"So we speak to Agmand Sarv first as an appointment has already been made yes? The rest we will arrange a meeting with soon enough.
I will come along as well Alder. I may be able to aid you with your line of questioning. After all, we are in this together for a reason".
Ermengilda considers the only person still in the room with her. "Thomas, was it? I suppose I could use some assistance. Magic is generally outside of my area of expertise." She sets the small cloth satchel down on a nearby table, and unrolls it, revealing a number of instruments. "So I will do the cutting, if you will continue checking for traces of magical influence." She withdraws a large scalpel from the satchel, turns back to the corpse, and begins to cut into the chest.
roll + Intelligence (Precise Treatment) + skill rank + class skill + trait (Precise Treatment) + untyped (Skill Focus) + circumstance (Surgeon's Tools)
The guard the Arrester left behind answers this particular unspoken question.
”Arrester Lavinia took the liberty of scheduling your meeting with Sarv for after dinner this evening, giving you plenty of time to do whatever it is you wished to do beforehand. He is expecting you, however, so be sure you know what questions you wish to ask ahead of time. He has almost certainly prepared answers to just about every question imaginable, but perhaps you will catch him off guard. I wish you luck in your investigation.”
“What do you think?”
“About what?”
“Do we stay or should we go?”
“We should stay. Autopsies combine two of my favourite things. Puzzles and cutting things up.”
First, you reinforce your belief that there’s no natural thing that can cause such unique wounds as the senator displays. There was some force of witchcraft or other dark magic that is responsible.
Second, the senator appears to have swallowed some piece of paper shortly before his death, as it was caught down in his throat. It’s quite hard to make out exactly what it says, but there are a handful of smeared words along with a single unchanged phrase: an address on Tin Street. You wonder why he swallowed this specific piece of paper, and why is this address on it?
Giliad turns to his fellow investigators as they exit the room, "Shall we sit down and come up with a list of questions for Sarv? Then we can make our way to the others and see if we can catch them unawares.
I have allies within my District who can call upon favors to aid us in any nocturnal operations if needs be, my night sight is a bit poor".
Alder keeps walking, dismissing Gilliad's suggestion with a "tsk". He keeps walking, intending to go see if he can access the scene of the crime himself.
"I have my questions. Mull if you wish."
She glanced over at Giliad and shrugs, simply following after Alder. "I'm mostly here for the bit of prophetic support and muscle when the time comes. I don't really know much about investigations..."
Giliad raises an eyebrow and turns to Felicia, "I think it would be more prudent to try and access the other Senators than to journey to the crime scene right at this moment. Go with Alder if you wish".
Gil turns to one of the other Guards and asks about the likely current whereabouts of the other Senators, including their names, locations of operation (generally), and their itinerary for the next few days.
Alder jogs down the front steps of the building, going to head to where the body was found. Felicia can clearly note - he's not the most talkative. And she hasn't seen him even half-smile. Once.
She isn't feeling particularly smiley at the moment either, honestly looking kind of nervous as she trails after Alder. He's the one going to where there could be danger, so she's probably best served keeping him safe... At least, that's what she thinks.
”Well, Leonos II, as the Arbiter of the Sova Column, is most likely stuck in some court proceedings somewhere, as he always is. He’s so busy with the judicial column these days, and you’ll most likely find him in his courtroom overseeing some case or another.
And the last column, the Jelenn Column is led by the Vedalken lawmage Uzana. She is most likely to be found somewhere within her office, working hard at a piece of legislature or in a meeting of some kind.
I’m sure either of the two would be willing to grant an audience to agents of Isperia.”
The actual area is a small sitting park in what appears to be a walkway designated as a rest stop, with a handful of benches spread out. The benches, upon further inspection, have many an obscenity and other defacings scratched into it, including an untold number of names.
You know from the description you received that the Senator was found behind one of the benches, face up laying on the ground.
Jelenn, however, is more than willing to give you an audience almost immediately, should you wish to do so.
Both Felicia and Alder find something useful, as Alder’s strong eyes are able to pinpoint a small pile of ash somehow untouched by the business of the city underneath one of the benches near where the body was found.
Of particular note, however, as Alder takes a look around the scratches and marks etched into the table he notices a particular symbol hidden in some of the designs on the surface. Eventually, with enough work, he is able to pinpoint the exact symbol separated from any other drawings.
It appears as an upside down triangle with three intertwining serpent heads that all meet in the same point, with the triangle encircled by a wide double circle. You don’t recall ever seeing any symbol like this one before.
With Alder’s help, Felicia is able to see a faint set of tracks, emphasized by the ash in the bootprint that leads away from the park for about twenty feet before ending suddenly, as if the ash fell off of the pair of boots and rendered the tracks undistinguished from the rest.
At the end of that twenty feet, however, the pair of investigators find quite the interesting implement. It appears to be some sort of crude wand, in the shape of a twisting serpent body with a small snake head with an opening in between the snakes’ fangs.
Felicia stares at the wand for a few moments before looking at Alder with a quirked eyebrow. She turns back to the wand and quickly recites the incantation and hand gestures to use Detect Magic.
"Let me know what the spell on the wand is. I'm sure it isn't Disintegrate. There was something left, so it can't be that."
Alder scratches down on a piece of paper the vague outline of the symbol, and notes to himself to add that to the investigation's general information stores.
"I'm... not the best at identifying what kind of magic is used. Just that there is magic there."
The wand, upon further inspection, seems to have a faint aura of necromancy and conjuration magics left by some effect, yet it doesn’t specify any single spell that you’ve heard of, anyway.
Unfortunately, Elder can’t identify how to make use of the unusual wand, but he does generally understand that the purpose of the weapon seems to be aimed at some sort of channeling necromancy magic, specifically to harm.
"So... You think we've found the murder weapon?" Felicia asked cautiously, moving to stick close to Alder. Gotta do her job, after all.
"Ah, yes, Giliad. The Merchant of the First District. I remember you. Have a seat why don't you."
Uzana waves a hand over at a handful of comfortable enough looking chairs before taking a seat at her desk.
"What is it you've come to discuss with me today, Giliad?"
Lavinia has asked myself and several others to investigate a murder. The murder of Senator Platicar the IVth to be precise. What can you tell me of your involvement, or lack thereof, in that ugly incident?"
Sense Motive - Free Action Silver Tongued Haggler -
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The vedalken appears to laugh, as much as her kind can do so anyway, at the idea of new flashier uniforms for the Azorius.
”Ah yes, the Senator run afoul of those Titan cultists. I had heard about what happened to him and what the Senator was investigating, yes.”
Turning away from her desk towards a handful of bookcases and drawers behind her, Uzana pulls out a small handful of files out of one of those drawers, all wrapped up in a delicate folder.
”I regret to inform you that this folder contains all we know about the Acolytes of the Titan, as they like to be called, and that it is not much. You are free to take it and read it should you wish.”
The actual design of the folder draws Giliad’s attention to it, as the front cover of it bears a crude pencil drawing of the same symbol that Felicia and Alder discovered, although Giliad doesn’t know that at the time.
The inwards facing serpent heads meet at the exact middle of the upside down triangle, and the two outer circles encase the whole diagram.
The actual contents of the journal are mainly the ramblings of an investigator collecting a menagerie of clues, but a handful of them do stand out.
1. The cult’s headquarters are hidden deep inside Rix Maadi, the Rakdos guildhouse. If the Titan is not Rakdos himself, it is likely that Rakdos does not know of the cult’s existence.
2. Sarv, the capital of the Lyev column, appeared to make some attempts to hinder the investigation, although his intentions are unclear and hidden. It may be as simple as an ordinary misunderstanding, or as sinister as Sarv being part of the cult himself. The Senator didn’t get much chance to investigate Sarv himself before he was murdered, as the journey never mentions any actions taken against the Hussar Commander.
Gil takes the folder and quickly peruses it in the office, he smiles at the Senator, "This is all certainly helpful Senator I appreciate it. If you think of anything extra contact me. If my allies have anything extra to add, we will stop by once more. Thank you for your hospitality".
Gil will return to his allies to report what is in the paperwork and hear what it is they managed to find out in their separate investigations.
She nodded over at Alder and offered a shrug. "Maybe someone inside the Azorius is sabotaging things... or they just aren't as competent as they like to think."
It appears as if Uzana is being completely truthful, and you honestly believe that at the very least she believes she is saying, yes.
Felicia, you do remember how Lavinia mentioned she believed that Sarv., the head of the Lyev Column, has been compromised by the cult. It was most certainly his men that investigated the crime scene, and he was likely even there himself.
Felicia and Alder return from the crime scene, having found everything that was to be found there. Giliad finishes his meeting with Uzana and quickly makes his way back to the group with his new found folder of evidence.
And just in time, too, for Ermengilda and Thomas were just putting the final touches on the inspection and autopsy on the Senator’s body.
Talk about perfect timing!
She glanced around at everyone gathered up and smiled. "So! We found something interesting at the crime scene!"
"Ah, you went to the scene already? We have also found something of note, but do tell."
"Something of note. That's a good one."
"What?"
"We found a note in his throat. remember?"
"Oh, yeah. seems like a long time ago."
"I guess. Should we say something?"
"Sounds like Ermengilda wants to let the other speak first. No doubt setting up for a dramatic reveal."
She waved a hand towards Alder, who she knew had the wand. "We found... a magic stick! What kind of magic, I have no clue. I think he does though."
"Mind if I take a look?"
casts detect magic