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 Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2012 2:20 pm
Location: BendenThe investigation has uncovered a great many rumors, but not very much fact in its initial stages and wisdom has brought those intent on uncovering the truth behind the assassin to the Mess Hall. What better place to start then where the weyrfolk gather to talk and rest while they eat? The hall is relatively empty when the group arrives, with the cooks busy in the back preparing the next round of food for evening meals. A youth sits sleeping by the fire at one end, a thin blanket draped over his shoulders, a pair of riders stand near the food conversing but their rough-and-tumble body language is a warning to keep your distance. At the corner opposite the doors, a well-muscled woman sits with her back to the wall and a medium sized green wher curled up before her. The beast is clearly asleep but the scars along its flank speak to its ferocity in combat - the woman, too, is scarred across the shoulder where her short-sleeved tunic ends. The knife every wherhandler carries is stuck into the wood surface and she busies herself with the meal at hand, a delightfully smelling roast. When she notices you staring, she jumps and fidgets, looking away then back via the corner of her eye, "What do you want?" Investigation Week 1 Only the NPC described in the last (third) paragraph may be interviewed.
This is an ORP that will be lead by Staff - staff will be posting responses based on the posts received once or twice a day, each character can post as they want but the NPC response will not wait for all to post before answering.
Feel free to ask whatever questions that your character would ask!
Remember that this is an investigation about the Mystery Man who assassinated two ranking Riders and tried to kill a third.
A Hint: Look for relations between rumors and things said but remember not everyone knows the truth! Think about the answers you receive!
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 1:13 pm
Although he and Kindra had signed up on the same day, when the parcelling out into groups had been done, N'mol had been assigned in a group consisting of some of his lower-colored yearmates, a wherhandler and a Candidate. It hadn't been the most comforting news, as even knowing the riders did not instill in him a great sense of faith in the skills of those he was meant to work with, but N'mol knew how to make the most of any situation. You had to when you were a leader of any kind, after all, and N'mol certainly had a flair-- and desire-- for that role. Already, as he walked to the mess hall with Tyeth feeding him suggestions the whole way, he was considering how to start interviews and how his fellows might react.
Brynja, like N'mol, was good at socializing, even with strangers. If they could keep her strictly to the truth, maybe she and he could cajole some kind of information out of someone.
Dinah, the wherhandler, might be a problem-- he remembered the injured wher adventure all too well, and Kindra's knife-pulling debacle-- but N'mol was hoping that without the Goldrider in the group things might go a little more smoothly, even if she didn't like riders. He certainly had no intention of doing anything to raise her ire unless it was inadvertently. He didn't know her well aside from that, but he hoped she would display an aptitude for something once they got started.
Dezima had been relatively quiet during that trip. Again, N'mol wasn't expecting much, but she had found a clue or two, which meant she had some level of observation about her. She might be able to spot something one of the others had missed. He'd be sure to ask her after they interviewed someone if she had noticed anything specific.
The Candidate, of course, was a mystery. N'mol didn't know her and likely wouldn't, but he would do his best to make her comfortable if she ended up not having the mindset to do the interviewing needed.
But we should not count her out, mine, as she could someday become a rider and we will need for her to know that we can be trusted. It is best to have as many allies as possible, even if they do not have the skills we need right now. It wasn't an unfamiliar line of reasoning, and N'mol just nodded to himself. Everyone has a strength. It is best to know what those strengths are.
This is why we make a good pair, Ty. Knowing the strengths of your riders is how you get the best from your wing. Or your weyr. We'll make sure everyone contributes and that those who can't don't walk away feeling worthless.
Yes. Blues and Greens have merits, too. We must not discount my brothers and sisters based on color. Likewise, non-riders should have the benefit of the doubt. Tyeth stretched his wings, looking the direction of Suunath. He arched his neck slightly as he stretched out fully, showing off the new height and length of his still-growing adolescent form for the Gold.
N'mol smiled faintly at the semi-chastisement. I didn't say they shouldn't, Ty.
You did not, but neither do you give them enough credit most of the time. You must be careful not to slight the colors that make up the majority of the Weyr. We must have a strong base to draw from when we try for Weyrleader.
It was rare for either of them to think of their aspirations so directly and N'mol, though he accepted the eventual goal of Weyrleader easily, moved past it without addressing it again. He would always say he aimed for Wingleader. It wasn't so surprising. Right now, though, when they had no Senior Weyrwoman and were investigating a murder that had sent the whole Weyr on its head... he wasn't about to mention anything about deposing W'lin, who was a good Weyrleader and the only leader in the Weyr with expertise right now. He and Tyeth kept their plans quiet, though N'mol thought they directed he and Tyeth more than either of them realized.
I am well aware of how my aspirations lead me, N'molmine. It will not surprise anyone when we achieve great things. Now, focus on your surroundings. Doubtless you did not notice that at least one of my sibling's riders is already there. Someone will think we are getting sloppy.
N'mol's eyes refocused on the area around him-- now the mess hall-- and he turned his head, looking for whoever Tyeth was talking about.
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 1:24 pm
Everyone at the Weyr was interested in the assassin and his motives, and Dinah was no exception; and like any of the rest of the wherhandlers, she'd taken it all rather personally, especially given that some people placed some of the blame on the wherhandlers, like that simpering baby goldrider she'd wanted to deck. But that was months past, and irrelevant. Her frustrations were back to being more generalized. And she'd heard a rumor just earlier, one that intrigued and to some extent disturbed her...
The stout wherhandler wasn't usually a gossip, but had taken more interest when one about her had come to her attention; it was while attempting to track down the source (with full intention of throttling them for the audacity) that she'd come across this new rumor. It had been enough to sidetrack her from her original purpose and bring her to the Mess Hall (otherwise, she might have been tempted to just shun the whole grouping-up thing).
Dinahsk, still a touch sleepy but no less cheerful for it, trundled into the room beside her. And look, another wher! The younger green crooned a friendly greeting, but kept her distance at her handler's bidding. Not every wher wanted to be friends with other whers, sadly.
Dinah was less pleased to see the baby bronzerider. She'd have much preferred to work with other wherhandlers, not dragonriders and all their sharding nonsense - and the baby ones were even worse. She acknowledged N'mol with a simple grunt before approaching the scarred wherhandler. "Smells good," she noted, leaning on the table. "Just wonderin', heard anything interesting lately?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 4:24 pm
Tsubari walked into the mess hall, holding back a yawn. It had been a long night, with Tsubarisk jumping at every sound he had heard. Patrolling took longer and was getting on the young handlers nerves now. All he wanted to do was get this meeting started/finished and get some sleep.
He stretched, catching the eye of the green handler. There was something suspicious about her, the way she acted so nervous. He shrugged, figuring she was feeling how the rest of the handlers were. He prayed that it wasn't time for her wher to Run, what bad timing on that if she was.
Grabbing some food and sitting down at another table so he could also watch those that entered and left. It was long before he realized that he was the first of his group to be there. He had heard about the young Gold rider's knife antics and wondered if she was going to do that again. That was all he needed, a woman welding a knife that he didn't know. Giving a mental shrug, Tsubari started eating while watching for the others.
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 4:25 pm
Brynja was definitely a gossip - although nothing really passed on through her mouth unfiltered to make it more dramatic, epic, hilarious or romantic (depending) - and she was happy (happy!) to share what she had heard with the rest of her group. The fourteen turn old was was engaged in chivvying Dezima along as she rounded the corner, her tones bright and cheerful.
"...so, what happened was, the fish had swallowed the ring my Da'd thrown away, right? And when my Ma slit it's belly open to gut it, there it was! So of course they had to get back together, it was practically destiny, and they've lived happily ever after, hence me and my brothers, except for all that business with the... oh, we're here, I'll have to tell you about that later"
Truth? Who cared for truth, if it made a good story? She tugged her room mate along to stand with the rest of the small group, flashing a quick grin at N'mol. Was she glad Kindra wasn't in their group? Did dragons breath fire? She remembered the Adventure of the Injured Wher all too well, and the wherhandler from it kind of just as well (though her name escaped her). N'mol, though, he was definitely trustworthy - and would no doubt want to know her gossip while the wherhandler spoke to the wherhandler, although Brynja was intensely curious about the scars. Larth, sharing her eyes for a moment, was just as curious - and Brynja made a note to ask, if there was a chance.
"Hey, N'mol, you wouldn't believe what I heard from this girl I was talkin' to in the lower caverns, she said that her brother'd seen the assassin right 'fore he struck, and he said that the man had a swagger, and that he'd definitely bumped off of the guy who bought his services as well 'cause of secrecy with a poison that made him rot from the inside, but I don't think that's true 'cause otherwise how'd he hire him again or do anything or get any repeat business.... but I don't know how assassins work, so. I reckon it'd be a pretty scary poison though, that could eat you and make you rot up from the inside because ick"
Maybe not everything quite was the truth, and maybe she'd inflated what she'd heard a little, but there was certainly the grain of truth in there. Somewhere.
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 5:45 pm
She was all but scampering to keep up with her roommate. No one could ever say she wasn't a sucker for the dramatic tales. And just as guilible too. Not that Dezima had any idea if she was being fooled or not. Nope, not at all (the same was not to be said for Microth). She was too intensely interested in what the next words were going to be that Brynja had to say. Oh this was getting so good!
"Oh my gosh, really?!" Dezima breathed, staring at her friend with big eyes. If she was a little disappointed they had arrived at their destination, she didn't show it. Too much. Besides sighing, and adding, "Promise you'll tell me the rest later?" She really did want to hear about that other thing.
Speaking of 'arrived', where were they again? Dezima glanced around to see where exactly Brynja had led her. And who all was here. She recognized N'mol and flashed him a grin. He'd been there with all of them before, when they were trying to solve the mystery of the strange sound. Oh and that wherhandler had been there too! Right? Dezima thought she might have been. Though she didn't know her name. Something she planned on fixing. Maybe. But first, she was drawn up in the gossip Brynja was sharing with N'mol. Had she heard that before? No she didn't think she had. So it was new to her!
"Woah...you didn't tell me that...!" She paused. "Err, or did you?" Maybe she'd been distracted by something and not paid close attention. Dezima frowned a little, trying to remember, gaze wandering around the mess hall - oh right! They were in the mess hall! Oh hey and that one wherhandler was talking with another. One she hadn't seen before. Curious, Dezima moved a little closer to hear what they were saying, though most of her attention was still very much on what her roommate was telling the bronzerider.
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 8:07 pm
Emkin was dragging her feet. She knew and did it purposely. Even going to far as to take extra long finding the clothes she wanted. That was until Vervoras chided at her to hurry up. Reluctantly, the candidate headed for the mess hall. She had been assigned to a group of three riders and a wherhandler; with only her flit she definitely felt like a hanger on. She would probably just slow them down. Staying home would have been much better. Still she respected them for trying to solve the mystery.
The gold flit hummed in her ear as she reached the hall. Well they were here now. Slowly she went in and looked for her group. Was that them? She had heard about the wher escapade but hadn't experienced it herself. Not that she'd wanted to. Slowly she approached the group. "Uh, hello. I'm Emkin. I was assigned to join you." Hopefully they didn't send her away before she could tell them what she'd overheard. Privately she agreed and felt it should be investigated.
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Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 7:01 am
It took a moment for N'mol to decipher exactly what Brynja was telling him. She talked very quickly and, as far as he could tell, all in one sentence.
"I don't think he would have killed his employer either," N'mol agreed with a smile. "I've never heard of a poison that effective before, though I guess it's possible." The swagger, though, was innocuous enough that it could have been true. Some people walked with a swagger at the weyr itself, so it wasn't really a solid clue, but if that harper had been right about who the killer may have been... Maybe the boy had actually seen something, though it wasn't anything really concrete.
N'mol was pulled away from his conversation and thoughts by someone introducing themselves. He turned and gave the Candidate who had joined them a broad smile. "I'm N'mol of Bronze Tyeth, this is Brynja of Blue Larth and Dezima of Green Microth. Welcome to the group. I think we're all here now, which means we can follow in Dinah's footsteps and get to searching for clues as well."
He gestured at the nervous-looking wherhandler replying to Dinah's question and moved closer. Hm. Maybe something a little more pointed would help.
"Interesting like finding hints of people who shouldn't be here wandering around the weyr, maybe on your patrols, or just general gossip you may have heard about Kestril's murderer, being an experienced full handler with the ties and ability to get information we wouldn't have."
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Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 7:03 am
The handler bristled a little bit when Dinah came over, but it looked more like panic jumps. She eyed Dinah suspiciously, as if every word from her mouth was meant to betray her. Even the knowledge that Dinah was a wherhandler didn't seem to calm her much, as she glanced from Dinah to the slowly growing group of non-handlers beyond her. She had clearly made the jump to believing that Dinah was with them, based on mere proximity alone.
"What? What would I know that's interesting? Who told you that? One of the other handlers?"
Her gaze jerked to N'mol, now painfully suspicious, but clearly a little proud at the implication she might know things others didn't. She waited a breath more before she licked her lips and her eyes darted between him and Dinah. They rested a little longer on the wherhandler, almost as if weighing her potential. "Why? You think I'd know? Everybody thinks the murderer's from Benden, but why kill Kestril?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 7:36 am
Stupid sharding baby rider! Dinah shot N'mol a glare when he came over, an expression that soured even further when he talked. To her mind, if he'd had any sense, he'd've left her alone to talk to the other handler, who was very clearly on edge. And, it became increasingly evident, distrustful of dragonriders. How likely was she to tell them anything with a bunch of riders hanging around?
On the other hand, he could actually be useful. It was a faint chance, but hey, it was worth a try. Maybe he'd play along, maybe not. "Who invited you, Bronzie?" she drawled, fixing him with a pointed look that hopefully suggested a purpose beyond pissing him off. "Go play with your friends and leave the rest of us poor Weyrfolk alone."
Behind her, Dinahsk clacked her jaws to help her emphasize the point, but her eyes remained a calm blue.
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Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 9:40 am
"No, I was saving it" Brynja said cheerfully to Dezima, before turning back to the matter at hand.
Larth said in the back of her mind, the adolescent blue half-asleep in the sun.
One that had painted him in a far better light, basically. And there was no doubt in Larth's mind that it would be them. Of course it would be them. They were working with the group, sure, but his rider was definitely the smartest there, and with him helping her they would no doubt come to the heart of the matter first.
"Hi Emkin, nice t'meet you" she turned and smiled broadly at the older girl, and oh, she had the prettiest firelizard! Her attention was rapidly drawn back to the wher handler snapping at N'mol, which was... not fair, in any way. He'd just made a suggestion, after all... and it took every ounce of that-would-be-a-really-dumb-idea to stop herself from jumping in.
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Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 12:01 pm
Kindra was 'fashionably' late to the meeting. In truth she had been oiling and feeding Suunath who was getting bigger every day and after that Kindra had just HAD to bathe and refresh herself before heading to the mess hall. She strode proudly as Suunath slept off her meal. The gold was always only a thought away from Kindra though and was likely going to listen in from time to time despite the fact she'd forget it once she was fully awake. She wore a smooth blue dress today, finely sewn detail on the hem. Nothing Kindra wore was plain or bland, except for her flying gear, which she planned on getting something sewn into it when she had more time.
She walked into the room with her head high but her thoughts full of the things she'd heard. She smiled almost sweetly at the Wherhandler Dinah but it was a dangerous kind of smile. She moved towards N'mol but then remembered he wasn't in her 'group' She's already gotten Suunath to tell her 'team members' to gather at this time but it looked like others had the same idea. Her gaze settled on the whers for a second then they moved on, to her they were little more interesting than a spit canine. Oh they had their uses sure, but that hadn't stopped Kestril being murdered and that irked at the back of her mind.
She took note of the fidgety Wherhandler and positively glared at the older woman, eyeing the wher at her feet she decided that she would allow the others to talk to this.... person but her distaste was clear if one looked. She was notably more attentive to the riders but she kept a sharp ear on the nervous seeming wherhandler since having a Goldrider present.. might change how the woman reacted ... if she was guilty of something then surely it would unsettle her to see one of the Twin Golds riders.
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Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 2:38 pm
F'itz was not usually one to lurk anywhere, but today he had been lurking in a corner of the mess hall waiting for a certain someone. When she arrived he drifted up beside her and greeted her with a respectful nod. "Junior Weyrwoman Kindra, F'itz at your service, as ever. How do you wish us to carry out these investigations? Shall we ask our own questions, or direct our thoughts to you via your Sunnath for you to voice?" He felt the former most prudent as much could be lost in translation, but she was a gold rider and if taking total control was her whim then that was that.
F'itz was used to his dragon's ramblings after so many turns and did no more than blink as the thoughts washed over him. Dissatisfied chromatics? Unlikely, most unlikely... but possible? No. That was the way the world was, and people accepted that. Metallics lead. It had always been so, and was only right and proper. do actually have.> The evidence they had... troubled him. It trouble him a lot. Was it just planted, or did it point to real evil and dark intent within the wall of Benen? He didn't want it to, but the bloody tool in his quarters pointed to the strong possibility. Folk of Benden slaying their own queen, attempting to slay another, and killing the former weyrleader of Malvren. He did not wish to implicate his own people... but it was possible.
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 5:35 am
N'mol's smiled fell at Dinah's nasty tone, but he eyed her for a moment and then glanced back at Frey.
"I'm going to converse with my friends for a moment, but as you ladies may know, there is an investigation going on right now into Kestril's murder." He smiled at Frey. "When you and your friend are done chatting, I'll stop back by to ask you a few more questions."
He bowed very slightly to the pair and then moved back over to the other riders he's been standing with. He glanced between them and said softly, "It seems Dinah would like a chance to try her handler angle first."
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 6:10 am
"That's better." Dinah grinned broadly, quite pleased with herself. "Those baby riders, they're almost worse than the real ones sometimes."
Hoping that her fellow greenhandler might be a little more inclined to like or at least talk to her now, she tried again, "I heard some tell that somebody's tryin' to start a revolution. Can't say as I'd blame 'em for being unhappy, but killing Weyrwomen..." She clucked and shook her head. "You wouldn't happen to know anything, would you?"
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