"I believe something supernatural, or at the least magical is going on. I don't think she is making it up, and I am sure she hasn't become possessed. She seems to be transforming periodically, but why is the big question. Surely this sort of thing doesn't spontaneously happen. And other than her mother suffering from mental deterioration with her advancing age, she didn't seem to be unusual. I guess we don't know about her father", 'Tace' reply, rambling on a bit with his thought process.
"There must be some catalyst to this. Which may or may not be linked to why Hector was acting so strangely", he adds.
"Let's hope something in here sheds some light on the situation".
He stands ready for the Sergeant to open the door.
(OOC: I assume the detect magic has dropped, but did he notice anything else whilst it was active as he travelled back)
Bryn's spell's effect ends shortly before they return to town. Now that they're slightly more confident in their path, it takes less time to travel. In the woods, there is no sign of magic of any kind. Even passing by Emma's messages again, there is no trace of magic on them*.
The door doesn't look tampered with in any notable way. It is still locked, but Emma's key unlocks it. Inside, the house's layout reminds you of Veda's hut. The door opens into a small living room, and in it, a small, low table, and a couch with a blanket and a pillow on it. By the door is a small shoe rack with a pair of boots and a pair of fancy-looking shoes, smaller than the boots by enough to suggest they do not belong to the same person. Bryn recognises these shoes as the kind often worn by merchants; it seems footwear in Katto isn't much different from that in Levicka.
There are two other rooms in the house. A doorless archway leads into a small kitchen connected to a dining room. In the kitchen, there aren't many cooking utensils or a pantry, but there are a few pans and pots stored in cabinets and a few basic ingredients stored there as well. If they look for it, Bryn or Arren will find a pan matching Emma's description.
The second door leads into a bedroom with a bed large enough for two, but only a single pillow on it. There's also a closet with clothes for two people - some simple and some fancier (for both). One wardrobe noticeably consists of mostly light-coloured clothes, while the other contains a broader spectrum.
((If there's any place you want to search thoroughly, please state it and roll a Perception check (if you aim to find something) or an Investigation check (if you aim to deduce something based on gleaned information, or both if relevant.))
*Bryn would know that magic usually leaves magical traces, only detectable by appropriate means, for a while after it ends. The stronger the magic, the stronger the traces and the longer they last. Weak magic (e.g. cantrips) has barely noticeable traces which fade briefly. The longest-lasting traces Bryn heard of only lasted for a couple of days. There are some other factors affecting how long traces last, but I won't go into detail. Usually, Illusion spells don't leave strong traces, so it's not like Bryn walks with a massive spotlight on his face after every time he casts Disguise Self (would still be noticeable during the spell's effect though).
These traces appear only where magic had a direct effect. Meaning, for example, that if the messages on the trees were carved with magic, one might find such traces on them, but if the magic only affected the tool with which they were carved, no traces would be left on the trees.
The magic Bryn noticed on Emma is active , and not traces of one.
'Tace' takes a quick look through the living area and kitchen, but spends a little more time in the bedroom. He knows from Veda's that the bottom of the closet is a favourite place to store things, but also under the bed, between the bed and whatever kind of mattress there is if there is one. He even checks the pillow for any sign there is something inside.
Once done, he does a similar job in the living area with the couch and pillow.
"It seems Hector's behaviour was bad enough for them to be sleeping apart. Emma has no idea what caused this, but if Hector knew something or did something, with them so estranged he likely wouldn't have confided in her", he suggests to the Sergeant given the apparent separate sleeping arrangements. If he wanted to hide something from Emma, where would he put it?
Perhaps there is a pocket in his clothes, or a pouch.
He makes sure to go through all the clothes, and inside shoes as well, focussing on the ones he believes are Hector's first.
Perception: 5+5=10 Investigation: 14+5=19
(OOC: He is covering a lot there, I know. If he needs separate rolls, shout FireCat)
Arrenfeels a twinge of guilt as he begins rifling through the couple's belongings, but it doesn't stop him from investigating. "Not surprising at all,"he mutters in reply to the Corporal's comment about them sleeping apart. "Though I wonder who took the couch."
He imagines Emma sleeping in the bed, leaving Hector to the living room, but with what they've learned about the man so far, he wouldn't be shocked if it was the other way around. That should be easy enough to figure out, he thinks, and carefully checks the pillows for any long strands of hair that might suggest where Emma slept.
Initially, he'd intended to focus more on Emma's belongings, but Tace is right: if Hector had any secrets, it's likely he kept them from her. As Tace searches the wardrobe and the bed, Arren turns his attention to the living area. He checks between the couch cushions, beneath the frame, and gives a glance over the nearby surfaces for anything that stands out. He even examines the shoe rack closely, and then looks for signs of a "Hector corner"—somewhere that might have been claimed as his own space to store his things, rather than Emma's.
In the kitchen, he locates the pan Emma described and places it carefully in his pack. He checks the pantry next—not really expecting to find potatoes, but hoping nonetheless. If there aren't any, he'll grab some from The Stewpot before returning to the forest, as requested.
He doesn't overlook the dining area either, scanning for anything tucked into drawers, into the edges of shelves, or even hidden behind things. People often stash important papers in places like these, rather than leaving them in the open. Recepits, letters, and ... there should be ownership documents to The Stewpot? Perhaps all these papers are all piled up together somewhere.
Finally, the Sergeant doesn't overlook Emma's belongings. He doubts she kept painting into adulthood, but part of him wonders if anything of that past still lingers. Not likely in the shared spaces—if she had a safe place in this house, it would be the kitchen.
Searching the house thoroughly, both Arren and Bryn find a variety of personal belongings: from sketches taken by a local artist of the couple where they look happy together, to objects that cannot have any value beyond sentiment, such as a wooden toy soldier or an ornate, broken bow.
While it's not always easy to tell what belongs to whom, it seems that Hector's belongings are located in the open: on a dresser, on a windowsill and the like. Meanwhile, almost all of Emma's sentimental belongings are hidden. Some better, some worse, but almost nothing is left on display. For the most part, however, it doesn't look like she made an effort to hide it, but rather just keeps it out of view. Another difference to note is that Hector has far fewer such personal belongings, but they appear more refined, more expensive.
In a small dresser, you find a collection of neatly organised letters. Most of them seem to be to/from Hector's family or friends. Neatly organised next to them is a collection of important documents, including the ownership deed for The Stewpot and a marriage certificate. In contrast, Bryn finds a small collection of letters to Emma, scattered under her clothes in no particular order. If she kept drawing a diary, neither Bryn nor Arren could find it.
On the bed, Arren finds a few strands of hair which seem to match Emma's length and colour. On the couch, he can find a few blond hairs, shorter than a finger's length.
Arren doesn't find potatoes in the house, but he'll find enough to take from The Stewpot.
((If there's amything more specific your character seeks/I didn't answer for, please mention it.))
Arren takes a look at the sketch of the back-then happy couple and mutters, "It's sad to think how they ended up."
As they continue investigating and find nothing remarkable, he starts to feel like they aren't going to uncover anything useful—but then they come across Hector and Emma's letters, and his hope is renewed. "Maybe there's something interesting here. Let's take a look, I could read Hector's, and you take Emma's."
The sergeant is still mindful of the time but believes they have enough left, for now.
(ooc: This is my calculation regarding the time, does it make sense to you, @volcano? * Sundown: 5:30 PM. Sunrise: 7:00 AM * We returned to Ersta around 7:00 PM * Arren's sleep window: 11:00 PM – 7:00 AM So that would give us 4 hours left to investigate.)
"Indeed. Emma's life changed when she went to the city. She evolved professionally and personally. I wonder if Hector was happy moving to this small town from the city. He must have truly cared for Emma at one time to decide to come here with her. He obviously has more expensive and refined tastes", 'Tace' muses.
As the Sergeant suggests reading the letters, he nods, although he looks at the disparity in size of piles of letters and can't help but feel he would be better looking at Hector's letters. If only the Sergeant knew who I was.
"We can start that way, but I would like to read Hector's as well", he says picking up Emma's pile. "If they are dated, which I expect they are, we can concentrate on those around the time Hector's behaviour changed. Emma said it was a little over a year ago, so maybe go back a year and a half", he suggests. "Those shoes of Hector's are similar to merchant's shoes. He must have had his own thing going on here, not just an assistant in running a tavern. Making his own money".
As he reads the letters, he uses his proficiency in calligraphy to note details about the penmanship, whether the letters were rushed, or the writer was excited or depressed when they wrote it.
After he has read Emma's letters, he looks through the documents, thinking that Hector might own another property like a store house if he is indeed some kind of merchant. Or perhaps some other business venture. Finally, unless the Sergeant finds something, he will start to go over Hector's letters as well.
(OOC: I think that makes sense time-wise. We have to factor in potentially retrieving the manacles from the carriage, and then the round trip to collect Emma, with some leeway in case things are not as we expect back where she is. It doesn't really state how big the pile of Hector's letters is, but they are well organised so only concentrating on 18 months should mean not too many. Perhaps we can spend an hour more here?)
Hector's letters are conveniently organised into categories, separated by a piece of paper to denote the category that matches the letters beneath it. Within each category, they are sorted by sender and by date. Arren finds letters divided into categories of family, friends, business and miscellaneous.
The family category seems to contain mostly letters from his parents, but also a few from one brother, and a few older letters from Emma at the bottom of this stack. Hector received a letter from his parents every half-year, it seems, and from his brother at no specific intervals. The letters from Emma look old enough to be from before they wed. The friends category seems to consist of two semi-constant senders and one other who stopped sending letters a few years back. The business stack is by far the largest one, and it seems the senders change from time to time, but overlap often too. The miscellaneous stack isn't very large but doesn't seem to contain anything of interest, at a glance.
Emma's received letters, meanwhile, aren't organised in any way, which forces Bryn to invest a little time in sorting them first, as best he can. First, he's able to sort them into a pile of old letters from about a decade ago and newer ones. It appears there's a pretty large gap in between, during which Emma received no letters, or kept none of those she did receive, or hid them elsewhere.
Of the older ones, it's easy to tell which were sent from her family and friends in Ersta - usually a bunch of letters from multiple senders collected in one envelope - and which were sent by Hector or other people not from Ersta, back at the time. Of the newer letters, there are four. Two from a woman named Kone Peite, sent about eighteen and twelve months ago. The other two have no details regarding the sender on them, but the paper doesn't look as old as the older letters, which drove Bryn to assume they're more recent (without reading the content yet).
((I'd like to know which letter Bryn and Arren each focus on first. Let's say, choose the first 2-3 letters if you read thoroughly or a specific group (more relevant in Arren's case, maybe) if you're not reading thoroughly but looking for some kind of key words, phrases or anything specific (and also mention what it is) to narrow down your search.))
I expect unsurprisingly ‘Tace’ will focus on those from Kone first. He is a little taken aback to find them, although hides it as best as he can, to begin with at least.
Arren is genuinely impressed by how organized Hector was—though that's to be expected, seeing that he'd been a merchant. Before reading, he glances curiously at Tace, impressed as well that he'd guessed that. The Sergeant is used to sizing people up ... but not so thoroughly as to notice their shoes.
He will begin the business category, and since the letters are sorted by date, he starts with those from about a year and a half ago—following the Corporal’s suggestion. He doesn't read every letter in full, but methodically skims through the text looking for any mentions of Emma or words suggesting urgency, problems, or any kind of negative feeling that might explain Hector's behavior.
Arren takes special note of any names—whether of people, cities, other businesses...
Arren doesn't spot Emma's name anywhere, but The Stewpot is mentioned numerous times. This doesn't seem alarming, though, as it is usually mentioned in the context of ordering supplies, particularly liquor. It appears Hector arranged an order of liquor from a supplier in Pyorre named 'Methysmenos' around once in every season, or about four times a year. It consists mostly of the same common beverages and a few unique ones that change periodically. In the latest order, Arren spots the carrot liquor too.
Apart from those, Hector seems to have been in contact with a few other businesses in Katto and Pohja, but nothing there catches Arren's eye as relevant to the investigation. As far as he can tell, Hector was acting as a consultant/accountant for a few small businesses, sometimes as a one-off and other times for a long time. In some of the letters, they request his presence, and while Arren doesn't have his response to those requests, he can imagine Hector travelling often, even if he only acceded to some of them.
Arren finds some letters in which the other party expressed some urgency or having some hard times, but for the most part, none of it seems to relate to Hector directly.
Bryn:
From the first letter, sent about eighteen months ago, it seems that Kone knew Emma in the past, but that they had not talked for a long while. She seems excited to talk with Emma again and tells her a little about how she's been, about Tace and their son (nothing entirely new to Bryn, but it confirms to him without a doubt that it is the same person). Following that, she asks Emma a few more questions regarding how she's been since they last talked, emphasising again how it's been years since. Then, she follows with this passage:
"Regarding your problem, I remember people advised Tace and I try to incorporate more red clover, raspberry leaves, and stinging nettle in our meals, as well as anything spicy. We also tried praying to Gaitha and made offering to Aleshi to appease her, in case our struggles were her doing. There were other practices we tried, but they always felt ridiculous and I don't believe they did anything.
Personally, I think it just happened when it needed to. Oh, it was also not long after I tasted a new type of pastry. Tace always jests that Carmelo just waited for the right cake to be made before he'd come to us (but the name has nothing to do with caramel!). I doubt that's really the case, but I'm sending you the recipe too. If nothing else, it's not too complicated and it's one of our best selling pastry even today."
Lastly, she invites Emma and Hector to visit her bakery in the capital, and says they're welcome anytime.
Inside the envelope, there's also a recipe for a pastry written neatly on a note. Even without great knowledge of baking, one can tell the ingredient list looks more or less reasonable. Sugar, flour, eggs and the like, nothing that seems out of the ordinary.
Kone's second letter is shorter and seems to express worry.
"[...] I knew the messanger from Tus passed by Ersta on his way, and thought to ask him if he happened to stop by your Stewpot. He told me that it is a lovely tavern with great food, but that he saw the owner of the place hitting his wife hard. Emma! I don't know if it's related to what you wrote about in your previous letter, but you don't have to put up with it! Knowing you, I'm sure you haven't told anyone, but at the very least, you can sleep in with your mother or friends until you two sort it out! I don't know when Tace will be back next, but if it's not resolved by then, I'll ask him to pass by Ersta and help you."
However, Bryn doesn't recall reading anything like that in any of Kone's letters to her husband.
"Nothing strikes me as unsual in Hector's business letters,"Arren says once he's done with the first stack. "There's no mention of Emma, but The Stewpot comes up a lot — mostly in supply orders, especially liquor. I even found the carrot liquor listed here. It's from a supplier in Pyorre named 'Methysmenos'. Hector ordered from them regularly, once per season, it seems..." He taps the edge of one letter. "Apart from that, Hector seems to have been a consultant for other businesses in Katto and Pohja. I imagine he traveled often."
He pauses, considering. "No mention of anything especially troubling that might explain his change in behavior. Though, now that I think about it, something like that might be too personal for business correspondence. If he spoke of it at all, it might've been to family."
Arren glances at the smaller stack of letters from Hector's brother and picks them up, planning to read them more thoroughly this time since there are far fewer.
Before doing so, he looks over at Tace, handing him Hector's business letters in case he wants to check them out, and asks,"Anything interesting in Emma's letters?"
"Well', 'Tace' starts. "It is the damnedest thing. It seems Emma knew my wife. There are a couple of letters here, one that even mentions sending me here on my next visit home to check on Emma after a messenger told her that Hector was being unkind", he continues. No point in keeping it secret, he may ask to read the letters himself after all.
"But there is nothing to suggest anything beyond what we already know", he adds. "Although. It seems 18 months ago they were trying for a child. That is quite a shift. Something definitely happened between 18 months and a year ago".
He accepts the letters passed to him by the Sergeant, but reads the remaining two newer letters to Emma first.
"You don't think there is something to do with that Carrot Liquer? Or the merchant that sent it? What did they send between our 18 month to 12 month ago window?", he asks idly as he reads.
"Your wife? You're married?"Arren looks at Tace, surprise clear on his face. It's obvious to the Sergeant that he knows next to nothing about their newest addition to the team, and wonders why someone would accept a post that will take them so far from home for such long stretches. But then again, the same could be asked about his former position in Tus. A husband in Tus and a wife in Pyorre? How does one even manage that? He stares for a few seconds, thinking it over, but doesn't ask about it. Who is he to question someone else’s relationship? If anything, he's impressed that the Corporal has managed to keep a stable relationship going, which is more than he can say say for himself.
"What a curious coincidence,"he mutters.
He's not sure asking Emma about she and Hector trying to have a child will have anything to do with what's going on, but he makes mental note of it before reading further.
Regarding the liquor, Arren adds, "I don't know. It seems Hector used to order the same common beverages, but changed the special ones from time to time."Still, he checks to see if there's any correlation between the special beverages orders and that specific period of time.
As the Corporal finishes reading the first of Emma's letters, the Sergeant takes them to go through them as well, though only after finishing with Hector’s brother’s correspondence first.
Hector's letters from 'Methysmenos' were more like receipts. Probably came with the order itself, so he can count and make sure everything arrived as ordered. The carrot liquor is the latest mentioned, and it appears the shipment arrived about thirty days ago. The changing 'special menu' doesn't strike Arren as important, as nothing there seems truly extraordinary, but rather experiments of a brewery trying new things.
Hector had received two letters from his brother in the last eighteen months. In the first, written a little under a year ago, Hugo (the brother) tells Hector how nothing extraordinary happened to him since his last letter - business as usual. It seems he, too, is a merchant and appears to be travelling more often than Hector. But the next paragraph catches Arren's attention:
"I passed by the old folks' home earlier, they're as healthy as ever, and they told me you've been trying for a child for a while now. Don't take it too hard, these things can take time. Mother can wait before her first grandchild is born, and your wife is still young. There are things you can't rush. I'm sure you know better than I, but don't forget Emma takes things harder than you do, even if she doesn't look the type. Maybe take her on a vacation? Running that tavern of hers must be stressing, no matter how much she enjoys it."
The second letter is significantly shorter and seems to have been written only a few months later. It seems like this time, Hugo skips the pleasantries entirely:
"Dear brother,
I must say I did not enjoy reading your last letter. I find it very concerning. It matters not whether you feel guilt for what you do, you must stop it. If you can't control yourself, distance yourself until you calm down. Given it's Emma we're talking about, I imagine she'll forgive you after it's all over, but things might not be so simple if an outsider intervenes, or if you ever do any serious harm to her.
You didn't tell me what caused all this, but whatever it is, I'm sure you'll be able to overcome it.
I hope to hear you've grown over it in your next letter,
Your dead brother Hugo."
((For now, Arren hadn't read Emma's letters yet. I also want to see if Bryn keeps it from Arren or not. If he doesn't mention anything like that, I'll describe them to you in my next post.))
Bryn:
As previously mentioned, the other two letters have no details on them. Neither the sender's nor the receiver's.
One reads:
"Dear Mrs. Acunar,
It is unfortunate things ended as they did last time, but I did not imagine things will proceed as they did from then on. A bird carried a whisper to me and told me of your current predicament. I cannot help but feel I bear some responsibility in that regard. If you wish not to see me again, I'll understand that. But otherwise, I can offer you my aid again in fixing what my previous actions caused.
If you'll allow me to correct my mistakes, on the night of the full moon, place a Cucurbitaceae by your window, as you did last time. Otherwise, you will not hear from me again.
Once more I offer my deepest apologies,
BS.
The second is torn apart, but Bryn can still read what's on the remaining part:
"Dear Mrs. Acunar,
It has come to my attention you're struggling to procreate and are seeking a solution. I believe I can hel- before, I am confident it could work. I know it might sound strange, so I'll give you time to think about it.
I will pass by Ersta shortly after the new moon, you should decide by then whether you want my help or- price, consider it free of charge. If you decide to seek my aid, then on the third night after the new moo- Otherwise, I'll pass by and the opportunity will be lost.
I pray the gods will answer your prayers, but if not, I hope you'll accept my offer.
Since Bryn specifically mentioned paying attention to the penmanship, he notices that the writing is elegant and makes use of fine ink, and yet the calligraphy isn't that of an expert calligrapher. Most likely the work of a well-educated person, but not a scribe. The writing seems to be a little rushed, but due to there being no mistakes or crossed-out words, the writer is either used to writing fast or they took enough time to write it well.
Lastly, please make an Intelligence check, with proficiency thanks to the proficiency in calligrapher's supplies.
Having checked again, Arren says, "Nothing out of the ordinary regarding the liquors. The carrot liqueur arrived a month ago, and the rest just look like experimental brews—likely a brewery trying new things."
Regarding Hector's brother's letters, he adds, "Looks like Hugo, Hector’s brother, was aware that Hector and Emma were trying for a child. Here, Hector asks him to be mindful of how Emma takes it, knowing she's a sensitive woman. He even suggests taking her on a vacation, to give her a break from The Stewpot."
He continues reading. "And it seems Hector wrote to him full of remorse for how he'd been treating his wife. Hugo's very straightforward in his reply—says the guilt doesn't matter if he doesn't change his ways. These letters are from this last year,” he finishes, handing them to Tace and reaching for Emma's to review them next.
"I might have got something", 'Tace' says to the Sergeant. "There are two letters here from someone who offered to help Emma and Hector conceive. At least that is how it sounds. But something went wrong. This person appears to be a traveller who passes through Ersta from time to time. They offered to return and help put things right".
He passes the two letters to the Sergeant.
"We would need to ask Emma for more details, of course, and it might be unrelated. But this is the only thing in her letters that comes close to an explanation for her problem".
If the Sergeant takes the letters to read, he will start to go through Hector's letters from the time period they are interested in.
Bryn and Arren exchange letters, such that Bryn now reads those sent by Hector's brother, and Arren reads those last read by Bryn. (OOC: Sorry if I mixed it up, that's what I understood from your messages.)
Arren:
The other two letters have no details on them—neither the sender's nor the receiver's.
One reads:
"Dear Mrs. Acunar,
It is unfortunate things ended as they did last time, but I did not imagine things will proceed as they did from then on. A bird carried a whisper to me and told me of your current predicament. I cannot help but feel I bear some responsibility in that regard. If you wish not to see me again, I'll understand that. But otherwise, I can offer you my aid again in fixing what my previous actions caused.
If you'll allow me to correct my mistakes, on the night of the full moon, place a Cucurbitaceae by your window, as you did last time. Otherwise, you will not hear from me again.
Once more I offer my deepest apologies,
BS."
The second is torn apart, but Arren can still read what's on the remaining part:
"Dear Mrs. Acunar,
It has come to my attention you're struggling to procreate and are seeking a solution. I believe I can hel- before, I am confident it could work. I know it might sound strange, so I'll give you time to think about it.
I will pass by Ersta shortly after the new moon, you should decide by then whether you want my help or- price, consider it free of charge. If you decide to seek my aid, then on the third night after the new moo- Otherwise, I'll pass by and the opportunity will be lost.
I pray the gods will answer your prayers, but if not, I hope you'll accept my offer."
(OOC: I now noticed I had a typo in Hugo's last letter to Hector. In the last line, it is supposed to be 'Your dear brother Hugo', instead of 'dead'. It seems you didn't mention it, so maybe it went unnoticed, but that was a typo nonetheless.)
Bryn:
Hector had received two letters from his brother in the last eighteen months. In the first, written a little under a year ago, Hugo (the brother) tells Hector how nothing extraordinary happened to him since his last letter - business as usual. It seems he, too, is a merchant, and he details a lot of travelling between Katto and Pohja. One paragraph catches Bryn's attention:
"I passed by the old folks' home earlier, they're as healthy as ever, and they told me you've been trying for a child for a while now. Don't take it too hard, these things can take time. Mother can wait before her first grandchild is born, and your wife is still young. There are things you can't rush. I'm sure you know better than I, but don't forget Emma takes things harder than you do, even if she doesn't look the type. Maybe take her on a vacation? Running that tavern of hers must be stressing, no matter how much she enjoys it."
The second letter is significantly shorter and seems to have been written only a few months later. This time, Hugo skips the pleasantries entirely:
"Dear brother,
I must say I did not enjoy reading your last letter. I find it very concerning. It matters not whether you feel guilt for what you do, you must stop it. If you can't control yourself, distance yourself until you calm down. Given it's Emma we're talking about, I imagine she'll forgive you after it's all over, but things might not be so simple if an outsider intervenes, or if you ever do any serious harm to her.
You didn't tell me what caused all this, but whatever it is, I'm sure you'll be able to overcome it.
I hope to hear you've grown over it in your next letter,
Your dear brother Hugo."
His penmanship is rather simple and plain, yet ordered and, for the most part, not too difficult to read. A practised hand, but not to the point of making a living out of it.
"I believe something supernatural, or at the least magical is going on. I don't think she is making it up, and I am sure she hasn't become possessed. She seems to be transforming periodically, but why is the big question. Surely this sort of thing doesn't spontaneously happen. And other than her mother suffering from mental deterioration with her advancing age, she didn't seem to be unusual. I guess we don't know about her father", 'Tace' reply, rambling on a bit with his thought process.
"There must be some catalyst to this. Which may or may not be linked to why Hector was acting so strangely", he adds.
"Let's hope something in here sheds some light on the situation".
He stands ready for the Sergeant to open the door.
(OOC: I assume the detect magic has dropped, but did he notice anything else whilst it was active as he travelled back)
Bryn's spell's effect ends shortly before they return to town. Now that they're slightly more confident in their path, it takes less time to travel. In the woods, there is no sign of magic of any kind. Even passing by Emma's messages again, there is no trace of magic on them*.
The door doesn't look tampered with in any notable way. It is still locked, but Emma's key unlocks it. Inside, the house's layout reminds you of Veda's hut. The door opens into a small living room, and in it, a small, low table, and a couch with a blanket and a pillow on it. By the door is a small shoe rack with a pair of boots and a pair of fancy-looking shoes, smaller than the boots by enough to suggest they do not belong to the same person. Bryn recognises these shoes as the kind often worn by merchants; it seems footwear in Katto isn't much different from that in Levicka.
There are two other rooms in the house. A doorless archway leads into a small kitchen connected to a dining room. In the kitchen, there aren't many cooking utensils or a pantry, but there are a few pans and pots stored in cabinets and a few basic ingredients stored there as well. If they look for it, Bryn or Arren will find a pan matching Emma's description.
The second door leads into a bedroom with a bed large enough for two, but only a single pillow on it. There's also a closet with clothes for two people - some simple and some fancier (for both). One wardrobe noticeably consists of mostly light-coloured clothes, while the other contains a broader spectrum.
((If there's any place you want to search thoroughly, please state it and roll a Perception check (if you aim to find something) or an Investigation check (if you aim to deduce something based on gleaned information, or both if relevant.))
*Bryn would know that magic usually leaves magical traces, only detectable by appropriate means, for a while after it ends. The stronger the magic, the stronger the traces and the longer they last. Weak magic (e.g. cantrips) has barely noticeable traces which fade briefly. The longest-lasting traces Bryn heard of only lasted for a couple of days. There are some other factors affecting how long traces last, but I won't go into detail. Usually, Illusion spells don't leave strong traces, so it's not like Bryn walks with a massive spotlight on his face after every time he casts Disguise Self (would still be noticeable during the spell's effect though).
These traces appear only where magic had a direct effect. Meaning, for example, that if the messages on the trees were carved with magic, one might find such traces on them, but if the magic only affected the tool with which they were carved, no traces would be left on the trees.
The magic Bryn noticed on Emma is active , and not traces of one.
Varielky
'Tace' takes a quick look through the living area and kitchen, but spends a little more time in the bedroom. He knows from Veda's that the bottom of the closet is a favourite place to store things, but also under the bed, between the bed and whatever kind of mattress there is if there is one. He even checks the pillow for any sign there is something inside.
Once done, he does a similar job in the living area with the couch and pillow.
"It seems Hector's behaviour was bad enough for them to be sleeping apart. Emma has no idea what caused this, but if Hector knew something or did something, with them so estranged he likely wouldn't have confided in her", he suggests to the Sergeant given the apparent separate sleeping arrangements. If he wanted to hide something from Emma, where would he put it?
Perhaps there is a pocket in his clothes, or a pouch.
He makes sure to go through all the clothes, and inside shoes as well, focussing on the ones he believes are Hector's first.
Perception: 5+5=10
Investigation: 14+5=19
(OOC: He is covering a lot there, I know. If he needs separate rolls, shout FireCat)
Arren feels a twinge of guilt as he begins rifling through the couple's belongings, but it doesn't stop him from investigating. "Not surprising at all," he mutters in reply to the Corporal's comment about them sleeping apart. "Though I wonder who took the couch."
He imagines Emma sleeping in the bed, leaving Hector to the living room, but with what they've learned about the man so far, he wouldn't be shocked if it was the other way around. That should be easy enough to figure out, he thinks, and carefully checks the pillows for any long strands of hair that might suggest where Emma slept.
Initially, he'd intended to focus more on Emma's belongings, but Tace is right: if Hector had any secrets, it's likely he kept them from her. As Tace searches the wardrobe and the bed, Arren turns his attention to the living area. He checks between the couch cushions, beneath the frame, and gives a glance over the nearby surfaces for anything that stands out. He even examines the shoe rack closely, and then looks for signs of a "Hector corner"—somewhere that might have been claimed as his own space to store his things, rather than Emma's.
In the kitchen, he locates the pan Emma described and places it carefully in his pack. He checks the pantry next—not really expecting to find potatoes, but hoping nonetheless. If there aren't any, he'll grab some from The Stewpot before returning to the forest, as requested.
He doesn't overlook the dining area either, scanning for anything tucked into drawers, into the edges of shelves, or even hidden behind things. People often stash important papers in places like these, rather than leaving them in the open. Recepits, letters, and ... there should be ownership documents to The Stewpot? Perhaps all these papers are all piled up together somewhere.
Finally, the Sergeant doesn't overlook Emma's belongings. He doubts she kept painting into adulthood, but part of him wonders if anything of that past still lingers. Not likely in the shared spaces—if she had a safe place in this house, it would be the kitchen.
Perception: 15+3 = 18 / Investigation: 17+1=18
Peindre l'amour, peindre la vie, pleurer en couleur ♫
Auriel | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
Searching the house thoroughly, both Arren and Bryn find a variety of personal belongings: from sketches taken by a local artist of the couple where they look happy together, to objects that cannot have any value beyond sentiment, such as a wooden toy soldier or an ornate, broken bow.
While it's not always easy to tell what belongs to whom, it seems that Hector's belongings are located in the open: on a dresser, on a windowsill and the like. Meanwhile, almost all of Emma's sentimental belongings are hidden. Some better, some worse, but almost nothing is left on display. For the most part, however, it doesn't look like she made an effort to hide it, but rather just keeps it out of view. Another difference to note is that Hector has far fewer such personal belongings, but they appear more refined, more expensive.
In a small dresser, you find a collection of neatly organised letters. Most of them seem to be to/from Hector's family or friends. Neatly organised next to them is a collection of important documents, including the ownership deed for The Stewpot and a marriage certificate. In contrast, Bryn finds a small collection of letters to Emma, scattered under her clothes in no particular order. If she kept drawing a diary, neither Bryn nor Arren could find it.
On the bed, Arren finds a few strands of hair which seem to match Emma's length and colour. On the couch, he can find a few blond hairs, shorter than a finger's length.
Arren doesn't find potatoes in the house, but he'll find enough to take from The Stewpot.
((If there's amything more specific your character seeks/I didn't answer for, please mention it.))
Varielky
Arren takes a look at the sketch of the back-then happy couple and mutters, "It's sad to think how they ended up."
As they continue investigating and find nothing remarkable, he starts to feel like they aren't going to uncover anything useful—but then they come across Hector and Emma's letters, and his hope is renewed. "Maybe there's something interesting here. Let's take a look, I could read Hector's, and you take Emma's."
The sergeant is still mindful of the time but believes they have enough left, for now.
(ooc: This is my calculation regarding the time, does it make sense to you, @volcano?
* Sundown: 5:30 PM. Sunrise: 7:00 AM
* We returned to Ersta around 7:00 PM
* Arren's sleep window: 11:00 PM – 7:00 AM
So that would give us 4 hours left to investigate.)
Peindre l'amour, peindre la vie, pleurer en couleur ♫
Auriel | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
"Indeed. Emma's life changed when she went to the city. She evolved professionally and personally. I wonder if Hector was happy moving to this small town from the city. He must have truly cared for Emma at one time to decide to come here with her. He obviously has more expensive and refined tastes", 'Tace' muses.
As the Sergeant suggests reading the letters, he nods, although he looks at the disparity in size of piles of letters and can't help but feel he would be better looking at Hector's letters. If only the Sergeant knew who I was.
"We can start that way, but I would like to read Hector's as well", he says picking up Emma's pile. "If they are dated, which I expect they are, we can concentrate on those around the time Hector's behaviour changed. Emma said it was a little over a year ago, so maybe go back a year and a half", he suggests. "Those shoes of Hector's are similar to merchant's shoes. He must have had his own thing going on here, not just an assistant in running a tavern. Making his own money".
As he reads the letters, he uses his proficiency in calligraphy to note details about the penmanship, whether the letters were rushed, or the writer was excited or depressed when they wrote it.
After he has read Emma's letters, he looks through the documents, thinking that Hector might own another property like a store house if he is indeed some kind of merchant. Or perhaps some other business venture. Finally, unless the Sergeant finds something, he will start to go over Hector's letters as well.
(OOC: I think that makes sense time-wise. We have to factor in potentially retrieving the manacles from the carriage, and then the round trip to collect Emma, with some leeway in case things are not as we expect back where she is. It doesn't really state how big the pile of Hector's letters is, but they are well organised so only concentrating on 18 months should mean not too many. Perhaps we can spend an hour more here?)
Hector's letters are conveniently organised into categories, separated by a piece of paper to denote the category that matches the letters beneath it. Within each category, they are sorted by sender and by date. Arren finds letters divided into categories of family, friends, business and miscellaneous.
The family category seems to contain mostly letters from his parents, but also a few from one brother, and a few older letters from Emma at the bottom of this stack. Hector received a letter from his parents every half-year, it seems, and from his brother at no specific intervals. The letters from Emma look old enough to be from before they wed. The friends category seems to consist of two semi-constant senders and one other who stopped sending letters a few years back. The business stack is by far the largest one, and it seems the senders change from time to time, but overlap often too. The miscellaneous stack isn't very large but doesn't seem to contain anything of interest, at a glance.
Emma's received letters, meanwhile, aren't organised in any way, which forces Bryn to invest a little time in sorting them first, as best he can. First, he's able to sort them into a pile of old letters from about a decade ago and newer ones. It appears there's a pretty large gap in between, during which Emma received no letters, or kept none of those she did receive, or hid them elsewhere.
Of the older ones, it's easy to tell which were sent from her family and friends in Ersta - usually a bunch of letters from multiple senders collected in one envelope - and which were sent by Hector or other people not from Ersta, back at the time. Of the newer letters, there are four. Two from a woman named Kone Peite, sent about eighteen and twelve months ago. The other two have no details regarding the sender on them, but the paper doesn't look as old as the older letters, which drove Bryn to assume they're more recent (without reading the content yet).
((I'd like to know which letter Bryn and Arren each focus on first. Let's say, choose the first 2-3 letters if you read thoroughly or a specific group (more relevant in Arren's case, maybe) if you're not reading thoroughly but looking for some kind of key words, phrases or anything specific (and also mention what it is) to narrow down your search.))
Varielky
I expect unsurprisingly ‘Tace’ will focus on those from Kone first. He is a little taken aback to find them, although hides it as best as he can, to begin with at least.
Arren is genuinely impressed by how organized Hector was—though that's to be expected, seeing that he'd been a merchant. Before reading, he glances curiously at Tace, impressed as well that he'd guessed that. The Sergeant is used to sizing people up ... but not so thoroughly as to notice their shoes.
He will begin the business category, and since the letters are sorted by date, he starts with those from about a year and a half ago—following the Corporal’s suggestion. He doesn't read every letter in full, but methodically skims through the text looking for any mentions of Emma or words suggesting urgency, problems, or any kind of negative feeling that might explain Hector's behavior.
Arren takes special note of any names—whether of people, cities, other businesses...
Peindre l'amour, peindre la vie, pleurer en couleur ♫
Auriel | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
Arren:
Arren doesn't spot Emma's name anywhere, but The Stewpot is mentioned numerous times. This doesn't seem alarming, though, as it is usually mentioned in the context of ordering supplies, particularly liquor. It appears Hector arranged an order of liquor from a supplier in Pyorre named 'Methysmenos' around once in every season, or about four times a year. It consists mostly of the same common beverages and a few unique ones that change periodically. In the latest order, Arren spots the carrot liquor too.
Apart from those, Hector seems to have been in contact with a few other businesses in Katto and Pohja, but nothing there catches Arren's eye as relevant to the investigation. As far as he can tell, Hector was acting as a consultant/accountant for a few small businesses, sometimes as a one-off and other times for a long time. In some of the letters, they request his presence, and while Arren doesn't have his response to those requests, he can imagine Hector travelling often, even if he only acceded to some of them.
Arren finds some letters in which the other party expressed some urgency or having some hard times, but for the most part, none of it seems to relate to Hector directly.
Bryn:
From the first letter, sent about eighteen months ago, it seems that Kone knew Emma in the past, but that they had not talked for a long while. She seems excited to talk with Emma again and tells her a little about how she's been, about Tace and their son (nothing entirely new to Bryn, but it confirms to him without a doubt that it is the same person). Following that, she asks Emma a few more questions regarding how she's been since they last talked, emphasising again how it's been years since. Then, she follows with this passage:
Lastly, she invites Emma and Hector to visit her bakery in the capital, and says they're welcome anytime.
Inside the envelope, there's also a recipe for a pastry written neatly on a note. Even without great knowledge of baking, one can tell the ingredient list looks more or less reasonable. Sugar, flour, eggs and the like, nothing that seems out of the ordinary.
Kone's second letter is shorter and seems to express worry.
However, Bryn doesn't recall reading anything like that in any of Kone's letters to her husband.
Varielky
"Nothing strikes me as unsual in Hector's business letters," Arren says once he's done with the first stack. "There's no mention of Emma, but The Stewpot comes up a lot — mostly in supply orders, especially liquor. I even found the carrot liquor listed here. It's from a supplier in Pyorre named 'Methysmenos'. Hector ordered from them regularly, once per season, it seems..." He taps the edge of one letter. "Apart from that, Hector seems to have been a consultant for other businesses in Katto and Pohja. I imagine he traveled often."
He pauses, considering. "No mention of anything especially troubling that might explain his change in behavior. Though, now that I think about it, something like that might be too personal for business correspondence. If he spoke of it at all, it might've been to family."
Arren glances at the smaller stack of letters from Hector's brother and picks them up, planning to read them more thoroughly this time since there are far fewer.
Before doing so, he looks over at Tace, handing him Hector's business letters in case he wants to check them out, and asks, "Anything interesting in Emma's letters?"
Peindre l'amour, peindre la vie, pleurer en couleur ♫
Auriel | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
"Well', 'Tace' starts. "It is the damnedest thing. It seems Emma knew my wife. There are a couple of letters here, one that even mentions sending me here on my next visit home to check on Emma after a messenger told her that Hector was being unkind", he continues. No point in keeping it secret, he may ask to read the letters himself after all.
"But there is nothing to suggest anything beyond what we already know", he adds. "Although. It seems 18 months ago they were trying for a child. That is quite a shift. Something definitely happened between 18 months and a year ago".
He accepts the letters passed to him by the Sergeant, but reads the remaining two newer letters to Emma first.
"You don't think there is something to do with that Carrot Liquer? Or the merchant that sent it? What did they send between our 18 month to 12 month ago window?", he asks idly as he reads.
(Insight: 4)
"Your wife? You're married?" Arren looks at Tace, surprise clear on his face. It's obvious to the Sergeant that he knows next to nothing about their newest addition to the team, and wonders why someone would accept a post that will take them so far from home for such long stretches. But then again, the same could be asked about his former position in Tus. A husband in Tus and a wife in Pyorre? How does one even manage that? He stares for a few seconds, thinking it over, but doesn't ask about it. Who is he to question someone else’s relationship? If anything, he's impressed that the Corporal has managed to keep a stable relationship going, which is more than he can say say for himself.
"What a curious coincidence," he mutters.
He's not sure asking Emma about she and Hector trying to have a child will have anything to do with what's going on, but he makes mental note of it before reading further.
Regarding the liquor, Arren adds, "I don't know. It seems Hector used to order the same common beverages, but changed the special ones from time to time." Still, he checks to see if there's any correlation between the special beverages orders and that specific period of time.
As the Corporal finishes reading the first of Emma's letters, the Sergeant takes them to go through them as well, though only after finishing with Hector’s brother’s correspondence first.
Peindre l'amour, peindre la vie, pleurer en couleur ♫
Auriel | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
"It's not something I would normally discuss", 'Tace' says in reply to the Sergeant, preferring not to offer more.
He then carries on reading the last of Emma's more recent messages.
Arren:
Hector's letters from 'Methysmenos' were more like receipts. Probably came with the order itself, so he can count and make sure everything arrived as ordered. The carrot liquor is the latest mentioned, and it appears the shipment arrived about thirty days ago. The changing 'special menu' doesn't strike Arren as important, as nothing there seems truly extraordinary, but rather experiments of a brewery trying new things.
Hector had received two letters from his brother in the last eighteen months. In the first, written a little under a year ago, Hugo (the brother) tells Hector how nothing extraordinary happened to him since his last letter - business as usual. It seems he, too, is a merchant and appears to be travelling more often than Hector. But the next paragraph catches Arren's attention:
The second letter is significantly shorter and seems to have been written only a few months later. It seems like this time, Hugo skips the pleasantries entirely:
((For now, Arren hadn't read Emma's letters yet. I also want to see if Bryn keeps it from Arren or not. If he doesn't mention anything like that, I'll describe them to you in my next post.))
Bryn:
As previously mentioned, the other two letters have no details on them. Neither the sender's nor the receiver's.
One reads:
The second is torn apart, but Bryn can still read what's on the remaining part:
Since Bryn specifically mentioned paying attention to the penmanship, he notices that the writing is elegant and makes use of fine ink, and yet the calligraphy isn't that of an expert calligrapher. Most likely the work of a well-educated person, but not a scribe. The writing seems to be a little rushed, but due to there being no mistakes or crossed-out words, the writer is either used to writing fast or they took enough time to write it well.
Lastly, please make an Intelligence check, with proficiency thanks to the proficiency in calligrapher's supplies.
Varielky
Intelligence (with Proficiency): 8+3+2=13
(OOC: As requested)
Having checked again, Arren says, "Nothing out of the ordinary regarding the liquors. The carrot liqueur arrived a month ago, and the rest just look like experimental brews—likely a brewery trying new things."
Regarding Hector's brother's letters, he adds, "Looks like Hugo, Hector’s brother, was aware that Hector and Emma were trying for a child. Here, Hector asks him to be mindful of how Emma takes it, knowing she's a sensitive woman. He even suggests taking her on a vacation, to give her a break from The Stewpot."
He continues reading. "And it seems Hector wrote to him full of remorse for how he'd been treating his wife. Hugo's very straightforward in his reply—says the guilt doesn't matter if he doesn't change his ways. These letters are from this last year,” he finishes, handing them to Tace and reaching for Emma's to review them next.
Peindre l'amour, peindre la vie, pleurer en couleur ♫
Auriel | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
"I might have got something", 'Tace' says to the Sergeant. "There are two letters here from someone who offered to help Emma and Hector conceive. At least that is how it sounds. But something went wrong. This person appears to be a traveller who passes through Ersta from time to time. They offered to return and help put things right".
He passes the two letters to the Sergeant.
"We would need to ask Emma for more details, of course, and it might be unrelated. But this is the only thing in her letters that comes close to an explanation for her problem".
If the Sergeant takes the letters to read, he will start to go through Hector's letters from the time period they are interested in.
Bryn and Arren exchange letters, such that Bryn now reads those sent by Hector's brother, and Arren reads those last read by Bryn. (OOC: Sorry if I mixed it up, that's what I understood from your messages.)
Arren:
The other two letters have no details on them—neither the sender's nor the receiver's.
One reads:
The second is torn apart, but Arren can still read what's on the remaining part:
(OOC: I now noticed I had a typo in Hugo's last letter to Hector. In the last line, it is supposed to be 'Your dear brother Hugo', instead of 'dead'. It seems you didn't mention it, so maybe it went unnoticed, but that was a typo nonetheless.)
Bryn:
Hector had received two letters from his brother in the last eighteen months. In the first, written a little under a year ago, Hugo (the brother) tells Hector how nothing extraordinary happened to him since his last letter - business as usual. It seems he, too, is a merchant, and he details a lot of travelling between Katto and Pohja. One paragraph catches Bryn's attention:
The second letter is significantly shorter and seems to have been written only a few months later. This time, Hugo skips the pleasantries entirely:
His penmanship is rather simple and plain, yet ordered and, for the most part, not too difficult to read. A practised hand, but not to the point of making a living out of it.
Varielky