The book contains copied magical formula, likely from a potent grimoire. None of the spells seem to be complete, however, with only sections of each incantation present and copious notes around them.
"I wonder if the book has something to do with the enchanted bit of leather I found? I suspect it's related to a teleportation effect--that's the only form of conjuration magic I can think of that can be related to it."
Vulpina nods. "This would be another point towards the murder theory," she states. "Someone leaving this world would hardly prioritize keeping the pot from overflowing."
She ponders Triel's addition. "Is it possible that the leather and the book go together? For example, if a spell begins on one page and the leather finishes it?" She is no caster, of course, but as any proper noble, she has some education in spellcraft.
Lavi nodded in agreement as she continued flicking through the financial notebook, "True, or at the very least, someone concerned about making a mess is unlikely to choose to bloodlet. There is quite a bit that seems to point to murder...teleportation would give even better opportunity than the window though I'm not sure, and then there is a motive to consider. It seems to have been carefully planned out rather than an accident or fight...if it was death by blood loss why and how would someone take so much of his blood..." Lavi said as she seemed to jump from thought to thought as she spoke while she looked through the book.
"Might be enough time today to see someone else about this, anyone have any preferences?" she said as she finally glanced up at the others.
There was indeed time to hunt down one of the known associates, such as his employer, girlfriend, friend or the girlfriend's father before night fell. There would also be time to view the body.
”Lest we each go to discuss the matter with separate contacts, I would posit we pay Mister Lekoa a visit. If any one person should be able to elaborate upon the events most prior to his passing, it would be the gentleman’s closest acquaintance.” She considers a moment; depending upon the locale, it may be best to arrive as Fecklin.
"Visiting his friend sounds like as good a place to start as any."
"We should probably look at the body as well."
Vulpina nods. "Supposing that we separate and cover more ground, then. If there are no objections, I shall delegate Miss Fecklin to find Mister Lekoa." She reaches into her jacket and produces an uncharacteristically-shoddy cap, placing it upon her head. With a slightly uncomfortable-looking lurch,
she stands at almost half her previous height, hair wild, dirty, and purple, and her immaculate garb replaced with shoddy pauper's rags. The blade at Vulpina's hip now looks like a knobbly walking-stick held by a bit of twine, and she passes her pistol to Cassandra for safekeeping; the coat pistol hidden on her person will do in a pinch.
"'opin' nobody minds if I 'ave an itty-bitty drink?" She takes a quick swig of her flask.
Lohn will appear long enough to point out her discoveries and insights and then offer to cover whatever bases the party has not already considered, or to provide support quietly and unseen for one of the more short-handed groups going out.
She doesn't say much, though, seemingly preoccupied with something serious.
"I can go speak with Collete."
After a moment's thought and a raised eyebrow, Lavi nodded in agreement with Triel, "Agreed. Checking the body might be tricky, particularly trying to test for the things I suspect...both that and checking details with friends will need to be done soon. I agree with talking with friend and girlfriend first, connect some information, hopefully narrow down possibilities...
With plans set and put in motion, the investigators split to go about there varied tasks.
Cassandra will walk up to the door and knock. She is still wearing her field gear.
Triel stands at the entrance to the mortuary, notebook in hand. "I'm part of an investigation into the death of a man named Kadle Kelmra. I need to see his body. May I come in?"
Fecklin wastes little time, tearing a scrap of paper from one of the nearby pamphlets. Comparing to Seliask’s writing, she jots down a few quick words.
If you’re going to go out drinking, you’re going to do it somewhere you can stumble home from, else one you can ride a cab home from. Surely they had a favorite. Paper in hand, Fecklin takes off to the nearest bars and taverns.
With all the importance of a runner hoping for a copper or two, she trots up to the bartender of each in turn.
”Scuse me, Mister— ‘vyou seen a guy, name Lekoa? Drinks wif a guy name Kadle?” she asks, reading the names with some difficulty off of her scrap of paper.
Lavi locked up after everyone was out and after a few moments thought, she went with Triel. While Lavi prefered talking to people in the Steps than officials in Central for many reasons, she worried about ruining Lady Vulpina's act and the likely-grieving-but-possibly-involved almost-widow probably needed a lighter touch and to not feel crowded. Hopefully, they would be able to get some information from the body and usually there was the option of talking to the people later.
Lavi asked Cassandra to note if the young woman wore any perfumes before departing with Triel. The catfolk woman hoped to talk to Colette again later but in case not, that was the only physical piece Lavi had that she wanted connected there.
After Triel answered, Lavi held up the relevant documentation if the person wanted to look at them.
Lohn quietly and unobtrusively followed Vulpina in her alternate guise, taking care to stay out of sight and not interfere, in case the noblewoman in disguise needed support.
Down the stairs the corridor curves away in both directions, with numbered rooms in both halls.
"I am actually here to speak with Collette...is she available?"
Fecklin can’t help but appreciate the sight of a barkeep cleaning out a tankard as a sort-of detective discreetly gathers information. She can’t help but recall a similar scene from one of Triel’s works.
”S’posta give ‘im somefin, I am,” she says with a smile. ”From Kadle, or ‘is family, or somefin. I try not to ask too many questions! D’you know where I could find ‘im?”
"I think that will be all for now..." Lavi said with a glance to Triel to check as Lavi took back the paperwork.
Before moving past, Lavi continued "Thank you for your time." in a polite tone before following the guard's instruction to door 12 and went to open and hold the door for Triel.
Triel nods and follows Lavi in, looking for door 12.
Fecklin grins wide. "'f I run to the docks now, I migh' be able t' find 'is ship 'afore 'is shift ends! Thank you kindly, mistah! 'f I finish the job soon enough, might be I could come back here t' spend me coppers!"
With that, she's off, making a beeline for the Docklands like any good errand-runner might. Once there, she bobs and waves her way between busy sailors, shiphands, and cargomen, asking after Lekoa in that sort of hurried way that prioritizes asking as many people as possible and hoping that anybody that knows will stop her before she gets far.
Lavi's nose twitched uncomfortably. The burning herbs were going to make things difficult, but it was likely better than the alternative.
Lavi approached the left side of Kadle's body carefully, looking it over particularly looking for where the blood had been drained from, any signs of injection marks or damage around the mouth from something toxic being ingested...
A quick examination shows the young man was fit, reasonably healthy. His hands and forearms are especially toned. A long, savage wound runs along one arm, almost from elbow to wrist. Looking closer, Lavi decides it isn't clean enough for a blade, but a tear of some kind.
There is a smell of strong spirits on the corpse, especially near the mouth, and some kind of burn near his lips.
"I am a private investigator hired by the family to investigate Ms. Collette's...friends death. She may have important information."
Fecklin grins wide and nods. "Thankin' you for the tip, mister!" she chimes, bouncing on her heels. "'ope you get a bonus for your trouble!" With that, she's off toward Sheller Street.
It isn't long before she's rapping her knuckles against Lekoa's door.
Triel's lips press into a thin, stoic line as she begins to examine the body with her arcane sight.
Lavi looked at the wounds with confusion, and spoke quietly, "With such a neat room, I wasn't expecting the wound to be like this..." Lavi examined the wound and burns around the poor lad's mouth...
After a minute he returned. "She'll see you in the sitting room." It was clear he was not pleased by this, but led Collette to a door and opened it. Inside was a neat little parlour, a small table between two sofas with a tea pot and cup already on it. One the one further into the room sat a young woman, her hair pulled back hastily into a ponytail and her eyes heavy and reddened, taking comfort from the heavy shawl around her shoulders. She looks up and nods, clearly using social graces to keep her composure. "Good evening.
My name is Collette. Would you care for a drink of tea, Miss...?"
In the meantime her brother positions himself by the open door, his arms folded in a way that clearly expresses no intention of allowing this to be private.
Triel finds traces, just bare hints, of magical energy on the mans fingertips. A close examination reveals the lingering remnants of some kind of oil. Judging from what little is left, the authour believes it is Stalker's Oil.
"...there." Triel points to the man's fingertips. "Stalker's Oil, I think. It's used to keep your gear from making too much noise while you're moving around."
"Reminds me of the second chapter of Cobble Street Crimes--this was clearly a professional hit. Powerful magic, and oil that's normally only used by those of a criminal bent." She scribbles something in her notebook. "Pretty sure Kadle didn't go quietly, at least not at first."
Lavi nodded as she listened to Triel, "Would the oil being on his fingers suggest he applied it, or maybe he touched someone who had been using it?"
Her eyes flickered from Kadle's fingertips to the wounds around his mouth, "A lot of alcohol was used by the smell from him, and something else I think causing these burns. Possibly they got him drunk or forced it down him and when that did not work enough, they used something stronger. With that and the wounds and the room...it does seem to suggest that most of what happened did not happen in his room and that whoever took most of his blood for some reason..."
Lavi kept looking over the body, her eyes flickering here and there as her mind tried to figure out if there was any magic or place locally she knew of that would sell blood products from someone with this much alcohol and who knows what else in his system. How so many pieces of the puzzle weren't fitting together did seem highly distracting to the catfolk woman.
Fecklin doesn't let the obvious unease keep her from her trademark smile, even as she grabs her "walking stick" and uses it to rap at the door once more.
Any invisible pixies would know, of course, that the "walking stick" was Vulpina's estoc in disguise.
"Mistah Lekoa? Are you in there? Golly, I wish I 'ad a way of checkin'!" she says to no one in particular.
"Just Cassandra will do. I work for a private eye agency that has been hired to look into this death by the sister. I am very sorry for your lost." glancing at the brother,"Could we possibly talk alone?"
Shooting Cassandra a foul look, he did as he asked.
The unseen assistant that Fecklin is not referring to takes a look at the door really quick to determine if it is locked, if it can be unlocked (and doing so) before zipping around the building looking for another entrance into the room
Lavi sighed in frustration. She walked around the body as if trying to see if looking at him other angles might help spark something. [b]"It would be good if we could figure out what caused these burns...and this tear, maybe a claw or jagged blade? We might need to find someone who knows more on these things..."
Inside the air smells...off, wrong. Tainted, somehow. Lohn's ears can hear some kind of snuffling noise from the back of the building.
The burns seem to be chemical, not from heat. Something was held to his mouth that left the burn marks.
The wound is probably from something quite thin. A claw or fangs, dug in and then yanked along to tear flesh, could do something like this.
"From our understanding you were close to the victim...can you tell me anything about that Day? Anything strange?"
Lohn will pull the door lightly to let their visible partner in, then drop an arrow pointing to the window before sneaking out to see what the snuffling is all about sight unsen -- and hoping that it doesn't have a good sense of smell, whatever it is.
Fecklin clears her throat, peering in the doorway. "'Ello? Mistah Lekoa? Your door is open, I'm gonna take that as an invitation in. Is that all right?" she asks, largely for liability reasons. She steps in and keeps the door open just a crack behind her; she's not really getting the best feeling about this, and wants to make sure she can shove the door open without fiddling with the knob if she needs to make a quick escape.
Her fingers close around her coat pistol, and she draws it, keeping it against her back hip; she takes note of the arrow and stows it as she finds it, stepping carefully through the home toward the back.
She's a bit distracted, however, as she mentally picks through what are presumably Lekoa's possessions and furniture.
"Please." The voice begged this time, barely the same as before, "Just leave me be."
Cassandra leans forward and puts a hand on hers..."I am really sorry for your lost...I lost someone close to me recently...though not the same way. I know it is hard but think did you see something odd or out of place?"
Cassandra will make a note of the perfume she is wearing as requested by Lavi...
Lavi looked to Triel, "We might need to get a doctor in on this, someone with experience in the odd and rough...these chemical marks...something nasty was used to knock him out...and something nastier tore into him...but where is the blood?" she said with puzzlement. Glancing at her own ineffective claws, she tried to guess the size comparison to do this sort of damage that could be found locally...
Fecklin, thankful that it sounds like Lekoa and not some sort of beast, stows her coat pistol away again, and switches her grip to use her glamered estoc as a walking stick again.
"M... Mistah Lekoa?" she asks, approaching the voice. "Miss Sally-Ask sent me?"
Lohn, meanwhile, is unobtrusively attempting to get eyes on 'Mister Lekoa' with care to not get ambushed.
Unfortunately, they don't have a good way to communicate this as of yet.