High Rollers DnD - High Rollers: Aerois | #44 - The Elenasto Fiasco (Part 1)

Episode Date: August 26, 2019

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Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com to learn more. That's BetterH-E-L-P dot com. Hello everyone, welcome back to High Rollers, a Dungeons & Dragons podcast in the world of Erois. From my Dungeon Master Mark Sherlock-Humes, with me, Tom, playing Keelakad Kalah, the Bard slash Cleric. I am Chris Trott, I'm playing Lucius Viren, Elowin

Elinastro, and I am a High Elf Sorcerer. Hi, I'm Rhiannon, I'm playing Sentry, I am a Guardian Paladin. Hi, I'm Katie, I'm playing Aayla, a Wild Elf Barbarian. And I'm Kim, I'm playing Nova, who is an Air Ganassi, and she is a Hexblade Warlock. Thanks to our regular sponsor, D&D

Beyond, the official Dungeons & Dragons toolset. Create your free account and speed up your campaigns today. You can check them out with the links in the episode description. Anyway, on to the episode. We've done something very wrong. Let's hope the Sky Prince understands. Galecrown, the royal palace and the seat of power in the sky city of Gusthaven. Here, you met with Sky Prince Aridan and his advisor, the Royal Stave Elois. There are discussions, new clues and leads related to Lucius's falsified

death, and in turn, clues to his family's murder. A scryer is missing in the chains, a shanty town hanging from the bottom of the Flying City. However, the party also has their own clues to follow. Quill's vision, granted by the Eye of the Flying City. However, the party also has their own clues to follow. Quill's vision granted by the Eye of the Storm, they decided to investigate the palace library to see if it matched the one that he saw in his vision. Elois accompanies them, taking them to see the library

in which Quill finds a secret door. Intrigued, the party investigates, with Elois clearing the library to give them privacy. They encounter wards and protections of Amplification Magic The party investigates, with Eloise clearing the library to give them privacy. They encounter wards and protections of Ampuration magic, and the presence of a golem-like creature. Lucius leaps across the wards and discovers papers, some torn and discarded, that reference the Wind Barons and their actions,

but one final letter could not be clearer. How did you let this happen? First, you failed to kill him after you found out he was alive. Then you failed to kill him again in the tower. He's a pathetic milksop daddy's boy and a bunch of lowland mercenaries. How did this happen? He's pissed away a good chunk of my money on an airship. A bloody airship and sold his estate to those second class viranors. You need to do something, Eloise. I know you don't like leaving paper trails but not all of us have access to sending spells damn it and one of us needs to hold you accountable the battle is intense eloise is a powerful spellcaster and his guardian golem leaps to

his defense smeek your goblin companion lies dead frozen solid by magic then burned with quick thinking no he died in the frozen magic actually we found out retcon but then he was burned with quick thinking he is overcome but the party and sentry

attempt to knock him unconscious but a reckless blow from Aayla's howling tempest causes him harm and leaves him bleeding out as his golem desperately races

for the exit only to be brought down when the party reaches him Eloise has died and the party are left in the cold stone corridor and secret passage

alone. Couple of things. Last time, a lot of mistakes were made. Yes, there were a few. There were a few. We've looked at it. We've rectified them. We've gone over it as a team in terms of what we did wrong. I did stuff wrong. Tom did some stuff wrong.

We called out. I called myself out. A lot of people that's not how you play a barbarian i literally had a character sheet thrown at me like two also there is no way to play a barbarian don't ever criticize me so yes uh because i had too much to deal with so what i wanted to point out though is me died what i wanted to point out coincidence is The snake died What a coincidence The reason I bring all this up is Two things, one, please don't be rude or spam In chat about rules stuff, mainly because

We don't actively check it, we're not going to see it So you're just winding the other chatters up So don't do that, it's far better To just send me a little tweet or post on Reddit And just say, hey Mark, some of the things that you might want to check Next time, just let me know in that way We will revise stuff. We're not going to retcon anything.

One thing that people brought up is that Eloise should not have been making death saves, because Sentry quite rightly knocked him unconscious. However, when Ayla used the Howling Tempest, it dealt damage to him, which would have started his death saves again. He failed one. He had one automatically

done by the lightning bolt then we actually played out a turn off stream me and Tom ran through what would have happened I made the death saving throw

because nobody got to him in time it was a two he failed again so he definitely died just wanted to clarify those things up I know that's not interesting

to a lot of people but for some people who were unclear yeah but ultimately we had fun super fun fight exactly I really enjoyed it

and that's the thing is, if we're having fun, it's okay. We'll look at it and revise it for next time. That's the main thing. Yeah, if we ever forget things, it's probably because it's just like in the heat of the moment. We're having fun. I just wanted to just make a little point about, please don't spam it in chat

because we don't check it. And then also we will revise it afterwards. And this is what we did wrong for you guys to learn. I need to keep an eye on concentration a lot more as well. Yes, yeah. And I need to remember

how reactions work. In good news, experience points. Oh, yeah. So, for the fight against Eloise and the Shield Guardian, you earn some...

I'm not going to tell you individually, I'm just going to add it all up. But you basically got XP for the fight against Eloise. You got XP for defeating his wards, as well as discovering the secret room. You also got a big chunk of XP for figuring out

that Eloise was involved in the Windbarren's plot and everything else. For a total of 4,800 XP each. Wow. I'm going to wait for Kim to add it and then find out what the total should be. 20,920. 20,920. 20,920.

4,800. Oh, 4,800. Yeah. So we're like... 20,920. That's what you should be on. If that's what Kim and everybody else is on, that's what you should be on. That was done quickly and simply with D&D Beyond.

We're about 2,000 away from level 7. That's not far. Yeah, that was a huge chunk. That was a big chunk. Big chunk. That was a very tough encounter with a little bit of under-preparation on their side and then also some very clever player tactics on your side

that kind of balanced it out so that you didn't get completely switched. Yeah, well, we did go there way too early. Well, I mean, there is no such thing as early. It's just that you just happened to stumble upon something which was meant to be hidden. I was it was me saying in our group chat did anyone else clock later on that he was called eloise iron staff yeah i literally haven't written in my notes he may as well have been called eloise bad i'm the bad man no my favorite one was the

my favorite one was the what kind of magic do you specialise in, Eloise? Abjuration. Oh, excellent. Late five minutes later in the secret corridor. These traps are all abjuration. Isn't that strange, Eloise? Yes. It is very strange. So weird. I can't help you with that as well.

I can't help you. It was all because he persuaded me off a zone of truth. Yeah. And we're all naive idiots. And we're all naive idiots. And we're all naive idiots. But reset the Brookstone counter. Yep. We're back to zero. Yep.

Days since last Brookstoning. Yeah. Zero. So. I did, I liked him as well. Well, turns out he's a twat. Yeah. Turns out anyone that we like

will just be like. Exactly. No. Everyone you like, twat. No. As long as he doesn't like milk. Smeek was our only friend. He was the only one who didn't brook stone us.

Been a nerd my whole life. Now he's smushed. This is time. Well, you are currently all in a lit corridor. The light is faded and dim, a slight pulsing from arcane runes. The body of Eloise, this elderly high elven mage, lies on the ground, kind of crumpled, next to a mechanical golem-like creature.

There's the large round library room that had several papers upon the table. There are also several books along the shelves. So far, none of you have really had a thorough search, but there is a dead body. The secret door that led back into the library is closed. You know that Eloise had cleared out the library of any palace staff before you came in here.

You are alone with this dead body. Next to both of them is the dead body of Smeet. Oh, we have to get him through the palace. We might have made a big mistake here. How are we going to explain this to anybody? All of these letters? I mean, all the letters, only one has a name. And even then, they trusted him.

He was like the grand stage mastermind. I trusted him. I've known him my whole life. Can't they cast zone of truth on us? Can they not make us tell the truth and stuff? People have done that to us. Yeah. I can.

Well, yeah. I'm sure they have people. Well, they're not going to trust if you do it. You could be like, oh, I cast it. Nevertheless, not everyone that we're going to see in the next five, ten minutes as we get this dead body and Smeek to wherever we need to go is going to know the spell zone of truth. They're going to immediately see

Eloise is dead and we're carrying that body. There's no one in the library at the moment. We could just cordon the area off and bring the people to us rather than carry a body. We don't need to carry a body. Crime scene. We close the door. The door is already closed. The secret door is currently closed. We keep the door closed. We don't need to carry a body. Crime scene. We close the door. The door is already closed. The secret door is currently closed.

We keep the door closed. We should bring the Sky Prince here. If he's not busy, yes. Even if he's busy, just interrupt him. It'll be fine. No looting. No reading books. No going anywhere.

This is as pristine as we left it. Can I just do one thing? It really depends. I just want to... Can I go over to Smeak and just very carefully remove the translator earring? Yes, you can. Yeah.

You actually have to break off part of his frozen solid ear. Like, it has to, like... You try and pull it off and his ear just snaps. Yeah, no, so he... I forgot, obviously, massive damage. Shmiko only had seven hit points. He took something like 40 points of hull damage. He was frozen solid and

the fireball spell wouldn't, like, he was like, he's like an ice statue. He's like brittle and Nova just snaps the ear off. Pulls the ear. I did not expect that to happen. Ayla, I'm really sorry. Well, I don't care that to happen. Ayla, I'm really sorry. Well, I don't care.

I mean, sure. Honestly, he lasted longer than I thought he would. Just shake the air a bit. Don't shake it. Don't shake it. I'm sorry, Century. I'm sorry. I didn't think his air would come off.

That's fine. Little buddy did good. Little buddy did good. He's good. He's good. He's happy. He wanted to die this whole time anyway. He died. Yeah, but I mean... Dragons can't be choosers.

Aayla, why don't you zap him now? Like, just... I don't know. So while they do this, Lucius... Lucius, you are watching them play with the body of Smeak. We're not playing! Nova and Aayla are pulling like, pulling bits off Smeek and zapping him with lightning bolts.

I'm not pulling anything off! You just see Eloise's, like, dead body, the papers. I think Nova picked up the papers. I collected a bunch, yeah. I'm just going to... I'm not going to touch the body. No, but you were zapping it. I'll give him one zap and be like, there you go, you happy?

Can we please be serious? I'm deathly serious. He wanted, he liked lightning. I think this is more about Eloise than Smeak at this point. Oh, I'm not going near that one. I just... I'm all for japes and frolics. However, we are in a serious situation here.

And this man I knew my whole life as a good friend, an honorable, wise person that everybody looked up to, and that's all been destroyed, as is everything else in Gusthaven. So could we please have an ounce of respect? I'm sorry, Lucius. I wasn't trying to be stupid.

I understand. Can we go? Is that what... Where are we going? We leave this place and find someone that can come to this crime scene. Do you think maybe some of us should stay here just to stop other people, like... We can do, but it's a hidden place.

I think it's for... I think the library as a whole. Oh, the library. We may as well see if we can stop people coming back into the library. We don't want people coming here before us and taking things or changing things or touching things. If someone wants to stay here, I will go find the Sky Prince. I can stay. I think wants to stay here, I will go find the Sky Prince. I can stay. I think I'll stay as well.

I might read some of these things. You want me to stay too? I think... It might be good to send some muscle with Lucius. You might be good to go with Lucius. You're protector of royalty. I feel like if words are involved, please send her and not me because

I'm going to say something dumb. I already have, clearly, but I'll stay here. Also, it's your job to protect royalty. Like, I feel like Sky Prince would at least appreciate that. You're a calm influence. Okay. Yeah. Okay.

Yeah. Okay. So Lucius and Sentry are going to go try and find Sky Prince Aradan whilst Aayla, Quill and Nova remain in the room. Yeah. Okay. Just so I know. Okay. Lucius and Sentry, do you have a plan of where you want to go or are you

just going to leave the library and just find somebody and be like, where's this prince? Where's the prince? Where is he? Right now. What's the plan? I think we'll go to the palace. Yeah. You're in the palace. The library is in the palace but then we'll start asking around okay so you just go and find like a guard or somebody and be like blah blah blah we need to speak to the prince immediately okay um yeah you you slide open the secret door pulling it inwards you peek out nobody's around in the main outside library the public library of the palace itself. You make your way down to the main steps

and when you open it, there are there is a guard outside, like just a palace guard, one of the high elf guards of Galecrown, wears the livery of the Sky Prince, and he's just like, ah, excuse me, Royal State

Velois asks us just to keep an eye on the door, make sure that nobody came in. Is everything all right? No. Oh. Do you need help with something, sir? Yes, we need to speak with the Sky Prince, if at all possible. Right.

And he looks for a moment. He kind of thinks. He's like, well, it's... He had his forum this morning. He's most likely up in his offices, I imagine, dealing with paperwork and the like. I can't really leave my post here, though, sir, unfortunately. And can you give me permission to go to his offices?

Sir, you're a part of the nobility, of course. Thank you. Very kind. Let's just go sentry. And you just make your way up? Thank you. The Gale Crown is a very large palace, and navigating

it will take some time just because you'll often be stopped like oh can we help you where are you going and once they know it's you like you are you do look differently but they also notice a guardian accompanying you and it doesn't take long before the eyes kind of sit in and people go oh lord el anasto yes of course where would you like to go? Also, I can show them my thing. Your part. It just slows you down because there's multiple checkpoints you have to go through. So it maybe takes you like five, ten minutes. Yeah, you have to do the security check. Well, no, you're fine because you're noble.

You've got TSA pre-check. But Sentry, they're like... Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. It's like beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. Hang down every time. Into the big old scanner. Put her in a tray. Yeah, but the axe has to go in a separate tray.

Yeah. But the idea is that it will take you about five, ten minutes to reach the Sky Prince's offices. And then you'll, when you do arrive, you are basically motioned to an array of, like, long settees and chairs where you can see other people are waiting to speak with him. There is a queue to speak with the Sky Prince. So the secretary there, kind of a young, high-off boy, is just like, Lord Eleanor, so yes, I'm afraid that there are a few people that wish to speak to the Sky Prince.

I don't mean to be rude or that these people's matters are inconsequential, but I fear that there is something that requires urgent attention. I mean, if you tell me what it is, I can tell the Sky Prince and then he can determine. It's to do with Eloise

and it's severely bad news. All right. Well, I will pass the message on, sir. It will be up to the Sky Prince if he sees you any sooner, though. Let me just say it's a crime scene. At that, he kind of like looks definitely more alarmed.

And he's like, right. And discretion and urgency are required. Give me a persuasion check. Just to see, because right now this guy is kind of indifferent to you. So you're not asking him to do anything risky, but it's obviously... 19 plus 7. Woo! 26.

He just bows. He's like, of course. No, absolutely. And he motions over to... You can see there's another young woman who's filing papers. And he's just like he motions over to, you can see like there's another young woman who's like filing papers. And he's just like, come on, you need to watch the front desk for a second.

And she's like, where is it? And she's like, just watch the front desk. And then he moves to a side door and enters into the royal chambers before him and just instantly goes. And it doesn't take long. This will take about five, 10 minutes. What are those of you in the secret passage

doing in that five, 10 minutes? I'm making sure I don't touch anything okay like i'm thinking of just trying to keep it as preserved as possible like the way it has been left so it doesn't look like we've just been gone in there taken a load of shit and then vanished can I try and block the secret door a little bit? From the inside or from the outside? Or can I lock it from the inside somehow? You don't know. There doesn't appear to be any physical locking system. Okay.

Does it open outwards? It opens inwards. It opens inwards. Can I put anything in front of it to try and, like, barricade? Yeah, you could try and carry one of the bookshelves or the desk from the main round room up the stairs um a bit disturbing though maybe maybe just stand there ominous yeah okay so you're just going to kind of keep watch on the secret door in case anything comes in okay and then quill is just well trying not to find

moving around like this the letter didn't have who sent it, did it? It did. So I did a little bit of retconning on the letter. I added some more detail because you did catch me off guard last time. Yeah, it is signed Salvarius Aetheron. Aetheron, yeah. Yeah, Salvarius Aetheron, yeah. Yes.

Can I be, like, making a copy of the letter? Yeah. And just trying to make as many copies of things as possible like yeah well did you say you were going to go through the papers as well so in the fight i think one of the last things um one of the last things i did was grab all the papers on the desk sorry i'm just sorting out replacement mic for you there you go so you should pop that off. Yeah, perfect. Sorry.

Yeah, so in the fight, one of the last things I did was take all the papers off the desk. You grabbed all the papers, yes. I thought maybe he was going to burn them or something like that. Okay, yeah, so you're holding them. So I'm holding them. So can I just start making copies, like, especially of this letter, just in case we have to hand them away or, like, we need evidence?

Yeah, you're an apprentice writer, and I'm guessing, like, if you're... Are you trying to make exact copies or just the information, like, kind of, like, because as a scholar, you'd be pretty good at making shorthand. Like, you could copy large amounts of text very quickly. I think probably shorthand. Yeah. Like, not so it's, like, evidence, but just so we have it. You have a record of it. Yeah.

Yeah. We're going through the other papers alongside the letter. The letter, the other thing you notice, by the way, is on the desk the the envelope that the letter came in is still there but it looks like it's been crumpled um but the date mark on the letter is um just like i would say less than 24 hours ago it arrived not long ago which is you begin to summarize especially with nova's intel you've got such a good intelligence eloise probably hasn't had time he's probably just read this and hasn't figured out what to do with it yet,

which is why it's still here. Otherwise you suspect that somebody of that intellect probably would have burnt it or destroyed it. So alongside that, so there is the envelope. The other things you find, the other papers, it's nothing, you kind of very quickly get a sense that the rest of the documentation here, none of it is damning evidence. It could be justified. So it's things such as movements of Gusthaven patrols and city watches.

Just a record of like patrol five this time, this district patrol seven this time, this district. Like something that somebody who was making a schedule might keep uh it's the names of city watch officers who work at the cloud harbor immigration control center so basically the port of entry into gust haven it's just names of city watch officers who work there no other information just a list of names and then where they work um there is sorry one last. Can I also grab the letter that we wrote for Lucius's father? Yeah, I'm going to get to that.

So that's in these list of papers. Sorry. So there is also a list of cargo shipments destined to arrive in Gustaven and where they'd be coming from. Okay. Alright, not very soon. Thanks, Sid. There are the names of several nobles, including Severius Aetheron,

and the department's businesses they have influence over. And then the last thing is the letter from Caeli's Rest addressed to Varian Elanasto from Lucius Elanasto. Thank you, Sid. No problem. Just going to fix one of the microphones. Yeah, we think it's the cable, so we're just going to try and fix that now. So, yeah, so that's the stack of papers you find.

And it's kind of, it's not really in a journal. It's kind of kept in like a little desk tidy, like a little writing desk tidy. And the letters are two separate, like they were separate to the other information. Okay. But that's it, yeah. That's all the like actual paper evidence um the other thing on the desk actually if you were over by the desk looking at the papers there is a spell book there as well can i take that please yeah sure do you do it

subtly or are you just taking it how subtle can you get past 22 perception because i think i don't think she'd do it sneakily. She'd just be like, oh. Yeah, she just takes it. Well, yeah, you would see Nova picking up this book and going. I imagine I'm just absentmindedly just like. We don't want to touch anything, anything at all. Oh, so I'll literally stop.

Yeah, I'll just be like, oh, sorry. We don't want to make it look like we've been rifling through things after. I've been rifling through things? Well, kind of. I saw you take the letter. I saw you pick up the spellbook. I mean, yeah, I took them through when we were fighting

because I thought he was going to burn them. I'm just making copies now just in case, you know, we have to get rid. We want to make sure that every bit of evidence that we can give... Yeah, you're right, you're right.

I'm not touching the spellbook. So the spellbook, when you picked it up, it is clearly a wizard spellbook, likely Eloise's personal spellbook. So there are powerful spells inscribed into it, and you just put it down. The other thing on the desk are the two unclaimed spheres, the metal spheres. There were three.

Eloise grabbed one, tried to activate it, and some sort of spell failed to happen. There are two more on the desk, which we'll call spell globes for now. Spell globes. What about these things? They look cool. They look like they could be a fireball. The other ones, well, that one wasn't, but... The one that Eloise used didn't work.

Don't want to tinker with them in case they do work. Leave it for now. Okay. It doesn't take long for Lucius and Sentry, as you guys are waiting. It's minutes after you kind of speak to the attendant, the valet at the front. Minutes, Aradan himself steps out, and he looks to you. He kind of catches your eyes and looks extremely serious. We're just going to have to get a radio mic for.

God, goodness me, having real mic problems today. He looks very seriously at you, then turns to the kind of people who are waiting, and several of them get up as if like, oh, it's my turn to speak with the Sky Prince. And he's just like, I'm so sorry, everyone. I'm afraid that something urgent has taken place. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone

for. You're more than welcome to leave your names with my staff here and I will endeavour to return to speak with you as soon as I can. And there's some grumblings and some murmurings. You kind of hear like an old crotchety elf like, I've been waiting here

all morning. I can't believe this. And then some of the others kind of turn and are like, I've been waiting here all morning. I can't believe this. And then some of the others kind of turn and are like, very well. But Aranon makes his way quietly over to the two of you. Lucius, what is this about a crime scene? Can we speak in private? Are we in a safe place?

Yes. Do you wish to speak in my office or should we be making our way? We could make our way. Should I? And he kind of forgets himself. He kind of is about to ask your advice or permission

and then he kind of stops him and he's like would you fetch Captain Valera for me please? And the valet is like of course Sky Prince of course. Wait here.

And he runs off and he runs like he starts pelting it down the corridors. I feel it best if I bring the captain with us if this is indeed a crime scene. Yes, of course.

I don't fear that there's any immediate threat. We've dealt with a big threat that we never thought was. Right. Still, I would feel more comfortable with Valera here as the captain of the guard. Absolutely, yes. Of course. And you see him, he's like,

while we wait, just give me a moment. I'm going to try and settle a few unhappy faces. Aradan. Yes. You may also want to find somebody with the capabilities of getting the truth out of people because it may be completely unbelievable what you're about to see and hear.

Give me another persuasion check, actually. 14 plus 7, so 21. Yeah, you're a persuasive guy. He kind of looks, he's like, all right, yes, he's like, well, we'll stop by, we'll have to make a detour. I'll have to send someone to go to the Church of Siasca. It shouldn't take too long,

but we'll just have to make a brief detour once Vilya arrives. I'm sorry. someone to go to the church of Siaska. It shouldn't take too long, but we'll just have to make a brief detour. Once Vilya arrives. I'm sorry. What might you see? I'm sure, as long as you've acted in the interest of Gusthaven, I'm sure that there's nothing to apologize for. And I'm sure if Eloise is involved, I'm sure that he would have made

absolutely every effort to make sure that the city was protected. But then he turns and he goes to the other people, sat around, and he's like, I'm so sorry, Lord Vesselar. Yes, I'm so sorry. I know that you've been waiting all morning. Please understand it's an emergency.

I'm so sorry, A. Plumbus. Yeah, he's just shaking hands and kissing babies and stuff like that. I'm trying to give Sid as much time as I can to fix this mic because i know rihanna wants to talk yeah so i'm like no no it's like i was just like how long can i draw this out got like an aerial situation where it's like can't speak in human around must communicate with forks uh wouldn't you think my collection's complete with this dead High Elf Mage?

Big yikes. Big yikes. So yeah, it doesn't... There is perhaps another sort of like five, ten minutes maybe until Valera, along with a squire, arrives, a middle-aged elven woman dressed in full plate

in the livery, the blue and silver livery of Gusthaven. She arrives, nods curtly to lucius and century and then sky prince you called for me your majesty he's like yes captain please escort me and lord elenasto and guardian century here um lead the way lucius please uh yes to the library yes um as you begin making your way downstairs he catches another attendant and is like, please go and seek out High Priestess Illyris. Have her send one of her more trustworthy priests to find us. Where are we going, Lucius?

To the library. To the library. Please send them directly there. They have my authority to travel. And he looks around and, you know, the corridors, there are people, but he kind of leans into the two of you. You're kind of walking, so anybody would need to be following you to listen along. You're not going to be overheard unless somebody is literally following right behind you. What is this about, Lucius? What's happened? We were scouting for... Yes, you mentioned you were going to go check the library to see if it matched your friend's visions.

Yes, and they absolutely did. We found a... Here? Secret door located in the library. What? It was protected by abjuration magic. Elois helped us get inside. Yes, well, that's his specialty in magic, yes.

Yes, and coincidentally, that was also the same magic on the door. And as we entered, there were more things with abjuration magic preventing us from entering the room, but it was... Oh, I mean, it must be some sort of vault or safekeeping that Elois had for something. Yes. Are you saying you were attacked there?

Yes, we were were attacked and by the most unlikeliest of people it was elois himself who turned against us and as you kind of say that he just stops like in the corridor it's like this is no time for jokes lucius that's not possible that's why i requested some magic in order to get the truth out of us. He, like, looks. He's like, Uh, well, I mean... I mean, Eloise will be able to answer us this, yes? And you can see Captain Valera is kind of looming behind the Sky Prince,

sensing his unease. Unfortunately not, no. It was very brutal combat. He summoned a golem made of metal to fight and protect him. No, no, no, this isn't possible. He wanted us all dead, especially me. Then it couldn't have been really him. It's some sort of creature or someone in his form or something.

This can't be possible. The man's helped raise me. Yes, sentry, please. That's OK. I know it's unbelievable, but it happened, and we couldn't believe it ourselves. We tried our best, but he fell. All the evidence is in this secret room. There's lots of papers and documents with reference and instructions from someone with a name that you'll have to read for yourself.

You may understand it. And Valera puts a hand on the Sky Prince's shoulder. Your Majesty, we should go and investigate this. Regardless of your feelings on the matter, we won't know more until we see it for ourselves. Yes, Captain, yes. Carry on. And he just kind of drifts quietly

and just can't quite look at the two of you and sort of just starts looking at his feet and just follows. But the captain looks very sternly at you both and is like, I suggest you take us there immediately. We need to get to the bottom of this. That's our intention. She just gestures and you carry on. It's not long before the three of you in the room begin to hear the opening of

doors and armored feet. Um, as bodies approach the secret entrance way. Lucius, do you lead them to where the secret door is? You see the wall, it's closed. The secret door's been

shut. But the wall itself. Let's just say that, yes, it's all here. Members of my party are inside, keeping it safe. Those of you who are on the other side do hear this muffled. So I'll probably knock. Hello? It's Lucius. We have the Sky Prince here.

Oh, good. Perfect. I'll open the door. We should probably all stand to the sides. You kind of have to pull it. And Ayla, you kind of have to dig your nails into this part thing and pull. And it's really hard to open from this side. Like, you're actually really having to strain. Normally, this door seems like it's opened by other means. It doesn't look like it's opened manually.

I just want to say, Prince Aradan, if you think this is some sort of ruse to get you into a secret room, maybe I could... When you say that, his eye... Like, he clearly hadn't even thought of that um but valera had and she's just like do not worry lord elinasto um and you can see that as you've been walking at the door to the library there are now 12 royal guards outside the library um but she you didn't even notice her signaling them but as you were making your way down more and more kind of filtered in i'm now blocking the only way out of the room i strongly But she, you didn't even notice her signaling them, but as you were making your way down, more and more kind of filtered in,

and now blocking the only way out of the room. I strongly suggest we all disarm ourselves to show good intention and good faith. She nods to that. Like, you see Valera kind of nod her head. Put your weapons down on the ground and slide them out here. I'll have my men hold them for the time being. I take my focus off.

Mm-hmm, yep. I take my shield and axe. She gestures and a couple of the royal guards come in and they begin taking you two. The other three they've not really seen. They see Aayla at the top of the stairs leading down. I put my hammer on the ground beside me. Okay.

When you do that, Valera steps forward and touches it and pulls it away from you and hands it to one of her guards and says, All right, do we need to be aware of anything? I believe all the abjuration traps have been disarmed. Disarmed. Everything should be clear. Do you want us out or? I think that that, and Prince Arodan is is like you'll likely have to do some explaining please just comply with Lucius's idea

and Valera's request relinquish your weapons if you would please I guess my pistol anything you have that could look like a weapon

so if you carry anything else I don't know I don't even know if Will does I've got a staff yeah so probably that

I'll get rid of that as well you probably hand that over in the Thunderstone pistol yeah uh then they obviously look at nova can i just gently hand tiangong over like valera will take it and she yeah she's not dismissive of it but she doesn't hold it in the same reverence she's just like takes the dagger passes it to somebody else um not thinking it more than a weapon yeah then you are left alone. The guards remain Valera is confident enough that she is with the Sky Prince. You also know the Sky Prince is carrying his greatsword like he has

it sheathed on his back and it's a very elegant beautiful looking magical weapon and he's not with Elvis Well you begin making your way downstairs and as soon as you step in down the stairs he sees the body and prince aradan looks down and it just takes moments for him to kind of process what he's seeing valera looks to the rest of you and is like right um before the priest arrives i would

recommend that none of you say anything I am going to remain here with the prince whilst he investigates once the priest arrives we'll conduct interviews in small groups of you if I could have two of you waiting outside and the three of you accompany us

I would suggest those who have the most knowledge of what transpired remain here for the time being. And then she gestures to you guys to sort yourselves out. She wants to split you up into two halves. Okay. Well, we were all present and aware of what happened. I should probably stay and be interviewed first. I've literally manhandled some of the evidence.

Are we being listened to? Can we do it? probably stay and be interviewed first. I've literally manhandled some of the evidence. Are we being listened to? She's like right in front of you. You can use the messenger band. I'll use the messenger thing. I don't know who to trust anymore. What if we're being split off to make it easy?

One group takes entry, one group takes me. Yes, I think strategize in terms of combat. Yeah, we don't know anything about those funds that Aradan's been receiving either. Exactly. Valera coughs, because you're all communicating telepathically, but there is this long silence of nothing.

Openly, I'll say, I mean, I had the vision, but I'm not sure how believable that is. It's your word, isn't it? Zone of truth with vision. This is simply, I wish to split you up so that your stories will be compared. I'll be quite frank with you. I intend to compare your stories once both the castings have transpired. Okay.

Nova, if you stay, and Century. Okay. And then us three, Lucius and Aelin. All right. Okay. So she splits you off. So three of you are led outside, and then two of you remain with Valera.

Aradan kind of steps up, and you can see that there are tears down his cheeks. Like, he's visibly upset by the death of this person that was obviously very close to him. But he also looks at the golem creature strangely and he looks around. He sees the body of Smeek, this frozen goblin as well. Very well, Captain, if you would conduct your investigation, I will just simply be here to observe if you don't mind. And she's like of course

your majesty and at that point the guards are like your majesty the priest that you requested has arrived and a very humble looking human man actually um young bespectacled kind of floppy brown hair kind of cut into loose curtains with a ponytail uh kind of shuffles in. He wears the robes, the white and black robes of Siascan priests, and he carries with him a little kind of like book and a small pendulum with a silver star hanging from it. Your Majesty, my name is Thomas. You requested a priest from Lady Elris. Yes, yes, thank you, stars. Thank you, priests. Do you know the ritual of Zone of Truth? I do, Your Majesty, yes.

I have it prepared for judicial reasons, for helping with investigations. He's like, excellent. Captain Valera? Very well. Thomas, I would require your assistance with me. Your Majesty, if you wait with the other guards and the remaining group outside. Of course, he moves with the rest of you.

So, who is going to be down in the scene of the crime? I guess me and... You and Sentry? Or did you want to have it... It's Nova and Sentry. And then the three of you are upstairs in the main library. So imagine you've got

the secret room and then the main library and you're being split. I think those two in the like the secret room and then the main library and you're being split yeah uh i think yeah those two in the um down in the room and then us three at the top okay uh the cool before we begin um captain i just want to say i touched some of the evidence during the fight i thought he was going to try and burn the evidence so i took it from his table and put it in my pockets she just holds off her hand i'll ask these questions when the enchantment is complete i just wanted to tell you beforehand right now i have no reason to believe you agonizing yes i just wanted to you'll find out i'm telling the truth in

a moment i will there's no need to say anything now and she very stoically leads you downstairs and then it begins examining the scene she looks around um she did you leave the papers on the desk you did you look yeah i think i would have taken them back out of my bags and i made copies and put them back okay you see her go around with her squire and she begins making notes in a small like little notebook um and begins kind of making notes about where things are and things like that she leafs through the papers but doesn't really go into them in detail. She kind of passes them to a squire who runs them

upstairs and then she turns and she's like, Thomas Stepford. The priest is like, ah, your names please. I'm Sentry. Sentry and? I'm Nova Veejer. Nova Veejer. I apologise that this is a little formalized speech but it is

something that we must do. I am about to perform a small ritual which will enforce you to tell the truth. Do you understand this? I understand. Please understand that you are perfectly that if you try to resist the effects of this spell or if you refuse to any answer questions that are asked of you whilst it is in duration, these will be seen as admissions of guilt or of suspected activity. Do you understand? I understand, yes. If further questions are required, you will be hereby placed

under suspicion of arrest. This is not to determine that you are guilty, rather that an investigation must be continued. Do you understand? I understand, yes. Very well. I'm going to perform the ritual now. Please be aware that I will know if you resist its effects. And he nods, and then he begins swinging the pendulum back and forward,

and he begins chanting in a low, deep baritone that kind of fills the space. And then you feel this wash. You would normally have to make a wisdom saving throw, but you can choose to fail it. What do you do? fail it so you voluntarily fail the spell

I do nothing okay stone of truth, magical zone, 15 foot radius so basically he instructs you to stand in the center of the room it's a charisma saving throw anyway but you you basically choose to i think it right whilst on a failed save a creature can't speak a deliberate lie um you are aware of the spell and you can avoid answering questions if you wish but as has been legally explained to you

that is kind of seen as a well they're lying or they've got something to hide. Valera kind of instantly switches on and looks directly, she kind of eyes the two of you up. Guardian Sentry, in your own words, what happened in this room? Okay, so we were led down here, well, not led down here, but we found the room and we descended in. Eloise was at the back of the group. And as we got down into the central chamber, he began attacking.

And so we had no choice. His intent was to kill. He activated a guardian, this iron golem robot, and was attacking us. And we did our best to defend ourselves tried to apprehend him but it was too much you tried to apprehend him? yeah we tried to make him unconscious so then he would still

be alive so we could why is he dead now guardian? because he bled out he wouldn't stop. But you tried to render him unconscious. We tried to render him unconscious. That was our intention, yes.

So why was he so injured to the point that he was... His life slipped away. What exactly occurred to cause this situation? I have a dead man. I appreciate that you are so far telling the truth you tried to apprehend him he attacked you you acted in self-defense but still I have a man dead we did too much damage he wouldn't stop it's not deliberate lie but I think she kind of gets the impression that it's not the whole truth let Let's find out. Make a, it's not really a deception check,

make a persuasion check for me, Century. 14. Okay. She kind of says, like, thank you. Nova Vija. Yes. Fortin Sa, yes? Yes, ma'am.

What, how exactly did Eloise attack you? He used spells. The first spell he used was a Cone of Frost, I believe. You can see our companion Smeak fell to that. And then he was just using spells, and he was using the Shield Guardian. And, oh, he tried to use one of those spheres on the table there. I think they're similar to that firebomb that got us at Nannino Fierce flat. Did you see him use one of these spheres?

He tried to, but it didn't do anything and he cursed. Why did he attack you specifically? Why here? Lucius went on ahead and he started reading the notes on the table and the letters. And in one of the letters, it was directly addressed to him and it had the name elois on it and when he saw lucius read the letter that's when he attacked that's when he attacked she looks over her notes as marquise looks at his notes. You may speak freely. I think Sentry doesn't remember quite correctly but the reason he died is because when he was knocked

unconscious the shield guardian tried to get him out of here and when the shield guardian went past Aayla she launched an attack and it went it hit Eloise as well. We didn't mean for him to die. Aayla is your Wild Elf companion? Yes. She only meant to stop the guardian, the golem. Interesting. She leans in and she gestures for the priest to kind of step back a little bit. Until you came down into this room,

did either of you have any suspicions that Eloise was involved in these matters? No, I had none. Did Eloise mention anything to you of other nobles or anybody within Galecrown that may have been connected to or involved in this matter? I believe not, no. This matter as in? As in the death of the Alanastos, the faked Lucius death, these wind barons. Gotta be super honest, right?

You don't have to answer the question you just can't deliberately lie you can't tell a intended lie when we spoke to him outside of this room he told us something about the sky prince i think he was trying to get our trust what did he tell you to get our trust. What did he tell you? I can't tell you that. She narrows her eyes and folds her arms. I just want to say, because I don't understand the politics of this place,

I don't know... No, Ravidja, this is a very serious matter. He's a prince and I don't know... No, Vija, this is a very serious matter. He's a prince, and I don't know whether or not to... I am the captain of the guard in this palace. It is my duty to look after the Sky Prince, to protect him from both threats, but also from his own actions. If you think that he is somehow connected

to anything Eloise was up to, you need to tell me now. I don't know if he is somehow connected to anything Eloise was up to you need to tell me now I don't know if he is intentionally connected what happened was we were trying badly to test if Eloise would was trustworthy we were going to cast zone of Truth on him. When Quill asked for his permission, he got upset. And I think he told us this to try and gain our trust. Then perhaps it is a mistruth, but I need to know what he told you. He told us that the prince was receiving investment from outside of Gusthaven and using it to fund public projects. And that Anastasia knew about it.

Anastasia McGrone, huh? Yes. I don't know if it's true because obviously look what look where we ended up. Indeed. Alright. For the time being you are being placed under suspicion of murder this is not an accusation

of guilt this is to enable this investigation to continue i am satisfied with your answers i'm satisfied that this spell has compelled you to tell the truth. However, as with all matters, magic does not solve all problems. Whilst you are telling the truth, there are enchantments that can change memories. There are illusionary magics that can make you think things happened a certain way. We do not know exactly. That is why this will be a multi-stepped process.

Can I say one more thing? Speak freely. There's a letter on the table I think you need to read It involves a person called Salvarus Aetheron Salvarus Aetheron And it talks about It talks about killing Lucius

And killing Lucius' family She nods and leans in I say this because I do trust you. I have been subjected to a lot of persecutions in my time. I am common-born here in Gusthaven. I have met a lot of resistance. The Sky Prince and many of the other nobles are blinded by their loyalty to a lot of each other. I know Eloise to be a dangerous man.

He's threatened me before, as has Sylvarius Aetheron, as have the Magronas. I will do my best to ensure that you do not suffer for their crimes. Who is involved in this will likely be greater than just Elois alone. I suggest you are very careful, but I will do my best to protect you. Thank you. She nods and leads you up into the

room. The rest of you, you see Nova and Century led up. Valera moves over to her guards. Two of her guards speaks to them, and then they move over to Century and Nova with manacles and manacle their hands and begin leading them away.

Where are they going? They will be held in the palace dungeons while the investigation is being continued. The three of you, can you please come down into the room below? Can it not be quicker to just put manacles on us and lead us with them? We're going to have the same story. Well, we will find out when we're not

Wild Elf. Please, this way. Can I shoot a quick message to the team before we go? Yeah, they don't know that you can communicate telepathically. It's somewhat pointless because they don't know that you can do that. But yeah, you can still talk to each other. I'm just going to say, it's okay. We're under suspicion. Not

accused of. Just while this investigation goes on, just tell the truth as best you can okay uh the guards kind of lead you away and um valera goes over to aradan and points at the papers he's now like holding and reading and like he hands them over and she begins reading through them stops at one reads for some time reads it through passes it back to the sky prince nods whispers to him and then they begin making their way back um the guards lead you down deliberately past eloise's body which has not been touched right now down into the center of the room where

you see the same priest the little scrappily you you know, little ponytail-haired little priest. He nods. Valera emerges. She does come with an extra guard this time. One other guard is with her, and she nods to the priest who turns and is like, ah, may I please have your names, if you do not mind. Lord Elanasto, obviously, but if you wouldn't mind stating your official name, please.

Lucius Viren Elowen Elanasto. Thank you, my lord. You, madam? Aela. Just Aowen Elanasto. Thank you, my lord. You, madam? Aela. Just Aela? Just Aela. Thank you. And you, sir?

Kelek Adkala. Would you not prefer to ask this after you cast the spell? This is merely just a... This is actually just manners, Mr. Kelek. Okay. Just so I know whom I'm addressing. I have some... I need to read something to you or let you know of your standing

as it were before I cast this spell I am about to cast a zone of truth enchantment on you, do you understand? the purpose of this enchantment is to prevent you from engaging in deception, you will be unable to lie whilst under its effects do you understand?

yes, will you be resisting this spell? I will not my next question you understand? Yes. Yes, will you be resisting this spell? I will not. My next question, you understand that whilst you will be able to refuse answering questions or resisting its effects, to do so will indicate guilt or additional knowledge that may be used against you in the court of law. Do you understand? Okay.

Yes. Is everyone present here resisting or or willing with this spell he kind of like looks a bit flustered he's like um well currently you are the three being investigated uh lord elanesto that is all i'm that is who i will be monitoring he kind of nervously glances back at valera and the guard and valera is's looking at you, like, kind of picking up that you're intending to mean her, I'm guessing. Well, that's what she thinks anyway. She's like,

I will be in the zone of the effect, Lord Elanesto, if that is what you are implying. Please, I think everyone involved needs to tell the truth. I'm more than happy for that to be the case. Thomas, continue. I will not be resisting the effect. I'm more than happy for that to be the case. Thomas, continue. I will not be resisting the effects. I do a messenger thing.

I say, Quill, do you want to cast zone of truth at the same time? It is very visible. He can't do it secretly. He has to go, zone of truth! So they would know that he's cast it. But anyone that's in

a 15-foot sphere? It affects everybody within a 15-foot sphere. But I won't, but anyone that's in like a 15 foot sphere? It affects everybody within a 15 foot sphere. But I won't know if they've succeeded or not. That's the only thing, is none of you will know if they've succeeded or not. But Thomas kind of looks like, can I continue now? And Valera nods. He's like, very well.

I'm going to begin the casting now, if you don't mind. He brings up the book and again begins swinging the pendulum, speaking in this deep baritone prayer, and then you feel this kind of pulse of energy. Do any of you resist the spell? No. No.

Okay. So in that case, yeah, you cannot deliberately lie whilst in the radius, and Thomas knows if anybody does resist. In-game Thomas. Yeah. Yeah, in-game Thomas. There anybody does resist. In-game Thomas. Yeah. Yeah, in-game Thomas. There is a pulse. You see it does encapsulate Valera and the other guard,

and he just kind of nods, and Valera turns and says, Please answer my questions as swiftly as possible. Ayla, is it? Yes. Who wasn't here last weekend knows nothing that's why I'm asking what was your understanding

what was your impression of Eloise before you arrived here today I thought he seemed like a really nice guy you had no reason to suspect that he had harboured any ill will towards you and your companions? No. You did not have any previous history? You did not know the man before you arrived here? Nope. Mr. Quillock, I believe? Keelock. Keelock. My apologies. Got it. Would you mind, please tell me what happened here, in your own words. Starting from...

Your arrival, I guess. We arrived at the palace to meet with Prince Aradan, who was to inform us on further updates of Lucius's family. Prior to this, when we were attacked at Nanny Norfair's house with a bomb, my eye is a gift from Hesper that allows me to see things, provided I ask the right questions. I asked to find out who sent the people to attack us at Nanny Norfair's. is what i saw was this room with a masked figure an iron staff and his voice changed uh sending them to attack us to kill lucius when you say this staff what do you mean by that i mean the staff on the ground it's actually mounted on on the wall, but you point to the iron staff that is above. That's the staff I saw

in the vision, and this room. So that's why we came to investigate the rest of the palace. I wanted to see if the library was the one that I saw. And you found this secret chamber through these visions, or how did you find this secret chamber through these visions

or how did you find this chamber? From what I saw, this secret passage is extremely well hidden. How did you have knowledge of it? Alois was luring us around, well, not luring us, he was guiding us through the library and I noticed that this wall was totally bare compared to the rest of the library. And also I saw some small gaps

you must have exceedingly good eyesight none of neither me my guards and all the prints have known about this secret passage and we've moved through these hallways very regularly I'm an Arakogra messenger so you entered these this chamber continue what happened then you found the secret passage. What then? There were traps, abjuration magic, throughout the place. I could see them because I was detecting magic, which we tried to navigate as best we can. Eloise was at the back. We managed to get Lucius into the main room here to investigate what he could, and he started reading a letter,

shouted Eloise's name, and then we were hit by a frost. Hit sneak as well. Goblin's very dead. Lucius. Lucius what is your relation with Eloise I've known him

thanks to my family my whole life he's been a good mentor to my father and to me and for matters of business and politics that I don't really know much about, but he's always been that person that seems to know and be knowledgeable

and give us guidance and advice. So you had regular contact with him prior to these events? As regular as business meetings and functions that are held at my estate. Why did you leave Gusthaven in the first place? Oh, that was a first mission sent by my father because I wanted to be helpful. I wanted to prove right by him. And he sent me on an errand of trade on an airship.

The airship crashed, as we're led to believe and this is where you met these companions yes? Absolutely. How is this relevant to? Because I've read the letters that you sent from Cayley's rest and obviously this contradicts the information we received about your death.

It's all connected. We were attacked on the airship by the Court of Shadow hence why the airship by the court of shadow hence why the airship crashed itself everyone else was present

on the airship for different matters and these companions have accompanied you since then to here since then to here dead and alive

did you have any reason to suspect Eloise did you have any any inclination that he may be involved in what happened to your family? Unfortunately, due to my connection to Eloise and my deepest trust in him, was also part of his deflection on getting Quill to stop the Zone of Truth. I reinforced his point by saying that I've known him my whole life. So you trusted him and you had no reason to believe that he was involved.

And I felt extremely disrespectful that Quill was doing such a thing to Eloise. So I, in part, helped him. And when he attacked you, and he doesn't address this, he's kind of addressing all three of you. When he attacked you, you defended yourselves, correct? Yes. As best we could. To his death.

Aayla attempted to restrain him, but that wasn't... Aayla attempted to restrain him. Yes. He had a guardian that attacked us as well. Not a guardian, a golem thing. But every attempt that we made to... You are a priest of Hesper, are you not? Yes.

This means you can channel Hesper's magic, yes? Yes. So were you the one who killed him with the lightning bolt? No, no. That wasn't me that killed him. Who did? Who was the one that delivered the final blow? Me.

She just nods. This was an attempt to stop the golem from escaping with Eloise. It was an unintended side effect of the attack. My attacks with my hammer, I also have some kind of magic with lightning, which has a wider area. He got in that area. I want to point out that I understand where your line of investigation is going, and that you're looking for race to be a key part in Aayla dealing the killing blow. She smirks.

She smirks a little bit. She's just like, Lord Elanasto, my family were gutter elves. I actually grew up in the chains. I was raised up, fought. I have no racial discrepancies against anyone of Gustafen. In fact, I feel often I have more in common with folks such as the wild elves than many high elves these days. I can assure you I have no racial prejudices. My interest was to confirm stories. As an investigator, sometimes I must ask one question

when I'm really asking another. I was ensuring that what I had been told by your previous companions was correct and that you were not trying to protect somebody else. And she smiles. And your intention is to protect Gustaven, is it not? My duty is officially to protect the royal family. And unofficially?

My personal code of ethics is to protect the people of Gusthaven. However, I believe that Prince Aradan is a just man, and the reason that I serve him is because I feel he shares this. She gestures to the guards and Thomas to step back, and then leans in for the three of you. Outside of Eloise, is there anybody else you suspect of being involved in this? Salverius Aetheron.

Anyone else? There could be corrupt nobles, but that is all assumption. I'm asking for your personal opinions. Anastasia Magrona, one of the letters states that she is just a patsy. So, could be investigated, but it will probably lead to nothing. I suspect everybody at this point, because I don't trust anyone anymore. Why would he?

It's understandable in your position, Lord Elanasto. But I can promise you that you do have people that will be doing their best to get to the bottom of things. Can I ask you a question? She looks around, nods. I feel that that, you

deserve that at least. When was the last time you saw my estate? Your estate? On the night of the explosion. Okay. When I was sent to investigate it. Thank you.

Are you beginning to suspect me, Lord Eleanastro? No, I just had assumptions. She smiles. I am convinced by what you've said. And she looks to Thomas, who nods. She's like, you have not lied. But, as I explained to your friends, these things are not as clear-cut as one spell proves innocence.

There are ways to modify memory. There are illusions that can make you think one thing when reality is another. Things will need to be investigated further. We'll hold you for a few days while we investigate things. However, my intent is to make sure you go free. Is there anybody else that you know that can collaborate that any of these matters, not necessarily the death of Eloise, but your investigations, anything else that can prove that there was something else going on

or that who has more information? Is there anybody like that? Adela Venethor is the mage who apparently scryed Lucius' death but vanished. It's the one who's missing. We have reports that she went down into the chains. Do you think that she may be... She's obviously connected to these matters. If she's the one that apparently saw Lucius' death,

then she's clearly lying. And she's working with someone, whoever it was, clearly. She's been difficult to track down, but I will redouble our efforts. Do you have anyone you know that could assist in this? Because my fear is that there are people within the Royal Guard who cannot be trusted. We have... I can send word to them.

I can request them that they find this woman for you on your behalf. I mean, we've called a few more people for the airship crew that we're forming. You could send word to them if you wish. Could Orion? With a nanny? Do we know where she is? You could just say, like... Can I communicate with Lucius?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do that whenever you guys want, yeah. Just say, do you want your nanny to be involved in this? Could she help? I don't think so. As much as, you know as she would probably benefit, I also feel like her discretion is important to her. Okay.

I won't say anything. So you're just like, she's like, all right. I can't promise anything. You will need to be, you'll be placed under suspicion. Whilst this is formally concluded as an investigation, I will also need to speak with the Sky Prince. He was very close with Eloise. Like Lucius, he was raised by him.

When his father died, he provided much maternal, parental assistance. This will be difficult for him. But I see no reason to believe that you are lying. This simply depends on if there is something greater at play. She kind of steps back and the guards step forward and she's like, You will be formally placed on suspicion of murder. I wish to reiterate, this is not an accusation of guilt. This is simply to continue the investigation.

We will have private cells prepared for you where you will wait for a few days. My hope is that then we can move you to a suite for the remaining days of the investigation. And she just steps back as if this is what's happening. She doesn't even remotely ask your opinion. She just begins, like, heading upstairs. We're cooperating. Okay. Let's hope there's no bombs teleported into our private cells.

Well, you have no weapons. Yeah. As you are being led up, the guards come and manacle you and Prince Aradan steps forward and looks at you, Lucius. There's still a zone of truth going on. No, that was down in the thing.

Or upstairs. Yeah, they've led you upstairs. And he's waiting up there. And he looks at you. And he kind of like stands as straight as he can. His eyes still a bit glistening. And he looks and he's like, I don't want this to be done under magic. I want you to look at me and tell me that this...

I want you to tell me that that he was behind this that this isn't you that this and you can see he's struggling to like come to terms with it but he he's looking for you know what he's looking for really but he he just looks directly into lucius's eyes like princeadan, before I got on that airship sent by my father everything was so black and white now everything is grey Elois was the greyest of them all

I thought he was very white and he turned face I don't know what's right anymore I wish I could give you what you want to hear. But I'm questioning everything as much as you are. Yes.

That is the position of people in power. We will attempt to conclude this investigation as swiftly as possible. He nods and then he kind of... If I could just say something, you know, as I do. There is like, there is a silence. Like an awkward, like everybody just looks at you.

So I've not known Lucius as long as any of you have. But the entire time that we have known him, all he's done is talk about how amazing Gusthaven is, and how amazing every other person in Gusthaven is, and how nothing is ever wrong here. And since we've gotten here... There is a beat, like everybody feels that heartbeat, like... Since we've gotten here, Lucius's world has been turned upside down. He composes himself. I can assure you, madam,

Gusthaven is a great city. I have worked very hard to ensure that it is a safe, kind place. I do not know what has happened, but Lucius's arrival here has set into turn events that I cannot explain, nor am I willing to currently accept. With respect, Prince.

Normally when people say that, they do not mean any respect at all. I just had disrespect myself. I don't believe that these type of events has caused Gus Tabin to flip on his head. So to put that on me is... I was not intending to put it on you, Lucius. You cannot, but until you arrived, things were as normal. Things were exactly as they were. This was all going on in the underbelly.

Your arrival has brought it to the surface. Which is what we want to make right. Because Gusthaven does seem like a very wonderful place. And we want that. We want the best for it. Then we are aligned.

The investigation will prove that. He want the best for it. Then we are aligned. The investigation will prove that. He nods and turns, says something to Valera and Valera nods and you are led away to the palace dungeons. And that's where we're going to take a break. Nice.

See you in five. Hey everyone, thanks for listening to this episode. Remember to check out D&D Beyond with the links in the episode description. You can also support the podcast on our Patreon page, patreon.com slash highrollers, giving you early access

to podcast episodes and more. We'll see you on Thursday for part two of this episode where we await our fate in the palace dungeons. We'll see you then.