It's Kazanto who convinces Mr. Stillwell to speak further.
"Ah, and now you get to the heart of the issue. Who would kill Mr. Frickard for wanting to give something away? The merchants? Certainly not! They could contract someone to create many copies of his new invention and sell them far and wide. The artisans? They may have not liked Frickard for his independence, but none ever sought to hurt the man. In fact, they respected his talents and wanted him to join their ranks."
"But I know for a fact that Mr. Stillwell wasn't liked by certain movers and shakers of society. In my line of work I sometimes find myself invited to the same social gatherings as Mr. Frickard had along with other successful men and women."
"Ten years ago Mr. Frickard first earned a good deal of wealth by inventing the simple lightning rod we now take for granted. Building fires from lightning strikes went down, as many purchased his invention. But he made the wizards who claimed that lightning came from invading elemental planes look ignorant."
"More than five years ago he created a cheaper and more efficient plow for farming, an invention that made him even richer. The local foundries and farmers who purchased the rights to the design from him also greatly profited. But older, stagnant foundries owned by richer merchants and entrenched nobility could not adjust as quickly and took severe financial losses."
"Three years ago he theorized that illnesses were transmitted through different mediums, and that cleanliness and rest were better antidotes than bleeding from leeches. He conducted experiments that showed he was correct, and the Leechers Guild, who already was fading out to divine healing, was abolished."
"Two years ago he was laughed at again when he theorized that light was a natural phenomenon. The priests insisted that light came from divine sources. Frickard showed up to a social hosted by a respected priestess with a piece of glass he called a prism. With it, he bent the light into a ribbon of new colors. The implications of this are still the subject of angry arguments."
"Last year he suggested that both divine and arcane magic was just science that had yet to be discovered, a charge that should have drew laughter but instead drew nervous defense from the temples and arcane schools. He also said that once such knowledge was properly understood, even the basest peasant would be able to conduct daily cantrips."
"To the general population, Mr. Frickard was a hero of sorts. But to others it was clear that the man had become dangerous and had begun to effect the natural order. So don't go looking for guildsmen. Look for someone who felt they had much more to lose with him alive then dead. There are plenty of people who had reasons for wanting Frickard out of the picture."
"Well, I've taken up enough of your time. Please keep this conversation off the record, but take the insight back to the Guilds. I think with the evidence you found it is clear that someone murdered the man to destroy his work for they feared its financial impact. If it was someone who wanted to have what he had, they would have stolen from Frickard after they had killed him. I believe your case is closed. Further investigations might lead you down roads in which you and your employers may later have regret."
"But, if for some illogical reason you decide to continue, then I would suggest talking with Lord Wisten Feador at the Feador Farm and estate. It was Lord Feador who was giving Callery Frickard advice in regards to the new invention, and the lord may know more about who he was talking with before his death."
OOC:
50 XP to Kazanto for finding out a possible motive for the killing. The party now has the motive and the evidence, but still needs a suspect if they wish to continue the investigation.
Also, Quioan can now add Stillwell as a contact, since his knowledge impressed the man. Bren Stillwell is a gnome who can provide local nobility and merchant news.
