As Rhialla is working her magic, the rogue meanders first around the outside area, and then inside the small cottage - "Well, at least the trip will definitely not be a waste" - he comments, showing the others what he has found inside.
"As for the discarded vial outside... Some extra magic to help with the murder perhaps?" - he shrugs, showing it to Cass.
Cass pushes herself away from the wall and accepts the vial from Herzag. She holds it up to the light to look at how it might be affected by the remnants of any substance in it, then gives it a tentative sniff.
Herzag found a vial outside the hut, but whatever was in it has been washed away by the constant rain.
Cassiopeia use Alchemy to work out the bolts that killed Haddon were poisoned. Someone wanted him very dead.
Cass takes the opera and gives it a read-through.
"Pretty pedestrian," she says. "Not the sort of thing I'd expect to make it to the stage. It's oddly structured, too."
She puts it away in her pack and doesn't give it much thought until later, while the team is having something to eat.
Taking the opera out again, she looks over it and says, "This is weird, some of this history is wrong... and Cheliax is usually a stickler about public portrayals of history needing to fit their 'official' line. Well, maybe the writer didn't know any better."
In between bites she occasionally glances over at the piece, flipping idly through pages.
It's not until later in the day that she suddenly stands bolt upright and announces, "It's not an opera. It's a code.."
She slaps her forehead and says, "I'm such an idiot for not seeing it immediately. The language is wrong, the scenes are stilted because it's carrying a coded message."
She takes out her quill and starts scribbling in her spellbook—which, since she is a Poleiheira adherent, has infinite pages—and finally says, "Cracked it. The decoded instructions order Haddon to report on the movement of ships visiting Drenchport, especially those belonging to the Master of the Gales. The instructions also identify Haddon’s main contact, a woman named Roweena Kellet in Hell Harbor on Devil’s Arches. "
"What's next? Do we report our findings?"
While you are eating and working on the code Jaymiss Keft notices the Tengu caring and tells you that that Haddon had a regular shipmate and accomplice: a tengu named Corlan. The carving could represent Corlan, who lives in Hell Harbor
So everything now points you to Hell harbor.
What now?
"HA! He WAS a spy! MY ring proves it!"
Looking self satisfied, Ashlei struts around for the rest of the day with a superior smirk on her face.
"Who did you work for before you were killed?" Rhialla asks after considering her line of questioning for a moment.
The question gets a response in a horrible, raspy voice of one who hasn't breathed for some time. "Zarskia Galembar".
"What was the job they tasked you with?" Rhialla asks, suppressing a shudder.
"Spying on the Master of Gales." The dead man rasps.
"Who does Zarskia Galembar work for?'
"I don't know." If it is possible for a corpse to sound smug this one does for a moment.
Last question?
"What is the most important thing you have here?"
"My savings."
"Who the Hell's is Zarskia Galembar? Is that a name we should know?"
"Maybe we head to 'Hell Harbor?' Is that a good place to start? We could look up his contacts there. Work our way up to this Zarskia maybe?"
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He frowned. Hell Harbor wasnt exactly the sort of place he looked forward too. Granted perhaps his blood might give him some sort of favor there, then again, it might not. Remained to be seen. It had been a long few years since he had been in his homeland, and he didnt miss the political mess that was home.
"Think we got everything from here we need?"
He asked glancing about the place having returned at the tail end of the questioning.
"Burnout.... turn this place to ash."
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"Dude...you really know how to talk to a lady! Everybody VAMOOSE! You got ten seconds!"
Eight seconds later Ashlei will let her natural ability to summon flame emerge and she will toast the most easily burnable part of the room. She will then use one of her daggers, heating it up in her hand till it nearly glows and starts setting some smaller fires here and there to make sure the place goes up completely. Just before leaving the cabin, she will cut off one of the dead man's ears and stuff it away carefully for safe keeping.
Finally exiting the small structure, she does so in a cloud of swirling ash and sparks, with whiffs of whitish smoke curling off her red hair; almost like a devil exiting hell's lowest depths. A smile reaches her ruby lips.
"Sorry guys...mind if I smoke?"
Rhialla grins, shaking her head in amusement at just how clear Ashlei's enjoyment was. "Back to the ship I guess"
You make Hell Harbor quickly and easily. Arronax Endymion is the lord of the Devils arches and tolerates no interlopers in his waters.
Information on Roweena Kellet is easy to find. Roweena is a harbor quartermaster in the employ of Arronax Endymion, lord of Hell Harbor and a former admiral in the Chelish navy. Roweena manages two of Endymion’s smaller trade warehouses, but she’s recently gone missing?
You get the location of Roweena's house.
What are you doing now?
With a twinkle of her eye and flick of her red hair, Ashlei corners a fisherman hauling in his daily catch.
"That rowdy sailor-man says the lady's house is over there, between two shops. Says you can't miss it."
The front door of Roweena’s house has been broken open, and the place has been ransacked. Hell Harbor guards have been through the place
looking for her, but at the moment, they’re merely concerned that one of Endymion’s employees has met with foul play.
None of the many shipping and mercantile papers scattered about Roweena’s office implicate her as a spy or informer, but...
You find a ledger listing the names of numerous major pirate lords
of the Shackles, each with a large number beside it.
allows a PC to recognize the numbers as estimated bribes, either to
have the named pirates lord turn traitor, or to have their followers overthrow them. Of these names, one stands out: Arronax Endymion, whose entry has only a dash, rather than a number, after to his name.
Scribbled at the bottom of one
page is a single line: “Send with Corlan.”
Asking around Hell Harbor about Corlan reveals that he is a tengu smuggler who frequently works as an agent for Roweena.
You get his address.
What are you doing now?
"Uggh. Paperwork gives me a headache. Can't I just burn it all. Books burn SOOOO easily."
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"Relax Burnout, you know thats why I'm the captain. I get to fill out the papers."
He said with a slight smirk. He glanced about the place looking more at the guards than the papers or the like. Something figuratively stunk, and he was trying to figure what that was. That and damn if those pants werent painted on his love and second in command. Maybe she used magic to get them on. He would have to start watching harder when she dressed.
When they found the ledgers he scowled.
"Looks like some sort of code work. I'm terrible with codes. You girls make anything out of all this mess?"
He asked drumming his fingers along the walls and still just sort of glancing about.
When it came time to question folks to check out any leads however his grin took on another tone altogether. Threatening fools, scalawags and cowards was getting easier and easier, especially considering he and his crew were starting to build a name for themselves... That and he was an impressive figure when he chose to really play up his size.
"They're estimates, either of what it would take to bribe said Captain for their loyalty, or what it would cost to convince their crew to mutiny." Rhialla says after poring over the books for a bit. "Thing that stands out is...there's no gold amount next to one name...Arronax Endymion. Just a dash."
Looking over Rhialla's shoulder rather uncomfortably, Ashlei points out the note about the Tengu.
"What is that about: 'Send with Corlan.' Send WHAT with Corlan. Something incriminating? Valuable?"
Once again, Cassiopeia takes a look at the ledgers, and once again she's unable to decipher them.
"Well, it's probably something we'll find out when we track him down. Let's go see this bird about a bribe."
You can find the tengu smuggler Corlan at his apartment house on the edge of Hell Harbor’s tengu rookery. Corlan’s house sits at a crossroads where two wide streets intersect in a “T.”
What are you doing now?
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Burnout, you and Cass see if you cant check to see that our friend whom we hope is inside doesnt try to escape out the back anywhere. Rhialla love, care to see if we can find this bird inside? You are better at sweettalking folk i think, but i will be close by if i have to break a beak or two."
He began with a slight grin and cracking his knuckles then his neck.
"My pleasure love." Rhialla says with a grin, "we'll try nice first."
Waiting until Ash and Cass circle around back, she knocks on the front door.
"Following your lead," Cassiopeia says to Ash as the two slink around back.
Nodding Ashlei 'slinks' and smirks harder than anyone when on land, distracting any local boys and men as she goes.
"Stay behind me if anything happens. I don't want those pretty little hands to get hurt. Also...I if I have to give chase to our feathered blighter, can you enchant me to fly? Just in case he runs past us of course..."
Rhialla knocks on the front door, after a moment it opens and a Tengu stands there blinking in slight confusion. "Who are..."
Whatever he was going to say is lost as a crossbow bolt slams into his chest with deadly force, dropping him instantly!
Spinning Cassiopiea & Rhialla can see a hooded figure crouching on a roof where he had been waiting.
Rhialla & Cassiopeia can act.
Cass simply taps Ash and says "Cleared for launch!"
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Rhialla blurts out as the tengu collapses and she spots the hooded bastard on the roof. "Get that son of a bi+<#, Love. I'll try to keep this one alive, or question him if that fails." she says, going inside and closing the door behind her.