Tales of Aequar: Runite's Rise IC

[CoffeeIncluded]

The man sighs; he seems to put his entire body into the effort. "Thanks...Great, this is just not my day, is it."

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Yeah, he's not making that bluff check.

[Draconi Redfir]

Elsee just shrugs and resumes gently petting Naga, idly keeping an eye out to make sure Lil Miss didn't escape onto the canine in search of greener pastures so to speak.

"Well eye always say that when ya have a bad day, et's either payin up for a good day ya had recently, or letting you have a great day soon. Yera workin man right? 'msure there was nothin in that thing ya won't make up in a few days, heck, maybe invest in a lottery ticket or two, might get lucky."

[CoffeeIncluded]

"Thanks, but I--You don't understand, and it would take too long to explain." The man shakes his head, abruptly changing the subject. "Better have a hell of a windfall headed my way," he mutters, heading off.

[Athedia]

The Badger gestured for the group to follow as she walked over to the small room. She knocked on the door as she opened it. "Excuse me. I am here to investigate the death. Would it be okay if we talked?"

[Dusk Eclipse]

Artorias follows The Badger's lead.

[CoffeeIncluded]

The room goes silent as they knock on the door. When they open it, they see a tiny body laid out on a table in the center of the room. At first glance it appears to be the body of a child, but closer inspection shows it's that of a halfling, barely out of his adolescence. He's no longer curled up and his hands are folded neatly over his chest, but they couldn't completely smooth out the fear in his face.

The boy's parents look up as Badger, Jadeite, Sora, and Artorias enter, though they can't quite stop crying.

Jadeite is silent. Even he knows this is neither the time nor place.

Eventually, the boy's father, his eyes red, looks up at Badger and gives a shaky nod.

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You've got to handle this one with kid gloves.

[Dusk Eclipse]

"My name is Artorias, my companions are The Badger, Sora and Jadeite" Artorias speaks softly and motions the others as he names them.

"We are very sorry for your loss"

[CoffeeIncluded]

"T-Thank you..." the boy's mother manages to softly say.

The cleric, a middle-aged man whose cloak has faded gold trim, motions to Artorias. "Are you the ones whom the guard said found Brent's body?"

[Dusk Eclipse]

" No sir, one of our guildmembers found the boy, me and my companions just voluntered for the investigation"

[CoffeeIncluded]

The cleric closes his eyes. "I couldn't find anything on Brent. Not a mark, not a scratch, not a rip or bloodstain on his clothes. If anything it looks like he just dripped dead, except for the look of terror on his face. There could be signs, inside his body, but I'm just not qualified to do that..."

[Dusk Eclipse]

"We were told about the lack of wounds, our first instic was that it could be magic, now I am not knowledgeable about magic; but Jadeite is a Graduate student with formal training, so he might be able to help with, Sora here is a skilled healer and might be able to discover something"

He motions them as he speak.

"Was Brent an Acolyte of the temple? I was told he was found with a holy symbol of Astrid"

[Draconi Redfir]

Elsee simple shrugs and lays back into the bush again, closing her eyes as she waits for the others with Naga and Alim.

[Athedia]

The Badger walked over to the parents, gently offering them a seat on the nearby bench. "Would you like a seat?" She kept her face still, only her eyes showing the sadness of the loss of such a young life.

[CoffeeIncluded]

At their words and comfort, both parents collapse onto the bench and nearly start wailing in grief.

The mother manages to choke out, "Brent...He had just received the cloak and blessing a few months ago. He was so excited to be finally learning spells. Our boy is...was..." She sobs into her hands. "Who could have done this?"

Her husband looks up, barely holding back himself. "If you can find out who did this...I want justice for my son."

[CoffeeIncluded]

Jadeite, actually mindful of the sensitivity of the situation for once, says quietly to the others, "I can do an autopsy if they so desire. I have a decent enough knowledge of the body thanks to my studies to estimate the nature of his death."

[Athedia]

"Ma'am, Sir. I will make it my top priority to track down whoever killed your son. But could I ask some questions, to get a sense of him and who would want to hurt him." The last part she addressed to the father, who seemed the far more held together of the two.

[CoffeeIncluded]

The parents quietly nod their heads, then say, "But...who could have killed Brent? He'd never harm a fly."

"Could...Could this have just been a botched robbery?"

[Dusk Eclipse]

"By any chance do you know where the boy was found?"

[CoffeeIncluded]

The cleric shakes his head, but the boy's mother says, "I know he always spends his weekends with his friends, Yulian and Ilia...Oh Astrid, they don't know!"

[Athedia]

"Let us tell them. Do you know where could find them?" The Badger thought for a second, trying to phrase a question carefully. "Did he act unusual at all during the last few weeks, anything out of the ordinary even whether he ate breakfast could give us some clues."

[CoffeeIncluded]

Both the cleric and parents shake their heads. "Nothing unusual at all. He ate the same meals, had the same routine, went to the same stores..."

The boy's father says, "Yulian and Ilia live on the eastern side of the city, close to Canal Street."

[CoffeeIncluded]

"Shall we be on our way?" Jadeite asks the rest of the group. "Though in this heat and humidity we do not have much time to obtain useful information from an autopsy. Perhaps we should split up?"

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So Jadeite, Alim, and Sora are going to autopsy Brent's body while Badger, Artorias, and Elsee track down Yulian and Ilia, then investigate the murder site?

[CoffeeIncluded]

Outside the temple:

The day is getting hotter, and the two goblins may be of a mind to get something cool to eat...They've been waiting outside for some time.

Inside the temple:

Brent's mother finally goes over to the group and says, "Please...find out whatever you can."

[Dusk Eclipse]

"We promise we'll do our best"

[CoffeeIncluded]

The group reconvenes outside. Jadeite says, "I believe they will deliver Brent's remains to the academy for me to analyze and dissect shortly; it would not do to carry a corpse slung over our shoulders through the streets. Alim, Sora, I believe you would be of assistance to me."

However, there's still the matter of tracking down Brent's friends and finding the scene of his death.

[Draconi Redfir]

Elsee grunts a bit as she stands, glad to finally be moving on already.

"Trip to the guild should tell us where the theng was found, jus ask the girl who found it and go there."

[CoffeeIncluded]

"Well, I would much rather do something more useful and...interesting. Like this autopsy. Oh, I do so love the thrill of discovery."

[Devmaar]

"Well, I'd be glad to help you with the autopsy Jadite. I think I could learn a lot from seeing you at work.

[CoffeeIncluded]

"And I'm sure that another set of hands would be greatly appreciated. Hemlock can only carry so many scalpels, after all." Jadeite grins.

"I guess...I guess I can come too."

The other three, Artorias, Badger, and Elsee, if they're not going to observe the autopsy, must decide whether to track down Brent's friends or return to the guild to talk to the girl who found his body.

[Dusk Eclipse]

"I think we should see if the girl remembers where they found the body, now that I think so, Badger you are pretty good tracking people, reckon you can find the boy's friends?"