The platter the woman dropped contained a serving bowl of the fish soup and a pitcher of rum.
Kal notices that where the two spilled foods have made contact, they fizz and smoke in a very unnatural way.
"Hey, surgeon, have a look at this."
Zirul motions people away and takes a closer look at it, trying to see if he can cross-reference them without getting out all of his alchemical equipment.
"Oh what fresh hell is this?"
Opal looks at what Kal is looking at. "Ok, why is that stuff smoking?"
He mumbles quietly, attempting to go over every possible chemical combination that could cause the bubbling. "Just keep it down, and we can figure it out."
Zirul surmises that the rum has been tainted with some kind of inactive poison. Something has been added to the fish soup that's acting as a catalyst that triggers the poison. The poison isn't lethal but designed to look and feel a lot like nasty food poisoning.
Zirul looks to the servers and shakes his head. "A poison in the rum and a catalyst in the soup, that only happen to cause problems when combined, like a nasty case of food poisoning." Swiftly looking to the serving folks, he asks firmly. "Has any of the soup gone out?
"I am not taking any chances. That pot of stew is getting pitched out as is the keg that that pitcher of rum came from. Better to be safe than sorry. I am also beyond pissed that someone dared to mess with my food."
"We can't not serve the rum... nor the meal. Just how good are you? Can you nullify the stuff in one or the other?"
One of the serving girls gasps and covers her mouth.
"I already served some of the soup... to the pirate lords..."
"Not only that, but we must also be able to neutralize anything that's possibly already gone out." He takes off his backpack, pulling open the top and beginning to sift through it, mumbling all the while. There is no doubt that the skilled alchemist is beyond pissed.
The color drains from his face. "Get to the lords and stop the serving, now. I'll start neutralization."
Opal very nearly faints at the idea of the pirate lords blaming her cooking for a case of food poisoning.
"Quick, take out the bottles of vintage wines out instead of anymore rum for the moment. I was going to save them for later, but better now. Since they are sealed it is less likely they have been tampered with."
Opal then goes out to the table the pirate lords are at to see if they have begun to eat yet...
He seems to be struggling with the numbers, as there are quickly developing a good deal of unforeseen possibilities. "Kal.." The half-elf speaks low. "We're in real trouble here. We have someone in the midst that is leaving us opened up for something bad. I feel it in my bones."
"I told you there were some very stupid people out there. I'd guess Harrigan's behind it."
The serving girls move to see to Opal's orders. One of them stops.
"But Opal, there's not enough wine for all of the pirates out there."
As Opal peers out of the kitchen she sees Cerise sipping at her soup. Avner and Mase have already finished. The three are chatting with Bjorkus, Luthor, and Chubwart.
"Great fool of the high seas, more than Free Captain." He spits on the floor while trying to come up with a plan.
"We can, if we hurry, treat them before the effects hit."
Zirul quickly pulls out his alchemical tools and kits, seeing if any of it would be useful in this case.
"Just give the wine to the captains since they are the only ones who have eaten the soup so far. We will send out a different course of food for the rest of the pirates for now. Go ahead and send out the roast pig. Oh this seriously sucks. Please tell me that you can neutralize this Zirul? I would rather focus on that first."
Zirul gets out the antitoxin and begins to uncork the wine. "Something about wine needing to breath, right Opal? I can get things neutralized, starting with the pirate lords. Toss out that soup, because there's too many people we'd need to treat. I'll work on the rest of the food."
Once his work is done one of the serving girls takes the bottle of wine and quickly rushes it out to the pirate lords's table.
With amazing grace considering the pressure she pours each of them a glass and leaves the bottle on the table for them.
"A fine vintage. Please enjoy", she says coolly.
Mase and Cerise casually down the liquor and go back to their meals.
Avner sniffs the wife and then puts it down dismissively without tasting a drop.
"Damn. We need something other than wine for him. What's the most potent alcohol we have? Something strong for that guy, because he's not going to sip on a fine vintage of wine."
He looks to prepare some more liquid to lessen the issues for the Captain in the future.
"We've got a scroll that could hold off the poison, but I'm not sure how we'd manage to use it on him without his noticing."
Opal sighs, strategically adjusts her clothing and casually saunters over to Avner's side.
"It seems like a good hosts work is never done during events like this. I hope all of you are still enjoying the evening. I know the wine isn't exactly traditional drink, but it was quite a fine vintage that we liberated off a ship."
Opal bats her eyes at Avner. "Aren't you going to take a sip of it?"
He shakes his head. "Liquor. Not just some cask of rum, but something potent. Something that's like rotgut."
The alchemist snaps his fingers. "Drinking contest with the Captain! That'll do it."
He watches and waits, though, to see if Opal's plan comes through.
Avner licks his lips as Opal saunters over and begins to praise the wine. The big kellid's eyes narrow in on the valley her clothing seems to be strategically adjusted to draw attention to.
He glances at the wine again dismissively and then grabs the glass and downs it a quick gulp.
"I'm not some taldan ponce. I don't sip."
Zirul, after seeing the liquid consumed will stop one of the servers to see what other courses remain, knowing it will be a long night.
A couple minutes pass and there's no ill effects.
Zirul is certain that if the poison is going to hit them it would have happened by now.
"We out of the deep water?"
Zirul wipes his brow and rolls all of the kits back up into several neat piles, putting each into the pack (which, for anyone who would notice) which is far too deep to fit everything it does.
"Well, my fellow scoundrels, our insides are safe for now. If we had failed...the captains would be bent over in pain, running for a private chamber pot..or seven...Tomorrow, I believe we go a searching..."
Zirul waits another moment or two but heading back out. If anyone asks, his story is that he was reprimanding a servant for getting cleaning products far too near the food storage.
"Well now. I do so like a man that shows a bit of stamina."
Opal continues to flirt with Avner for a moment, concerned that abruptly leaving would be suspicious.
Kal glances around the kitchen again to make sure everything's in order. "I'm going for a walk to check on things outside."
He retrieves his bow and heads out to do a circuit of the fort.
Kal's search, both inside and outside, reveals little. He finds a discarded vial that once contained the catalyst but nothing about it indicates who owned it or its origin. A circuit of the fortress finds nothing out of the ordinary. Pirates can be seen coming and going even hours into the feast.
After some cleanup and a careful search, it's determined that none of the other food is poisoned or carrying the catalyst, Zirul, Kal, and Opal rejoin their table.
Another hour passes and as the empty bowls that previously bore Opal's lobster-shepherds pie are taken away, Avner puts down the tall glass of brandy he'd been nursing during the course and excuses himself.
"I'm going to see to the entertainment", the burly Kellid says with a gesture at a couple of calistran acolytes lounging nearby.
The next course is brought out shortly after, braised short ribs with baked potatoes and sweet corn. Avner doesn't return.
Nearing an hour later, one of the calistrans approaches the table with a worried expression.
"Excuse me", she says to the party. "There seems to be a bit of a problem with Lord Sorrinash. He-"
Suddenly angry shouting can be heard coming from the hall of private rooms the prostitutes had been using to ply their wares.
Zirul perks up, looking over at the disturbance, wondering what in the Seven Layers could be causing the issues. "What sort of..."
He jumps up quickly.
Kal stands quickly and moves in the direction of the noise.
"Avner? What's wrong?" Luthor follows Kal.
Zirul follows after the rest of the men, knowing this is not going to be pleasant.
Opal sighs at this next disaster and goes to see what is wrong.
Bjorkus stands up along with the others and beelines for the private rooms.
The party arrives at one of the well furnished private rooms to a delicate sight. On one side Audessa stands defiantly with three of her acolytes, naked sweaty and ragged, behind her. On the other, Avimar Sorrinash stands equally unclothed and sweaty but at full mast and seething with anger.
"No whore is going to tell me what to do", he growls.
Audessa, fearless, shakes her head.
"You've had your fill and you're too rough. These girls need time to rest."
The crowd filling the hallways seems to be a mix of laughter and cheers and nervous whispers.