Roland Aristocrat Campaign

Game Master Goldstool Shroomshine

Estelle leads the way upstairs. As she and Marcus ascend the staircase, they are met with the sharp gaze of Vincent Durant. His eyes are twin blue whirlpools, rings of periwinkle encasing dark, piercing pupils. “Company? Where are the two of you off to?” They reach the second floor, on equal footing with the vigilant bodyguard.

She smiles at Vincent. “Following leads, I think I saw something that may aid the investigation.” Vincent doesn’t appear amused or even interested in the endeavor. However, he doesn’t move to intercept them, rather shifts back to overlook the crowd. He leans on the balcony, lightly playing with something tucked in his armor at his wrist.

“Perhaps it isn’t my place, but the mercenaries and Guardsmen should stick to the investigation. I mean this for your safety, but what is a charity promoter and a barman to an assassin?” He turns back to the two of them, breaking his blank expression with a light smile. “I will not stop you, but I can not hope to save someone out of sight. Please be careful.”

Estelle nods slightly. “We will be careful, I assure you.” She makes way towards the southeast door, Marcus following behind her. . They enter the room. The walls of the room are lined with arms and armor of the de Beaux family, each with annotated and date cards to accompany them. Long, framed scrolls hold predictions of past Oracles. Most artifacts are marked with a bird plumed gold and purple on a black shield, evidently the de Beaux crest.

Estelle gives no attention to the selection of historical family items and antiques. She marches south, leading Marcus into the office room.

The room is messy. Tables covered in papers detailing ledgers, letters and law. Maps hang on the wall of the continent, country, and various cities of Durendal. Hundreds of lightly glowing thread lines connect an assortment of pins on each map. Looking over the maps, Marcus realizes that his tavern is marked with a pin with several threads connecting to other pins on the Roland city map.

In addition to documents, various trinkets scatter the tables and floors. Pens, quills, clockwork, vials, daggers for letter opening. Crumpled up papers fall in various waste baskets, though most of them surround the baskets as well.

"So much to look over. Where do we begin?"

She speaks in a whisper. “I - I don’t remember. Abigal drank from the same bottles as Emmy and the others. I am sure of it. And the silver-haired woman drank more glasses than anyone else.”

Caroline looks at the beautiful silver haired woman across the room. “If any poison was stalled in her, would she have gotten so sick from alcohol?”

Knowledge(Nobility): 1d20 + 9 + 1d6 ⇒ (17) + 9 + (5) = 31

Halcyon digests Caroline's comments. "If my explanation of events is correct, it wouldn't matter who else may have received the potion, as long as Abigail did. I don't know enough about potions to tell how such a potion might be disguised in wine. The same goes for whether someone would get sick drinking too much. I haven't seen much of Mlle. Agnes tonight."

"Did you drink the wine? How did it taste?"

Halcyon watches the guests mill about for a few breaths, then takes a deep breath and exhales before saying, "If there was some enchanted substance in the wine served to Abigail, it will certainly direct a lot of suspicion on your brother. That may also mean you and your sister will be questioned. They may try to use your testimony to incriminate him. Be careful what you say. Don't offer anything you are not certain is true. Words can be twisted. I know."

Edit: Halcyon notes that although she has only just met young Caroline, she already feels protective of her in a way she never felt for her own nasty sisters. She reflects, however, that she doesn't have the same high regard for Emile and wonders how to proceed so as not to offend Caroline but to find out what Caroline might know of Emile's role in this increasingly sordid affair.

well first we separate the magic from the non magic he says pointing out what he saw im also going to want school and aura strength, which in turn tells me approximate caster & spell level "after that I suppose we get to reading, the guardsman did have a point though, I'm a decent fighter, and a fair caster, but my weapon of choice, my rapier is not on my person

"huh, enchantment, not conjuration, I'd say probably tier 3 to tier 6 magic, could be weeker, but potions are usually made with as little magic as possible, interesting

Seth listens in on the investigation as he gathers anything that could possibly be used as a weapon. As Seth is finishing up gathering everything he looks towards Raphael and the servant, to see the servant quickly glance at an entrance to what Seth presumes is the basement. He hastily walks over to Raphael and whispers in his eye.

"You should ask him what might be down there, perhaps there is another exit on the other side and who ever poisoned Abigail used it."

After Raphael responds Seth takes a few steps back at stands near the main exit of the kitchen.

Raphael smiles disarmingly, saying, "It is not that we suspect servant's before the nobility and rich, but rather that the nobility will have been distracted and drinking. It is our hope that you and the other servants might have seen something suspicious. I apologize if it seemed that we were targeting you indiscriminately. We are all Durdenalans, are we not?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (17) + 15 = 32

Raphael notes the hesitation and nods his acknowledgement to Seth as he confirms his suspicion. Raphael thinks a brief moment, eyes still fixed on Ludovic. Perhaps a roundabout approach... He asks, "Monsieur Rome, who among the servants is generally responsible for the selection of wines and their serving to guests? I suppose that is the wine cellar over there in the corner?" Raphael gestures towards the covered spot in the corner.

Estelle makes her way over to one of the mapped walls. Marcus inspects the vials, but is unable to figure out the exact spell the potions contain. The table that they are on is covered in papers, most of which seem to be covered in dense legalese contracts, some of them marked with an arcane symbol.

Looking closer, most of the magic seems to be superfluous. The faintly glowing string has an even fainter magic aura. Stamps and seals seem just to be magical to be permanent. A dagger, while ornate with perhaps the second strongest aura in the room, appears to be only used for opening letters,and lies sheathed on one of the tables. With the exception of the potions, nothing appears to have the magical energy outside of what a Society Apprentice could create. Most of the trinkets and knick knacks must have been made by Caroline or Beatrice.

Marcus speaks out his analysis of the potion, but it falls on deaf ears.

“So if this is me…” she starts, “... then this is Sinclair… then… ” Her finger now follows the strings to various pins across the city. “Augustine... Mirabelle... Adhmad... Dorian...” She looks over to Marcus. “Oh, you found the vials quickly. I almost forgot why we came here.”

Estelle makes her way towards the vials and Marcus, eyeing papers as she walks across the room. “Anything special? Think they’ll aid in the investigation?”

Caroline shakes her head. “Too young. Emmy seldom allows even Beatrice a glass.”

Caroline breathes in sharply as Halcyon begins to mention possible blame on her brother. She whispers sharply, “Ennx'g na'a!” Her hand quickly covers her mouth, and she silently listens to Halcyon, nodding once after she finishes.

“Emmy would never, that is the truth I know. But I will be wary, thank you.” She smiles at Halcyon. “And I might always speak in tongues if I feel they are trying to trick me. My curse may be a gift after all.” She chuckles slightly, looking around the room. She spots her brother, and watches him talk with Sinclair, Ellen and Beatrice.

"Is there, um, anything you don't think I should mention?"

Ludovic seems happy with Raphael’s explanation. “Ah hells, don’t go ‘pologizing. Emile told us one ya had it out for us servants, clear it ain’t you. He looks to Seth as he covers one of the doors, but his eyes dart back to Raphael as the next question is asked.

He turns to face the closed cellar entrance. “The, uh, wine? Yeah, its stored down under. Emile tells us what to bring out ‘heada time. We put the vintage ones down there, and one of us’ll go fetch ‘em for the meal and pour ‘em in front of the guests”

Ludovic continues to chew his tobacco, turning back to face Raphael. “I’m uh, not sure if Emmy’d like you down there, son. Ain’t as clean as the rest of the house, tarnishes that reputation he goes on about.”

Marcus rolls his eyes, repeating his words again, and tells her all that he sees, and finishes with a statement of "I'm not sure to what extent these potions feature in the currant investigation, but even by themselves, I'd say they were of... Questionable legality...

"Is there, um, anything you don't think I should mention?"

"Well, if I were investigating this, I'd want to know first if Emile would profit in any way from this event. Does he have any prejudice toward Galatians? Does he have any business deals that would profit from a controversy and frosty relations between the country? Would he benefit if there was a war, for example."

"The second thing I'd look into was whether there was anyone else who might have leverage over Emile enough to force him to participate in this plot, either directly, such as serving wine that he knew was enchanted to prevent the poison from taking effect, or indirectly, such as simply inviting the Galatians and providing a stage for events to play out."

"So anything you might say which would provide evidence of either of those reasons for him to be involved, you might keep to yourself, although if he is innocent, probably best not to withhold any information that someone could prove you knew."

Halcyon draws her Harrow deck from it's ornate pouch and begins to idly shuffle it. "I can use the cards to get a sense of whether a particular line of action will prove beneficial or dangerous or neither or both. It's called an augury when used with a spell, but I can 'cast' it with a reading. I could ask, for example, if questioning all the servants and guests as they are doing will provide clues as to who did this. Is there someplace in the house we could look that might provide evidence that would either incriminate or exonerate Emile? I could ask about the advisability of searching there."

@Raph, I will give a prompt response tomorrow to you, want to give what I have for now as I must wake earlier in the Summer

Estelle echoes Marcus, whispering “questionable legality” with a smile as she takes a step towards the potions. “Should we fetch Vincent? I’ve never seen a man drink as many potions as he has tonight. Three or four in the last half hour alone.” She gestures to her necklace, a brass wind-chime-like device, giving it a small flick. It chimes softly. “All those empty vials have him jingling like I do.” She walks around the room, ringing like bells.

Estelle looks over some of the paper, flipping her way through the pages. She reaches a stack of light-purple sheets and grins. “Gossip columns. Just when you think you have someone figured out.” She puts down the sheets and returns to Marcus. “Anywhere else we should check?”

Caroline contemplates Halcyon’s first question. She seems startled at the mention of war. “No, no, there would be no profit from war. Emmy trades goods between Galatian and Durendale collectors, halting trade would bring him, us, ruin.”

She gives thought to the second set of questions, nodding as Halcyon speaks, a little sign that she listens while lost in thought. “Halcyon,” she starts, a slight bit of hesitation in her voice, “have you ever, um, heard…” She lowers her voice to a whisper, averting her gaze from her brother.

Her eyes dart towards her brother and her sister quickly, checking to see if they heard her whisper. The other de Beaux’s continue their conversations across the foyer.

I expect the answer to Caroline's question is yes, but I'll make a roll.

Perhaps a little further pressing to see if he grows nervous... Raphael proceeds after a brief pause, "It's understandable that Emile wouldn't want guests down there under normal circumstances, but you must admit, Monsieur Rome, that these are plainly rather extraordinary ones. Perhaps you'd be willing to show us the room to assuage some of your concerns? Given the nature of the crime, I would be remiss if I didn't at least check the room in which the wine was stored. What if further wine has been poisoned? No, I really think I must take a moment to look through this room. Your assistance would, of course, be invaluable to identify what has been drunk already." Raphael watches the cook carefully for a reaction.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (11) + 18 = 29

Taking Helmuth's suggestion, Valentina proceeds to find poor Abigail's body to examine it further - convincing people to come out of closets is neither her forte nor is she particularly interested in it.

Now, where is that corpse? Silverstone needs a subject. It's too bad she isn't a doctor...actually, about that. Before she leaves the room, she cups a hand to her mouth and calls out to the crowd, "Is there a doctor here? That is to say, a medical professional. Somebody skilled at surgery and knowledgeable regarding poisons and anatomy."

Somebody's gonna need a rank or two in Heal after this.

Tomas breaks away from his group (Nishara, Alexander, Bertrand) at the call of Valentina. He makes way towards her.

“While no professional, I have treated my share of wounds and poisons. All proud Tizonian citizens need not magic. ” Tomas laughs lightly, but quickly realizes this is not the place for his braggart ways. He takes a pair of thin, black gloves from a pocket on his chest, donning them as he reaches Valentina. He smiles, “I grow bored of pretending to ignore the problem at hand, let us go.”

Ludovic rises from his chair, spitting to the can once more. The glob of tobacco barely makes it in this time. He taps his heel down, and turns to grab the chair. He raises it and places it to the side of a knife-less cutting table with a thud. “Yeah, ‘spose you’re right. It’s dark, just a few candles though.”

He makes way to the slab of decorated wood covering the entrance to the basement. He lifts it, revealing a wooden ladder that leads down to a dimly lit cellar floor. “Wish it was stairs. Carryin’ wine up a ladder ain’t easy. Come.” He hops down the hole, climbing down under. He grabs one of the candles by it’s metal holder, and looks up to Raphael. His face glows softly, it is clear he isn't pleased. “I’ll show the wines, you can check for secret doors or whatnot you think is down here.”

As the servant heads towards the cellar Seth walks towards Raphael. "Would you like me to accompany you, or do you want me to stay up here?"

Depending on Raphael's response, Seth will either stay by the entrance to the cellar or head down.

"Alright. I need you. Come." Valentina grabs the man (Tomas) and proceeds to find Abigail's body. She saw people carrying it out of the ballroom, but she doesn't remember where it went... (Or does she? I don't remember, anyhow.)

Always feel free to check the map ;), NPC known locations are marked

Valentina grabs the Tizonian and takes a step north, but Tomas heads west. Valentina quickly turns to the direction, taking the movement in stride. They reach the coat room door where the late Abigal and Eduard were last seen.

"I know not what is customary here. Should we knock?

"Uh." says Valentina, scratching her head. "I dunno. Is that rude? He's probably crying in there."

She shiftily looks back and forth. Then she takes a little step towards the door. She reaches out a hand, slowly, and knocks on it twice. "Eduard?" she asks.

"It might be best if one of us remains up top in the event someone enters the kitchen unexpectedly. I would hate to think that someone might mistake our purposes."

Bluff to pass a secret message: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (11) + 15 = 26

Finding a candle, Raphael pauses above the opening, looking to Seth. He steps closer to the mercenary captain and whispers, "I don't suppose you have a dagger? I wasn't able to recover my own from the room that Eduard took over. I'd prefer not to go unarmed." After hearing the response, Raphael nods to Ludovic, "Shall we?"

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24 Looking through the darkness below.

"Okay, I will wait here until you finish your search of the cellar." As Raphael gets closer to Seth and whispers, Seth shakes his head and whispers back. "I only have my sword, and I am hesitant to give it up at a time like this. If there is any trouble, I assure you I will be there as soon as possible." Seth then stands next to the entrance of the cellar in case he needs to go down and join Raphael.

The room is a bit colder down above, and more humid. The floor seems to be natural stone, as do the walls. The walls have been worked on, the edges of the engravings softly glowing in candle light. While a large room, there are little candles, and the room is faintly illuminated at best.

Wine racks are arranged throughout the room in aisles, lining the walls and dividing the room into sections. A few of the aisles have candles at the end of them, their glow revealing the shape of hundreds if not thousands of wine bottles. One can make out a door at the opposite end of the room, though it is closed.

The room is dark, even with a candle things are rather dim. Without the candle, you would have trouble navigating, having to rely mostly on touch.

Ludovic waits a moment as Raphael scans the room. He then begins to scan the aisles himself. “Let’s see, we had the two sparklins’, the riesling, the Langlais Pinot Noir and Cab Franc, that chard, the barolo, the um, ice wine and I think there was another. How you want this?

There is no response from the Coat room, though after a few seconds the clanking of metal and the jostling of chainmail is heard. Eduard opens the door, clad fully in armor once more. He stands behind a large shield, and after he opens the door, his hand returns to his sword leaning against the wall. He keeps it lowered, its tip hovering over the ground.

Fully armored, Eduard is quite the sight. He wears a helmet now. His golden eyes are bloodshot. His helmet reveals only his gaze and part of his jaw. He stands tall and upright, a good head above even Valentina. His plate is a metallic silver color, it is embroidered, gilded and trimmed to be quite exquisite. Symbols of golden lions dance across his shoulder plate, and old-Galatian text sprawls his armor and sword. Galatine spares no expense with it’s Royal Guardians. His voice is hoarse and muted.

“Dewiswch eich geiriau yn ofalus, Durendal fenyw.”

Some eyes in the foyer make their way towards the armored guardian. He quickly glazes over them and looks back to Valentina and Tomas. Tomas begins to search for his words, evidently not knowing Old Galatian. Eduard cuts him off, returning to a common tongue. “What is it you want?”

Emile watches Eduard for a second. Afterwards, he begins to count the crowd in the foyer. He seems a bit distressed, and makes way towards Helmuth. After a brief conversation, he walks towards Nishara, asking her if she knows where her brother went off to. He searches the foyer once more, this time finding Halcyon and Caroline.

“Glad you two are making good company. Have you, um, seen Marcus around? Or know where he went off to?”

@Raph, I will give a prompt response tomorrow to you, want to give what I have for now as I must wake earlier in the Summer

Estelle echoes Marcus, whispering “questionable legality” with a smile as she takes a step towards the potions. “Should we fetch Vincent? I’ve never seen a man drink as many potions as he has tonight. Three or four in the last half hour alone.” She gestures to her necklace, a brass wind-chime-like device, giving it a small flick. It chimes softly. “All those empty vials have him jingling like I do.” She walks around the room, ringing like bells.

Estelle looks over some of the paper, flipping her way through the pages. She reaches a stack of light-purple sheets and grins. “Gossip columns. Just when you think you have someone figured out.” She puts down the sheets and returns to Marcus. “Anywhere else we should check?”

"nowhere I can think of, most of where I was prior to the tragedy was in the public areas, places that would already be cleared of any contraband if there was ever any there to begin with, we could go check out any of the bedrooms or we could rejoin the group, see what everyone else has found and talk to Vincent as you mentioned

Valentina tilts her head up, shaking her hair out of her eyes and managing a smile. Wow. This dude's got it goin' on.

"We need to see Abigail's body, Eduard. There might be more we can learn from it. Would you let us do that, please?"

Diplomacy?: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23

To hear the words between Eduard and Valentina.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

Halcyon watches with interest Valentina and Tomas approach the coat room, although she feigns unseeing eyes, as usual.

Before they get to the door, she answer Caroline in a whisper.

Before Caroline can answer, Emile approaches as Valentina and Tomas knock at the coatroom.

“Glad you two are making good company. Have you, um, seen Marcus around? Or know where he went off to?”

Halcyon feels around her for her staff and stands to address Emile, calling subtle attention to her disability. "Marcus was with us when we went to the necessary room, at my request. I lost track of him in the crowd once we got back." She looks in the general direction of Caroline, passing the conversation to her.

“Dewiswch eich geiriau yn ofalus, Durendal fenyw.”

Halcyon excuses herself from the presence of the de Beaux siblings and taps her way over to Eduard, Valentina, and Tomas. After Valentina asks permission to examine the body, Halcyon says to Eduard, "Mae gennych ffrindiau ymhlith y gwesteion sydd am helpu. Mae'n ddrwg gennyf fy mod wedi methu i ganfod y bygythiad i'r llysgennad, ond yr wyf yn gobeithio y byddwch yn sylweddoli i ddim yn ceisio. Rwy'n gwybod Valentina ac rwy'n gwybod y gall hi fod yn ymddiried ynddo i wneud yr hyn y gall hi er mwyn helpu i ddarganfod a allai fod wedi gwneud hyn."

Aid diplomacy: 1d20 + 10 + 1d6 ⇒ (2) + 10 + (2) = 14
Her Old Galatian is obviously rusty. Probably did not make as much sense as she hoped it would, but perhaps it is enough that she tried and that she speaks his language.

"I've certain magic that might be of aid, so I believe we can start there." Raphael looks around the room suspiciously, still listening, before he chants briefly and his eyes begin to softly glow. Detect magic He walks slowly up and down the aisles, starting with the one nearest the ladder. His eyes strain in the gloom as he looks over all the wine. Could I have imagined it? My nerves are certainly frayed and I've had a not insignificant amount of the Langlais. As he completes his tour, he gestures towards the door and asks, "What is past here? More wine? I'd not mind having a look inside, if that's alright."

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

Looking at the wine isles for something magical. Just start by looking for auras and then focus on any I find. If I don't find anything then take 10 on perception til I get to the door.

Val’s 22(+2 from Halcyon's Aid) vs DC 22 to Influence Attitude makes Eduard Indifferent now to Valentina.

Eduard looks conflicted. His lip rises, curls outwards, ready to say something. Halcyon speaks in Old Galatian. He looks to her and he lowers his shield to the ground. His grip on his sword tightens as he walks back into the coatroom. “I - I will permit it. Find who did this. Tonight they answer not to your laws or the Gods, but to me.” Helmuth cracks a small smile in the front foyer, but quickly hides it by turning towards the Kitchen.

The coat room is a rather tidy place, and if not for the body of Miss Bolton, wouldn’t draw any attention. She is placed on the table, lying flat on her back, eyes closed. The blood has been wiped off her, splatters and stains on her clothing being the only evidence of her earlier poisoning. Her hands lie on her stomach, and despite her passing, she looks strangely tranquil.

There is a door to the south leading to guests’ stored items, and another to the north, leading to the bar room. While there is usually an attendant to receive and retrieve items, it seems Eduard scared them away earlier.

Eduard backs into a chair, watching Valentina and her followers (Tomas, Emile). He drops his shield to the side of the chair, leaning it against his leg, but does not put down his blade. “I was beside Abigal for nearly every moment of each day. Alert me if you need any information.” He keeps his helmet on, and his eyes watch for any sudden movements. He breathes deep and loudly.

Estelle taps her foot in thought. “Let us check with Vincent then. If need be, we can check upstairs, but the two of us on a goose chase with a murderer about will bring only trouble.” She grabs two of the potions, handing one to Marcus. She takes steps towards the northern room. “Come, we only draw suspicion the longer we are here.”

Estelle closes the door to the office warily, making sure to not make a peep. She walks towards the upper vestibule, whispering. “Keep yours hidden just in case. I’ll show Vincent my potion.”

Estelle and Marcus walk into the vestibule, hearing the growing conversations downstairs. Vincent greets them with a quick glance. Estelle walks over to him, and he winces as her necklace jingles. “Monsieur Durant, could you identify this for me?”

Vincent turns to Estelle and Marcus, taking the small vial in hand. He looks at it, gives it a few small shakes, holds it up over his eye to observe the color. He reaches his hand into the sleeve of his wrist guard. He takes out a thin knife, uncorks the vial, and dips the tip of the blade into it. He re-corks the vial and hands it back to Estelle.

Vincent wipes the dagger across his glove and gives it a small lick. He returns the blade to his wrist-sheath.

“Any potion this strong gathers my suspicion. If you make up a lie, I will cover for it.” He extends his hand to Marcus. “And how rude of me. Vincent Durant. I wish we met under better circumstances. I heard you are a tavern owner, the Tall Tail Inn I heard? ”

Emile asks how Caroline is holding up. “I’ll be alright.” He expresses some concern about Beatrice, asking Caroline to see if she can improve her condition. She nods, looking at Valentina and Halcyon talk to Eduard.

Eduard opens the door to the coat room and retreats back within. He is followed by Valentina and Tomas. Emile follows as well, telling his sister he will be back shortly. As Emile enters, Caroline quickly dashes to Halcyon’s side. She speaks in a whisper, careful to not have it travel to her brother in the next room.

“Never was one for magic, cheap cooks use it to make better grub, but I was taught better. Older wines in the back room. Ya gotta’ kill the candle if you head back there. Light’ll damage the wines and I’m keep bein’ told they priceless.” Ludovic grabs an old wooden crate.

Raphael tours the aisles, starting from the ones closest to the ladder. Emile’s collection is rather grand, one can tell even without proper lighting. Some of the vitages date back to the early 400's. He reaches the end of the aisle, doubling back, with Ludovic in tow. Ludovic grabs the wines he listed earlier as he passes them and places them into the crate. This continues for the first two rows, but something is off with the third row.

The third row is without a candle at the end of it. The aisle extends into darkness, no clear end in sight. While the wines at the start of the aisle have the faintest of glow to them, its presumed end is pitch black. Ludovic looks down the aisle. “Don’t think none of the dinner wines were down there. Mostly ciders and such. Feel free to check though.” Ludovic takes a step to the next aisle.

It is 11:07PM, there are 53 minutes until the New Year. Predicted fifteen minutes until Guard reinforcements arrive.

Helmuth gives two quick knocks on the Kitchen door with the butt of his gun. He opens the door without waiting for a response. “How is the - Wait, where did they go?” Helmuth’s eyes search the room, stopping for a moment on the cellar entrance, but continuing around the room after. He closes the door quickly behind him. “Was there some kind of secret exit in the kitchen? Maybe an oubliette beneath our feet during dinner? Is our Law-man down there with the help?” Helmuth twirls his gun with a smile, something he most likely learned for ceremony. “Ah, and they got the Galatian to open the door. Soon I will be reunited with my other arms. Have anything else you need in the coat room?”

Valentina nods curtly at Boltonward in thanks, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We'll catch the perpetrator. Don't worry - there are too many competent people here for us not to." Then, she goes to the young woman's body, takes out her alchemy kit and a few flasks, and gets to work.

First, she takes a sample of Abigail's blood, sets it in one vial and puts it aside. Then, she begins checking all over the young woman for signs of poison - she's still not entirely sure where Abigail was poisoned from, and that could be important information. She starts with her mouth, then her hands, her ears, any exposed back and neck, then her hair, and if she still hasn't found any remnants she begins a comprehensive search of the woman's entire body. While searching, she looks at her guests and says, "Modesty has no place here - if you'll be embarrassed at the extent of my search, you can leave and you can close the door. If you can, though - Tomas, could I enlist your help? I'm searching for the poison's entry point."

She also turns to Emile, "If you could be a dear and fetch our friends' weapons, that would be lovely. Start with Helmuth and Raphael, please."

Vincent turns to Estelle and Marcus, taking the small vial in hand. He looks at it, gives it a few small shakes, holds it up over his eye to observe the color. He reaches his hand into the sleeve of his wrist guard. He takes out a thin knife, uncorks the vial, and dips the tip of the blade into it. He re-corks the vial and hands it back to Estelle.

Vincent wipes the dagger across his glove and gives it a small lick. He returns the blade to his wrist-sheath. ** spoiler omitted **“Hmm. I know not at the moment, the taste illudes me. Where was this found, Emile’s office?” He mumbles off to himself, asking rhetorically if it was Caroline or Beatrice could have brewed it. He seems to have gotten the same conclusion of the potion's strength as Marcus, and determines that none of the de Beauxs have enough magical talent to create such a potion. “Save it for the Guard. I’d like to ask you to return downstairs now. I hear the host is looking for you Marcus, I presume you asked to search his office.” he briefly smiles wryly. It fades quick.

“Any potion this strong gathers my suspicion. If you make up a lie, I will cover for it.” He extends his hand to Marcus. “And how rude of me. Vincent Durant. I wish we met under better circumstances. I heard you are a tavern owner, the Tall Tail Inn I heard? ”** spoiler omitted **** spoiler omitted **** spoiler omitted **...

[b]"if I ever need an explination for how I know something, I usually say that my friend had a vision, it's true often enough that no one generally questions it, and given how it spreads the tale of her power, she's usually fine with it, I just need to tell her about it after" he then gives a small but true smile "you've heard correctly, many a fantistical tale has ben told over the hearth, many a jubilant song played, and many a joyous gathering hoasted, why there was even a pair of gnomes were married in the tavern, we still haven't replaced all the furniture, but it was definitly memerable... And no one died at that party.."

As Emile enters, Caroline quickly dashes to Halcyon’s side. She speaks in a whisper, careful to not have it travel to her brother in the next room.

To Caroline, Halcyon just nods, and whispers.

She looks to her Beatrice, still with Sinclair and Ellen though largely silent and rather pale. “Thank you for your help, Halcyon. I should go see Beatrice, see how she is handling this.” Caroline walks towards her sister.

Eduard backs into a chair, watching Valentina and her followers (Tomas, Emile). He drops his shield to the side of the chair, leaning it against his leg, but does not put down his blade. “I was beside Abigal for nearly every moment of each day. Alert me if you need any information.” He keeps his helmet on, and his eyes watch for any sudden movements. He breathes deep and loudly.

Halcyon watches Valentina and Tomas begin their examination of Abigail's corpse. A wave of sadness fills her seeing one so young and vibrant just a few minutes ago now in such a state. She drifts over to Eduard's side and leans against the wall next to him and slowly slides down to sit, rather inelegantly, on the floor, her gem spangled black velvet dress spreading around her like a dark pool reflecting starlight.

"There will be questions you can answer, but they can wait a bit." She glances at Emile and thinks, "at least until Emile leaves." She regards Eduard briefly as well, assessing his state of mind.
Sense Motive for Emile: 1d20 + 14 + 1d6 ⇒ (2) + 14 + (1) = 17
Sense Motive for Eduard: 1d20 + 14 + 1d6 ⇒ (2) + 14 + (6) = 22

Her usual ability to see to the heart of a person seemed muted, as if seeing through frosted glass. She sighs and asks Eduard, "Was Abigail married? Does she have family here in Roland or back in Galatia?" Through her tinted lenses, she watches Eduard for clues about his relationship to Abigail. "Were they lovers?" she wondered.

Seth waits patiently as Raphael and the servant go through the wines. When Helmuth knocks on the door, Seth begins walking towards the door but stops in his tracks as Helmuth walks in. "They are right now in the wine cellar. I believe they are collecting the various wines that were opened and Raphael is looking for anything he deems, suspicious." Seth thinks for a moment when Helmuth tells him the coatroom is open. "I didn't bring anything else, I only brought my sword. I do remember that Raphael wanted his dagger, I do not know where it might be though."

“No partner. She had suitors. Most all were leeches off her royalty. Her father is Korbin Bolton, Duke of Arondight, and her younger sister is Kaitlyn Bolton, an apprentice in Parliament. Both are in Galatine, likely to stay there now.”

Valentina’s search does yield some results however. With her alchemy kit, she is able to find trace elements of the poison within Abigal. As she samples different parts of the deceased, she comes to the conclusion that some parts of Abigal’s corpse have higher traces of the poison than others. She finds that Abigal’s left hand has a higher concentration of poison. While no longer lethal enough to cause damage, Valentina determines that this was the location of the contact with the poison.

Tomas is unable to find anything either. It would seem that the poison left no marks on Abigal’s body.

Emile exits the storage area, holding what appears to be a folded up bandolier, a small wooden box, a rapier and an ornate dagger. He gives a quick passing smile to Valentina and Halcyon before continuing out of the room.

“If you brought anything more than a sword, I would be suspicious, friend.” He laughs, making his way down to the cellar entrance. He squats, resting his rifle on his shoulder, looking at the ground with what little light nearby candles provide downstairs. “Valentina should be gathering my gear, I will send her off to grab Raphael’s when she returns.” He pauses, listening in for any activity downstairs. He rises.

“I thought she was Galatian at first, though I didn’t want to embarrass her with the question. She is from Durendal, no?” Helmuth bounces his rifle on his shoulder a couple times, looking around the kitchen.

After and if Seth responds, Emile enters the room, Helmuth looking a bit disappointed at his entrance. He does smile when he sees the gear he holds.

“Gifts, how wonderful.” Helmuth takes his bandolier, wrapping it around his shoulder. He reaches into its folds, removing a small, holstered pistol. He begins to set it up at his hip. He places his hand on his rapier, feeling its weight briefly before tucking it at the other side of his waist. Finally, he grabs at a small wooden box, perhaps the size to contain a wedding ring. It is polished a deep brown color, and gilded with decorations of gold leaf. Helmuth waves it at Seth. “I will have to show you what this is later. Perks of being a Captain.”

He smiles widely, placing the small box in his pocket. He slings the rifle over his shoulder once more, going to leave the room. “Alert me to anything down below. I’ll be in the foyer.” Helmuth departs, leaving Seth in the room with Emile de Beaux. Emile has but one item left on him, a small ornate dagger.

Emile looks about the room, quickly shooting towards the cellar ladder. “Oh gods, the light is going to spoil the wine. Seth, ah, my good man, may I deliver this to Raphael? He won’t be needing it, and some of the vintages downstairs are older than even Sinclair and mustn't be disturbed.” He laughs to himself lightly, looking down the pit.

“You should keep watch, correct? It won’t be a hassle for me at all.” He grins slightly, taking a step forward.