Syckar nods to Arcturus, explaining that he and his followers will be leaving the area right after this conversation, since their job has clearly gone wrong.
He explains that he does not know very much about his employer. His employer is a member of the High Council, but he does not know his name. He does provide you with a note (see slides for the note) and a gun from his employer.
He tells you that the nearby facility of Megator Facient is run by a hill giant named Hrugor Gurstweld, who uses guns. He warns you that Hrogar is likely to shoot first and talk later, if anyone survives. Hrogar has an arm that was amputated and replaced by a large gun.
As he explains the project, the Karggat Mine was the source of eidete ore. The Sultur Mill Outpost, where you are now, is where experiments on altering the Brass Guardians were conducted. Megator Facient nearby is where brass guardians were summoned using something called a 'quake cannon,' clearly an artifact of some kind. There, the guardians' programming was altered with the eidete and then they were sent out to cause havoc and destroy Eliza Baratella's credibility.
Arush cannot tell anything from the gun. Anyone who looks closely notices that it contains a seal that looks like the one on the letter you found earlier at this outpost.
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"Oh! I've adventured with a gun fighter or two in the past. That's a really neat gun. May I see it?" he asks excitedly.
Not knowing much about guns, he holds it up into the air and looks into the barrel like it's a telescope to see what's inside.
"Such a marvelous contraption."
Arcturus notices a seal on the gun right before he's about to pull the little trigger-thingy as he waves it around.
"Hey. What's this stamp on here?"
Arush knows the seal is the same as one found and identified earlier.
At this point, you have three pieces of evidence, and are pretty sure that Minister Aredil Sultur is the one behind this mess.
The sabosans leave, and you know you are done exploring Sultur Mill Outpost.
Slash knows this gun was crafted at the Gunworks; it's really unusual that a gun made there is in the hands of someone not from Alkenstar) and that it was made for a member of Alkenstar's nobility.
It's a pistol, and yes, he's letting you take it as evidence.
I'll wait a bit more in case anyone else has thoughts on where to go next. Probably about 12 more hours, because that will have given everyone 48 hours to give an opinion since I asked what next.
Returning to Alkenstar, the aids in Minister Baratella's office encourage you to head to the High Parliament, which is in emergency session. Evidently, the mess with the brass guardians is bad enough there's an emergency session just about every evening.
When you approach the High Parliament, the guard at the entrance listens to your request, and immediately allows you to enter because you mentioned Minister Baratella's name and have evidence that you carry as to what is going on.
Once you are inside the Hall of Administration, you find two rows of seats for the ministers surrounding a central stage for whoever is speaking. A rather grizzled old man who now stands on the stage moves aside to make room for you and gruffly tells to either state your case for what is going on with the Brass Guardians or leave.
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My respects to all those gathered. My colleagues and I were hired to deal with the situation that brought us all to this meeting today. Except for one of us, we are not citizens of this country and I think that's partly why we were brought in to investigate. Our opinion is impartial.
Then Arush describes in detail the places we visited and consistently shows the evidence, not directly pointing to the culprit, but giving members of Parliament to draw conclusions. She points to the emblems found in several places, all the notes and so on. She reproduces the oral testimonies of eyewitnesses (the cultist leader and that druid, for example) and the descriptions they gave.
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With the pistol and letter from Sycar in hand, Arcturus submits his evidence. He asks to see any official handwritten papers that Minister Sultur may have on hand. He asks the council members to compare the handwriting on the note addressed to Sycar with the Minister's personal papers. He explains that Sycar belongs to a race called Sabosan, an intelligent and evil race of batlike humanoids. He then shows them the seal on the gun which is the Minister's seal and explains that this gun was the "gift" mentioned in the letter addressed to Sycar.
"And with that, my good council members, is damning evidence right there!"
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"As you can see from this note we recovered, the malfunctioning of the Brass Guardians was deliberate sabotage. They were reprogrammed by Krauss (now deceased) at the behest of the mastermind of this operation.
Syckar, the Sabosan druid who was leading the mining and processing of the Eidete, explained that the reprogrammed Brass Guardians were sent out to cause havoc and destroy Eliza Baratella's credibility.
Krauss's journal, here, notes the involvement of a Minister. And she drew this seal, corresponding to House Sultur; not coincidentally, the Sultur Mill Outpost is where the experiments were taking place.
We also rescued a prisoner, Arvanor; Minister Eliza Baratella's assistant."
"If Minister Sultur is not here, then I imagine he is at Megator Facient. We are prepared to go there."
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I too recognized the seal of this city and its maker's mark and noted the strangeness of where we found it and that it would normally not be allowed to be possessed by one such. Slash adds, trying to be diplomatic. Which means he is not actually holding a weapon.
perhaps it was his tusks that deterred from his attempt.
As you speak, you see most of the ministers nod in agreement. One of the leaders gestures, and guards quickly escort Aredil Sultur out of the chamber. It is explained to you that he is being kept in the Vault of Secrets while everything is prepared for his trial.
A representative of the justice system politely asks each of you to provide whatever testimony you can again to them, and also asks for any evidence to use at trial.
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Minister Baratella, her position greatly strengthened by the reveal of the plot, quickly sends government forces to finish clearing out the areas you discovered. Because of your testimony, Habblegash is protected and found useful and happy work in the city.
You are elevated to members of Alkenstar’s elite, earning you a fully
furnished living complex in one of the coveted towers that make up Graeson’s Fingers, as well as Minister Baratella's eternal friendship. Using her influence in the city to its fullest, Eliza throws open the doors to the Guild of Brass’s coveted vaults of inventions and allows you to take from them whatever you desire, including clockwork servants
and miraculous devices to aid everyday living. As for the rest of the Clockwork Metropolis, the citizens of Alkenstar are only too happy to have the dilemma with the Brass Guardians resolved, and your renown for solving the situation spreads throughout the city.