Falaine leans into the hug a bit as they walk.

Paren falls in behind the others as they walk. "After this should we check in at the barracks? Try and find out what happened?" 

"So shop first, then the barracks." Jonathan makes a mental note. "Perhaps we can share some information with the guard if we get anything else that is fruitful to solving these problems. It might give us some decent recognition for our help, too."

As the fires burn in the north, the party makes their way to Talia's Tonics and Tinkerings. Knok had briefly mentioned that this was the location that Lord Commander Zynphura and Gunthar Walamak had been taken for healing after the altercation in the barracks. You all would have heard that Gunthar did not survive the night and was pronounced dead the following morning. 

The town continues its quiet reverence as you reach the tall slender building with the sign that reads, "Talia's Tonics and Tinkerings." It looks to be hand painted in a rather fancy style that makes it stand out from the very routine and traditional decor of the nearby buildings. As you swing the door open, you hear several bells announce your presence. You hear some shuffling of bottles from the back room before a taller gnome sporting an apron filled with thin vials in slots similar to a bandoleer appears through a stringed curtain that separates the spaces. She has a fairly large leather satchel at her side that is packed full of herbs that look to be rather fresh. 

"Ello," she says in a high toned voice. "What are ya seeking?"

Jonathan takes a casual step back. His companions are better at this questioning malarkey, and he's better off being ready in case another problem comes at them in the meantime.

(Basically on guard duty for the group.)

Finan disentangles himself from Falaine. It had been nice to share her warmth, holding her had been like an island of tranquillity in these confusing and frantic past couple of days. He spreads his arms wide, smiling broadly at the Gnome woman as he approaches. "My lady Talia! So good to see you again today! I was wondering if we could speak with you privately for a moment? We have seen and heard of multiple folk falling to injury lately, and were wondering if perhaps you might have noticed something... peculiar?"

He studies her closely as he speaks, looking for any signs that might betray her affiliation, or perhaps even guilt.

Mechanics:

Paren doesn't know the angle Finan is taking but he's watching Talia closely, suspicious of everyone at this point. 

Insight: 12

Falaine will jump in on the insight as well.

4

(Passive 10 if it matters. Jonathan is leaving this to the others.)

The best that you all can tell, Talia is an expert in her field and finds little time to deal with social pleasantries. She seems a bit agitated at the inquisition. 

"Nothing out of sorts coming through here. Treated plenty of blunt force trauma from falling debris. Treated some nasty gore wounds from horned boars." She gives off a slight shrug. "Nothing I haven't been able to handle. Have something in particular you're looking to treat? I've got some fresh herbs that'll do ya good."

Paren takes a step forward from his place at the back of the group. "What about the guard captain? I passed by her yesterday and it seemed like something had happened to her."

Talia shrugs, "I haven't seen her since the other day when they brought her here after the fight. She'd been beaten pretty bad and nearly strangled to death. She seemed right fine when she left."

"Did she say who did that to her?" Finan asks, the smile vanishing from his face, replaced with a look of concern. His senses told him this was a woman who did not weave words to please, but would rather simply state things as they are. In which case, he decided, it was best to act in kind.
"And then there's the matter of Gunthar. We've heard that he was on its way to recovery and that you aided him, but it seems he died despite your care. Any idea what might have happened? How did he die? And where?"

Falaine will sit back, Finan is doing a great job and she doesn't want to intrude.

The others are able to look around the shop and see herbs ranging in rarity from common to rare and priced accordingly. These herbs are all for medicinal purposes and not for food flavoring though the untrained eye may not know the difference. Behind the counter is a decent selection of potions that you would all know as potions of healing. There are also other items for sale but everything here seems to be designed for the treatment of injuries or ailments. 

There is a small glass display case containing various small mechanical items. You assume these are the Tinkerings mentioned in the store name. 

"I was told her and Gunthar got into it while she was questioning him. Lord Commander said she thought it was a compulsion that took over him but I didn't notice anything of that nature while he was here. Both had their injuries treated and were picked up the following morning. Guards arrived for Gunthar and acolytes came for Lord Commander some time later."

She seems a bit confused. "Died? He seemed to be healing fine when they came for him. The potions held him in a slumber so that the body could heal without disruption. Who told you that he had died," she asks with a puzzled expression on her face. She seems genuinely surprised at the news and you can see her thinking back on the care she provided making sure it was all done properly.  

Finan's expression softens when he notices her surprise. He shares a look with the others in the group, then looks back to Talia. "Messenger Krusk told me, but my friends here heard it from other sources as well I believe. I am afraid the Lord Commander has also lost her life yesterday."
He holds up a hand to suss any rising panic in the woman, doing his best to come across as reasonable and willing to help. "We want to find out what happened to both of them. Did the guards say where they took Gunthar? And the acolytes, I can only assume they belonged to the church of Shamara?"

"Oh, I see." Her tone seems to shift at the mention of Lord Commander's death. "The guards didn't say where they were taking him. Yes, the acolytes were from the shrine where she volunteered." She twirls a strand of hair around a finger as she thinks for a moment.  "That shouldn't have happened this early." She pulls out a small notebook and flips through several pages. "Cause of death?," she asks clinically.

[Go ahead and roll a new insight check]

Insight: 2

Paren's head whips around from the plants he had be staring at. "What do you mean this early?"

Tanni examines the store, letting others do the talking while she listens and inspects the goods on display. She's especially interested in the small display with mechanical devices. Being a rock gnome, she's familiar with simple clockwork devices and is interested to see other similar objects.

When Talia asks about how Lord Commander died, her focus momentarily shifts to Talia.

(If Tanni can participate on the insight check, 11)

Tanni looks into the case and sees many tiny creations designed to look like tiny versions of animals. There's a bird, gopher, spider, and mouse. The clockwork gears can be seen through the tiny openings of the out shell. With Tanni's experience in this field, she would know that these most likely serve another purpose beyond looking cute. There are no prices but they do seem to be for sale.

Talia's comments don't seem out of sorts to Tanni but she does notice her companions react a bit to the statement.