To his companions, Rasil said, "Perhaps we should split up? Issceran, you seem to be incredibly perceptive, would you mind searching for our homeless man, while Barin and I ask around to see if anyone's seen him?"
At Rasil's suggestion, the elf immediately set out to investigate. He began looking for the homeless man, holding onto his satchel and keeping it close. As he roamed the alleys he kept his eyes open for a homeless man that was in line with their questioning that morning. He didn't seem very happy, finding the area unsavory and didn't want to end up getting mugged. He quirked his mouth and glanced about, wondering if he was searching for a pebble in a box of rocks.
Whoa, whoa, geez. Sorry, Simza. Whatever you say! Just get that banshee to stop pointing that thing at me!, as Koraq gently places the body on the ground before running for the stretcher. He runs back in with, dragging the guard's corpse on top of the flat cloth.
So, where do we need to take st- err, Mr. Brynden to so you can do your thing Simza?
hours later, Rasil and Barin talk to enough people to narrow down your search to a likely candidate named Tiberius. Local shop keeps direct you to his usual hangouts. You gather up Issceran, who has already eliminated some of the back alleys given to you, and converge on an alley behind a pair of cafes. Clanking and muttering sounds come from behind several large refuse piles.
Koraq and Simza head down the hall to the morgue and examination room with the body of Mr. Flynn. The room is unnaturally cold, and well lit with serval everburning torches. Examination tables and various tools are available to help in finding clues on, or inside, bodies, all of which give you +2 circumstance bonuses to Perception and Heal checks for both tasks.
Rasil circled around the refuse piles to get a look at the source of the sounds.
"'scuse me mate! Yer Tiberius right? Canna get yer help? I gotta few coppers fer yer trouble."
Realizing that Simza's still well above the annoyed category he likes to keep people at, Koraq reluctantly softens up his words to the Varisian as she prepares for the autopsy.
Y'know... I'm sorta being forced into this, so it's not like I really have anything against you...the gnome on the other hand.... Err, I mean, I like messing wit' people, but I hate ta see a woman pissed off like that; ain't proper for a lady y'know.
Koraq turns away to wash his hands.
So umm...sorry.
Simza wasn't normally one to get angry, but Koraq had been rubbing her the wrong way since he'd arrived, and seeing him behave like that was too much for her. When he returned with the stretcher the immediate heat of the anger had disappeared, but her attitude was a bit colder than it had been before.
When Koraq brought back the stretcher she helped to slide it under Brynden, and then hefted her end and headed for where Mrs. Brigglespan had indicated the morgue was. They set him down on one of the examination tables, and slid the stretcher out from under him, setting it aside.
As Koraq tried what seemed like it was meant to be an apology, she just nodded. "I assure you it is not normal behaviour for me, but just because you may not have chosen this assignment, doesn't mean you should treat it lightly. Now, if you could help me off with my armor, and then help me remove Mr. Flynn's as well, I would appreciate it." she'd been uncomfortable enough the last hour and a half in the unfamiliar, and uncomfortable armor, and while she approved of the conditions in the lab, she wasn't going to stand around and let herself freeze by continuing to wear it.
Whether Koraq helped or not she set her pack and armor aside once she had removed it, and then looked towards Brynden, putting it off for a few moments as she likewise washed up, approving that Koraq had the foresight to do so. With nothing left to delay it, she began to undress Brynden, examining his clothes for anything they may have missed before, and setting his equipment and clothing on another table. When they'd gotten him stripped down she hoped the slight flush of embarrassment to her cheeks was attributed to the cold as she readied the various instruments she would need.
"So. What is the... animosity between you and Rasil?" she asked as she began the examination proper, her tone more casual now, her anger seeming to have faded completely. "and please let me know if you notice anything that seems unusual... You seem like you'd have seen your fair share of wounds..."
Heh, been a while since a woman asked me to help strip her., Koraq spits out before his toothy grin emerges once more. And it's not like I ain't gonna do my part... I'd just feel better getting to the head-crackin' part. Not trained for this kinda field work like you guys are.
Koraq steps behind Simza and loosens the straps to her armor. He raises an eyebrow once the armor's off, surprised how dainty the young Varisian is and wondering how her frame could handle the bulk of the fitted scale armor. He then likewise removes the guard's breastplate, easily tossing the dented chestpiece aside into the pile of other effects Simza piled up before looking over the cuts and marks Simza makes.
Tsk... don't get much prettier seein' 'im all mangled like that. I've beaten a few guys before, but nuttin' to cause that kinda damage. Koraq pauses for a second after Simza's question before resuming his dialogue. As for the gnome, let's just say he indirectly volunteered me for this position, and I'll hafta thank 'im proper when the case is done.
Barin moves near Tiberius, in ordero to prevent any attempt of escape, but will let Rasil do the talking for now
Simza feels her stomach slowly roiling as she really gets down to the messy business of dissection. While she's read about it in books, and even managed to practice a bit with a butcher, nothing could really prepare her for slicing open another human. She was glad of Koraq's presence to help distract her as she continued.
"I'm afraid I don't really understand. You didn't apply for the team?" she asks, glancing sideways at the Half-Orc, before looking back to her work as she carefully exposes Brynden's ribcage-or what's left of it anyway.
Simza feels her stomach churn violently, and the girl barely makes it to the closest sink before she starts to retch, what's left of her breakfast taking the quick way out as the young girl braces herself against the sink with shaky arms.
Koraq can't help but laugh at Simza's misery, patting the girl's back as she empties her stomach.
Guess you city girls never see a dead carcass like this 'eh? Guess you don't have the stomach for this biz? Don't have the heart to do this? We'll have to spleen this to the Captain then. Eye think he'll understand and he won't rib ya too hard!
Koraq holds up Simza's hair during his punnery, sliding a stool over with his foot so the young woman can sit down. Never one to repeatedly kick a woman when she's down, Koraq changes the topic.
Naw, I didn't apply here. I mean, I'm a fighter. All I'm good for is kickin' ass and takin' names. Some things happened, and the Cap'n said you guys needed some muscle on this team. He offered me a deal to make sure you were kept safe and from the looks of it, think he was right to have me babysit ya. Bwa ha ha!
Koraq finishes his laugh and stands back up, leaving Simza to rest while he pokes around the open body, occasionally touching something just to see what squeamish sound it makes.
Between the two of them, Simza and Koraq are able to determine cause of death with reasonable certainty. Koraq has seen men injured by bear hugs in the fighting pits, but never injuries do perfectly uniform all the way around. This man was killed by something being wrapped around his entire body and pulled incredibly tight. He likely suffocated as he was being squeezed, the broken ribs and pierced lungs only added to and quickened the man's demise.
Simza is also able to have a good look at the puncture marks. She finds no trace of any sort of poison in the wounds, but they run a few inches deep and curve in towards ezch other. Koraq notices they look almost like bite marks he's seen, just from a very large mouth and with only four teeth.
Between the bite and construction, Simza concludes that the man was likely attacked and killed by a large constrictor snake.
Koraq, waiting for Simza to recover, lifts the body slightly to examine along the back, nodding his head in agreement with a thought that is getting stronger.
Y'know, Simz, I think you're right. I can only guess something got 'round him and crushed him; the bruising the on the back matches that on the chest. And ta puncture marks, well, if I had ta guess, I'd say something bit the poor bastard. Can't think of any weapons I woulda seen that coulda caused those kinda marks.
Simza spits the unpleasant taste of bile from her mouth after a minute or two, working the pump to get some water to allow her to gargle. She'd already just embarrassed herself in front of Koraq-and as expected he took advantage of her weakness to make fun of her-so there was no need to try and be 'proper'.
The glare that Simza shot at Koraq likely silenced his teasing-or perhaps made it worse-not because of her annoyance, but because she'd had to tear away her veils lest she try and vomit through them. Revealed were the scars and mottled skin of her affliction, no longer hidden by the flimsy cloth, a particularly unpleasant scar, looking tight and waxy was barely covered normally as it ran down most of her right cheek. The mottled skin on her throat looked worse however, and from the look of things it continued down beneath the rest of her clothes onto her chest.
As she realized all of this was on display she blanched, and hurriedly yanked the veils up again, tucking them into place. She looked at Koraq for a few moments before turning away, rewashing her hands, and swallowing hard as she stepped up to the mess that remained of Brynden's organs. With slightly shaky hands resumed her task, communication only when necessary.
"Well." the girl said at last as it seemed they had learned all they could. She'd had to stop a few more times during the procedure, but with nothing left in her stomach she'd been able to control herself better, and make it through "Well... that was unexpected but it should make things a little easier. It seems we're looking for someone with a large constrictor, and transporting a snake like that couldn't be easy..." she murmured, moving away from the table, Brynden all closed up again as she began to wash the various implements that they'd used.
Snake 'eh? Hmm... would make sense. Can't be too many of 'em running 'round Magnimar. Musta been a huge sonofab$@$@ to do this kinda damage. Makes ya wonder how something that big got the drop on a guy, y'know?
Koraq quickly rinses his hands before turning to Simza.
Need help with your armor 'gain?
Having met back up with Rasil and Barin, Issceran followed them and approached the man they were looking for. Rasil chirped and the elf hoped that this was the Tiberius they were looking for. He tightened his grip on his satchel, finding comfort in the proximity of his spellbook. He knelt down and picked up a piece of rubbish, speaking a few draconic works and making a gesture. Imemdiately the tin can glowed like a torch, producing a light in the back alley they found the man in.
"Yes, excuse us, Mr. Tiberius, but may we have your time...?"
At your words, a disheveled man pops out from behind the refuse pile, his hands tightly clutching a cart handle. The man’s black-and-grey hair and beard are both so long, filthy, and tangled that it is impossible to tell where one stops and the other begins. What little of his skin you can see is filthy, and his entire body gives off the aroma of sweat, garbage, and sour wine, as does the collection of garbage he pushes about in his rickety wooden hand cart.
"My time? No, you can't have any of my stuff! Get yer own stuff, and leave mine alone!"
"Easy! Easy, mate! We jus' wanna ask a few questions, see? Here's some coppers fer yer trouble!" Rasil said, holding up two copper pieces for the man to see. "Tiberius, right? We aren't gonna take any of yer stuff, promise!"
Tiberius eyes the coppers, but spits. "You don't want my stuff? Then whadda want?"
His eyes flit back to the coppers, but he makes no move to come take them.
"Ya heard o' Irefoot Hall? Tis me understandin' that ye likes the alley out back o' it. Last night some weird stuff happen'd. If ya were there, could'ya mebee tell us 'bout it? Anything ya can 'member'd be great!"
Tiberius straightens up a bit as Rasil talks. His beard writhes a bit on its own accord as he listens.
"Yeah! I know it! I might have seen something."
A cunning look suddenly fills his eyes. "O course, it's real hard to remember stuff sometimes. On account of being so hungry all the time. Really clouds the memory."
He reaches into his beard and pulls a cockroach out, wriggling between his fingers.
Rasil withdrew a silver piece from the folds of his clothes. "How 'bout two coppers and a silver fer yer troubles? That'll get ya a mighty fine meal."
Simza had kept expecting some kinda of comment from Koraq about her affliction all through the rest of the examination. Her opinion of him rose a few notches that he didn't make a joke of it.
"Well I doubt that the snake was acting on it's own. Unless it was a good deal bigger than these wounds indicate, or had some supernatural ability to burrow, I doubt a constrictor could demolish a building." she pointed out as she returned the various tool to where she had taken them from, and generally tidied everything away as best she was able to.
As Koraq made his offer Simza nodded. "Yes. Thank you."
Issceran joined Rasil's game of bribing the deranged homeless man. If paying for information helped, then it was a fair course of action for their investigation. He produced two coppers and a silver, saying, "Lets double Mr. Bathbone's offer. Now, four coppers and two silvers will surely buy you quite a few meals if you spend them in the right place." The elf dropped the coins into Rasil's offering hand.
The man spits. "No way I can get a good meal for that. Cart food, that's good for. Gives me a belly ache. Can't think straight with a belly ache. Come with me. Come with me." Tiberius bites the head off the cockroach and chews it up while he gathers his cart and shoves it into the street.
He leads you for half a block and points to a roadside cafe. It looks like a fifteen to twenty silver a plate type place, and the kind of place a man like Tiberius could never get into, even if he had the money. "Now that food would definitely help my memory."
Rasil tsked. "Now Tiberius, none o' us can 'fford to eat in that place. Pro'ly wunt let any o' us in, either!"
In a soothing voice the gnome continued, "But the Soggy Duck's not too far away. Best durn tavern in alla Magnimar! What yer say to us goin' there to get a bite ta eat?"
Koraq helps the young woman don her bulky armor, surprised that she feels the need to wear it.
Hey Simza, why do you feel the need to wear such heavy stuff? Hell, it almost weighs as much as you do!
Sensing some uneasiness from the Varisian about what happened during the autopsy, Koraq continues while fitting her spaulders.
Look, kid, 'tain't nothin' to be ashamed of, 'bout your face and all. Where I come from, something like that would get you a lot of respect, assuming you had a good story of how the other guy looks!
Koraq cracks a quick chuckle and pats Simza on the back before walking upstairs.
Oh, and if you're wondering, it woulda been 'Ya don't need the armor when you can just drop a veil.', Koraq answers, his malicious grin emerging before he steps out of sight.
Hrakar doesn't say a word and just follows the others. He eyes Tiberius strangely, with something akin pity more than once. When the man expresses his wish he just grunts. He enters the cafè, and heads to the waitress and asks the menu in a flat but dangerous tone.
"Girlie, I'm Inspector Orcbane from Magnimar MSI. I need to order some food to take away. I'll pay for it, of course, but I need it quickly. So give me the best meat you have here".
She glances back at him as he's helping her on with the armor, frowning slightly for a moment, before deciding he wasn't trying to tease her. "Because Koraq unlike yourself I am not naturally gifted with what one would call robust health, so when we end up running into those responsible for the crimes we are investigating-such as the constrictor that cause Mister Flynn's death-I would like to make it harder for them to turn me into another corpse." she pulled on her gauntlets and flexed her fingers inside them, looking at Koraq as he finally commented on her appearance. She just sighed at his lack of understanding.
"These are no battle wounds Koraq. I was chosen for the team to provide divine aid, but it is no deity that grants me my spells, or at least not directly." she stopped, having some trouble talking about the issue so frankly. "Suffice to say that what you saw was not the worst of it, I've been relatively lucky that I am able to cover, or disguise most of it, but my magic comes at a hefty price, it is a curse that no magic can cure." she remained silent then, finishing the task of cinching her armor, and then retrieving her pack. She was just settling it on her shoulders when Koraq made his quip. She didn't even sigh, though her shoulders slumped and it was a few moments before she could bring herself to follow the half-orc out.
The waitress looks completely dumbfounded. "Inspector? From what? If you want to order some food, go right ahead, have a seat. We don't do 'take out' here."
" "Inspector", from the Magnimar police, girl! And it's not for me, it's for a witness that somehow seems infatuated with your place here. It's not someone you'd want in here, trust me, I'm sparing you and him some embarassment. But if you insist I'll bring him inside here, and you'll have to serve him as youd do with any other costumer. So here's your choice girl: we can do things your way, and you'll regret it, or we can do things my way and everyone will be happy. What's your choice?
Intimidate check:
The girl pales at Barin's tirade and scrambles off to find the manager, who quickly arrives. Hearing the situation, he agrees to put a plate together. Two GP later, you're outside with the food for Tiberius. He's not happy.
"How am I supposed to eat that? Got no fork? Got no knife? Supposed to eat it on the ground? Eating standing up is bad for my memory!"
Rasil was nonplussed when he realized that Barin had gone into the restaurant and returned with food while he had been trying to convince Tiberius to go to the Soggy Duck. Um, uh. Hmm.
Rasil looked around frantically, trying to remember or determine if there was someplace for the man to eat the food.
Well, there's the cafe where Barin got the food...
There are some observation rest stops along the Irespan itself, looking out over the ocean, that have benches. Other than actual cages, that's about it in these parts.
Rasil straightened up. "Bah! I'm sure Barin's gotta knife, and we've got luvely weather fer lookin' at da water whiles ya eat. What say we head o'er to the Irespan?"
Simza let Koraq wait for a few minutes as she took the opportunity to examine her new lab, cheering up a bit as she was again impressed by the facilities available. By the time she returned to the front of the building she had composed herself a bit more, thought she remained more subdued than she had been before. She checked with Mrs. Brigglespan to see if the rest of the squad had sent word, and then simply headed out to the carriage, waiting for Koraq as necessary. "Let's go find the others." was all she said, before picking up the reins and getting the wagon moving back towards Irefoot Hall.
Finally!, exclaims Koraq as Simza steps towards the wagon. I know it's icky and stuff, but ya don't have to clean up that much after cutting someone open like that. Doesn't make 'im any less dead.
Koraq hops into the wagon, passenger side once again, legs resting on the wagon and arms propped and crossed behind his bald head. Heh, lessee if the others did anything useful while we were doing some work!
Simza just shook her head at Koraq's comment, not bothering to correct his misconception this time, just riding atop the driver's seat and watching the city move pass. She'd not had much call to be up on the summit before now, so it was all rather new. "Let us hope they've been as productive as we have."
'eh, I think the dwarf'll steer 'em right. I can tell lookin' at him; he does't take crap from no one... , his hand waving out as he says this, not paying attention to the people and buildings that are being passed by as they travel. Y'know... you really don't either. Guess you're alright, kid. Wouldn'ta thought of that just lookin atcha, but you got some fire in ya.
Tiberius clearly weighs his options. He fishes out and eats another cockroach as he considers whether or not he can get a better deal, then eventually shrugs and heads off towards the Irespan. Once he's tucked into his food, he starts talking.
He starts by regaling you with tales of the treasures he found last night, how he bravely fought off a rat for some food and relieved some drunk of a half bottle of spoiled wine. He starts to move to discussing the woes of his infected toe when you get him back on track about the building.
"Right, right. Last night. Them was strange things, I tell you. There I was, having a late night snack, when this crashing starts up from that there building. I listen for a bit, and then the whole thing starts falling over! It was crazy! Big cloud of dust clears, so I goes to have a look, but there's this creepy guy with a hood. I couldn't see his face, but he haf some glowing letter thing on his forehead. Right here. He's just standing there, looking at the place. Then this giant snake comes out of the building! I almost shouts a warning to him to watch out, but I don't, and the creepy guy starts talking to the snake, and the snake has the same letter thing on its head and talks back. The snake gives the creepy dude something, then goes back inside. The guy leaves. It were really strange. I didn't go inside, you know, because of the giant snake. I just hid behind until that snotty wizard done landed on me out of the air, waking me up without even a sorry."
"Thanks to ye, Tiberius, ye've been very helpful. We'll leave ye to enjoy da rest o' yer meal."
Rasil pulled Issceran and Barin aside, as he thought about the ramifications of what he was just told.
Effortlessly slipping back into the proper language he was using before interacting with the homeless man, he said, "Well, it seems we're looking for a summoner with a snake fetish. We should try to reconnect with our other teammates to share the news and see what they've learned."
Simza doesn't really react to Koraq's comment of respect, not having anything to say to it, but a bit of tension leaves her. She just gently slows the horses as they arrive at Irefoot Hall, hopping down and petting the horses who'd had been either been pulling the carriage, or standing around for most of the day.
"We'll have to ask and find out if anyone knows where they went..." she observes, and does just that, heading for the guard in charge they'd been speaking to previously to find out if he had any word of the rest of their squad.
Barin grunts a sort of farewell to Tiberius and mutters under his breath:"Try to take care of yourself...", it's when he's almost out of the alleway he remembers something and goes back quickly:"One last thing: describe this letter you saw on the hooded man's forehead and on the snake's snout"
Issceran quietly followed along and listened as Barin and Rasil got close to the homeless man. The man's stench repulsed the elf and he tried to keep his distance, not wanting to get his clothes dirtied. Once Tiberius had told them what had transpired with the building collapse, the hooded man, and the serpent, Issceran began to stroke his chin thoughtfully. Barin returned to the man shortly after they left and as the knowledgable man he was, Issceran joined him. He produced parchment and a pen, writing down whatever Tiberius described.
Afterwards once Barin and himsefl returned to rejoin Rasil, the elf chimed in. "Summoned creatures traditionally don't stay long," he explained. "Practitioners of the druidic arts and those in tune with the natural world are known to befriend the creatures of the wild.
Issceram remembers hearing once about the practice of summoners, magic users with a natural talent at summoning creatures, able to keep them on this plane ten times longer than conventional wizards, and form a bond with a unique creature called an eidolon. The glowing rune indicates the summoner-eidolon bond.
Hey, guard!, barks Koraq. Where'd the other investigator's head off to?