Seeing the Far Traveller's symbol, the guards lower their blades and allow Kelvad to examine the body on the floor. The deep slashes across the gnome's throat and wrists explain the abundance of blood on the floor and the death seems to be recent as rigor has yet to begin and the blood has not thickened much.
Moving to the female gleeman, Kelvad begins to examine her also, but while there is no life in her either the cause of her death is not readily apparent. Besides the terror in her eyes and the stink from her soiled underclothes, she appears remarkably unharmed.
Even as the priest is examining the bodies, Hastal and the others are escorted away from the room as more guardsmen arrive inside the Pearl and quickly take control of the scene and the crowd.
As Bruce moves away from the stage ahead of those escorted by the guards, a figure rises from a table and interposes himself between Bruce and the kitchen. Tall and lanky with a small tusk protruding from his lower jaw, the man's ancestory is obvious to Bruce, but the finery he wears, even though it has obviously seen its better days, seems out of place with the Pearl's regulars.
"A moment of your time sir?"
The voice was deep and cultured and his request was phrased as a question, Bruce could tell it was more akin to a statement.