A Spiked Drink

[jbear]

Relic remains unflinching to both the barking half orc and Daylily's jest, though the effort causes a slight redness to come to his cheeks. He is content to remain outside and converse with the polite guard while the others enter into the shop . Something in the half-elf's question has set off his most untrustworthy of alarm bells.

"I understand you must be both tired and bothered having to stand here on duty for so long. If it were of my own doing I would apologise. Unfortunately we believe that whether Rukelp's story is true or besmattered with lies, it is impossible that he was working alone. And hence our wish to inspect the tainted stock. To better understand what has gone on, sort truth from false to find who else might be responsable. When we know that ... well, we can more easily track them down and put and end to the threat they pose to the city. Does this explanation satisfy your question Ser Follet?"

After waiting for the guard's response he asks:

"You seem a man of sharp eye, questioning mind and alert senses ... what do you make of all this? Is there something that perhaps tugs at the edge of your mind, some detail that doesn't quite fit?"

Finally before entering he asks:

"Have either of you caught wind of the rumor of the man who was found floating down by the docks? An incident with a burnt boat?"

All this time he carefully inspects the guard's responses in an attempt to gauge why he might question an order from his superior.

 

[InVinoVeritas]

The halfling smiles at the half-orc. "No disrespect meant, Ser Urdrak. Our companion is just far more comfortable in his native elf tongue than in Venza's. He was curious as to why there were empty bottles in the window."

Looking back and forth between Daylily and Urdrak, he carefully adds, "Not all of us can have had the breadth of exposure to the glittering Venzan culture, after all."

 

[jackslate45]

Urdark folds his arms and says "I see. Venza does open many eyes here. Still don't know what goes in between all the districts. Where he from that he never saw empty bottles in a window before?"

Follet smiles back to Relic and says "I guess I see why Lt. Rondo sent you guys now. You'll forgive me, but 4 random people showing up with the Lt's handwriting gives me some cause for suspicion. Due process, you'll understand."

"As for this case, something about it bugs me. The Lieutenant did have us running around 3 nights ago, trying to find out what happened. Most people did not want to talk about it to us, but the general understanding we got was that Rulkelp got a massive order in from somewhere. The problem lies in where that somewhere is, but no one seems to know. As for Rukelp's story, there is to much vagueness in it to be realistic. However, any physical evidence is not showing up other than what is in Rulkelp's shop. It seems IF there is someone else involved, they are very careful not to leave tracks."

Once the rumor comes up Follet looks questiongly at the group "I did not. A burning boat? How is it connected?"

[sblock=Relic]
A combination of questionable characters plus exhaustion plus an order from a superior makes a guard question anything. And as Lt. Rondo was not here, it was enough to question what was going on. However, your explanation and Holphin's task of handling Daylily was enough to lower suspicion somewhat.
[/sblock]

 

[jackslate45]

Having Urdark distracted by Daylily and Holphin, and Follet talking to Relic, no one even attempted to stop Saranna's advance into the store.
[sblock=Saranna]
The inside of Rulkelp's shop is mostly barren. In the back is a desk, with a bunch of papers strewn about it, a distiller, and other various other Alchemical equipment. The left hand side has a sign above that says "Perfumes", the right "Potions and Oils." The shelves are made of good quality, probably remade since the shopped was originally opened. One strange sight is the LACK of potions and perfumes on the shelves. The perfumes section has 2 bottles left on it, and about 20 various potions and oils are left on the shelves.

However, by far stranger was the stack of boxes in the middle of the shop. One box was taken down and opened already, revealing a a set of potion bottles of similar shape. They each are labeled with what there contents are, but some have a little red X next to them. The handwriting on the potions are different from the X.

Perception: A quick glance shows Saranna something odd about the back wall. There appears to be two different types of wood blending together. While they look correct, the second type is perfectly square.
[/sblock]

 

[jbear]

Having observed the guard for sometime Relic decides his initial suspicion is unfounded and relaxes somewhat. He replies to the guards question:

"We aren't sure they are connected Ser Follet. At the moment its a hunch based on the description given by Rukelp of his suplier. It matches the description of a woman said to enter the boat before it began to burn. Apparantly, neither she nor her companion, a priest, were seen to leave the boat before the blaze began ... and yet she pops up days later in Rukelp's story. Most mysterious indeed. The most distinctive feature about her was a scorpion pendant she wore. Do either of you know of any organizations who identify themselves with such a symbol?"

 

[Systole]

Daylily rolls his eyes at Holphin but doesn't otherwise attempt to correct the halfling. The barbarian goes back to ignoring the existence of the Whitecloaks and walks into the store.

He takes a look around, clearly less than interested in water the store has to offer. He picks up a bottle of perfume, uncorks it, and smells it. "Bloody high winds! That is as foul a reek as ever I've smelled," he says. He risks a quick experimental sip, and looks somewhat surprised. "It does nae taste half so bad, though. Dry, yet drinkable, with a mellow finish. I give it a solid seven out o' ten."

He glances around. "So, Tiny Hunter, what is the rest o' this crap we're lookin' at?"

OOC: Not sure if the perfumes were also poisoned, but Daylily saves vs. Poison at +7.

 

[jackslate45]

OOC: If you pulled from the crate in the middle, maybe. But the perfumes on the shelves are not

 

[jackslate45]

Follet thinks hard for a second before saying "Scorpion pendant? Hmm. I'll ask around, but nothing comes to mind. Granted, Lt. Rondo might know more, but I doubt he will be willing to help until you show him evidence of the two people's existence."

 

[jbear]

"Thank you, Ser Follet, any aid would be greatly appreciated. You are a man of honour worthy of your station. If we run into a dead end I will indeed come and ask you if your queries have given any fruit. May the Wind blow gently at your back."

Relic heads into the store where his eye is caught by the parcel in the middle of the floor. He hastens towards it and begins inspecting the contents inside, taking note of any markings of note on the outside.

 

[Songdragon]

Once the group has all made it into the shop she motions for the door to be closed before announcing in a low tone, "I believe that I have found something of note, a door of some sort perhaps." She motions to the area in question on the wall.

Looking the area over for any traps... (( Perception for traps 1d20+10=23 ))