(Silvery barb bar attack reroll: 18 ). (And another unspecified roll: 9)

Tuuli steps up and tries to whack the razed merchant, only to discover that he is well-armored under his merchant's apparel. (Miss, barely.) She retreats.

Walt is up next!

The strength and aggression of this merchant seems almost unnatural. Walt calculates that perhaps that pink cloud was some sort of mind altering substance. He can only hope that his own restorative magics can end whatever condition is afflicting the merchant. Walt rushes in and casts lesser restoration on the crazed herbalist. He then stands back and braces for any further attacks.

Walt's spell does the trick. The herbalist drops the bar with a clang on the cobblestones, and he collapses to a sitting position, trying to make sense of the chaotic scene around him.

Combat is over. The unconscious noble on the ground appears to be dying. Death saves: 6, 1...

Everyone may act.

(The noble appears to be dead.)

Zartan would immediatly rush to administer aid

Medicine: 11

Aranor kneels down next to the herbalist and examines him.

"Do you know what you just did?" he asks him.

Zartan excitedly yells "Anyone got a healing potion? Hey Walt, need a hand here as this person is dying, and I'm no good at this healing stuff!"

Walt runs to Zartan and drops to his knees beside the dying man. He does not look good. Walt stammers “I…I think it’s too late…”

Medicine check: 12

”…He’s gone. I’m sorry. I should have moved more quickly.” Walt looks up quickly and scans the scene to see anyone is lingering in the area watching.

Perception check: 12

Tuuli stands off to the side where she ended her run. She blinks, sniffles, then sets her brows and begins to look around. She’s looking for anything that seems out of place, that might have started all this. Something that could have delivered the pink cloud, maybe?

Perception (igl): 18

Zartan is too late – the nobleman is quite dead.

The merchant is confused, and then horrified. "What happened?" he chokes to Aranor. "What have I done?"

The incident has gathered plenty of attention, even as the crowd has backed far away. One man steps forward, however, at Zartan's calls for help. He has neatly trimmed facial hair and wears a red vest. "Is he breathing...?" he begins, his brow furrowed with concern.

Then a pair of soldiers intervene, one sweeping in to grab the merchant roughly, the other lifting the dead nobleman like a sack of grain. From their outfits, you suspect they are members of the Silent Verse. "Stand back!" they command.

The red-vested man defers to the soldiers with distaste, and sympathetically motions for you all to cool down and step away. 

Walt and Tuuli scan the area but see nothing but frightened locals and a smashed and bloodied herb vendor’s stall.

Walt stands up and speaks to the to the red-vested man. “No, I’m afraid not. We were too late and unable to save him.” Just then, Walt is interrupted mid sentence by the soldiers swooping in. “Pardon me, one moment. If you know anything of this man, please stay here, I’d like to speak with you.” Walt says to red-vested man before addressing the soldiers.

Walt reaches into his pouch and fishes out the rose shaped token given to the group by Samira. He takes a step closer to the solders and speaks. “Excuse me! Might I speak with you on the side? I have important information on this attack that you must hear.”

IF…

If the soldiers allow Walt to speak with them in private, he will discreetly show them the coin and explain that he and his friends are working on behalf of Samira. He will tell them that they intend to help investigate this attack because it’s possibly related to another incident that they are looking into. He will ask them to handle the body gently, both out of respect and in hopes of preserving evidence. And he will tell them the group would like to question the herbalist.

"You killed that man," says Aranor, but his tone is not accusing. In fact, he is bewildered. There is no time to question the herbalist further for a bunch of soldiers swarm in and start taking charge of the situation.

As Walt speaks with the soldiers, Aranor turns to the red-vested man. In a quiet voice, he asks, "Did you know either of these men?"

(Walt, Aranor: both of you make persuasion rolls!)

Walt's persuasion check: 13. 

(OOC: DM any bump because Walt flashed the rose shaped coin?)

Persuasion: 16

Walt looks looks back and forth between the soldiers walking away and his friends lingering around at the scene of the crime. He calls out to Tuuli "Bring Lucky! I need him to... compare smells from earlier!" Walt winces at his attempt to be discrete and he hopes Tuuli gets the hint. He shuffles off to catch up with the soldiers. 

Once he catches up with them he lets loose some rapid fire ramblings. "Uh...as I was saying back there. I...I mean my associates and I are working for the one who gave me that coin." He laughs nervously before continuing. "Anyway, we are in the midst of an investigation and I'm worried this attack might some how be connected with our investigation. At the very least, I have suspicions that the herbalist was bewitched in some way and was not fully responsible for his actions. We need to question this fellow and inspect the body at once. Our employer has charged us with getting to the bottom of this and I require your assistance....please."

Tuuli whips her head around at Walt's call. She nods, then looks to the others, "I'm going with Walt, see if you can find anything out about what happened here, and who that guy is," she points not very subtly at the guy in th vest who is hanging around. Then she hurries after Walt to catch up.

Zartan will walk up to the guy with the vest. 

Walt and Tuuli follow the soldiers as they make their way out of the market with both their captive and his deceased victim. They finally pause in a vacant alley to stop and speak. 
"We can see that you're with Samira. What do you need? Be quick about it."

----

Meanwhile, Aranor and Zartan remain at the wreckage of the herbalist's stall, the dead noble's blood staining the ground in front of it.

"The dead man is Arel Avim, son of the King of Coin Messer Solenn Avim. He was a friend of mine," replies the red-vested man to Aranor, grimly. "He wasn't well-loved by the Kings of Coin, nor the Silent Verse, but he was still under their protection. Did you happen to see a stocky woman in green and yellow hanging around just now? I saw her earlier in the market, watching him - it seemed a bit suspicious but I didn't think much of it until now."