As Seth and Lucia dance, Seth listens to some of the conversations between the partners. He picks up little bits of the conversation as they dance. He stops listening and looks back at Lucia. "Its been quite awhile since we have danced like this hasn't it?"
"I can't remember the last time." She thinks as the music continues and they dance with grace and flow. "The only time I can remember was the wedding. We don't get to dance like this at the few parties we attend."
“with those heels of yours, I was a bit afraid when you said you’d be stepping on my feet. But here you are dancing wonderfully. I sure do have a talent picking the best guests.” He grins.
“How has the evening gone for you? Everything to your liking? I tried to get something everybody would like for dessert, so I decided to get everything”
"And I apparently have a talent at picking the right parties." responds Valentina with a grin right back. "As for the dessert...your forks are lovely, and I am always a fan of ice cream, though I have to confess to not eating very much. It's something that I anticipate regretting tomorrow."
She playfully flourishes, stepping out of his grasp to spin around once. "I was never very good at indulging myself."
Beatrice nods as she twirls. “Our family’s been in Roland for generations now” She finishes, facing Marcus and returning to a closed position. “De Beaux Oracles are often the seers to Councilmen. Emmy tells me our ancestors even predicted Charlemagne’s plot of taking on the Roland Dragon. What would the city do without us?” She grins. She largely focuses on her dance, seeming to be having quite a good time with it. The dance reaches its end. “So tell me, where did you hail fr-”
Beatrice trails off. She watches Abigal stumble and fall. “Oh my.” When Abigal is lowered to the ground by Aron, she watches wide-eyed.
Emile steps forward to Valentina, returning to her after her spin. “Opposites attract, I indulge myself plenty.” He breaks off from her, this time spinning himself, chuckling lightly. He returns to her once more. “I’ll have to have someone deliver what remains of dessert to your residence tomorrow. Maybe I’ll make my way there myself.” The dance comes to a close. Emile grinning at his partner.
He smiles, but the stumbling Abigal catches his attention. “And I felt she drank the least save Sinclair.” She falls and Emile looks to Halcyon and Vincent. He lets go of Valentina. As Abigal is lowered to the floor, his face twitches slightly, almost appearing disgusted, or agitated. He composes himself and walks to her as she begins coughing blood.
, 5 ranks +3 class +1 wisdom.
Vincent looks at Halcyon. His lips curl to a slight smile as the dance ends. “Perhaps we can arrange --”
-- He stops, instantly turning his head to Abigal as she stumbles. He turns back to Halcyon, quickly changing moods. “Another time.” He reaches into his armor, pulling out a fistful of small glass vials, a rainbow of assorted magical elixirs. He places them on the ground, kneeling down to examine them as Aron begins to lower her to the floor. “Diagnose her, I’ll see what I have.” He reaches into a sack this time, taking out a small tray lined with a grid of potions. It must be a magical bag, there is no way the contents could fit inside of it.
, 1d20+con+save
, +con+save[/dice]
Her dress drapes the floor, bright white against the marble. Her short golden hair glowing with the lights of the ballroom. Most of the party watches concerned now, and many exclaim as she coughs, speckling her dress red with her sorceress blood. Emile looks completely drained of color. He frantically looks around the the ballroom. “Damn it, someone get Eduard. A-Abigal can you hear me? ”
Helmuth von Moltke IV leaves the company of Caroline. She watches the scene horrified, trying to be speak an unknown language. He walks up to Seth. “No one leaves the room. Consider yourself deputized. I am grabbing our weapons. What is yours?” After hearing Seth, he nods. “Gather those you trust, we will need help.” He walks south to the front foyer.
He reaches Raphael, Estelle and Sinclair, still conversing in the front foyer. “Into the ballroom the three of you, now.” He makes his way to the coatroom as Estelle asks him what is going on. “One of the goldies was a target, go to the ballroom and see what can be done.” He gives the same order to Bertrand and Alistair before heading into the coatroom. A few seconds later, an angry yell is heard.
Back in the ballroom, most of the party is silent, unsure what to do, whereas some of them circle around the Galatians. The band is largely composed, though a few shrieks from their direction are heard when blood comes from Abigal’s mouth. Aron assures her that Eduard will be here soon.
Halcyon is right behind Vincent as he reaches Abigail, casting Guidance on herself as she goes. Once there she says, "I may be able to divine what type of poison."
She casts Detect Poison and focuses with a furious concentration on Abigail, knowing that every second counts.
You determine whether a creature, object, or area has been poisoned or is poisonous. You can determine the exact type of poison with a DC 20 Wisdom check. A character with the Craft (alchemy) skill may try a DC 20 Craft (alchemy) check if the Wisdom check fails, or may try the Craft (alchemy) check prior to the Wisdom check. The spell can penetrate barriers, but 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt blocks it.
Assuming Abigail has been poisoned, here are Halcyon's rolls to interpret the information she gets from the spell. She will expend an inspiration point to gain the 1d6 on the Wisdom Check. The spell Guidance does not list ability checks as helped by the spell, so unless the GM rules otherwise, I can't add that +1 to the roll.
As the DC of the check is 20, she should be able to identify the type of poison.
Halcyon's special intuitive talents don't fail her and she calls out the type of poison she identifies.
Then she touches a lovely ring on her left pinky and concentrates again before scanning the room like the beam of a lighthouse.
She is using a spell from her ring (Ring of the Sophisticate), which allows her to cast Locate Object once per day. She tries to locate the nearest unadministered dose of the same type of poison. I'm hoping that she can exclude the dose that is already killing Abigail. The range of the spell is 520 feet and the duration is 3 minutes.
Did Halcyon notice Vincent move close to Abigail ever during the dance? I'd be surprised if he could inflict poison on someone during a waltz, but just checking. I'm going to roll perception, in case you would grant her a roll to have spotted anything unusual on the dance floor, not just with regard to Vincent but to anyone moving near Abigail.
Hmmm. Timely nat. 20!
Valentina follows behind Emile towards Abigail, but as soon as she sees the woman collapse and begin to cough blood, her eyes begin to dart around the room, looking for signs of who might have done this to her.
While she looks around, she walks quickly to a table, collecting an empty wine or champagne glass. Her heels click loudly in the suddenly-quiet ballroom as she walks back to Abigail's side. She passes her construct, and she murmurs to it, "Find Eduard Boltonward and bring him here, quickly."
She reaches Abigail's side and begins trying to collect a bit of Abigail's blood in the champagne glass, hoping that it will have a bit of the poison in it and she will be able to identify it from that. "Somebody give her a patdown. If she was pricked somewhere, we can guess that's where the poison came from. If not, it was ingested. What did she eat?" she asks Aron.
Raphael nods slowly as he studies Sinclair, seeing no tells on the man. Perhaps I have misjudged this man. I had thought him simply power hungry, but it seems he may well care. Turning his attention to Estelle, he smiles warmly and replies, "And I can think of no group who I would be happier to serve. Please feel free to contact me if cases arise that demand attention. It is not a just or lawful nation that saves the best of lawyers for only those who can pay." Raphael finishes his quip with a sip of wine, attention focused on Estelle's elaboration.
"Not one for dancing, only as I'm liable to trip over my partner's feet. That seems like it would ruin my dashing persona rather quickly. Perhaps a few lessons are in order if I keep attending these soirées. What of you, Estelle, do you dance?"
Raphael looks up from his conversation with Estelle as Helmuth storms into the room. Raphael's warm smile and congenial manner disappear in an instant and the hard military man behind it breaks through. Mouth set and eyes stony, Raphael nods to Estelle, "If this is an assassination attempt, it might be best if you go and lock yourself in a safe room." Turning on his heel, he thumbs the missing spot in his belt where his dagger normally sits. I should have kept a weapon, damn me.
Entering the room, he hears Halcyon calling out about poison. He rushes to Abigal's side, watching the room as he does. "I've some ability that might help her resist the potion, and I will cast it constantly. That said, if it is strong it will not be enough. Have you something to help, Halcyon? Vincent? Also, you-" Raphael gestures to Tomas Parisi, "-should send for the closest divine aid. Find someone to help if you don't know the way."
Seth dances back and forth with Lucia and as his back his turned, Lucia stops dead in her tracks, before Seth can speak he hears the commotion. Seth turns around as Vincent approaches Abigail and sees her cough up blood. When Helmuth approaches Seth he quickly responds, "It is a long sword in a brownish red scabbard." Seth then walks towards the center of the ballroom scanning the room making sure no one attempts to leave the room.
,1d20-modified con+guidance+fortitude.
, Total at 7.
Using your ring, you determine that there is no trace of Black Lotus Extract nearby save for the poison within Abigal, administered or not. You assume that your range of the spell should cover the entire house and its nearby vicinity.
You do not recall Vincent making any noticeable action near Abigal during the dance. He appeared to be focusing on you more than anything else. You don’t recall seeing any strange actions near Abigal.
When Halcyon calls out the poison, “Black Lotus Extract,” Vincent goes pale. “Well,” he starts, choosing two potions from the perhaps thirty in front of him. He hands them to Halcyon. “Let us hope we acted in time. Give her these, quickly.” He gives her two potions, both uncorked. One is a deep red, and smells of cinnamon. The other is a chalky white and smells chemical-like, tickling to the nose.
He grabs his potion tray returning it to his bag. It slides in easily, disappearing into it. He notices something, and takes a step back from Abigal, giving her a bit of space. Eduard enters, followed by Helmuth von Moltke IV.
Eduard stomps into the ballroom, still wearing small pieces of his armor at his waist. The clockwork servant attempts to bring him to Abigal, but he pushes it back, making way towards her, hands glowing golden. He dashes to her, taking her from Aron. “What happened? Who did this?” He brings his hands together, pressing them on to her. Their glow subsides, but he claps his hands again, returning their glow. “Gods, please.” He keeps his hands to her, attempting to heal her.
Vincent grabs one of Eduards hand’s. Eduard glares at him, turning and striking at him. It lands on Vincent's jaw, and while he recoils back, he is mostly unfazed. He checks to see if his jaw is working alright before speaking. “Gods, that won’t work. We need restoration spells, or something to boost her endurance.” Eduard, though still in a wide-eyed rage, acknowledges Vincent. He doesn't apologize however, and begins to cast a spell. It trails on past what a spell usually takes to cast. It may take a few moments.
Abigal looks only at Eduard now. While her body shakes and convulses, twitches and writhes, her face is calm, serene even. Her eyes fall upon him, no longer frenzied. She tries to speak, but her mouth is filled with blood, choking her.
Estelle smiles. “I’ll send a case to you this week, and if you have the time, I’d love for you to look at it. I was taught to dance young, though I seldom do so anymore. Religious celebrations in Hauteclere are practically weekly, I don’t think a celebration goes on without a dance. As for lessons--”
Helmuth interrupts her, demanding that the three of them enter the ballroom. He quickly informs them of the situation as he makes his way to Alistair and Bertrand. Ellen walks with Sinclair and Raphael to the scene. “A safe room like Emile’s planning room? I'll be fine.” She laughs nervously, perhaps trying to stave off fear. They three of them enter the ballroom, a yell behind them of what sounds like an angry Eduard.
No ones seems to move, all taking in the scene. Beatrice and Caroline look away. While late to the scene, Sinclair and Estelle stand by the ballroom entrance. “Gods, what has happened?" she asks herself.
Tomas nods at Raphael’s request. He asks if anyone is a cleric to which no-one replies positively. He begins to walk out of the ballroom until Helmuth stops him. Helmuth speaks up. “No one leaves, this is a Guard investigation now. Tend to her while we can.”
Helmuth von Moltke drinks a potion. He whispers to himself, walking towards Seth, sheathed blade in hand. He stops before reaching Seth, finishing his whispers. “Your weapon.” He tosses it to him. “We shouldn’t need them, but if we find the assailant, or if the blonde bodyguard gets out of control, we may need to use them. I have called reinforcements, but they shouldn’t arrive for twenty or thirty minutes. Who do you trust here?”
Emile stands on the outskirts of the group around Abigal. He isn’t quite sure what to do, watching the others tend to Abigal.
Aron backs up, watching Abigal, occasionally twisting back, looking over his shoulder at the crowds. He addresses Valentina. “Um, some pastries? The flaky things, with the jam. I - I have no idea, do you think it was the food?” He looks worried. “Will she be fine? W-Will I be next? I didn't see any marks on her, she was fine a minute ago, please. Gods, do something.” He looks rather anxious, cracking his fingers, eyes following any figure who moves.
It is 10:52 PM. 1 hour and 8 minutes until the New Year. Estimated thirty minutes until Guard Reinforcements.
Valentina jumps up and runs to the dessert table, grabbing a cloth napkin and searching for the flaky jam pastries. She'll grab one of them with the napkin so that she doesn't touch it and wraps it up. She goes to collect Abigal's wine glass as well, wrapping that up in a napkin as well.
She asks Aron if Abigal ate anything else and goes to grab samples of that, too. Then she takes everything she has to a table, clears a space for her to work and begins to examine them for signs of poison.
She fetches her construct. "Bring me my alchemy kit, my gun and my rapier, please."
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Seth catches his weapon and surveys the room again. "The only people I know I can trust are Halycon, Raphael, Valentina and Marcus." Seth points to each person as he says their name. "We should make sure to cover all of the possible exits to make sure no one leaves this room. Also we should get the servants, just in case."
Halcyon takes the vials from Vincent and kneels near Abigail's head, avoiding both Raphael casting spells and the scuffle between Eduard and Vincent. Before touching Abigail, she leans close to her face and looks for discoloration where the poison may have been administered. She then says, "Abigail, spit!" and tilts her head gently sideways to allow her to spit what blood is in her mouth. As soon as this has been done, she tilts her head back so her her face is looking up at the ceiling.
Halcyon holds the cinamon smelling vial in front of the stricken woman's eyes and says, "Medicine! Hold it in your mouth if you can't swallow." She then gently pulls her jaw down and parts her lips enough to pour the contents into Abigail's mouth, holding her lips close and watches for signs of choking.
When that is done, Halcyon holds the next one in front of Abigail and says, "One more. Just one more. Hang in there!" She repeats the process of forcing the chalky white fluid into her mouth.
She then cradles Abigails head in her arms and tries to comfort her. She looks at any exposed skin she can see for signs of where the contact poison was placed.
She calls out to Vincent, Eduard, and Aron, "Who was the last person to touch her other than Aron? The poison need only touch her skin and it takes about a minute to work. It has to be the last person to touch her. It would be someone wearing gloves, I would think."
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Beatrice nods as she twirls. “Our family’s been in Roland for generations now” She finishes, facing Marcus and returning to a closed position. “De Beaux Oracles are often the seers to Councilmen. Emmy tells me our ancestors even predicted Charlemagne’s plot of taking on the Roland Dragon. What would the city do without us?” She grins. She largely focuses on her dance, seeming to be having quite a good time with it. The dance reaches its end. “So tell me, where did you hail fr-”
Beatrice trails off. She watches Abigal stumble and fall. “Oh my.” When Abigal is lowered to the ground by Aron, she watches wide-eyed.
marcus grins surely with your gift of the inner eye, you'd be better equiped to guess than I, I have no gift for discerning the future, though I will say that I'm better than most at discerning what lies in front of me he says flicking his hair back as part of the next manuver revealing a beautiful green gemstone embedded in his forehead. When she looks over at the stumbling sorceress he muses mildly "perhaps she had a bit too much to drink? As many as the gifts that spellcasters are blessed with, the ability to hold their liqueur is rarely one of them... Or maybe not... Excuse me my dear, I'll be right back... he says as he walks over to them and, once the situation is explained he frowns saying "I don't have any magic that can truely eliminate poison in the body, but I do have a little something that helps increase the body's natural fortitude for a time, one can only hope it's enough he casts resistance on her body
, 1d20-modified con +guidance +fortitude +antitoxin +resistance.
, Total at 11.
Aron thinks for a second, hesitating to answer Halcyon’s question, fumbling for words. Vincent shoots him a glance, answering the question for him. “Not the time, Halcyon. First we save her, then we find the culprit.” He watches over the healers, evidently with no other potions or way to help.
Agatha’s condition deteriorates. Her back is arched, and she writhes in the company of her healers. Her arms flail against the floor, battering against it. Her legs thrash an agonizing dance, her heels stabbing and scratching at the dancefloor, marking it. Blood pools on the ground, speckles the floor, stains her dress, covers those around her. She continues to be unable to speak, blood bubbling in her mouth. Her eyes close, and her movement begin to settle.
Eduard continues to prepare his spell. Though his words and movements go towards his casting, his worry and focus lies on Abigal. He appears horrified, attempting to hold back tears it seems. He might not finish the spell in time. Raphael and Marcus however, cast their spells on Abigal. The two of them keep a hand on her, intent on having her live. Marcus asks if anyone has any magic items that can help, but no one responds.
“This isn’t over yet,” Vincent begins, “she can still recover.
Helmuth von Moltke nods to Seth. “I agree,” he states. Looking at exits to the room. “The are four exits. We don’t have the man power to cover all of them.” He beckons Emile. While hesitant to stop watching Abigal he comes over. “Emile,” Helmuth starts, “Emile, my friend. You can’t deny we have a situation on our hands. Perhaps you could gather all of your servants, make sure none of them attempt to run.”
Emile almost looks offended and certainly looks aggravated at Helmuth’s request. “She is dying. And now, now you insult my workers?”
“Your servants,” he corrects. “And as poisoned food is my first concern, they are the first suspects. Gather them. Are they all human?” Again Emile looks offended now. Not at the insinuation that his servants aren’t human, but rather at the commands and tone of the young captain.
“I will bring them, but you are to remain distant. They have no place in this, I promise you.” He heads south towards the kitchen to gather the servants there.
Valentina’s robot whirs, returning to Valentina with her alchemist kit and her weapons. The ballroom doesn’t have the tables to support her tests, so she brings everything to the front foyer. It is silent here, and Valentina is free to focus on her investigation while the others tend to Abigal. The Clockwork servant puts the weapons on the table beside the gathered evidence.
Emile enters the room as she begins to set up her Alchemist’s kit. He speaks to himself, “... grim. How did this happen, why did this happen? He looks to Valentina. “Oh. I am sorry, I didn’t notice you leave. It looks like everyone was correct on Halcyon’s abilities. Are you alright? Trying to escape the scene?” He now notices the alchemist set up. “Evidently not. I am afraid it may be too late for an antitoxin.”
- Abigal’s Croissant. The last known food she consumed.
- Black Lotus Extract. A dangerous toxin that typically only requires contact. It has an onset time of one minute, and usually kills within thirty seconds of its effects showing.
Halcyon hears Vincent's command to focus on healing first and identifying suspects later, but she is not convinced. Once she has done her part to administer the medicines, tucking the empty vials in her pouch, she keeps a hand on Abigails' hair to comfort her, but then begins to slip into another trance.
Focused trance: You can enter a deep meditation, blocking out visual and auditory stimuli and allowing you to concentrate on a single problem, philosophical issue, or memory. This trance lasts 1d6 rounds, during which time you can only take move actions. ... When you come out of your trance, you may make a single Intelligence-based skill check with a +20 circumstance bonus.
I don't want this to short circuit the challenge of finding the would-be assassin, but she'll bring her focus to bear on the moments during the dance that led up to the poison being administered, trying to divine any information that would help identify the culprit. I'm assuming this will be a Knowledge(Local), but use a different skill if you think it appropriate. It's possible she can't know the answer or that the answer will come in the form of a riddle, a vision that must be interpreted or something she can build upon once other evidence is gathered.
Seth watches the back and forth between Emile and Helmuth but does not comment. After Emile leaves the ballroom, Seth ponders for a moment. "If that is the case it is better for us to stay in a more central location and keep our eyes peeled for someone leaving."
Seth moves to the center of the room and makes sure no one leaves.
Raphael looks up from his chanting prayers and looks at von Moltke with eyes blazing and a set jaw. He looks from the man to the painfully contorted woman lying before him. Shaking his head, he resumes his chanting a moment before completing his spell, he calls out, "I beg that any of you who have the magical means by which to aid this poor girl, do so now. It would reflect very poorly on Roland and Durendal if we did not come to her aid as much as we could."
, 1d20-modified con +guidance +fortitude +antitoxin +resistance.
, Total at 12. Lucky.
+3 from Marcus. Total at 7.
Abigal no longer moves. She doesn’t appear to be breathing. Helmuth speaks up, largely to Raphael. “No one was expecting this.” His approaches Raphael, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Everyone is doing everything in their power to help save her. It is now my duty as a Captain to protect everyone else from any assailants.” He keeps a tight grip on his rifle, and gives a couple pats to Raphael. He returns to Seth. “I fear the worst.”
Eduard finishes his spell, placing his hands on Abigal. She coughs blood once more. She seems to be unconscious but visibly breathing. Helmuth looks surprised to see her resuscitate, as does most of the party. “Though with a Paladin, I may be wrong."
Estelle seems to want to say something to Raphael, appearing somewhat put off by something he said. She holds for now though, walking over to the scene.
Marcus seems to remember something on him. He removes the stopper on a ceramic red flask, slowly dribbling its contents into the unconscious Abigal’s mouth. She remains unconscious and her breathing becomes more steady and audible. Eduard watches Marcus and nods. He begins to cast the spell once more.
Using previous Craft(Alchemy)
She now tests the croissant, taking a morsel of it and placing it into a test tube. She is careful to not touch the food with her fingers. To Valentina's knowledge, there is nothing wrong with the croissant, poison or otherwise.
, 1d20-modified con +guidance +fortitude +antitoxin +resistance.
, total at 10.
, 1d20-modified con +guidance +fortitude +antitoxin +resistance.
, total at 14. Dead
He begins to sob. It fills the ballroom, echoing throughout it. "Abby, please..." He takes his head off of her, looking at those around him, his face contorted in rage, glistening with tears. His hand goes to his weapon, grabbing a hold of the hilt as he leans over her corpse.
The entire house is silent.
- Abigal’s Croissant. The last known food she consumed, according to Aron
- Black Lotus Extract. A dangerous toxin that typically only requires contact. It has an onset time of one minute, and usually kills within thirty seconds of its effects showing.
"I wouldn't have time to synthesize one anyway." murmurs Valentina. "Those take hours to make. I'm testing what she ate for contaminants." Swilling a liquid around in her beaker, she looks back at Emile. "There was a potion in her wine. Not what I was expecting - I had thought it would be poison, and it still might be, but I'm still confused. This is neither contagion nor a poison spell - those are both necromancy, and this one radiates conjuration magic."
She thinks for a moment. She turns to her construct. "Fetch me Stoneheart, would you?"
It lumbers away, searching for the dwarven wizard.
"Foul work today. Whoever comes out with having done this is facing dire consequences. Foreign dignitaries, especially beautiful blonde ones, are well-protected and loved."
Raphael stands, his face blank, and steps back to give Eduard the room to grieve. It was a party, and the bastards killed her. She was happy and laughing but ten minutes ago and now this. Raphael grinds his teeth, struggling to maintain his composure. He turns away, unable to look any longer and shakes his head. He loses his composure as Eduard begins to sob, a pained grimace that he quickly covers.
Raphael takes another few steps away and says, in a quiet undertone, "I understand Captain. I don't fault you or anyone here. When I had expended all my own magical resources, all I had left was my skill as a speaker." Raphael moves to stand alongside Estelle. "A tragedy, truly. I had never spoken to her, but she was a lovely person from all accounts. An ambassador without peer..." Raphael trails off, looking back on the room stonily and studiously avoiding eye contact with anyone.
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Marcus clenches his fists and growls softly in frustration he was so useless! All of his preaching of bringing joy and ending suffering and when the time came for him to actually make a difference, he bought maybe 20 seconds of time, if that, twenty f&!*ing seconds, what good were all those fancy magic lessons as a child, what good, what good was that piece of junk heirloom if it can't help anyone gah and to add insult to injury, no one's going to remember anything from this party but the stupid, meaningless death. All his subtle manipulations, his charm, his wooing and his masterful dancing all for naught,
He composes himself and puts a hand on the grieving man's shoulder, quietly saying "we did all that we could, for now, we need to work on what comes next, we could find a cleric and pay a small fortune to bring her back, it's a big town, I think there might be someone local who could do it, you could drink away your sorrows, at least for a time, or you can find the son of a b*&&% who did this and make him pay, if you're interested in either of the latter options, you can find me at the tall tail inn"
Halcyon comes out of her trance after a half minute. She continues to sit very still, observing the efforts to save Abigail. She says nothing and only observes the people closest to the diplomat, pondering something as she watches. As Abigail apparently expires, the oracle's eyes tear up and she removes her glasses and dabs her eyes with a handkerchief. She places a consoling hand on Eduard. She removes it as he grips his weapon.
Halcyon tries to think of something appropriate to the Galatian culture to say at the time of death. She speaks Old Galatian and generally reads a lot of stories and bardic folklore as a background to her roll:
If this is a good enough roll, tell the group what she says as you summarize the situation.
Halcyon says something in Old Galatian and then slowly she backs away, leaving more room for those who wish to grieve at Abigail's side.
She looks at Vincent to see what he seems to be feeling. Her eyes glimmer with reflections from her tears and the white clouds that overlay her irises, which he can now see have flecks of silver amid the mahogany brown. Then she blots the tears away and replaces her half-reflecting tinted glasses. She whispers to him,
Seth can't help but turn to watch as Abigail loses her battle with the poison. He is not as emotional as the others knowing death already. He keeps his composure and speaks with Helmuth. "Unfortunately it was not enough." As Seth speaks he takes a quick glance at Lucia who seems in shock. Seth immediately walks towards her, but before going he says. "Excuse me for one moment." Seth then walks over to Lucia and embraces her trying to calm her down. As they embrace, Seth listens to her but still tries to watch for anyone trying to leave.
As Abigail passes and Eduard begins crying over Abigail, Lucia loses her composure and cannot keep herself together. Seth sees her and walks up to her embracing her as she cries. After a moment in his arms, she is able to calm down slightly and stop crying. She whispers to Seth as he holds her. "I just met her and she was so nice. She didn't deserve to die. Why did this have to happen?" She sniffles as she finishes talking. She breaks the hug as she speaks. "You need to help catch whoever did this." Seth nods and walks back over to Helmuth.
Halcyon quotes an old Galatian saying, one said by the first Galatian King on the death of his daughter. It doesn’t quite translate with its full meaning but roughly means “they shall be buried to the sound of a mourning kingdom.” She says this as Eduard begins to pick up Abigal, though he gives her no notice.
Aron looks to her, surprised to hear such a tongue and such a quote from her. While he breathes deeply and uneven, Aron begins to wipe off his tears. Eduard rises with the cloaked Abigal taking a step to the south. "Thank you for your words." He attempts to keep his composure but his face contorts to anger. His face twitches as he suppresses it. He stoically looks forward, streams of tear glimmering on his face. He walks south.
“A potion? Heh, that would ruin the flavor.” He chuckles nervously. “Not appropriate, sorry. I am not good with dealing with these kind of … situations. I’ll fetch Ernest.” Emile heads to the ballroom. Before he leaves however, Eduard enters the room holding a cloaked figure. Her dress peeks out, as do small strands of her golden hair.
“Oh gods. Please tell me that…” Eduard tells him nothing, not paying no heed to the host. He ignores Valentina and her alchemy set up, walking west towards the coatroom. A servant exits shortly after he arrives. Through the door, Valentina spies him laying her upon a table. He closes it shut soon afterwards.
Emile heads north now. Despite a question from Helmuth, he heads straight to Ernest. “Valentina needs you in the foyer. She’s uh, doing…” he trails off, looking to the vestibule entrance. “Alchemy things.” is what he settles for. Ernest looks confused. “Testing for poison and whatnot. She asked for your help.” Ernest nods now, heading south. Emile follows, giving a small, solemn nod to Helmuth.
Estelle nods to Raphael’s eulogy. She takes a step closer to him, placing a hand around his shoulder trying to comfort him. She whispers. “You, you did all you could. That is all anyone could ask. Maybe Marcus is right, revival is always a, um, possibility. Durant “died” once and his benefactors got the Divine Advisor to approve his return. It might have repercussions with her claim to the throne or inheritance, but she will be alive at least.”
“Ah,” the young captain begins addressing Raphael, “but regardless if raised, murder is murder. I am told you are friendly with Monsieur Varianna, perhaps you could aid in our investigation.” He looks around the room to all the horrified faces. Some of the crowd begin to whisper among themselves, but most are silent. “You are a lawyer, correct? Perhaps if there is any questioning before the cavalry arrives, you may be suited to conduct them.”
Eduard leaves the room with a cloaked Abigal. Emile arrives shortly after. “Have your servants with you?” Helmuth asks. He is greeted by a ‘one moment’ gesture as he approaches Ernest Stoneheart. The two talk in hushed voices for a moment, look towards the front foyer, and finish their conversation. Emile follows Ernest out of the room, nodding to Helmuth as he leaves.
Seth returns after speaking with his wife. "She will be safe, I promise you. "
Vincent is reflective and silent. His eyes begin to shift, the blue color draining out of them. They turn dark grey , dull. Vincent doesn’t notice the change in color, but realizes that something is off. He takes out his tray of potions from his bag once more, removing a labelled potion. He removes it, takes off the stopper and quickly drinks it. The color in his eyes returns, a spiral of blue slowly circling his pupil, covering his irises. He returns the tray to his back, and it disappears within.
Halcyon whispers to Vincent. His brow rises, surprised by her supposed hunch. “What? I don’t believe I follow. Care to run me through?"
Ernest struts into the front foyer, Emile a bit behind him. Ernest appears a bit pale, drained of his usual scarlet blush. He looks at the small lab that Valentina has set up. “Did’ya see ‘em pass? Terrifying shame it is. Didn’t want a ‘minder on my own mortality. By the gods, who'd touch such an angel.” He looks over the glass of wine and the croissant. “'Fraid I don't know much of poison.”
Halcyon watches the change in Vincent's eyes and remedy he employs.
(To recognize what he might have taken and the effect it might have on him.)
To Vincent's request, she whispers,
With that, she touches his arm and begins to tap her way over to Carolyn, calling her name as she goes.
Caroline sits against the western wall. She looks to be feeling rather off. She stares across the room at nothing in particular. She holds herself in her arms, wrapping herself around her knees. Caroline responds, though not in an understood language. When she speaks in whispers as Halcyon grows near, she returns to speaking a common language.
"I-I am so sorry. I could of helped, but I froze. I couldn't speak, I couldn't cast spells. I-I..." she trails off into a silence. She continues her stare across the room.
"I thought as much." is the only thing that Valentina says when she sees Abigail's body going past her. "Not many young, untrained people survive professional poisonings." She returns to her work for a few moments while she waits for Ernest to come to her call. When he arrives, she tries to avoid smiling at him (out of habit when greeting people) and merely says, "I'm not here to ask you about poison, though." She hands him the vial with the remainder of the potion in it. "I asked you here to question you about conjuration magic."