"The 'M' that you found... could it be a 'W' upside-down?"

"The 'M' that you found... could it be a 'W' upside-down?"

Ezeran smiles at the young knight. "That's a very good point, does the letter 'W' mean anything to you imps?" Ezeran looks at the others his gaze ending at Ellaria. "How do we proceed now? Do we try to seek the entities that brought those deadly wound to Shelby?"

"We were told that she had a son named Wally."

"We were told that she had a son named Wally."

"Could this Wally be an aspiring mage?"

"I see... so perhaps Maggie's murderer was looking for something? I would have guessed that the mess was from the struggle, but locks do not just break on their own."

It's probably not good to jump to conclusions, but I'd have to agree.

The Hyphen came before if it was an -M, making it a signature, but if it was a W-, it could be an unfinished word.

With he loud ringing of mechanical noises and exhausting steam, Goliath speaks,

"I not be good with puzzles. If ye think it leads to a suspect, look into it more. I just want to bash someone's head in."

Then he laughs maniacally.

Hunkan rolls up the scroll, puts it back in his pocket, and sighs disappointedly. "I thought I'd found something useful for once..."

Hunkan rolls up the scroll, puts it back in his pocket, and sighs disappointedly. "I thought I'd found something useful for once..."

"It might still be, maybe we just don't know it yet!"

With he loud ringing of mechanical noises and exhausting steam, Goliath speaks,

"I not be good with puzzles. If ye think it leads to a suspect, look into it more. I just want to bash someone's head in."

Then he laughs maniacally.

"You're just like those silly trolls I used to hunt down."

As the heroes discuss among themselves the imps stand by idly. Sigil seemed satisfied with their progress and was content to let the heroes talk it out before deciding their next move.

"Very good. It seems you have made fine progress on the investigation. As I said, you will probably need more proof about the cause of death if you are to challenge the accusations against us. Perhaps the sounds coming from the old dig site would be the next place, though I advise caution there. Or you could try to revisit any of the places you have already been to see if there might be new evidence to turn up. Of course, you are also welcome to stay here and speak with us. The choice is yours."

What will the party do?

"I wonder if it wouldn't be a bad idea to leave a watch on the room in case the murderer decides to come back. I don't think any of the places we visited will tell us a whole lot more than we know, which is next to nothing."

Ezeran ponders the alternatives. "Maybe we should head to the old dig site or do any of you want to investigate the scene of the crime? We could have missed something..." The symbiont gasped in excitment as the dig site was mentioned before its lips sealed in a disappointed grin when hearing about the other alternative.

"I'd rather go to the dig site. I don't think Shelly would appreciate any more people rummaging through her friend's belongings."

"I'll go to the dig site too. I haven't found the people all that cooperative as of yet."

"Now, now. You both still have much to learn before your wings." He turned to the heroes. "Time passes differently in the void. Physically these two are still children, though they are technically older than most living creatures on Olegaia. All of the imps here are from before our people were banished to the void."

Ellaria couldn't help but to smile when the two younger imps barged in.

"They look just the way my friend Hybros used to look when I first met him. It took him a while to get his wings and horns, too, but when he did, it happened almost overnight."

"Very good. It seems you have made fine progress on the investigation. As I said, you will probably need more proof about the cause of death if you are to challenge the accusations against us. Perhaps the sounds coming from the old dig site would be the next place, though I advise caution there. Or you could try to revisit any of the places you have already been to see if there might be new evidence to turn up. Of course, you are also welcome to stay here and speak with us. The choice is yours."

What will the party do?

"We will head to the dig site next, all of us. We have to find out what is going on there, and if it proves to be too much for me to handle, I have a few Smoke Bombs ready."

If it's all the same to you, Ellaria, I wanna check out the sluice myself. I feel like there's more information I could get there based on what we have. I can meet up with you at the dig site once I'm finished.

Edited June 20, 20168 yr by dum

"...Dig site."

QM Note: Again, please bold your actions to be definitive.

Kid heads off to the Sluice while the rest of the team follows Sigil's directions to the drill site.

Two dwarves converse at the bar while another pair and a rockling sit around a table to the side. The bartender grunts.

"Another hero, eh? Or maybe a traveler. You got gnome blood in you, boy?"

---

The dig site should be very familiar to Ellaria. The huge drilling machine sat where it was left, now rusted over and covered in dirt. The control panel met the same fate. A large wooden structure sat in between, rotting away like an old pillar representing quests of old. What sounded like growls and whimpers could be heard echoing from the hole in the wall.

What will the party do?

QM Note: Again, please bold your actions to be definitive.

Kid heads off to the Sluice while the rest of the team follows Sigil's directions to the drill site.

Two dwarves converse at the bar while another pair and a rockling sit around a table to the side. The bartender grunts.

"Another hero, eh? Or maybe a traveler. You got gnome blood in you, boy?"

Leprechaun. he answered dryly. Traveler. Looking for a lost cousin. While this was not entirely a lie, it was not the real reason for his questioning. He felt that perhaps that by isolating himself from the heroes he would receive more honest answers. He pulled out the note. -M. Mind explaining to me what this is?

If it's all the same to you, Ellaria, I wanna check out the sluice myself. I feel like there's more information I could get there based on what we have. I can meet up with you at the dig site once I'm finished.

Ellaria shrugged.

"Well, I would rather have all the possible manpower we can get if we run into trouble there, but I guess you will do as you see fit, Kid."

When they arrived to the dig site, Ellaria suddenly remembered her last visit there. "Oh, this is the spot where we descended to the ruins of Mercution below. Nothing good waited for us down there, so please be prepared for anything - visions, hallucinations, demons even. Let us venture in."

Leprechaun. he answered dryly. Traveler. Looking for a lost cousin. While this was not entirely a lie, it was not the real reason for his questioning. He felt that perhaps that by isolating himself from the heroes he would receive more honest answers. He pulled out the note. -M. Mind explaining to me what this is?

"Looks like a piece of paper. With an M followed by a dash," he replied gruffly. "So are you gonna order a drink or what? Solicitors aren't welcome here."

Ellaria shrugged.

"Well, I would rather have all the possible manpower we can get if we run into trouble there, but I guess you will do as you see fit, Kid."

When they arrived to the dig site, Ellaria suddenly remembered her last visit there. "Oh, this is the spot where we descended to the ruins of Mercution below. Nothing good waited for us down there, so please be prepared for anything - visions, hallucinations, demons even. Let us venture in."

Ellaria leads the others into the tunnel. It's pitch dark. The sounds continue to echo off the walls, but it's impossible to tell where they're coming from.

Ezeran follows the alchemist in silence while the teeth of the symbiont glows faintly in the dark.

It has been a long time since last time Hunkan was in a cave like this. He follows the others with his dagger in his hand. The horrid noise seems to disturb him, and he looks around the tunnel with a worried look on his face.

I clutch my sword a little more tightly as we enter.

"It's dark in here," I say nervously.

"Looks like a piece of paper. With an M followed by a dash," he replied gruffly. "So are you gonna order a drink or what? Solicitors aren't welcome here."

Kid realizes that the sluice was the wrong place to look for information, and he probably should have waited for Ellaria's approval before going off on his own. But while he's away from the others, he'll try not to return to them empty handed.

Sorry for bothering you.

Kid goes to the Baron's office.