that someone went to a lot of trouble making it look like the carnival was to blame."
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"He has had his throat slit by a dagger of some kind. Obviously was in a struggle first as he has bruises on his body.
The worst part is that he was tied up first and THEN executed. So, he was murdered in cold blood after being captured. There is no evidence that I can find that he was tortured but he could easily have been kept alive just to answer questions.
Looks like the murderer wavered a little, so not a seasoned killer. But desperate enough to kill an unarmed, tied up man"
After listening to Andrietta
"No, it really doesn't sound like the wife to me. She went out with the guards which she wouldn't do if she was planning on killing him. And if it was a crime of passion then why would she have an animal of some kind with her.
Also, the two crimes HAVE to be connected. Maybe he was killed as a diversion to get the guards out looking for him? Then they came and killed the only remaining guard?"
He then turns to Stali
"Stali is completely correct. We can conjecture amongst ourselves but we need to gather more information. And we certainly do NOT want to accuse ANYBODY until we have more information"
To Sister Esrelda : "Do you happen to have Speak with Dead memorized? Or perhaps have a scroll of it? It would give us a LOT more information"
To the Sherrif:
"I think we need to look at the Locked Box. Do you have the key or should we talk to the poor Widow and get her permission?"
"Has it always been that way? Was there some problems in the past with the Umbral Carnival that Almara failed to mention?" Stali asks, honestly curious.
The Sister give you a weak half smile. "No, it's not always like this. My mom's Varisian. Heck, I'm betting that at least a quarter of the proud Chelaxian familiies in Ilsur have some Varisian ancestry a few generations back, though you'll never get them to admit it. There have been times when the Carnival has come, and everyone mostly forgot about the mistrust between Chelaxians and Varisians for a few days." She runs her hand through her curling hair. "Hate and tolerance come in waves in this town, but this time with Archie's murder and all the rumors flying... What's odd is that yesterday most of the town was really excited that the circus was coming. It's good for business."
She walks out with you towards the Temple's Kitchen. "You've all been out most of the morning. Have some soup. Have some bread and then face your next challenge. I think that we all need to take stock sometimes, breathe and just figure things out like civilized people." She hands out some bowls of soup, even insisting the Sheriff eat some. "Underneath, most people are reasonable. You just have to remind them of that by being so in your face friendly that they can't stay mad anymore. I'm going to try and talk with everyone today. Smile a lot. Talk sense. Maybe I can get some of them to calm down and just eat fried dough and enjoy the Carnival's visit."
She looks at you and the Sheriff. "It would help if you can catch the real villains though, and quickly."
"He has had his throat slit by a dagger of some kind. Obviously was in a struggle first as he has bruises on his body.
The worst part is that he was tied up first and THEN executed. So, he was murdered in cold blood after being captured. There is no evidence that I can find that he was tortured but he could easily have been kept alive just to answer questions. Looks like the murderer wavered a little, so not a seasoned killer. But desperate enough to kill an unarmed, tied up man"
The sister pales at this announcement.
"An execution? That doesn't sound like a crime of passion." The Sheriff takes notes. "I agree that we need more information, but I'd dearly love to catch these scumbags. I'll admit that I have my eyes on everyone who stood to gain from Archie's death and Agnes was his main heir. But honestly Archie was a money lender. When half the town owes you money, that's a lot of suspects to consider."
To Sister Esrelda : "Do you happen to have Speak with Dead memorized? Or perhaps have a scroll of it? It would give us a LOT more information"
"I do not, but I can memorize it first thing tomorrow!" The Sister sounds excited. "We can interview Archie and Daro, and set this whole thing to rest!"
"I think we need to look at the Locked Box. Do you have the key or should we talk to the poor Widow and get her permission?"
"I've got a list of people -- mostly those who I know owed Archie money -- to talk to," the Sheriff says. "However, I can at least walk to the door of the Locked Box with you and let Agnes know that you're investigating things. But then I'll have to go. You lot ready to move on?"