Az gives a crisp nod to Alice's comment, flashing any RHC credentials that the group might have been given to the officer. "Is official business we are having. We need to search factory."
"Got it." Corynne says, turning to face the barge, one hand going to her throat to touch the faintly glowing pendant she always wore. As she does, she focuses, a chill spreading out from where she stands as her hair begins to move as if underwater, an eerie blue glow emanating from her eyes as she peers into the metaphysical spectrum, viewing the magical examinations before her.
Once he sees your badges, the guard's demeanor changes. "Ah, constables. That's another matter entirely. Go do what you have to." The factory itself is a three-story building with a large factory floor. Inside, several teams of workers are busily going about various tasks. One group collects raw materials brought in from a small pier, another team combines reagents to create various types of acid, and a third appears to be constructing some kind of large urn. You can also see a few people relaxing in an upstairs lounge area. Overseeing everything is a brown-skinned human who is clearly Heward Sechim.
There are trace elements of conjuration magic on the barge, but there's no apparent sign of life. Of course, considering the recent factory strikes you've read about, that may not be particularly surprising.
Ellena looks to Az. "That's him, I guess? Suppose we should go introduce ourselves." She steps lightly up the stairs until she's level with him before introducing herself. "Excuse me, Mr. Sechim? I- well, we're with the RHC - is there somewhere we could speak in private? We need to talk about one of your employees."
Heward Sechim looks concerned. "Of course, my office is right this way. Is everything all right?"
"Alright then, call me if you notice anything strange"
Gracefully jumping down on the barge, Alice moves towards the cabin, a hand over her gun holster, looking for anything unusual.
After they are led to Howard's office, Az turns to the man and takes a deep breath. "Mr. Sechim, we are afraid to be bearing bad news for you. One of your employees, one Nilasa Hume, was killed earlier today. The circumstances of her death were...unconventional...and the RHC has been called in to investigate. We are hoping we might learn more about her from you, as her employer."
You don't find anything unusual on the 'Princesa' - especially as it's not currently carrying any cargo.
Heward grimaces and nods. "Damn. My uncle warned me about this. He doesn't have visions much anymore, but last week, he told me that 'an adopted daughter will blindly ride the wind to her demise.' Tell me what you need, and I'll do my best to help. Can you tell me what happened?"
"I... I'm not sure I can. Maybe after they've released the body. For now, we just need you to answer a few questions. Did you know if Nilsa was in any financial trouble?"
"Not to my knowledge. I pay my workers well and had a soft spot for Nilasa."
"Are you knowing of any difficulties she may have been having, at work or at home? Or has her behavior changed in any way recently?"
Heward sighed. "She'd been trying for years to befriend Gale and the fey terrorists. It's my fault, honestly; I told her how terribly other factory owners treat their workers, and she took it too far. I'd been hoping to instill a sense of pride and allegiance, you know? But Nilasa decided the harsher owners needed to be punished."
Corynne continues to study the magical signature on the barge while looking out for strangers.
"Nothing here, at least nothing I can find. Should we wait and see if someone comes by later? But why was the deed stolen from the consulate, I couldn't say..."
"I think we should post as couple of officers to see if anyone comes by, possibly plain clothes if we want to catch them in the act." Corynne replies, Might s well move on to the other things we need to do this evening.
Moving to the nearest guard station, Alice tries to make her case that yes, they need someone for a stake out, and yes, it should be soon. Filling the required modules, she finds herself longing for a good scuffle.
As a former police officer herself, Corynne plays to the young officer's ambition. One never knows what could break a homicide case wide open.
"She was trying to befriend Gale? So...is implying then that the two actually did have contact with each other, yes? Do you know how long they knew each other?"
You find an officer who's off for the evening and wouldn't mind earning a couple extra hours of pay for what sounds like simple (if boring) work. He'll notify RHC Headquarters if anything unusual happens at the barge.
Heward shrugs. "I honestly don't know. In the ongoing debate about Risur's tradition versus its future, I've been on both sides. Gotten into my fair share of trouble both times, too. Nowadays, as a result, I understand and respect where both sides are coming from, and in my opinion, they both have some good points. I strive to be a bastion of neutrality, and that tends to mean people don't involve me in their fights.
"That being said, my uncle Nevard has the respect of radicals like Gale. He's completely nonviolent, mind you, and would never do anything illegal. Still, if need be, he could probably arrange a meeting with Gale. Maybe that would stop more misguided kids from getting themselves killed...." He takes a moment to compose himself.
"If there's any way I can help, please tell me, but realize that I have a lot on my plate as is. Between the protests keeping customers away and the government pushing for me to lower the price on the Coaltongue etchings, I'm starting to hurt financially. And that's before those men came around and threatened to burn down my factory."
A meeting with Gale?! That could... that would... this is so far above my pay grade...
Ellena did her best to stifle her confusion. "You should know, sir, when Nilasa died- well, all the witnesses said it looked like she was trying to fly. Anyway, who were these men threatening you? I doubt it has any relevance to this, but you never know."
"Here's to hoping that this wasn't a red herring."
Alice lights up a cigarette and puffs out a small cloud of smoke. "Join the others at the factory? Or head to the tavern in the meantime? Oh, right, you had someone to speak to."
Heward gave a sad nod. "Then my uncle's prophecy was true. I don't know why Nilasa would do something like that, though." When asked about the men, he hesitates. "It started about a week ago. Two of them, both smelling of burnt engine grease. They wanted to buy a few cases of alkahest but told me not to report the sale. As you know, I'm legally obligated to document all transactions of that nature, so I refused. They weren't happy about this, but left after mentioning the recent fires in the district. A couple days ago, two new men came with the same request. I told them I'd need time to arrange something, and they seemed satisfied. I had one of my workers follow them, and he told me they went to a seedier part of the district, away from the lake and closer to the Nettles. That's where he lost them."
EDIT
That's interesting... I thought those fires were supposed to be Gail's doing. And what would she need alkahest for? Need to ask Miselle, or maybe Corynne, about that later.
"Alright, thank you. Doesn't sound like it's related, but we can speak to the local precinct about it if you'd like. Since your uncle did make a prophecy about this, we should speak to him as well if that's possible. One last question, though..." and here she paused, wetting her lips. "Have you ever heard of the 'Shadowman'?"
"I'd appreciate that. It would certainly calm my nerves. Can't say I've ever heard of a 'Shadowman,' but if the name comes up, I'll let you know."
"Yeah, I have a contact here."[b] Corynne says with a bit of a grin. [b]"She often has access to people who'd be pretty difficult to talk to without a warrant....that and people tend to be very unguarded around her."
She blushes slightly, "I'll need to....change before I head over there though......the uniform's....bad for business."
"Aye, then. I may as well go back to the tavern and wait for our lead, unless you'd want an escort? I'm not changing, though."
"I am having another couple more questions, please. Is there any reason Nilasa would be coming to consulate? And since cat is out of bag, you should know...Nilasa's body was found 40 feet from consulate. Is much too far for jumping. Was she experienced with magic enough to accomplish such a thing? Also, the chocolate she took to give to consulate had been tampered with, poisoned somehow. Is this something that would use been like her?"
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"She was dating someone at the consulate. Braden ... Braylen ... I think that was his name. She didn't have any affinity for magic that I knew of - although she did have a gold bird necklace she started wearing all the time a couple months ago. No idea if that's relevant or not, but since Uncle Nevard's prophecy mentioned 'riding the wind,' so I thought you should know. As for poison ... that doesn't sound like the Nilasa I knew - although she did have a troubled past before she started working for me. She wouldn't talk to me about it, but I think she has a criminal record."
Corynne smiles. "As enjoyable as having the esteemed Constable Kildare as an escort sounds, I'd probably be better off heading there alone. Besides, my...spooky entourage can do a pretty good job of discouraging strangers if it comes down to it." she says with a chuckle.
"Maybe check in on Miselle, see if she's bored of the lab as yet. I'll swing by later to compare what we've found."
"Catch you later, then."
If Fitelle gets bored, she can hang out with her folks at the crime scene. Hopping on a carriage, Alice moves back to the Thinking Man, waiting for the girl called Barb.
"Hmm...well..I can think of no further questions regarding Nilasa's circumstances at this moment. If others arise, may we come back with them? We thank you very much for your time and your willingness to help." Az says; regardless of his answer, the dwarf shakes the man's hand before they part.
Once outside the factory, Az suggests that they head back to the tavern and see if enough time has passed to allow their other quarry to arrive for her shift.
Nodding, Ellena follows Az back to the tavern.
With the knowledge they have gained from Heward, Azaghal and Ellena head back towards the Thinking Man, hoping that the night-shift crew will have come in.
Back at the Thinking Man, Alice takes a cup of coffee and waits for the others to come back.
After finding a place to change, Corynne, now wearing what one would consider the attire of young, quite daring noblewoman, her outfit concealed by a voluminous dark cloak, takes a coach to Sadie's place of business.
The Thinking Man's Tavern is quite busy when you return. The waitstaff now consists entirely of women, overseen by a friendly-looking lass of sixty. That's almost-certainly Barb. Performing on the stage are a dozen musicians led by an ocarina-playing halfling. Their music has distinct fey overtones, and they're currently performing a song that mocks King Aodhan's leadership abilities. The chorus is rather catchy. As for the patrons, they're a mix of sailors, factory workers, and university students.
As you enter the building, the ground shakes, and several glasses topple off the bar. "Earthquake!" shouts a panicked Orc sailor, but the tremor quickly subsides. From a table near the bar, a man in his early forties speaks up haughtily. "Don't listen to the porcine panic. Flint has been geologically stable since it was founded. We could no sooner have an earthquake than a blizzard! It was probably just the ground settling." His tablemates share a laugh at the sailor's expense and return to their discussion. Soon, the clientele returns to their drinks and food.
Sadie's ... occupied ... when you arrive, but you're used to waiting. After around 30min, you're able to get some time with her. As you're old friends, a purely social call is free of charge.
As they move to somewhere private, Corynne gives Sadie a hug, removing the cloak as she sits. "How've you been?"
Miselle went out and did the origins of police work, rather than simply being town guards and bully boys - she talked to people until she got the information she needed.
Alice presses her lips and shoots the halfling a death glare at the mockery of the King, but she stays her hand. No point in causing a brawl over it, and it would only tarnish the RHC, and indirectly the Crown's, reputation. Instead, she moves towards the woman and flashes her badge, forcing a smile. "Good evening, Ma'am. RHC. Could we ask you a few questions in private?"
There's a gnome magician in Pine Island whose act revolves around badgers. Behind his shop is Waryeye's Apothecary, run by his wife.
[ooc]@Corynne: Sadie gives you a warm smile. "I've been well."
Barb gives you a nod. "Of course, constable. Let me just get these drinks served, and I'm all yours. There's a patio out back that's quiet and away from the dinner crowd."
Ellena tenses at the song, eyes flicking to Alice, before relaxing when it's clear the older woman isn't going to make a scene. The earthquake makes her stumble, forcing her to grab a column for support, and once she's sturdy she follows Barb out back.
Miselle returned to the bar, waving to the others as she went and got a drink and some food before heading for the table.
"Good to hear, sorry I wasn't able to come by more recently, they've been keeping us busy. Between you and I , I think saving the King and arresting the Duchess managed to ruffle somebody's feathers Corynne shares.
"But now we're onto another case that's looking pretty big. Have you heard about anything happening at the Danoran consulate earlier?"
After a few minutes, Barb joins you at the back patio. "All right, constables, how can I help you?"
"Some girl took a dive out the window, right? I'm afraid I haven't heard much about it. Is this related to Officer Porter's investigation by any chance?"
"We are looking into the circumstances leading up to death of woman named Nilasa Hume. We are led to believe she was frequent patron here. Could maybe you tell us what you know of the woman?"
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"It might be....the name's not that familiar." Corynne replies frowning. "Local police?"
Alice looks straight at Barb's face, looking at possible signs of deception or feigned surprise.
"Yes, I think so. Officer Roger Porter was his name. He had a little pencil mustache. Asked about the foreign doctor who's been staying here and searched his room. Happened maybe two hours ago."
Barb looks absolutely devastated at the news of Nilasa's death. "My little songbird's dead? I can't believe it! Such a sweet girl...." She takes a few moments to compose herself. "I'm sorry; Nilasa was like the daughter I never had. She would often sing with the band. Beautiful voice; everyone loved to listen to her. She had a good head on her shoulders, too. She liked to debate those philosophy boys, and they actually listened to what she had to say! I kept telling her to apply to get into Pardwright University. She'd make a good scholar."