Ednyss is keeping silent for now, waiting for Shirei-Kin to deal with the Inspector before saying anything or moving on.

"A bunch of people died, that's what happened. A bunch of people died and two more almost died. You can go out there," she points towards the door through which they came from, "see the families of the deceased crying over them."

Inspector Saad looks directly at Varielky. “I assure you, miss. I saw. And…” he seems to sense the dynamic in the room… ”you were on the field when it happened, Yes? And…” and, darting a glance to Shirei-Kin, “and you are one of the survivors,” to which Shirei-Kin slowly nods, and inspector Saad’s tone modulates slightly now, there is a note of compassion, “...and you are angered and upset, of course.” He stops for a beat, then continues to Varielky. “I will get to the bottom of it. I implore you to trust me that I will. Will you please sit down for a moment, over...here,” he gestures to one of the benches in a corner of the room, “and tell me what happened--from your perspective--and leave out no details.”

Varielky glances over to Shirei-Kin to get his approval but doesn't actually wait for an answer. Helping the inspector to find the culprits seemed way more important than protecting someone she doesn't even know. She walks over and sits where the inspector asked her to.

"I don't really know." She starts. You can still hear anger in her voice, even though she's slightly calmer than her outburst just a moment ago. "The first sign that something was wrong was when Bali - the one whom I... killed, -" the realisation strikes her, or rather she can now fully grasp the situation, looking back. "Although, he wasn't supposed to die. We rehearsed the show so many times, he knew exactly where my sword will go. He was slower than his usual self, and suddenly he was dead. I tried to investigate his corpse, and went to investigate the other warriors who were supposed to only stage death to see what caused that, but then Benita attacked me. At one point, she probably would have taken my head off if she didn't suddenly twitch in pain. Seeing that she's very pale, I realised that she might be affected by whatever affected the others." Varielky takes a deep breath. This felt like that first tims she killed a man. She was traumatised but the priest showed no mercy. He made her tell him everything again and again, to the finest of details, until she stopped crying. They sat then from noon to sundown, until she couldn't cry anymore. Was that also the last time she cried at all? Possibly, she wasn't sure. Even with all the emotions about to burst from within her, she wanted to punch something, not cry. "When I finally managed to pin her down to the floor, a priest came to help her, but then I felt horrible pain and sickness myself, and the looks and reactions of those around me confirmed that I was poisoned. I tried to thank the one who saved Benita's life but I think I passed out before I could. When I woke up, Shirei-Kin's face was above me, along a few others."

Inspector Saad gives his full attention to Varielky, and as she finishes speaking, he looks to Shirei-Kin, who continues the story from where she left off, and Saad watches the Jenghen carefully as he describes the divine power he used to heal the shield maiden.

“How fortunate that you happened to be there at that moment,” he states, his tone both charitable to Varielky and measured in response to Shirei-Kin. “And who else was on the field?”

“We call it the floor,” Mr. Kovalenko says, in his accented Jenghen, and in answer to Saad’s questions, describes the events from his perspective. The Priest of Ulella is next, and she tells him, based on her significant experience with wounds, potions, poisons, disease, and medicine, that there were two poisons at work. One on blades, another ingested. Opium-based, she speculates. 

Saad takes this in, while continuing to move about, asking pointed questions without missing a beat, referring back to details previously mentioned in minute detail, without visibly taking notes. You three get the sense that even though he hardly looks at you directly, you may as well be standing there naked, every fact of your presence seems to be instantly memorized.

Seven bells strike in the plaza. The closeness in the room, made worse when the Inspector closed the hallway door for confidentiality, has finally subsided as the breeze increases and the rain rushes in a brief, windy gale, just outside. 

Inspector Saad turns to Varielky, and his tenor cuts through the room, so all can hear. 

“As I said, you are correct. The killing will continue. However, as to what you can do about it? Very little. Ishi Ammah has, in recent months, become the center of a war between opium lords, and, my theory is that this has been a battle between them today. What was to be gained? We do not yet know, except that if anyone had bet on the underdogs--the Dreyens--they would have won, no? I see vengeance burning in your eyes, Varielky, and I implore you again, to put your faith in me. I will get to the bottom of this. But, if the drug lords of the Vale of Deshar are involved, your life may still be in danger. Be careful. Do not be a vigilante, hmmm? But, if you think of anything else, will you tell me?” 

He finishes by noting, as if it is obviously on everyone’s mind,  that Benita la Cass, the secret lover of he who was the central target of this plot--at least in Saad’s mind--is nowhere to be seen. He then tells Mrs. Kovalenko, still dressed in her out-of-place finery, who with some discomfort, agrees, that he will accompany her to her obvious destination, the Governor’s Ball, this evening, to speak to Mr. Abodolla, also absent, who he has been told will be there. He then asks if the priest of Ulella would please show him the bodies of the dead, after which, he directs, the bodies may be released to their waiting families.

Shirei-Kin moves to follow Saad and the priest, then, glancing at Ednyss, Mittens, and Varielky, with swift motions of his strong arms, he rolls quickly back to the desk, tears off a small piece of paper against a short blade, writes something upon it, folds it and hands it to Ednyss.

“If you are interested in what we were speaking about, go to this address, straight away if you can. You are to speak with Tuff Blueschist, a dwarf. Tell him you come with my fair word, and tell him that his master shall ever be able to depend upon me. And,” with a look of complete seriousness, “that I’m waiting for the Dwarven Whiskey he promised.” He looks each of you in the eye, lingering a moment on Varielky, then voices a parting prayer, “May Ellosh be kind to you!” and then he, the Priest of Ulella, and the moustached investigator exit the room together.

When all but Ednyss and Mittens are out, Varielky goes and really does punch one of the walls. It hurts a lot, but it is obvious she cannot keep her composure. "He's right. I know he's right, yet I hate him. I hate the way he walks, I hate the way he talks, I hate the way he looks at others and more than all I hate that he's right." She thinks for a moment, clearly an idea came to her mind. "Or maybe I need him to be right. Maybe I can't find the ones responsible, but they can find me. I hope they would try to finish the job they started. My weapons, my armour, my shield and I will all be waiting. But I can not sit in my room, waiting for them to come." She turns to the others now, having been speaking mostly to herself until now, even if loudly enough that even people in other rooms nearby - if there are any - might have heard her. She continues in a normal voice though. Not calm, but restrained, at least. "He said that the job involves a lot of travelling, right? Travelling means meeting people. I might find out something. It's not being a vigilante if I just happen to find them while they threten to kill the one I must guard, am I right? I'm willing to take this job now. How about you two? I'd like to have companions whom I can trust to guard my back, and not stab it with a poisoned dagger."

Ednyss watches Varielky worriedly. He usually would pay no mind to a non-dwarven companion, or at most give it minimal attention, but he had seen the way that she fought and there had been a bond forged between them when they were serving in Lokimarra. Something inside him breaks for the grief that is felt by the warrior woman who had seemed all but unbreakable in the battlefield. She had gone back for the Cat, defended Ednyss as he resuscitated the nearly dead wizard, and then proceeded to carry the unconscious Cat all the way to the village.

When she discusses taking the job, Ednyss, who was already planning on saying yes, simply nods. "Poisoned daggers aren't really my style anyways." He says spinning his War Pick in his hands and trying to bring a smile to Varielky's face. "As far as finding the people that did the killing, perhaps it would be best to leave that to the inspector anyways. And if they do come after you, then I'll be there no matter what." The determination stands out in his eyes and it shows that he is willing to go far out of his way for the warrior should he need to. He grimaces internally as he doesn't share any information regarding what he knows about the poison already, but he knows that if he were to share that information with Varielky, then she would go and try and avenge her friend's death herself which would not only be suicide, but may also impede the investigation. He turns to the Cat standing next to them, "You may not have quite the talent with a weapon as either of us, but we have both seen your magics at work and they are quite the impressive feat. Will you take this job as well?"

Mittens nods and says, "Yeah, I'm down to do this job." He jumps up to his feet and straightens his clothing.

He looks Varielky in her eyes, but his gaze slides off of her and down to his feet as he says somewhat bashfully, "Plus, I kinda owe you a life debt, and," He shuffles his feet awkwardly as he continues, "I need to pay it back somehow." He looks back up at Varielky and Edniss as a small grin tugs at the side of his mouth as he says, "Besides that, I'm ready to get out of the house."

POST #14

Opening the scrap of paper, penned by Shirei-Kin in all capitals, you see the name of a villa in Harbor View called Safi Meknes, which is perhaps a 20 or 30-minute walk from the arena. Surprisingly, by the time you leave the arena gate, the rain has stopped, and once again there is a chill mist, which creates a blurry corona around the streetlamps, many of which city workers, uttering curses of annoyance, are hard at work relighting after the earlier winds had extinguished them.

You walk through the once-again crowded plaza --now with after-hours entertainers, restaurants with windows thrown wide, and many out-of-towners of the arena crowd now seeking food and drink, the rains already having been sucked down under the cobblestones. You continue up the Promenade, similarly busy despite the hour, gaining elevation above the harbor below. You pass under the gaze of the twenty-foot tall statues of the gods which line the Promenade, two at each street corner; you pass banks and large indoor shops now closed for the day, and near the top of the hill, ask passersby for directions to Safi Meknes. A lamplighter points the way. Before turning right off the Promenade, you look up the hill to see the Palace gates, thrown open, with very posh carriages entering, and bright multicolored lights illuminating the bronze dome, barely visible as a distant faerie glow through the mist. The sound of music echoes from the Palace, although mostly obscured by conversations in the street or coming from the few expensive restaurants you pass.

Turning down a wide avenue which runs flat along the curve of the hillside, you arrive at the villa Safi Meknes, which is gated, and when you stand before the gate, it--the gate--glows somewhat and in a resonant female voice asks you your business in Orracan and then Jenghen.

"Acquaintances of Shirei-Kin sent here for a job offer!" Varielky calls. She had calmed down on the way and regained her usual composure. The only sign left of her behaviour earlier is her hand, still hurting from when she hit the wall. She shouts her response out loud simply because she doesn't know who or what is she talking to.

After a full minute, during which the gate flutes a pleasant metallic tune, it speaks once again, in Jenghen. “Please enter and follow the lighted pathway.” A path lined by marble bricks inlaid with golden tiles which give off a faint radiance leads within, and splits left and right. Only the left path is lit. Following it along a small terrace lawn through the misty darkness -- it is quiet here, the city sounds having receded into the night -- you arrive at four tiled steps leading to a doorway lit by a bright hanging lantern. On the topmost step stand two dwarves wearing tunics, which bear the sigil of Core of Onyx, over fine chainmail, light half-cloaks of deep black lined with fine golden thread, and top helms fashioned in the shape of cut gemstone faces. Side-by side, each bears an ornate battle axe held in one hand, and they stand silent and menacingly before you. One holds out his left hand, palm open, and states in a gravelly voice, “your letter of introduction.”

Ednyss nods at the dwarves and hands them the small piece of paper that Shirei-Kin handed him earlier. Ednyss is not at all afraid of the dwarves and simple looks back at them as they open the note.

(OOC: I think that is the introduction letter?)

He takes the slip of paper, expression still menacing, the two exchange a brief glance without moving a whisker, of which the two combined have many, and the first one steps back into the door and out of view, holding the note. The remaining dwarf shifts his axe to a two-handed grip and motions for you to move back a step as he moves to the center of the threshold. Two minutes pass. The first dwarf reappears, axe lowered, and says, in Dwarvish, which I think all three of you understand, even if Mittens and Varielky are not fluent, "They're okay."

The second dwarf lowers his axe, takes one step to the edge of a small covered patio to your left. Beside a set of wrought-iron chairs and low table is a large weather-proof wooden chest with a lacquered lid, adorned with a likeness of Takal Demesh. He opens the chest, which is unlocked, and says, "Please leave your weapons here."

(Varielky shouldn't know Dwarvish, as far as I know. She should know "Common" (Jenghen) and "Daelkyr" (which I put to represent Dreyen. Originally I put Celestial there but then I saw Mittens also had it, so I swapped it off. Also, is she even carrying any weapons? If I'm not wrong, all that she had was left in her room, other than her shield of course, and she took the weapons from the arena.)

If Varielky was carrying weapons (as per the above), she puts them all in the chest. She holds on to her shield though. If the Dwarves object, she'll say: "Don't worry. If I wanted to hurt anyone, I wouldn't sneak in under the disguise of a job-seeker. I'd storm the place and fight each and every one of you until one of the sides can no longer fight. I'm willing to leave everything else behind, but the shield stays."

Persuasion, if needed: 14

Ednyss also puts his War Pick into the chest, although he also is willing to toss his shield into the chest. If he is forced into a fight, his shield won't be too much use without his weapon, and there is no point in making a fuss about it.

Mittens is fascinated by the seemingly talking gate. As they waited outside of it for nearly a minute, he was poking and prodding the metal, curious as how it worked. He comes to the conclusion that it was probably some sort of elaborate illusion magic, or maybe a delicate transmutation infused in the metal. 

As the gate opens and the path lights up, his eyes light up as well in excitement. Despite being an adult, he had a childlike curiosity when it came to magic. He walks along the path with the others wondering what other delights this place holds.

When they reach the guards, he puts everything that could be constituted as a weapon into the chest ((OOC: I don't have access to my character sheet at the moment, so I don't know what I have.)) He's a bit hesitant to give up his arcane focus, but he puts it into the chest anyways.

Your actions are evidently acceptable to the two dwarves, who do not insist that Varielky relinquishes her shield, but rather exchange a glance and shrug, as if to say ‘suit yourself.’ 

The two dwarves are perhaps related, and costumed identically they are not easy even for Ednyss to tell apart. The first one stands in the entryway and turns, saying “please follow me.” The second gestures for you three to precede him, and as you enter, he takes his place a few feet behind you, closing and bolting the outer door.

The little foyer you enter has a small fountain on the facing wall merrily trickling clear water into a blue-tiled basin, under a mirror framed by bouquets of fresh-cut flowers. You follow the first dwarf to the left into an entry hall, with a small shrine or reliquary to Takal Demesh, Ulella, and Idiwala at its end. You turn the other way and then left again and into an indoor patio, perhaps 80-feet square, where carved pillars supporting the second story are interspersed with small palm trees at the corners, and there is a tiled well at the courtyard's center. The floor is likewise tiled, while up above, you can see the misty darkness of the night sky through a large square opening framed by eaves overhanging a second floor hallway which is itself lined at intervals with closed doors. Your path traces around the courtyard, and at its far end you are brought into a salon, where the first dwarf gestures for you to sit on pillows, beside a pair of coffee tables. "Please wait here."

Under you, a beautiful Orracan rug -- Mittens notes that its value must be in the hundreds, at least, of gold pieces -- and more fresh-cut flower bouquets stand in large vases opposite a large hearth at the back of the room, which warms the chamber. The patio was lit by small lanterns hanging on the walls, as is this room by larger ones, in addition to the hearth. The sound of the fire crackles and pops and the smokey aroma, enriched with cedar, is calming.

You know that these Harbor View villas are often owned by wealthy Jenghens as summer homes, or by diplomats from foreign powers. You can imagine a dignitary holding court with visitors beseeching favors kneeling on the carpet before them, upon which you now sit.

The second dwarf has gone through a different doorway, while the first one now stands in the salon entry with axe hanging straight down from his rock-like hand. You hear a door open, and then the approach of two pairs of footsteps.

Do you do anything while you wait? 

(OOC: Varielky may not find it comfortable to sit on a pillow with her shield on her back. The dwarf gestures for her to lean it against the wall if she takes it off.

Regarding languages, I think that given your military careers, you all know a phrase or three of a few of the various languages of the Empire, and “okay” in Dwarven is probably in your vocabulary unless you prefer it not to be.)

Mittens plops down onto the rug and sits with his legs crossed. He looks around, admiring the beauty of the room. Dang, this dude is loaded...

He turns his attention to his companions in the room with him. "So," he drums his hands on his legs awkwardly a bit before continuing, "what have you guys been doing these past few months?" Pooky pops out from his bag and settles on his lap, begging to be rubbed. Mittens scratches him behind the ears as he waits.

Varielky takes off her shield but lays it by her side instead of the wall, within immediate reach. "Training for the arena fights," she answers Mittens, "and it took most of my time. I didn't even reach the temple as many times as I might have wanted to. What about you, tiny warrior? What have you been up to?" She asks him because she's being courteous but not really out of interest. Not that she didn't care at all, but her mind was occupied with many other things at the moment. In fact, now that she can think clearly, she cannot get the dream she had last night out of her head. First that, and then all that happened today. It cannot be mere coincidence. Giving it some more thought, if anyone could identify that symbol, other than the old priest back in the north, a studied wizard and a priest following the same god seem to be her best chances. However, without being able to show it to them, she doubted they'll be able to understand what she saw. She'll need something to write or carve upon, but unfortunately, her sharpened sword was taken away. She'll have to wait a bit longer before she can check.

Mittens responds, "Nothing much. Just a lot of reading." He fondly pats the satchel where his workbook is. He continues, "If you see that Benita chick soon, could you tell her I'm sorry? That spell I used was meant to shock her back into thinking straight, never to really hurt her."