Group 1: Zanibi, Nyral, Truador:

Nym nods his head, his long hair falling in front of his face. He doesn’t bother to push it away. “Yes. It was her mother’s. When she left home for college, she told me she was super homesick. That music box was the only thing she was able to bring from home. She had an… unusually sentimental attachment to it.” He sighs shakily. After waiting for you to ask the next set of questions, he sighs again. “Her family had no part in that. They came from a country that---from what I remember---remained neutral. Other than the obvious economic effects they weren’t affected too badly. And she was too young anyways. She moved to Pisor just last year, to start university. That’s where I met her.”

Group 2: Inquisitive, Marvin, Amy

“One second.” Two fuzzy clicks come from the other side of the line, followed by more ringing. When the ringing finally stops, the phone is answered. He sounds older, kindly, yet speaks with the animated vigor of a young man. “Hello, you’ve reached Andaren Rogers. May I ask who’s speaking?”

Zanibi looks a bit startled at Truador's discovery. "A finger?!? How did we miss THAT!"  She steps close, trying to get a good look at it. (Investigation Check: 15, mainly to try to identify what kind of being it would have come from. Does it match with Calda?)  

"This is Inquisitive Embershade speaking, also listening in are my associates Amy and Marvin. I regret to inform you Mr. Andaren that one of your patients, Thaymoor Shadowdancer, has passed away a few days ago, murdered it is believed. We have been asked by the mayor of Esperal to help out with the investigation of this matter. It is not the first time I deal with therapists in my investigations so I'm well aware of the confidentiality concerning your sessions but I'm sure you would agree that your former patient would have wanted you to help us catch his killer. We already know quite a bit about your sessions and that Mr. Shadowdancer was suffering from nightmares. We think the solution to this mystery lies in what those nightmares might have been about and anything in his past over which he might have felt guilt or remorse?" The tiefling said with a firm but gentle tone, glancing up at Amy and Marvin to see if they had anything to add so far.

(OOC: Can Truador and Zanibi hear Nyral and Nym's conversation?)

Group 1: Zanibi, Truador, Nyral

(ooc: Yes, you can.)

Zanibi:

Group 2: Inquisitive, Amy, Marvin

Andaren is quiet while you speak, other than the occasional ‘mhm,’ and he remains quiet for a few seconds afterwards. “Right.” You can hear him smack his lips, pausing again on the other side of the line. “I am required to keep a strict code of confidentiality with my patients, no matter how much I feel that they might have wanted their information shared after death. I risk getting sued if I don't.” He pauses once more. “I want to help you, but as it stands, I can’t at the moment. I’m sorry.” He doesn’t hang up just yet, though, and waits to see if you have anything else to say.

"Short, humanoid form," Zanibi muses.  "That means gnome or halfling.  Majority of fat and muscle gone, so dead for a while. And don't you think the ring looks to be a wedding band?" She says all of this quite casually, as though she were still inspecting the music box, not humanoid remains. She thinks on it a moment. "Calda was a halfling. Don't think she was married though. Perhaps we should ask Nym if he can identify the finger." 

Truador nods, "I don't know is she would have done this, but... do you think it would fit in the music box? I'm also not sure we should just show the elf the finger. He is already upset, so let's just ask him about Calda before we just spring it on him."

Zanibi nods to Truador. "That elf did seem a bit high strung. Maybe you are right. It would be helpful though if he could identify it.  Well, if that doesn't work I guess we will have to try some other paths to figuring it out." 

"Oh, please don't worry about getting sued Mr. Andaren, we are a team of private investigators and this conversation will not appear in any official report and will consequently not come to the family's knowledge, who I'm sure wouldn't take any legal action anyway." Inquisitive continued, hoping to convince the therapist to share what he knew.

Persuasion: 27 Another roll if help can be given somehow: 10

"Well, lets at least ask him if Calda wore a ring." Truador holds the finger in the palm of his hand, covering it with his own fingers, so no one can see what he is holding, then walks out to talk to Nym. "Did Calda happen wear a gold ring?"

Group 1: Zanibi, Truador, Nyral

Nym seems a little startled as you approach from the other room to ask your question. "Not that I'm aware of. She wasn't the type to wear jewelry."

Group 2: Inquisitive, Marvin, Amy

For the next minute or so, all you can hear from Andaren Rogers is a mix of sighs and the sound of deep, deep contemplation. "Alright. I'll tell you what I know." His voice is grave, and he now seems to fully understanding the weight of the request. "But, I'll tell you as little as I am able to, in order to preserve as much of confidentiality as possible. I hope you understand. What do you need to know?"

"Hmmm. Did she know anyone who did?"

Listening the best he can, Marvin speaks up "Inquisitive, definitely ask that last question again. Ask if Thaymoor spoke of what the nightmare were about"

(OOC: I'm like 90% sure we're talking about Thaymoor, right???)

Inquisitive nodded at Marvin and continued in a firm but gentle tone. "Thank you for your understanding Mr. Andaren. Now, we already know quite a bit about your sessions and that Mr. Shadowdancer was suffering from nightmares. We think the solution to this mystery might lie in what those nightmares were about and anything in Mr. Shadowdancer's past which he might have felt guilt or remorse over, so if you could tell us what you know about that it would likely be very helpful to our investigation."

Group 1: Truador, Zanibi, Nyral

"I don't know." The elf shakes his head. "Why do ask?"

Group 2: Marvin, Inquisitive, Amy

(ooc: yep. Andaren is Thaymoor's therapist.)

On the other side of the line, you can hear Andaren set down the phone, followed by the sound of flipping pages. He picks the phone back up, flipping some more. "Aha. Have you ever heard of something called 'Survivor's Guilt?' It's common in, well, survivors. There's this tendency amongst people that have lived through life-threatening situations to feel guilt for out-living others." He pauses, flipping through some more pages. "Textbook Survivor's Guilt. Thaymoor suffered from severe PTSD---including vivid nightmares, mainly about his experiences as a refugee of the war---in the aftermath of his immigration to the country. But it's gotten significantly better in the years I've worked with him. I was considering letting him go in the next few months, due to his improvement. I don't understand how that would affect him now."

"Well," Truador says, "Please don't be alarmed, but we found this on the floor." He holds up the finger so Nym can see it.