"Murder" he Posted IC

[zorba1994]

As you stand in a meager house in the Market District, you are assaulted by the combined smells of the hanged man's decaying corpse and the bloody remains of his wife in the hallway. A slim looking, black-haired half-elf of average height chatters nervously to you
"You see, it doesn't make any sense! The official story is that he killed her and hung himself, but it just doesn't fit that way. There's no suicide note, no murder weapon, nothing seems to fit! It's not right!" he finishes angrily. After he regains his composure, he continues
"Anyway, I'm supposed to record everything we know, so if you have any questions or need more details, just ask me. Otherwise, I won't interfere now. The name's Olek, by the way. he finishes uncertainly, and then walks off towards the corner of the room, takes out a pen, and starts writing thoughtfully.

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Map of the room

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So, right now you're in exploration mode. You can poke around the crime scene, but a general perception check won't show you everything (though it will help). You need to be more specific. Don't worry about your positioning relative to combat; if combat arises, I'll just use where you were last.

[geekgrrl]

Raz will kneel by the wife's body. She wants to figure out how the woman was killed, and what level of strength would have been needed (maybe as to judge the race). Also, looking for unnatural signs of death from the hanged man.

She is currently Dara Ichtaca, dark skinned, dark haired, practical PI of the underworld.

[zorba1994]

The wife seems to have been killed by several blade wounds all over her her body. They seem to have been made with average strength.

The man is very dead. Mostly from hanging. You notice that his pupils are particularly dilated for someone who's dead, however.

[geekgrrl]

She'll snap a few times near his ears, move her hands and such, to see if his eyes follow.
Even if they don't, she'll ask Olek, "Hey, do you know what could have caused this?" pointing at his eyes. "Drug use?"
No signs of a murder weapon...are there any doors in the floor? Storage rooms and such?

[zorba1994]

Olek looks at the eyes and nods, "Yeah, that's fairly normal for Keten addicts. Their eyes dilate way more than they should. That being said, he didn't die of an overdose, that much is clear. I should write this down" he puts away the notebook he was writing in and pulls out another one, and then scribbles in it briefly. I don't believe we've specifically checked for secret doors and such, but any that do exist would have been homemade. This was an official project, and as such the documentation for the blueprints exists, and there were definitely no trap doors there."

[geekgrrl]

She nods, and starts tapping the ground with her foot to hear out any hollow sounds like a hidden root-cellar. "Was anything missing? This could have been somebody looking for their next fix, although the setup is pretty well-done for an addict..."

How much does she know about the drug? (Effects, legality (pot vs heroin), how it's made, etc?)

[sue_do'nyme]

Ideki looks around, looking midly bored. "Hey. Even aside from where the murder weapon is, can we tell what it was? From the wounds or something?What kind of blade? Dagger, sword, what? I mean, with that much blood, it probably wasn't anything small." Checks to see if the woman's corpse rotting as much as the guy's. Also checks to see for dilation in her pupils.

[zorba1994]

It's clear that the murder weapon was some type of light blade. Her pupils are not dilated at all, and their corpses seem to be in more or less the same condition, sans the "bloodily stabbed" bit.

[Silviya]

Amata looks vaguely disturbed by the bodies, especially the hanging man's corpse. "Drugs," it says "I've heard of those. Some people of flesh ingest drugs to make themselves feel happy, yes? But drugs hurt them when they stop ingesting them, or hurt them when they ingest too much . . . . I think I understand. But it wasn't the drugs that killed them . . . . ."

Amata looks at the bodies for a moment, then looks at Olek. "How long have they been dead? What is this drug the man used, exactly? Is it one of those illegal drugs that people will trade much gold for, or is it a lesser one that doesn't hurt whoever ingests it as much?" Amata pauses. "Do you anything about know who they were while they still breathed? What their jobs were, what family they had?"

[zorba1994]

I don't know that much about it. Generally it isn't that horrible for you short term I hear, but it is illegal and extremely addictive. I wouldn't really know though. Anyhow, their family was just the two of them, and they both worked as small time merchants in the Market District. And i believe they've been dead about a day.

[sue_do'nyme]

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I make a Streetwise Check to see what I know about Keten (1d20+7)[23]

[synthrael]

Zeneth hasn't been paying much attention; conversations bore her when she can't display how much she knows. However, she does want to make herself useful. (Making herself amicable, however, is another matter entirely.)

Don't assume anything. We don't know that drugs were involved.

Without waiting for a response, she walks over to the man's corpse.

[I want to use Detect Psionics.]

[synthrael]

A moment of concentration debunks Zeneth's clever theory: apparently, no psionics were involved. She swears in Maenad, resisting the impulse to rip down the rope and fling it across the room. Instead, she scowls at it for several seconds, until her expression abruptly smooths over.

...The ability to jump off something is usually a prerequisite for hanging oneself, I believe. And that knot... hmm.

[What furniture is there nearby? Also, I'd like to run a Perception check on the rope, especially the knot; I believe I get a Profession modifier bonus for that.]

As Zeneth investigates, she speaks, half to herself:

He was murdered. Everyone has enemies, whether they know it or not.

[synthrael]

reposting this

A moment of concentration debunks Zeneth's clever theory: apparently, no psionics were involved. She swears in Maenad, resisting the impulse to rip down the rope and fling it across the room. Instead, she scowls at it for several seconds, until her expression abruptly smooths over.

...The ability to jump off something is usually a prerequisite for hanging oneself, I believe. And that knot... hmm.

[What furniture is there nearby? Also, I'd like to run a Perception check on the rope, especially the knot; I believe I get a Profession modifier bonus for that.]

As Zeneth investigates, she speaks, half to herself:

He was murdered. Everyone has enemies, whether they know it or not.

[synthrael]

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d20 comes out to a 17, plus +7 perception bonus, plus whatever my background bonus is if you decide I can claim one. 24, possibly more, in total.

[zorba1994]

There is a knocked over chair nearby the hanging man. Along the walls there is a bed, as well as some drawers.

[synthrael]

Zeneth calls over her shoulder to the others:

Whoever tied this rope had the intelligence of a drunken orc.

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Perception check to rifle through the drawers: (1d20+7)[12]

[Silviya]

Amata aimlessly paces around the room, occasionally touching the walls.
"The intelligence of a drunken orc . . . . . Hmm. Or maybe they were just in a hurry to get the rope tied. Some people act like they have the intelligence of a drunken orc when in a hurry. Or was he killed by a drunken orc? No, no, of course not. I shouldn't take things literally."

Amata walks over to the hanging man, but doesn't get to close. "Zeneth, you said that everyone has enemies, and this man certainly did. But how we could find this man's enemies? Murder seems probably, especially considering that this man likely did not have an intelligence level akin to that of a drunken orc. Or did he? I doubt he was in a hurry, though, for who would be in a hurry to kill themselves? But a murderer, a murderer would have been in a hurry . . . ."

[Silviya]

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Amata will make an Arcana check to detect magic or find any traces of magic(1d20+8)[20].

[synthrael]

Zeneth shoves a drawer closed.

Nothing. Someone was here before us.

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Zen's willing to consider every possibility. Hidden compartments, perhaps? Another Perception check: (d20+7)[10]

Her next remark is adressed, very quietly, to Amata.

Shardmind. Go use your disarmingly obfuscating stupidity on the half-elf. Try to get information from him: ask him what the deceased sold and where, who their main competitors were, et cetera.

[geekgrrl]

Raz isn't really sure what to do anymore and starts to wrote up what little evidence they have. Perception roll for one last check of the floor.

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(1d20+1)[5]

(OOC: Seriously guys, if this guy doesn't know anything, it might be in our best interests to start going out into the field. Or that's what Raz plans to do.)

[Silviya]

Amata walks over to Olek without giving any indication that it had heard Zeneth, though you can assume that it did.

"Olek, you said they were merchants. What sorts of things did they sell, and where in the Market District did they sell their goods? Do you know who their main competitors and main customers where? As well, do you have any sort of personal file on them, and have they committed any known crimes?"

Amata looks back at the bodies. "How old were they when they died? I can't tell. Are their parents still alive, and did they have any siblings that are still alive?"

Amata turns to Zeneth and speaks to her in her mind. Are there any other questions you can think of that I should ask?

[zorba1994]

Olek puts away his notebook and consults another notebook: Let's see, they sell fishing equipment, it seems. Nothing is known about their other families, and they seem to be- sorry, have been, in their late twenties to mid-thirties. They sold their goods near the docks, and didn't have any big competitive rivalries to speak of. They're not on file for crimes; we had no idea about the Keten usage.

[geekgrrl]

"Alright then." Raz stand up (she was kneeling), and brushes off her hands after she puts away her notebook. "I'm going to go check with some contacts, see if anybody might know who this guys dealer was, or if there has been any other odd deaths floating around. There just doesn't seem to be anything left to glean from this scene that I can tell."

She's going to be turning into her male form (whose name I can't recall and Mythweavers is down, I'll edit this post later) to check out the scene. Amata probably knows her intentions, Zeneth does not (she keeps her shapeshifting secret, for the most part), though anybody is free to want to tag along. :)

[Silviya]

Amata nods. "Yes, there doesn't appear to be anything more to learn from this place. I'll take one more look around."

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Amata makes a perception check, checking all the rooms in the house. (1d20+2)[9]

[synthrael]

Upon recieving the telepathic message, Zeneth's countenance remains unaltered; mentally, however, she flinches as if she's had salt poured on a moderate wound, covering her shock with a dark-edged burst of hostility.

Don't do that... at least, not without warning me first. Tell Raz I found something, but get Oren to leave. I don't know the extent to which we can trust him.

Unobtrusively, she slips the bag and the note into a pocket.

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Dexterity check in case I need one to do that: [roll]d20+1[/roll]

aaaargh why isn't this working: [roll]1d20+1[/roll]

[roll](1d20+1)[/roll]

(1d20+1) [12]

[sue_do'nyme]

Ideki starts to follow Raz out, then turns and asks, "Has someone measured the rope and checked to to see how tall the man was? Cause if the ropes is too long compared to his height and the height of the stool, he definitely idn't kill himself. In fact, while were at it, has he been checked over for other injuries? Bruises or stab marks or whatever? hell, do we even know who he is? What're their names?"

OOC: Do I need a perception check for that, or is considered so obvious that I don't?

[zorba1994]

The rope seems about the right length compared to his height.

Olek speaks up"Their names were Ilhim and Amelia Ostron. We really don't know much about them though. Never knew anything about them until now.

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OOC: Obvious injuries and the rope are no-check, but if you want to look for concealed injuries, etc. you need one.

[sue_do'nyme]

perception check for hidden injuries, like buises or stab wounds or whatever (1d20+7)[9]

[synthrael]

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Can I do another Dexterity check, then?
(1d20+1)

Zeneth is more than slightly annoyed that Ideki thought of something that she didn't, and she gives the rogue a cool, yet scornful look.

I'll help.

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Perception check: [roll]1d20+7[roll]
Can I have a Sense Motive check on Olek while I'm at it, too? I'm not sure how to do one of those, though...

On the way out, Zeneth jams her discovery into a pocket, eschewing subtlety (if necessary.)