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Jase huffed at Joie's comments, "Please, spare me the self-righteous crap. Nex and Geb's war is what created this whole mess to begin with, and Alkenstar right at the center of it. Neither side is the 'good' side, no matter how good the soldiers might be." He hoped the nod of respect to the woman herself would ease some of the harshness of his statement. The young man chose not to comment on Faithe's statement, as she didn't seem to favor giving the stone to Nex, either. He disagreed on one point, though...he was fiercely protective of Alkenstar and its independence. If they could use this stone effectively, it could become the tool that could finally broker true independence for the city-state. To Tuco, Jase shook his head, "No, I won't allow one member of our rag-tag team to bully the rest into a course of action. If four of us say the college is the best start and the other dissents, they can sulk quietly while we go to the college."
Jase listened to Tuco talk to his mirror and Faithe, trying not to snicker at the whole situation. He wished he knew more about magic-type stuff than he did, but that's the way life had gone. "Um, ok, so it's a heart? That's weird...but fitting. Bloodstone, right?" When Joie made her demand and then answered Daerokh's question, the young man did start laughing. "Oh that's rich. Tuco and I stole that fair and square, and we aren't even sure what it is, at this point. The whole reason we were brought in was because the bureaucracy can't be trusted, or at least that was alluded to. The Nexian Embassy is just another bureaucracy. We need to get to the bottom of this before we turn it into anyone, let alone your folks." Addressing the group, he continued, "How about we go back to the college and make some inquiries there? Surely someone there would have a better chance of nailing this down?"
Jase felt uneasy about the atmosphere in the room changing, wondering what it could mean. Could Tuco's divining be about to backfire? Should he get ready to douse the half-orc with some of the water Daerokh had fetched? Clearly out of his element, the young man just looked on and hoped he'd still have a home when it was all done.
Jase had been thinking Tuco was kidding about the water, but when Daerokh returned with a full bucket, he looked over at the half-orc in alarm. "Ummm, I didn't think setting a fire was part of it...is it?"
Jase nodded, making sure to grab a night cap from the pale bartender before heading to his modest room. He'd vouch for the guy, but he'd rather be in private quarters, anyway. He couldn't vouch for the rest of the fellows in the bar. Once they were inside, he engaged the flimsy lock and then reached into his pocket, pulling out the ring he and Tuco had found earlier at the scribe's house. "This is what we found...anybody know how to check for magics and such?"
Jase grinned at Tuco, "That's the spirit! Let's go somewheres else and we can continue this conversation away from prying ears."
Jase looked at the half-orc and dwarf confusedly, not sure if he was on the same page as them. He shrugged...it probably was for the best that they started talking about something off topic, anyway. "People will pay ridiculous sums for anything if you convince them that they need it and someone else will buy it first." The trick was the convincing, and the young man hadn't figured out that part yet. But he was getting some experience, so he'd get there soon. When the bill was paid and the place started looking like it was shutting down for the evening, Jase rose to his feet. "Dinner hit the spot...I hope everyone enjoyed. Want to retire someplace private to continue our conversation? We could go to my place, but I don't know if we'd all even fit in there..."
Jase's eyes widened as Tuco cut through the subtlety in the conversation. Guys, I hate to remind you, but people were recently killed over this thing...there's a reason I wasn't just openly discussing it." The young man leaned in closer, "Tuco and I found it at the scribe's house when we searched her room. Wonder how she came upon it."
Jase dug into his meal with gusto after a brief smile to Saya, the ribs being exquisite and the sides passable. He'd expected more of a reaction to his announcement, honestly. He thought about just pulling the ring out to show the other trio who hadn't been with him and Tuco, but even he wasn't that foolhardy. So instead he ate and enjoyed the company. "It certainly has been more profitable than my former line of work, I can now say. I can see its appeal to folks."
"Great choice, Daerokh! I'll have the ribs, garlic bread, and mushrooms, as well." Flashing a winning smile at the woman, he waited until she left to continue. I'm thinking we might have found it." Hopefully there was no need to specify what it was. "We think, anyway. We haven't done any analysis or anything like that. Might just be wishful thinking. But after we're done here we can go someplace more private and I can show you what we're talking about." Jase thought about making another joke about his pocket, but the two ladies at the table didn't seem like they'd be amused by such humor and he wasn't trying to score with Daerokh and Tuco anytime soon, so he passed. Instead he just settled in for the wait for the ribs, enjoying the drinks when they started flowing.
"That's the spirit, Tuco!" He gave the half-orc a light clap on the shoulder, then said, "Aye, that's two of the fruity drinks, so far. And a water...and bread, I think?" He glanced over at Joie questioningly, not too sure about that. After Faithe and Daerokh had given their orders and the waitress was away, the young man gave the woman the courtesy of giving her a full look from behind before turning to his companions. "Tuco speaks truth. Turns out that some of our scribes were in possession of more literal objects than the ambiguous texts we were reading through. We have in our possession one such object, I believe." He lightly tapped his trousers where his pocket lay, arched an eyebrow, then leaned forward and whispered, "There's something in there...I'm not being crude."
Feeling rather generous with his newfound wealth, Jase turned back and beckoned the Nexian soldier onward. "Aw come on, Joie. Your superior will be there in the morning, waiting for that report. And since it's such good news, no harm done. Have a drink on me so we can celebrate bringing those killers to justice." Whether the woman continued with them or not, Jase was in good spirits, taking a seat with the others. The smile didn't even leave his face when Tuco's mirror did something weird. He thought he had heard the half-orc talking to it before. Maybe it was some kind of strange, sentient mirror they made for lonely people. He'd have to make sure and be a good friend to the man. When Saya came to the table, the young man waited for Daerokh to finish speaking, then said, "Something sweet and fruity, I think. And don't be stingy with the alcohol, please. It feels like a night for merry-making!" He winked at the woman, not sure if that would go anywhere but not much caring at the moment.
Jase nodded to Tuco. He didn't much care where the drink was drunk, as long as it was soon. "I know just the place...
The young man turned back to look with a worried expression at the imposing building they had just left before leading the way to (hopefully) the place he had been thinking of.
Jase's grinned turned a bit more fragile as Daerokh started to question him rather indignantly, but Tuco came in for the save. When Joie responded to himself and the half-orc, he smiled more naturally, quite pleased at the new weight of his wealth. "Aye, a drink on me, and two for the valiant soldier of Nex." The young man chuckled as he started to leave the building, thinking that perhaps that in his new-found wealth he could be a bit less abrasive to the Nexian woman. When everyone gathered outside he looked back and said, "Let's go get that drink, but we have something else to discuss, as well. We'll tell you more when we get away from this place."
Jase got a mock serious look on his face, giving the Nexian woman a bow. "How very dutiful of you, milady." The young man then grinned and finished counting himself out 40 stacks of 10, pulling his cut of the reward away from the main pile so the others could get their share. As Daerokh spoke up, surely with good intentions of continuing their good work under the auspices of the Shieldmarshal, Jase responded. "That's fair, my friend. Seems like conspiracies like these are outside the scope of our arrangement, though. I'm sure the Shieldmarshal here has plenty of investigators to put on this, now that we've done the job of nabbing the killers. I'll bet the scribes in this town will rest easy when this news comes out, eh?"
Secret Message: Want to talk away from this guy.
Jase wasn't shy, he strode forward and started counting out a stack of coins, looking up at Joie. "Oi, you still serious about doing this for free? Don't want to insult you by offering you a cut if that's not your thing." The young man then continued counting, confident he'd get an answer well before he got to 333 coins. As he stacked it up by tens, he asked the Shieldmarshal. "So what now? Case closed? Murderers caught and accounted for?" Jase gave Tuco and Alorea a warning look, swiftly pointing at his left ring finger in the motion of picking up a coin and then shaking his head ever so slightly.
3rd level is a good one for swashbucklers. Get a lot more deeds to play with. Swashbuckler level 3: HP +7 (6+1)
Feat: Point Blank Shot Skills: Acrobatics
Swashbuckler Stuff: Nimble +1 Deeds: Kip-Up
Jase grinned as he saw the Shieldmarshal appear, holding what looked to be a bag of loot in his hand. "Damn right we do." He looked over at the the ghoul and said, "I'll speak to the dour Shieldmarshal over there and we'll have you out in a jiff."
Of course, he had no such intention of performing that action. Regardless, he walked out behind the Nexian soldier, rather pleased with himself for the way that had played out. And the bag of gold...and the positive press he and the others would almost surely be entitled to once word of this broke.
Jase paid attention to the ghoul's answers, rather pleased with himself even if he could tell from some of the looks and objections that a couple of the others were less than keen on the deception at the start. Seeing that Daerokh and Tuco were asking good questions and Mexerius seemed to be open to answering, the young man figured all he'd manage to do was much things up if he kept running his mouth. Instead, he remained uncharacteristically silent, looking on the proceedings with a certain grim aplomb, as a superior might when letting his subordinates handle a task. Or at least that's the image Jase had in his mind.
Ignoring the objections of the others, Jase kept his eyes on the ghoul. "Oh wow, really? Sounds pretty serious. What's so important that the knowledge can't get out? And how's the other sap, Caeric, play into all of it. Just hired help?"
Jase smirked, stepping forward, "Maybe these nobodies don't have the authority to make a deal, but I do." The young man leaned forward conspiratorially with the ghoul. "They're always by the book and whatnot, so no use giving them power they won't use. You have to be flexible in these kinds of things, yeah?"
Looking back to the others with narrowed eyes, he turned back to the creature and nodded, "So you've got a deal. What's the scoop on this Bloodstone?"
Jase listened to Daerokh with an incredulous expression. Were lawyers allowed to sell you out? Of course, the young man kept his expression only mildly interested at the mention of bloodstone, rolling his eyes. "Oh yes, the infamous link to all of our murdered scribes." As Daerokh and the somewhat chastened Faithe attempted to start trying to deal and reason with the murderous ghoul, Jase glanced to his side as Tuco slid in behind him, stepping to the side to allow the half-orc into the room without edging around him. The swashbuckler snorted at the dwarf's comment about the desk, but kept his eyes on the ghoul, both prepared for violence, if need be, and wondering at the creature's answer.
Jase headed towards the interrogation room, things seeming to get interesting. As he neared the door, he saw the cowed dhampir lawyer opening the door and darting out, the expression on his face bringing a smile to the young man's lips. He wasn't sure who this guy one, but he seemed a slimy sort and that was enough for Jase to take pleasure in the man's uncomfortableness. As the door was open, the swashbuckler slipped into the room, seeing Faithe's scythe in the desk and Daerokh looking rather amazed. Looking at the ghoul, the scythe, Faithe, then Daerokh again, he chuckled, "Things are going well, I take it?"
Jase waited about as long as he could before he started fidgeting, then he casually started walking down the hall, hoping to see where the others might be and what was going on. Hopefully the ghoul was locked up and they were well on their way to getting the promised reward.
Jase approached Joie with Tuco and Alorea, content to let the Nexian woman answer the half-orc's question and be silent, for now. She had proven a worthwhile battle companion, but he wasn't sure how much he trusted her with the knowledge of the ring in his pocket. At least away from the others, at any rate.
Jase continued to smile as they walked outside, then let out a pent up breath, his expression turning serious as he addressed the other two. "Who knows how powerful this stuff is? A sliver might be all it takes! Let's head to the station and see what the others have been up to. We can drop off the notes and then brainstorm with the rest of the group." The young man kept the stone in his pocket, resisting the urge to keep his hand in there to make sure the stone was present. There would be too much temptation to slip the thing on, and who knew what would happen in that event? Jase hurried to the precinct with Alorea and Tuco, hoping the ghoul was in custody by now and they could go somewhere private to talk with the others.
Jase looked to the young man and nodded, pointing at the small stack of paper in Tuco's hands. "Tuco here made plenty of notes...we'll compare them with our companions and see if it turns up anything the first folks missed. We'll be in touch, ok?" Hardly slowing down as he spoke, Jase kept moving towards the entry to the home, smile in place as he reminded himself that carrying the stone away from these people was for their own good.
Jase just stared at the stone with sick fascination as Tuco spoke, resisting the urge to try the ring on and see what happened. While his curiosity wouldn't be sated, the small, sensible part of his brain cautioned that something VERY BAD might happen if he did so. "Quiet, agreed. I'm sure they've already had people nosing about, and it will go better for them if no one finds out they're holding out, even if in ignorance." The young man looked over at the lovely sylph as the half-orc asked her opinion, tucking the ring into his pocket and putting the jewelry box back where he'd found it.
Jase idly looked about at the baubles inside, looking a bit disappointed though he hadn't really expected anything different. He shrugged at Tuco's question, though his eyes widened as he reached into the box and pulled out a ring with a strange black and red stone, the thing pulsing disturbingly. "Ummm, you want to take a look at this?"
Having nothing else to do and never one to just patiently wait, the young man opened the jewelry box to have a look around. These poor folks had just lost someone they loved, so he had no intention of taking anything, but curiosity and boredom always got the best of him.
Jase read over the notes with interest, rolling his eyes at some of the more outlandish theories of what bloodstone was. Some of these scholars were little more than professional guessers. The young man thought he might just want to sit down and write about some weird stuff and see if he became a renowned scholar. He smirked, though quickly hid it so Alorea and Tuco wouldn't chide him over it. As the half-orc began to copy, Jase asked quietly, "So was this stone like the best kept secret in Alkenstar? Seems like it was pretty popular lately. What a damn mess..." Seeing as it could take the tailor a bit to copy, Jase started pawing through belongings idly, thinking about what was going on with the others and the ghoul.
Jase had to agree...the cozy place did have a distinct smell about it that was causing his mouth to water. The young man pushed the thought aside, for now, they could always pick up a chicken on a stick from a street vendor after they were done here. Once the boy led them up the stairs, Jase gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Thanks a bunch, friend, we'll take it from here." No doubt the family was still grieving, and honestly, the young man probably wouldn't look favorably upon them both using his mother's things and rifling through them. Once (if) Trev left, Jase closed the door quietly, then nodded to the others. "Let's get to work. I think we should go ahead and look through all this thoroughly again, just in case, while one of us starts copying the ledgers."
Jase leaned against a wall near the others, too wound up to sit (knowing he would fidget so much as to be unruly). He felt sympathy for the young man, but he found himself annoyed as Trev answered Tuco's question with a question. Still, he forced a smile to his face, saying in a pleasant tone, "We think we got him, friend, but we still need to make sure things are iron clad for our case. So we'd like to look around at everything, if you don't mind. Never know what those other blokes might have missed."
Jase supposed it made sense to actually knock on the door, but his eyes light up almost gleefully when there's no answer and Alorea sets about getting ready to spring the lock. Things were more exciting this way, and if any nosy citizens came snooping about, they technically had the weight of the law on their side. So Jase thought, anyway. The swashbuckler's hand snapped to the hilt of his weapon as the door opened, but Jase relaxed when he registered that it was just a puzzled young man. He grinned and said, "Just trying to get a bit of practice in while we waited on you to open the door, chum."
As the trio approached the home of the late scribe, Jase stooped down and picked up both newspapers, scanning the contents to see if there was any news about the case they were on. Didn't seem likely that there were new developments, but better to waste time than to overlook something. Plus, he wanted to look a little more learned in front of Alorea. Once he had glanced at the contents, he'd offer the papers to whoever wanted them or gently place them back on the ground. Looking around to see how busy the area was, he asked the others, "So we going to let ourselves in, folks? No offense, but you two seem the least likely in our little group to be against such a thing."
When Tuco and Alorea mentioned the scribe Iverness, the young man grinned, beaming with confidence. While he spent most of his time in the drink and didn't know where most of the stuff in Alkenstar actually was, he was actually pretty charming with people when he had a mind to be. So when the group decided to head to the dead scribe's scrivener shop, the young man took the lead, stopping passersby and engaging them effortlessly in idle conversation while gently probing for the location they were seeking.
Looking to Tuco and Alorea, Jase said, "Maybe we should head to the college? I don't exactly have much use for ink and papers, at the moment. Probably should work on my penmanship, though."
Jase nodded at Tuco & Daerokh's responses, glad to see they were in agreement. The young man had a tempestuous temperament, and sometimes didn't think things through too clearly. Jase looked towards Joie and arched an eyebrow. "I don't think it's safe to leave that beast by itself, and with that logic we'd be short at least one person for the conversation. Maybe three of us go ahead and take the ghoul to the Shield Marshal, while the other three see about making another copy of these before we turn in the ledgers, as well?"
When Daerokh unearthed some items of interest, Jase abandoned his search and stepped over. His eyes widened at the platinum, but then his eyes rested on the books. "Perhaps they would, but why don't we have a look right now." To forestall any arguments, he held up a hand to ward them off and continued, "Look, the fact that this is some kind of conspiracy within the 'regular' structure of the guard is still an option, right? I think we should familiarize ourselves with the contents, maybe even copy them before we just hand them over to someone who might be in cahoots with this thing or whoever hired it."
Jase frowned as the talking went on. Was this thing even a humanoid with rights? Geb might have dealings with creatures like this, but he was pretty sure Alkenstar and Nex should just put this thing to the sword. Still, the rest of the group seemed amiable to accepting a surrender and arrest, so the young man said nothing on the matter, though he didn't sheathe his weapon. Seeing Joie's nod towards the thing's wrists, he blushed a bit, not having thought to bring rope or restraints of any kind. Shrugging it off, he lit a torch and decided to examine the cavern they were in a bit more closely, just in case there was any more damning evidence to be found.
I just figured everyone would snicker if I said yes...
Jase smirked at Daerokh's observation, having caught the creature's glance as well. Giving the woman a quick once-over, he couldn't really blame the ghoul, though it seemed that that kind of hunger was probably a thing of the past for the undead. Maybe it recognized her somehow? She did use that strange shadow magic and bones as armor...the young man wasn't really sure where that placed her on the undead scale, but probably more than a none. Chalking it up to an amusing distraction, Jase turned his attention back to the vile beast. "We're here to capture the murderer responsible for the killings of scribes around town. And by the smell of you, you fit the bill quite nicely."
Jase stepped up closer to the creature locked in Joie's grasp, rapier held at the ready should the thing suddenly try to break free. Well, he'd probably have to wait for it to fully break free, or risk skewering the blond woman. She seemed to have it covered, though. Seeing Daerokh load his pelletbow, the young man stepped to the side so as to give the dwarf a clear firing lane, just in case.
Daerokh made the motion to the others, and Jase hesitated for a moment before remembering that this creature was not a person at all, likely. He started to nod, but was preempted by the soldier, who slipped forward quietly towards the thing. The young man made a note of her supple figure as she snuck forward, only because one day he might be leading a revoluation against Nex, of course. He gripped his weapon tightly, ready to spring forward should things go awry.
So far so good, here. I'm in a fairly rural area, so not so much unrest going on.
Seeing that everyone started to creep forward after they heard the disgusting cough from up ahead, Jase bent over slightly and started trying to stealth along with them. Although he made a respectable effort, he was more used to walking with swagger, and it showed.
Jase patted Daerokh's arm appreciately when the dwarf spoke to him, resisting the urge to verbally deny that he was ill. Perhaps he'd get there one day, but his life so far had not prepared him for rotting corpses and the smell that accompanied them. Following the others into the tunnels, the young man sniffed when the dwarf made his announcement, but all of it seemed to smell pretty stale and bad to him. Trusting Daerokh to make a good call, Jase nodded to Tuco when the half-orc mentioned not wanting to be ambushed, thinking that was a good call. As they started down the passageway, the swashbuckler had to force himself to walk upright, his natural inclination to crouch in the relatively tight confines.
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