Nemeia seems relieved that Tirtyani will coordinate a possible meeting and properly thanks the lady for all of her help. Feeling somewhat successful in her mission, Nemeia meanders around the party trying foods off various platters. The gala was nice but it wasn't anywhere near as fun as the parties the gnomes hosted back home. They really knew how to party. Thinking of her home made the tiefling a little homesick but she fought the feelings away knowing that she was part of something great and would someday be the great tinkerer her father trained her to be. She knew she couldn't reach those levels of success at home so here she was, investigating regicide. 

"Hey it's no distubance at all. Not sure why you'd be back her slumming it with us instead of enjoying the party back there but yer welcome to it." One of the servants said to Witt with a quick laugh. Another one spoke up and added, "Not to worry, events like this don't happen all the time. Honestly most of us are glad for it, haven't many happy moments around here since the funeral."

Back in the party itself Lady Eve gave Lynn a knowing smirk, "A fan of gossip perhaps? Then listen carefully, the one thing you should know about this business with the Queen is that it's not worth involving yourself in this business with the queen. It's nothing but vultures and snakes falling upon the corpse before them in a desperate effort to make themselves fat. It's an unfortunate circumstance of power, and one I'd just as well avoid for now. As you say, I'm someone who knows how to solve problems. Sometimes that means asking the right people for help, other times it means not sticking your head in more problems." She grabs a fresh glass of wine, taking a long sip before she continues, "For my personal ventures, well, you'll find most people in Tarrin deal in raw ore. However I have connections in Dorimir that allow me access to some of the best forges and smelters in all of Tyrandel, and at a fraction of the cost. So I can deal in everything from the unrefined ore all the way to processed items, including jewelry, if I so desired. But I find refined materials is most profitable at the moment. There's a surge of technological development, from Crystalhaven to Angel's Cove, and all of these amazing new inventions need the right materials to be produced. It's quite fascinating these times we live in, don't you agree?"

Elsewhere outside the Castle...

The elf invited Moira into his home, guiding her to a simple sitting room not far from the front entrance where, true to his word, he had his servants serve both he and Moira some tea. It was very refined, delectable, high quality tea that was extremely difficult to get outside of Glyphwood. 

"My name is Elaran, son of Count Thal'Warin. Unfortunate that my father isn't here as he is currently attending the Royal Gala, but he's been more focused on the family business while I've turned my attention to this curious little rat that seems to have scurried North." The elf introduced himself, "I will be blunt and say this much, everything I've learned of Lady Linthe is extremely suspicious. So forgive me if this is rude but I must ask you very clearly. Are you truly in Lady Linthe's service?"

Meanwhile back in the depths of the castle itself...

Princess Sylna stood motionless for a moment, clearly shocked by Sora's sudden proclamation. "You know who killed ... mom?" For that moment she looked like she was about to tear up but quickly regained her composure as soon as Khorzik entered the room pretending to be a guard.

She turned to him slightly holding a hand up, "Hold there. This isn't some random party drunk. I doubt they could have made their way in here so easily if that was the case. Seems she's come here to give me some vital information, and I'd like to hear it." She looked back at Sora and with a more determined look in her eye told her, "Ok, you've got your chance, what do you know?"

9 will continue looking over the rooms from her side of the hallway. She looks for anything that would be of interest. 

 "There is truth in gossip if one listens close enough. As an outsider it does strike me odd that one so young would seek the throne at such expense. If she is being played as a puppet, it does not bode well for the stability in the region, no? Surely all the Royals here wish to know who is the one truly in control. Again, forgive me for being blunt, 'the merchant must be attentive lest he invest in bad business', as my father called it." Lynn-Marie says with a polite smile, doing her best to keep a smooth face as Lady Eve voiced her opinion on getting involved with the Queen's assassination. At the same time she studies her intently, looking for any sign of her being more involved in the whole thing than she is letting on.

"It is a fascinating time! Truly extraordinary! I will make sure to stop by Dorimir to get a first-hand experience of the processed items as well. Is there anyone in that region that you could recommend I speak to, with your permission?"


Mechanics:

'Alright, you got your chance, now what?' Sora forced herself to focus on the Princess for now, she had to convince her of her good intentions. So the question was how to best spin this so she doesn't get tossed into a dungeon.

Not that it would be the first time she got tossed into a dungeon. Even so, it was probably best to avoid that right now.

"Let me be upfront with you then. Me and my friends came here under the guise of working for a certain -" She stopped herself from saying 'Duke' and after that slight pause she continued, "Count - that you may be familiar with. But I can promise you one thing, we're only interested in finding out the truth. We were investigating your mother's death and discovered a certain elf noble from Lynansera here in Tarrin, Lady Linthe. We're certain she's the assassin, or at the very least was responsible for it. But we need more then just our word, of course, we need proof, which is what we're looking for right now." She couldn't resist a small smile as she continued, "Let's be real here. Your family's under attack right now and you need all the allies you can get. Ideally allies who are not after the throne. Which is where we come in. We're after the assassin, nothing more."

Oh, yes, says Witt sadly.  News of the death of the late Queen reached us as we were heading towards this city.  I heard that no-one is certain how it happened, or at least who was responsible, which must be horrible for the family.  It's such a terrible matter.  He looks, and feels, very sympathetic towards everyone in this city who he now realises are essentially still in mourning and, to some degree, shock over what has happened.  They say a good ruler makes everyone's life better; it seems the late Queen touched everyone's lives, because everyone I have met is truly grieving for her.  Almost everyone, he corrects honestly.

Moira

Following the elf into the house, something in the back of her mind whispering to be careful, Moira looks around taking a seat when offered. As Elaran makes his feelings of Linthe clear a visible sense of relief comes over her. "I am not.  I am a member of a group who have been tasked with uncovering the truth of the late queens death. Lady Linthe is suspected of being involved somehow. If you have any information that might be helpful in finding the truth it would be greatly appreciated."

Khorzik steps back from the door."As you wish mi'lady. I will give you some privacy, but I will be right outside if you need anything." He then steps outside, closes the door, and waits for Kal to contact him via message so he can tell Sora who he is.

Investigation: 5 + 3

As Lynn closely watches Lady Eve closely it is clear she is being honest about her desire not to get involved in this conspiracy. You also realize she is well aware of your scrutiny and not the least bit concerned with it. Indeed, she's been scrutinizing Lynn-Marie just as much throughout the conversation.

"By law and custom the rightful ruler is already on the throne. Regardless if the rumors are true or not, at the moment the current queen belongs there. Should that change all I need to do is wait for the dust to settle and deal with whoever ends up in charge. I'd just as well do that at a safe distance, thank you very much." Lady Eve returned a smooth smile back at Lynn as the topic shifted easily, "If you do plan on visiting Dorimir obviously you must visit the capitol of Knil Molduir. About as dwarven a stronghold as you can imagine, but you won't find a better example of proper dwarven ales anywhere else in all of Esyldien. There's no shortage of smaller family brewers all over Dorimir, especially along the southern border where the hops grows more plentiful. But any ale worth a damn ends up in Knil Molduir one way or another. Though if you're more interested in the business itself, I maintain an estate in Sorgem. It's an ideal spot for to manage the entire chain of production if you're smart about it."

Not from from there in the kitchen, the local staff were enjoying their brief rests while speaking with Witt. Many of them were visibly comforted by the genuine care and empathy that Witt displayed before them. "Aye, Queen Illia was an amazing woman and a wonderful queen. Her death was a great loss to the entire kingdom, more then most realize I'd say. But if you ask me Queen Enalie takes after her mother in all the best ways. She's just not had the chance to show it. It's a tragedy, this heartbreaking world that she's been thrust into before she was ready for it." Then another of the staff chimed in, "Could be worse. At least Enalie takes after her mother, Sylna on the other hand definitely takes after her father!" There was a quiet bit of laughter running through the other staffers nearby at what must be some manner of inside joke.

Meanwhile, outside of the castle walls in the current Thal'Warin residence...
"Murder you say? Well that is more then I imagined. And yet I'm not surprised." Elaran seems more intrigued then surprised by what Moira has said, but also he seems relieved to learn that Moira is not working for this potential enemy. "Everything about the Lady Linthe felt off to me. She proclaims to be some great noble from my home kingdom yet neither I nor any of my friends and family know much about her. While I don't claim to know every single Glyphwood noble, it seems strange that no one I've spoken to there actually has anything to say about her. Not openly at least. She's clearly hiding something to convince so many to stay quiet. I've been trying to determine what it was, but you understand I'm limited in how deeply I can search. It would be extremely problematic for my whole family if it's discovered I'm investigating another noble, even a fake one, without cause."

As this conversation was unfolding another one continued deep within the upper levels of the castle...
"You're a little rude for someone talking to a princess you know?" Sylna said before breaking out into a big smile, "Which is good cause that's the kinda person I like. Enalie's the more prim and proper one, I like getting my hands a little dirty every now and then." She then took the sword in her hand and stuck it into the ground, using it almost like a cane to lean on as she stood casually before Sora, "You're right, we could use allies. But both Konor and Enalie have been too cautious to take that risk. Can't blame them though, with everyone trying to take advantage it's very hard to know who to trust right now outside of family. If you're serious about wanting to help, and you're being honest about wanting this assassin, then we're better off working with you. Big If though. Still need to prove we can trust you."

Just down the hallway from where this was taking place, 9 had moved onto another room, finding herself in another study. No this was more of an office, and a working one at that. Large stacks of papers organized all throughout the room. The most interesting features where the very large table and equally large sized chair that came with it. This was more then simply size for display's sake. The office table and chair were deliberately built for someone much larger then the normal person. Fortunately it wasn't so large that 9 had any trouble rummaging through the papers there, though even as tall as she was this was still effectively a standing desk to her.

It was well worth it, however, as this room was a treasure trove of information. Specifically security information. The office belonged to Konor, based on the correspondence 9 discovered here. He was clearly in charge of the security of both the castle and the royal family in particular. As such there is no shortage of security reports from all of the guards that Konor directs through out the kingdom as a whole. Most of them are fairly boring routine reports. Though overall it paints a clear picture of circumstances in the kingdom as a whole.

Due to the previous queen's death, and the many people looking to make their move in the chaos and uncertainty that followed. The current queen, and Konor himself, were effectively forced to keep more of the kingdom's military forces in and around the city and the castle itself. Trying to keep a close eye on all of their potential enemies while also investigating the Queen's death. Of course one of the people they were keeping an eye on was "Duke" Hakon. As such they were also investigating the group, which is no surprise given that Hakon loudly proclaimed his desire to hire the party in front of the royal quartermaster and several of the guards.

Going through some of the other security reports, however, gives 9 even more interesting bits of information. One such report seemed to be a more personal analysis by Konor himself. For the most part it looks like he was trying to determine any possible weaknesses that an enemy might attack them from. One of his biggest concerns was not just that someone would try to send an assassin after Enalie, but that a more shrewd manipulator would try to send an assassin after Princess Sylna. With Sylna dead, there would be no proper line of succession after Queen Enalie herself, and the other aristocrats of the city might use that to force Enalie to immediately name a successor. Everyone with their eye on the throne would use this opportunity to somehow try and force Enalie to name them. Whoever she named, there would be no way to stop them from taking the crown by killing the queen. It was a recipe for pure chaos and disorder, and could very well bring the kingdom into ruin.

What made it even more chilling was another report you discovered. This one looked like it had not been read by Konor yet. It was an intelligence report from someone working within the criminal guilds around the kingdom. They had identified an assassin that had been hired recently for work within the city itself. They had reason to believe they would target someone in the castle, and that tonight, with the gala acting as a distraction, it would be a perfect time for them to strike.

Lynn-Marie is just short of giving the Lady Eve a wink, feeling a bit of pride at having found such a level-headed woman with such ease. Copper ore was not directly a market she was familiar with, but she could certainly reach out to her husband to do some asking around down along the coast. If a good price could be agreed with both parties, a small batch could be exchanged to test quality and trade validity.
She too takes a long sip of her wine as she considers this, then responds, "I must say I am quite impressed, my good Lady. It appears nothing can shake you, and I cannot but value this in a business partner. I would love to talk in more detail right now, but let us enjoy the gala a bit more tonight. I will speak to my family to do some investigation on the market value of copper along the southwestern coast, perhaps we might speak again in a few days?"

Feeling a bit of a flutter in her stomach at the idea of making her very first own trade deal, she puts the glass to her lips once more, awaiting Lady Eve's reply.

As Nemeia takes in the sights of the gala, she begins to feel lonely among the large crowd gathered. She hadn't had Cali for long, but there was something comforting about the mechanical creation at her side. She began to wonder what the cat like creation was doing right now. She was probably just knocking things over without reason in the room. Nemeia wasn't sure why she added that to the personality matrix but thought it would be important Cali be as real as possible. 

Looking at the guests gathered, Nemeia wonders the stories each of them hides. She was already certain she was among the most elite within hundreds of miles but knowing a few by name could prove useful. She moved from group to group introducing herself and trying to insert her own stories to add to the conversation. It honestly felt more like work than her time in the shop. That was something else that had been bothering her. She always tried to dedicate a part of her day to her craft and it was generally around this time that she'd have her tools and materials spread out in front of her. 

She begins to wonder if the others are okay as she hasn't seen anyone in the group for quite some time. She grabs a handful of small snacks off a passing tray. "At least I won't go hungry," she says to herself. 

I can't imagine suddenly being in such a position, it must be terrible for the Queen, Witt says sympathetically.  I saw her earlier, she seemed very composed but I suppose she's keep up appearances as best she can.  She was with her bodyguard. Konor, I believe his name is?  And Sylna? I'm sorry, I don't know the name.  Queen Inalie's sister, perhaps, from what you say?  Then her father was the King?  I'm sure no-one has ever mentioned him to me before.  Oh, I'm so sorry, I don't want to keep you away from your duties, it's just so nice to chat.  

Moira

"That is odd. Well My friends and I would be happy to look into her for you. What would we need to do to prove she is not who she claims to be?"

"You got a bit of wisdom and a sharp eye, something I too value in a business partner." Lady Eve smirked as she continued speaking with Lynn-Marie, "Certainly I don't mind admitting that extending my businesses into the golden coast is an exciting prospect for me. But I'm certain we're both far too cautious to jump into any business relationship that easily. Where are you staying, dear? I can send a letter over and we can setup this meeting."

"Aye, Princess Sylna, That'd be Queen Enalie's younger sis. Though their mother, the previous queen, never officially married their father, bit of a political mess there from what I've heard. Anyway point is there's no one using the King title, least not since Illia's father at any rate." One of the servants explained to Witt. Another one slapped his shoulder in a friendly gesture as he added, "Ah, don't worry about it, we're keeping the party going just fine out there. It's been nice to actually talk to a guest instead of being talked down to all the bloody time."

Elaran considered Moira's offer briefly before responding, "Honestly it's of little concern to us whether we have proof of her true identity of not. We already have reason enough to suspect her. Exposing her identity, even with the proper evidence, will just be more of a hassle with very little gain. The bigger concern at play here is simply figuring out what she's doing here. She's put an awful lot of effort into setting herself up here in Tarrin. Why is she going through all this effort? What's her goal? Is she doing it for herself or on someone else's behalf? And if so who is she working with and why?" he took a sip of his tea as he let the questions hang in the air, "The more you dig, the more questions inevitably come up, so one must always consider what is the most important question to answer first."

Nemeia was having difficulty finding a decent conversation. Everyone group she walked up to seemed to be embroiled in their own boring conversation and didn't seem overly welcoming of anyone joining in. Nemeia was starting to get incredibly bored until a familiar voice called out to her.

"Nemeia? Is that you? I thought I recognized you. I mean to be honest you tend to stand out among this crowd. Figured I'd run into you eventually. You did mention you had an invite as well." Looking over to the source of the sound Nemeia found a familiar gnomish woman in a custom purple dress with a perfectly stitched stylized gear design embroidered into it. To Nemeia the design was a recognizable clockwork mechanism that was clearly intended to display her artificer skills. Despite looking vastly different from when she had last seen her in her shop, it seemed Krin was absolutely recognizable no matter where she went.

Moira

"I see. In that case I should let you know that she is working with Hakon. He believes the new queen is responsible for the murder and is trying to use that to seat himself on the throne. He hired my group to investigate, thinking this would put pressure on the Queen, and advance his on goals. I am not sure what specifically Linthe hopes to gain in this but she did not seem to care if the new queen was responsible or not just that people thought she was. She actually seemed upset that Hakon had hired us."

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you. I tried to talking to that woman over there about the complexity of interlocking gears and magic but she said she didn't have time for that sort of thing. I'm fairly certain most the people here couldn't even torque their own gearbox properly. Sometimes I wish I were back home in Gearglow. But alas, there are dealings of intrigue I have to investigate. We were hired by that Duke over there to investigate the unfortunate late Queen's death and I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the... social standards. I'd rather be mixing combustible compounds than trying to do this dance of politeness." 

Nemeia shrugs after venting. It was nice to have someone here that the tiefling could actually relate with. And the clockwork done on Krin's dress was absolutely amazing. She looked down at her own fine clothing that the group had procured for her noting a clear lack of amazing clockwork designs. A slight frown forms on her lips but she does her best to hide it. "I love the design you've done there," she says pointing to the dress. "I would have done similar if I had more time." She scans the room once again taking in the sights and sounds of the gala. "Are you enjoying yourself here?," Nemeia asks hoping she's not alone in her unease. 

9 will try to remove traces of her being in the room, just grabbing the report about the assassination after a quick consideration. She moves down the hallway and tries to find Sora in hopes of trying to stop this assassination. We need to notify Konor, I hope it’s not too late.

Thank you for taking the time to talk to me, says Witt warmly.  I'm having a much better time than I expected, because of you all.  I am sorry to be so inquisitive, but I know so little of affairs in this city.  What is the name of the father of the Queen and Princess?  Is he... well, is he around?  Is he not protective of his daughters at such a terrible time?  Or has he... passed away?