17 Erathisway 4520: Investigated and Investigations

Arkomir writes...
An early start is had by all as we want to head to the tower to find Essa and we also want to make sure we are ready when Moulten needs to see us. Before leaving the Chandlerveil, we make sure that the Red Laquered Chest and the notebook are within easy reach in the bag of holding as well as Kezahr's gift from us and from Pozohr. We have a quick breakfast at home, wave goodbye to Holly and head to the tower.
We enquire at the gate to the Tower as to where we may find Essa. The guard escorts us through the tower area and to a small dining room at the base of the structure. It has been converted into a less adourned space than previously. At the table, Lord Moulten is at the head, Essa and Kezahr are at the right. Gunnhild is also here along with Cartwright, Aleif, Alden, Westley and a dwarf we don't know. As we enter, Moulten stands and greets us and offers for us to take a seat at this breakfast meeting. As we sit, the door opens again and two Belhaim guards enter (one of whom is Saldur). They look on edge.
A large brass dragonborn steps into the room, wearing armour with a robe over the top who appears to be a priest of Bahamut. He eyes us and says: 'My Lord Advocate, I have some sad news to convey. My compatriot has been found murdered in her bed this morning.' He turns and glares at us. Moulten sits back in his chair saying that anyone who was in town last night is potentially a suspect.
The brass dragonborn introduces himself as Hanirash. Dharra speaks to Moulten saying that we have something for him and Moulten asks Hanirash if we can deal with a few small items before he interrogates us. We address Moulten and say that we have completed his task as requested at which point we hand him back the red-laquered chest. He takes it and puts it on the table in front of him. We also hand him Madrun's Spellbook which he hands off to Kezahr. We also hand over the gift from Pozohr to Kezahr; she is quite taken aback by that, but thanks us for delivering it. During all of this Katya is just keeping a low profile in the back corner of the room. Moulten looks at the chest, unlocks it and peers inside. He then takes the chest and leaves it with Westley at a small desk nearby asking him to make a small accounting and finish up the contract they were working on. He formally welcomes us back to the city, saying it is good to have us back. Essa turns to us and gives a smile and a nod. Alden does something similar. As we head out the door Kezahr tells us she will be in the library if we are looking for her later.
We head out the door and are immediatley surrounded by cavaliers. Hanirash leads us down a corridor to a small office. Behind us, Elsa Vatervold comes down some stairs, heading toward the room we have just left. The room we find ourselves in used to be Moulten's office. We are asked to sit and Hanirash starts asking us some questions. He asks us to verify our timeline, which we do. He then says a small prayer and asks us to submit to his questions, which we gladly undertake. His compatriot, Gydne, was killed in her bed, whilst they were staying in The Lonely Forest Tavern. We ask if there is anything we can do to help.
Hanirash then brings up the poisonings from our last visit. - an elf fisherman; - an older female human; Susannah Praek - a half-elf advisor to Elsa.
He also asks us about the two deaths prior to the election, including the judge. We state our position that whilst we were in town we had nothing to any of these events. Satisfied with our answers, he releases us with no charge. We again offer him our help, which he takes us up on. We start to posit some theories with him about the election and who might stand to gain from rigging it. He asks our opinion, and we state that he might start with all three candidates, and the officials, then start questioning the people who found the bodies. The victim that was poisoned by a blade had a particular incision. He investigates our blades but they are not it. The poison may have been sourced from an eel in the lake. He is happy for us to make some subtle enquiries and alert him off our findings. We take our leave and head back to try and find Moulten. The guard nearby says he is discussion with Lady Elsa. Happy to leave him with that we take our leave and head to the library.
We knock at the door and head in to find Kezahr. We introduce her to Katya. She tells us that the investigators have been here for a few days. Gibney was delightful and very astute. Cartwright has officially conceded the election, but Elsa still makes a claim. She has been included in key meetings for the time being. She tells us about Madrun's book and she is very happy that we brought it back to Belhaim. It is a bit beyond her abilities but worthy of further study. We ask her help in identifying the potions and rings we have collected. Dharra shows her the pick as well and the picture on it looks like Verdant Isle from a certain angle. It is somewhat magical and should be very appropriate in laying Tolbek to rest.
We discuss Pozohr and how they knew each other at the academy. Fafnir pokes his head out from under a desk and looks well, happy and content. Dharra and Katya leave, and I turn back to give Kezahr the present we bought for her. We then have a discussion about things that have been on my mind. I tell her that I think that it isn't duty, or the town, or our house that keeps pulling me back to Belhaim; it's her. I don't know what it means, as my life will keep taking me away, but I want to discuss it with her some more. She will come to the house for dinner tonight and we can talk some more. I give her a kiss and a hug and then tell her I will see her tonight. I head back down the stairs to catch up with Dharra and Katya. A brief discussion about the island takes place and we all agree that we need to fix that. Dharra heads down to find Devlin and she fills him in on this mornings proceedings with Hanirash. She also tells him a little of what happened in Confluence. She mentions that we need to go back to the island to deal with what is there. She invites him for dinner at our house tonight as well.
Katya and I head to the forecourt of the tower to take in The Cleansing Wave memorial and the statues of the gods. Essa finds us and says hello. We have a quick catch up and I fill her in some of the things that have happened. I ask her what her take on Esward and Elsa is and she certainly prefers Esward in charge. I invite her to our place for dinner soon. She leaves to continue the work she is doing in Belhaim. We head back into the tower to try and see Moulten. We are lead into the throne room and he is bent over a desk off to one side, speaking with Westley. Kugulex is standing nearby, as is Aleif, who greets us and then quickly excuses herself and leaves. Moulten turns and addresses us, asking how the interrogation went. We fill him in on that and he thanks us for returning the chest, and also for doing so publicly. By doing this it fortifies our position as helpers of the town. We ask about the investigation.
They have been drawing up a contract that sets us up as stewards of Verdant Isle. We discuss how the rebuild is going and what the hope is for Belhaim to become in the future. We finish up our meeting with Moulten and head back toward the Chandlerveil.
It is now approaching midday. Dharra will meet up with Devlin at lunchtime when his shift ends, but before that we decide to head back up to the library to speak to Kezahr about Glade and the tower. We find her in the library as she is working at a high bench analysing the potions we gave her. Fafnir is sat on a bookshelf nearby closely watching her hands as they move between the potions and some other alchemical things. We show her the information we have found about Glade and the tower he built and ask if it could be the tower on Verdant Isle. She thinks that the information we have found is quite interesting. We quiz her about Trevian and Evariel and when and where they may have lived and based on what we all saw on the island though, she thinks it is a likely assumption that the tower on Verdant Isle is Glade's. She warns that we should be careful whilst investigating though as there may be some traps and puzzles blocking the way in. She would be keen to come with us (potentially) to investigate. We leave saying that we will see her for dinner tonight at the Chandlerveil.
Devlin has finished his shift and Dharra meets up with up near the gate to the tower. She waves him over and they head off to have lunch together. Whilst they do that, Katya and I head back to the Chandlerveil to ask Holly what we might need for dinner tonight. Holly gives us a short list of things to procure on our way back this afternoon. She appreciates us letting her know. We then head back to the barracks of the tower to do some training and hang out with the soldiers whilst we wait for Dharra.
Dharra and Devlin walk down to the Lonely Forest for lunch. As they do, they talk about the Island. Dharra mentions the Tower and its potential link back to Glade. They head into the Lonely Forest Tavern, find a secluded table and settle in for lunch. She talks about Confluence, but in more general terms. Her stories go over very well, especially talk of Thicoul and the Earthspine folks. Dharra asks if he would like to come with us when we head back to Glade's Folly to investigate Glade's resting place. During this they end up holding hands. All too quickly though, his time is up and he must return back to the tower. Dharra invites him for dinner at the house tonight as well. They walk back to the tower, across the Triways. They embrace near the base of the tower and Devlin heads back up to go on duty.
Katya and I gather the supplies on the list that Holly supplied (with some help from Katya who enjoys haggling). We make our way to the Triways and notice that the very centre of the Triways has been cordoned off. Some excavation has begun on opening up the entrance to Melody's tomb. We decide to head down toward the docks area to look at the refurbishment of the area. We also hope to bump into Ken, to ask some subtle questions about the poisonings. We notice numerous Cavaliers have a presence in the city and have taken up positions around the Triways.
We wind down through the side streets toward the docks and we certainly notice some works taking place. Heading toward the Krakens Beak, we head toward where Ken's boat was docked. We point out the island to Katya as we wander along the dock. Without too much trouble, we spot Ken and head toward his boat. We purchase some fish from him, Katya helps him sell his catch, and we head into the Kraken's Beak for a drink. We get ourselves a table, and settle in for our drink. We quiz him about the poisoning around the docks area (during the election). The person who was killed was Vakesh Deepwater, from Glade's Folly (possibly). He was a nice guy and a good worker. He was found in this part of town for sure, in one of the side streets. He had been hanging out in the nicer parts of town in the days preceeding. There were numerous theories about his death, one of which was that he may have angered one of the well-to-do folks of the town. He suggests that maybe Mabel Fishwife might have some more information about it. We get Ken another drink before taking our leave in the hopes of finding Mabel on our way back to the Chandlerveil.
We head to the Eastern end of the docks to try and track her down. As we head that way we notice the block where Kade & June's house was situated is currently being demolished. It is tricky to navigate this part of town, but we feel we are in the right spot. We hear the sound of a cart, and a middle aged woman appears around a corner pushing a cart with some seafood on it. We ask her to clean up our fish for us, and as she does so, we ask her some questions. She is rightly distrustful of us, but she slowly comes around. Vakesh was a polite man. Mabel certainly liked him and thought him a kind and thoughtful man. She knew him from a long time ago, when Vakesh's wife drowned in the lake. He would often just walk around the streets at night, sometimes to other parts of the city. He was found about a block away from here. By this time she has finished with our fish and we pay her a silver and thank her for her time. We ask her about Susannah Praek and she doesn't know her. She thinks there may be a tailor with the last name Praek near the Triways. We tell her about the reopening of Melody's tomb and urge her to pay a visit.
We wander over to look at the spot she said that Vakesh was found. Dharra casts light and has a look around the area. She does not see much apart from the fairly grubby street. However, Katya taps her on the shoulder and points toward the roof on the left. Focusing on that we see that the tiled roof has a number if tiles that have been shifted out of position. I quickly jump up there and have a closer look at the tiles. To me, it looks like someone has been up here and has moved some of the moss and things off the tiles. It looks like they have taken care to not leave much of a trace. We mention to Katya about the Lady Ivy, and she says someone like that could definitely do this. Maybe we should investigate a Quiet Hand presence in Belhaim. Dharra casts a small memorial wreath to leave for Vakesh. After all of that we quickly make our way back to the Chandlerveil to prepare for dinner.
We drop past the Lonely Forest and tell Hanirash of our discovery of the roof tiles. Dharra casts message to him to get his attention. We head over to his table, he greets us and we sit down. We tell him of our findings and he admits they missed that. He encourages us to keep making subtle enquiries with the tailor Praek tomorrow. He will post some guards in the street near the Chandlerveil tonight. He thanks us for the information and we take our leave, heading back to home. As we arrive, the door is opened by Kezahr, and we can see Devlin loitering in the entranceway. We all head inside, to start having our dinner together.
A quiet and happy night is had over dinner, given the new mix of people that are here. We talk about our time away and fill in some details, more to do with the ball in Confluence. We tend to gloss over the scarier details of our trip, so as not to focus on that. Dharra shows everyone the pick she bought in Ethiss. Kezahr thinks the carving of the island on the pick is a view of the western side of the island.
During the nights discussions I talk at length about the Companions and connections to them. Kezah initially seems worried about this, but it becomes clear to her that it has allowed me to grow emotionally. Devlin seems concerned by this, but is even interested to hear more about the battle in Myriad Plaza. Dharra plays a number of songs and there is plenty of dancing late into the night. It is decided that folks will stay the night, Rahalla does the dishes, but the night starts to wind down. Kezahr and I head upstairs to bed. Devlin and Dharra head downstairs to bed. A long rest is had.