Phillip moves to put his back to a wall as the fervent nature of Marce's words give him some pause. Noting the deliberate neutrality of tone and cattish way that Marce is dancing around the issue... Phil delves to get a hunch of what may or may not be driving the halfling...
Sense Motive:
In level tones he responds in kind "You'll need to give me a bit more of a lead if you want me to follow..." measuring what he knows of the day before deducing that it must have happened this afternoon... given that Ethel saw Almah over lunch. Was she visited at work or was this back where she used to live... might something have happened to the old crone?
Ethel resolved for at least the moment, Phil straightens with smooth movements and speaks steadily to Marce "That question you're dancing around in your head... I'd hope you know enough of me by now to realize the answer to it. But... you want me to answer it plain you'll need to ask it..." pausing to allow the air to clear and see if Marce was going to need a more verbose explanation... or if the Lord Mayor had enough trust or nous to figure an answer on his own.
Nodding an affirmation to Marce before moving up nearer to the larger man by his door Phillip offers a curt greeting "Serpe... don't go too far, I'll have something for you and the others shortly."Snake nods and takes his leave, heading back to the kitchen and finding himself a place to sit. As he takes a seat, "Any word on the dwarf?"
"I don't think he's the sort for tattoos.", Gristav jests, then sighs, and answers, "No, no word. And more than a day unseen, depending on how one counts. And who one counts on."
"You must be worried, yourself. To actually be talking to me."
"I don't think he's the sort for tattoos.", Gristav jests, then sighs, and answers, "No, no word. And more than a day unseen, depending on how one counts. And who one counts on."
"You must be worried, yourself. To actually be talking to me."
Snake shrugs, "Just curious. I barely knew him but it does seem odd to me for him to be gone this long without a word. I guess he could've skipped town and got the heck out of dodge at first chance. Wouldn't blame him for that. Still... seems odd." With a distant look about him, he scratches his chin as he thinks on the matter.
Snake shrugs, "Just curious. I barely knew him but it does seem odd to me for him to be gone this long without a word. I guess he could've skipped town and got the heck out of dodge at first chance. Wouldn't blame him for that. Still... seems odd." With a distant look about him, he scratches his chin as he thinks on the matter."I don't think he's the sort for tattoos.", Gristav jests, then sighs, and answers, "No, no word. And more than a day unseen, depending on how one counts. And who one counts on."
"You must be worried, yourself. To actually be talking to me."
"I don't know why, I think I might trust you. I'm not usually given to flashes of... insight. I'm more the sort to reason a thing out, build sound scaffolds of logic, to reach a conclusion. But since neither of us knows you at all... A leap of faith?"
"I'm charged with carrying to his brother, final papers, when his end came. Those papers are gone. He might have taken them to change them; he was uncertain of his partner. A less than thorough search didn't find him. I don't know, what I should do. It's not comfortable, doubting one's doubts."
Startling, Gristav cusses explosively in Tien, and hurriedly turns an over-seared steak, muttering more in that mandarin mein...
Not forcing Marce to say it himself Phillip suggests it "I'm wagering that the quickest way to an outcome would be to go to them? You've said as much already that a cloud of suspicion is wafting my way. Would you be able to set up a meeting on neutral ground? We keep Ethel out of it, and I'll take a second with me?"
Snake looks to Gristav curiously. "His final papers, hm?" Pondering the situation a bit more, he eventually shakes his head. "I don't know either, bub. So he told you where his papers were, and you are to take 'em to his brother when he's dead. Where is his brother? And any idea on what these papers entail?"
Snake looks to Gristav curiously. "His final papers, hm?" Pondering the situation a bit more, he eventually shakes his head. "I don't know either, bub. So he told you where his papers were, and you are to take 'em to his brother when he's dead. Where is his brother? And any idea on what these papers entail?"
"The perpetuity of his share in the Goblin. Perhaps as much as the deed itself. He was sure of how 'airtight' it all was. In a dozen words, I showed him it was not. Then he fought with Saul, and carried his packet off... to where? Do you suppose, all the reassurance and restraintful recommendations might evaporate, if we were worrying over Saul's wealth, rather than over Larur's health?"
Gristav has stacked the steaming venison steaks on a platter, and covered the lot with a clean dishcloth, doubled. Setting himself to whip cream and sugar (this latter curiously powdering as it fell from between grinding fingers), Gris glanced up at Kane. "When I've run out of chores, I suspect I will completely lose my zen. All you who are wiser and smarter than I, ought to have a clear plan, by then."
"There's a firm alibi for me - I was at the docks and the Arena with company... but Ethel's would just be implied. There's also a few rogue pieces on the chessboard..." thinking of the Rotgut wastrels, Serpe's past and the Whoremistress "that I'd feel better knowing more of their part in this. And I'm not getting that without either seeing the body or the scene... or talking to Croat's men." running a hand through his tousled hair and eyeing Marce directly.
"If I don't surface then they'll bury me anyway... I'd prefer to see the knives before me than wonder when they'll sink into my back. So... can you set up a meeting on neutral ground? - or would you prefer to stay out of it?"
"The perpetuity of his share in the Goblin. Perhaps as much as the deed itself. He was sure of how 'airtight' it all was. In a dozen words, I showed him it was not. Then he fought with Saul, and carried his packet off... to where? Do you suppose, all the reassurance and restraintful recommendations might evaporate, if we were worrying over Saul's wealth, rather than over Larur's health?"
"Yeah, I remember that. When I went to ask for a key to the back door, I heard them two arguing. Wasn't hard to tell the dwarf was not the happiest of campers. Saul, on the other hand, was as cool as a cucumber. Obviously whatever Saul said to Larur, didn't sit well with him at all. Unfortunately, I didn't catch anything of interest of what they were talking about. It's starting to seem more and more like your dwarven friend has skipped town. The only mystery to that is: Why? What was it that Saul said to him that would make him angry enough to get the heck out of dodge?" he asks as he ponders the question himself, having no clue as where to even begin with an answer.
"The perpetuity of his share in the Goblin. Perhaps as much as the deed itself. He was sure of how 'airtight' it all was. In a dozen words, I showed him it was not. Then he fought with Saul, and carried his packet off... to where? Do you suppose, all the reassurance and restraintful recommendations might evaporate, if we were worrying over Saul's wealth, rather than over Larur's health?""Yeah, I remember that. When I went to ask for a key to the back door, I heard them two arguing. Wasn't hard to tell the dwarf was not the happiest of campers. Saul, on the other hand, was as cool as a cucumber. Obviously whatever Saul said to Larur, didn't sit well with him at all. Unfortunately, I didn't catch anything of interest of what they were talking about. It's starting to seem more and more like your dwarven friend has skipped town. The only mystery to that is: Why? What was it that Saul said to him that would make him angry enough to get the heck out of dodge?" he asks as he ponders the question himself, having no clue as where to even begin with an answer.
Braddon nods sagely and takes another drink from the flask he found.
"Well, that's a bit more to go on than you had before."He listens quietly and pipes up a while later.
"If the documents were worthless, he would have left them. I figure he's seeing a scribe. And those guys talk for ever. I should have knocked out all his teeth."
Braddon looks wistfully towards the basement stairs.
"A scribe? I don't know about that; I don't see any use for a scribe in this." He shrugs. Turning back to Gristav, "You never did mention the location of his brother, Gristav. I'm guessing you do know where he is since Larur left you with instruction to take his papers to him. Or did you give Larur your word not to give away his brother's location?"
"I shouldn't have mentioned the brother at all, only my duty to make a delivery. Any threat that might go to his location, might learn it, first. Better he not be mentioned at all. But, Janderhoff."
"Don't make the place a part of your thinking, just yet. Larur did not take his papers and go to his brother, and leave debts here unpaid. However burdened, he would still be honorable. And Arnando remains unpaid. I would also hope he would have left me word, before any such exit. I am only here for him, and that's known."
"So, I think he went for advice or alterations on whatever documents or deal he thought 'airtight'. And it's possible negotiations and revisions continue. But it's more and more likely, some trouble has found him."
"It's not table talk, but... let's do this at dinner, cards on the table. Saul's understanding of the airtight deal, the argument had with Larur, and the potentials of the city, might guide us to where Larur went, if not where he is."
"With three sets of eyes - and Phillip's, we might hope - we might well watch Saul and Bojasc as well, for reaction, and clue."
Marce exits Phillip's room and quickly crosses the casino floor. Passing back through the kitchen, he nods politely to the three men, "Gentlemen," but clearly has no intention of stopping to chat, heading directly for the back door.
Braddon waves as Marce exits, then looks expectantly back into the casino towards their quarters.
Phillip exits the door with a grim disposition after lingering to hear the telltale click of a lock being engaged - moves through the building to the kitchen... where he finds who he was seeking.
With no preamble he speaks plain "The lady who owned the shop Ethel worked at has had her throat cut..." sending a glance to Serpe to draw him in "There are a few balls in play here... and some mutual acquaintances that might be implicated" another glance towards Serpe... before a pregnant pause allows reaction before Phil continues.
Chuckling grimly, a deeper register that echoes his usual demi-elven tones, Gristav stops himself, and says, "I'm sorry. A tragedy. We were... just as dark, a moment ago, on another topic. Do have an immediate dispatch? If not, let's talk across plates of food; whatever we do next, we'll want to have fed."
Snake is just about to say something until Marce quickly walks by and exits. Looking toward the door with curiosity, "I wonder what that was all about."
His answer then comes when Phillip arrives and relays information he has gathered to them all. Taken aback by the news, he immediately stands up looking stunned. "Dead? She's...," he stops as the halfling's words hit home. Shaking his head ominously, "Damn," he mutters under his breath. "They'll be looking for me," he says as he sits back down, dragging his hands down over his face in frustration. Pondering it all and realizing no matter how this plays out... "You got any other news on this? Anything at all?"
"Who?"
"The woman Ethel Braum, Phillip's companion, worked for.", Gristav tries to explain to Braddon. "I'm guessing, Marce brought it to Phillip as a fire to be put out. But it's curious, Phillip brings it to you, Mr. Kane."
Gristav takes the mashed meat, and stirs in a fistful of berries. As he folds them together, he looks about the room. "We really ought to take tea more often, if we're all to be of service to the others. I can assemble a meal from leavings, but not usually, the entirety, of a story."
"Will we be here for dinner? Or should we plank the bread, and lay the meat between?"
Snake looks at them both curiously before putting it together. "That's right, you two don't know. After I fixed that mess you caused with the homeless people, Gristav, I stopped by there yesterday while I was taking them back to Rag's End. I just thought the woman, Finnie, needed something better to wear than the blood covered clothes she was wearing so I took her in so she could pick something out." He shrugs. "That's it. And now as we all know, the so-called law in this town will come looking for me so we can 'talk'. And while it wasn't me who killed her - and if they don't find the one who really did it - then I don't think any of us will be a ton surprised if they decide to slap this one on me and throw away the key. Why? Because they can. And aside from all that, Saul's not gonna want this kind of publicity... at all." Returning to thought a moment, he simply can't help but shake his head once again. "Have I mentioned this is only gonna get worse before it gets real bad?" he asks rhetorically, sighing.
"Right," Braddon nods.
"So someone killed this woman and we care because it might be pinned on us. On you." Braddon points at Snake.
"Why would it be pinned on you? Does anyone know you went into the shop? What did you do different from any other customer, apart from the blood covered woman you were with? I mean, you woulda kept that hidden till you went in, right? And only the dead woman was there, so no one knows, right? So no problem, right? Unless there was someone else, in which case we bump them off and no one knows, right?"
Braddon looks at the expressions on the faces around him and hurries on.
"Oh, Ethel, right. So, we won't do that then."
Braddon turns to Phillip.
"Is she... I mean will... did she?"
Braddon pauses.
"What does she know, and what should we do?"
Gristav's initial suggestion is waved off by Phillip with a muttered "Don't eat while I'm working" before he listens to the flow of information from the other persons present.
To the query of what he knows he can offer little "I know nothing apart from the fact she was found this afternoon." holding up a hand before continuing "But we've no idea what Croat's boys know either..." realizing that likely needs further explanation he offers "Murder happened in Croat's territory... so his men are looking into it."
Chuckling darkly as a smirk forms "But far as I know for now it's me they're looking for to start with... It's no secret among the slips that Ethel left the shop with me in tow under a minor scene. No way of knowing whether they're looking or suspecting anything else until I talk with them... which I'll be doing soonish at The Publican - Marce is arranging it now."
Turning first to Braddon he asks "I'll ask you to consider coming with me Braddon. Apart from being my alibi for the day, I'd not refuse a second to stand beside me who looks like they can handle a blade. I'd hope Croat to come in peace... but" shrugging "It's your choice whether to or not, but I am asking... and it'd be a damn sight harder to rule me out without you."
Turning to Serpe he raises a few more points "I can get the heat off of myself easy... and likely Ethel without much of a stretch, but Croat's boys will need a scent to be following for them to truly call off the hounds. Right now, the best one I can offer is the drug addicts you dragged through there to clothe..." holding the point with dead iron eyes to show that he'd feel nothing about throwing them under the carriage if he needed to.
To Gristav he adds "I'd ask you and Serpe to stay clear of the meeting at The Publican... no need to show your faces to Croat's inquisitors. There's one thing I would query though... what was left of Kreun's underlings when you parted ways with the flophouse in Rotgut?" driving at determining if any of Kreun's men were left in a state where they could either operate... or seek to dominate the drug addicts left behind...
Turning to Serpe he raises a few more points "I can get the heat off of myself easy... and likely Ethel without much of a stretch, but Croat's boys will need a scent to be following for them to truly call off the hounds. Right now, the best one I can offer is the drug addicts you dragged through there to clothe..." holding the point with dead iron eyes to show that he'd feel nothing about throwing them under the carriage if he needed to.
Shaking his head, "No. Let's leave them out of it. While the child seems to have it together better than the mad priest and the introverted woman, she's still a child and and she needs those two. And the one thing she doesn't need - or any of them need - is more trouble. Simply living, for them, is trouble enough. Besides, if his boys were to meet 'em, they'll know there's no way any of them could've done it because they're just too incompetent." He crosses his arms as he thinks on it a moment. "If you can find out what Croat knows, we can go from there. Maybe they will have already caught the guy and we can live in peace without a thing to worry about," he says, completely unsmiling. He then looks around at them all and their confounded looks, "That was a joke," he states as if it was obvious.
To Gristav he adds "I'd ask you and Serpe to stay clear of the meeting at The Publican... no need to show your faces to Croat's inquisitors. There's one thing I would query though... what was left of Kreun's underlings when you parted ways with the flophouse in Rotgut?" driving at determining if any of Kreun's men were left in a state where they could either operate... or seek to dominate the drug addicts left behind...
"Yeah that's probably a good idea." He then cuts his eyes over at Gristav, "Yeah, what happen to those we left out back? Were they still there when you showed up with the law?"
"Only the dead were still there. So the innocents filled the cruel creel. Some care only for their own. Tribe, thoughts, purpose..."
"They were released to Kane's account. Putting the blood on their hands puts it in his ledger. As accounted by the guard, at least."
His eyes going wide, Snake then sighs in frustration. "He's right. I had completely forgotten about that. If it's on them, then it's on me. Boy this night just keeps getting better and better. I wonder what else I've forgotten that has the means to send me to the gallows?" he asks sarcastically.
"Yes, don't we all."
While waiting for Braddon to weigh in on whether he's willing to accompany him to meet with Croat's boys, Phil adds to the discussion "Could be the dregs of Kreun's band at play, could be Serpe's past catching up... I'm relatively sure I haven't p1ssed off anyone enough to have them open a throat and it doesn't seem the Whoremistress' style." pausing to smooth his mustache and looking to Snake "But you want to keep the wastrels from Croat's men... you'll need to give me a better option."
At the talk of who is on the hook with who he shrugs "This is Riddleport... the law is mutable. The power behind the curtain in this case is Croat, not the Gendarme. Handled swiftly and efficiently then there's no reason it couldn't be buried while the body is still warm."
"Is there a real suspect? Not just a collection of players, and a hot Croatato? Do you all need another chorus of 'not me!' before we begin discussing the real matter? What do we know, of who might have really done it? The victim's enemies. Debtors. Creditors. Family. Lovers."
"Draw a circle around her, in your mind. Who, are inside the first, such?"
"Perhaps your Ethel, should answer."
Braddon nods to Phil.
"I'm happy to come along and be tall. I think Croat is the only boss I haven't met yet. I guess I'll have to work for him too."
He jerks a thumb at Gristav.
"He's right. Why would any of us, or some drug addled looney, want her dead? She either had enemies, or someone knows that Phil or Snake has been there and is trying to set them up."
Braddon flexes his muscles.
"And I thought with Dayn being shrunk and Shorafa threatening us that nothing exciting would happen today. Let's get some exercise."
Phillip gives Braddon a thankful nod at his words of support before clarifying "We stay here until Marce returns with word and confirmation of the meeting."
To Braddon's less thoughtful other suggestions Phillip bristles somewhat but tries to restrain the worst of his cutting tongue "Conjecture is pointless until more is known, and more won't be known until after we meet with Croat's men." looking to Gristav and Serpe before adding "But before you absolve an insane gibbering religious zealot, a hand of now leaderless thugs and the rest of Rag End's backwash... might be worth making a reconnaissance now when there's a chance Croat's eyes haven't turned that way? Just a thought." said with a filtered thread of sarcasm that couldn't be held back.
The last he says is a simple fact softly spoken "Miss Braum is to be left alone."
Waiting for the back and forth to end, "I don't have a better option. If Croat's cronies head that way on their own, then we just let it play out. They'll find out they're wasting their time. And while the mad priest may be mad, he's no killer - I'd bet coin on it. Not voluntarily anyway. He'd have to be forced into it. And if that's the case, then we're dealing with someone who can manipulate minds with some type of magic because there's no reasoning with him without it."
"Like I said: Once we know more, we go from there. We can talk 'what if's' all night." He then looks to Phillip curiously. "And are you suggesting we leave this night and head to Rag's End to spy on the place, Raccoon? I'm not so sure how that helps us. What are we suppose to do if we see Croat's men walk in? Kill 'em? What's the point?"
Shrugging Phillip merely muses "If you actually cared for the girl, the throat slit and the madman in more than a passing fancy - you'd take the sliver of a chance to either get to them before Croat's inquisitors... or you'd see whether Kreun's dregs had re-imposed a dominion over them again." another shrug before he diffidently continues.
"You see a crime, I see a threat. Quickest way for me to still that threat is to offer them another man to hang... you really think between my words and the madman's ravings about blood and penitence that I can't convince Croat's boys that he was the killer?" raising an eyebrow by way of explanation. "I've an inkling that the boys I'll be seeing with Braddon will be less on due process and more on a quick lynching to show swift justice... if it was just me and Ethel in play then I'd put money on being able to have the raving bastard in a noose before the sun rises tomorrow." pausing to allow silent reflection on his claim before he offers a "But..."
"You could be right, there could be more to this... could be the Sczarni come to play, or ripples from Lil, or anything else." marking his words and tone with a touch of formality to finish "So while the hag's corpse is still warm, while their best suspect is me and before they even find out that their bloodied and raving visitors were from Rotgut and before they roll out to Rag's End and seek a summary type of justice by hanging the penitent..." hands wide to show that it's merely a suggestion that Serpe and Gristav could see if Kreun's remnants were still a force, or if Micah and the others had been kicked out of Rotgut... or if absolutely nothing had happened and they were still living in peace.
Footsteps are heard from the stairwell, then Saul and Bojasc appear, Saul's nose all but twitching at the scent of cooked meat. "I was on my way to fetch Mr. Deverin, but what is this divine aroma you've conjured?" he asks genially. "Is dinner almost ready?"
Phillip goes silent as Saul enters the room, leaving Gristav to explain his elaborate meal.
As Snake is just about to respond to the halfling, he stops as Saul and his muscle walk in. When Saul finishes speaking, "I'll let the suit know, Saul. I'm heading that way anyway and his room is right next to mine." He then looks to Gristav, awaiting his response to Saul about dinner.
Footsteps are heard from the stairwell, then Saul and Bojasc appear, Saul's nose all but twitching at the scent of cooked meat. "I was on my way to fetch Mr. Deverin, but what is this divine aroma you've conjured?" he asks genially. "Is dinner almost ready?"
As Snake is just about to respond to the halfling, he stops as Saul and his muscle walk in. When Saul finishes speaking, "I'll let the suit know, Saul. I'm heading that way anyway and his room is right next to mine." He then looks to Gristav, awaiting his response to Saul about dinner.
Gristav flicks his hands, as if driving water from them, before making an gathering motion with his left, a beckoning motion with his right, while whistling up a wind, and catching from the conjured gust the conjured list, which he presents to Saul. "Dinner is ready. The servers, distracted. Phillip reminds us of an urgent call elsewhere, Mister Kane and I, while Braddon and he have a call of their own, shortly after dinner, I should think. Business-", Gristav grins, "It won't wait!"
"Speaking of such", Gristav asks, his notes dropping again, "Where is Larur? He was unhappy with your deal... who could be expected to hear any such plea?"