EVENT #17: EPULUM - COORDINATION POST

[abraxasmods]

Event #17 - Coordination

OOC Plotting Post ⦁ IC Event Log ⦁ Nocwich

This post is for coordination while the event is ongoing, to prevent the IC Event Log from being overrun by OOC mod and player communications. The comments section will contain applicable comments and forms for you to reply to as needed.

Use this post to:

◎ Contact the mods
◎ Submit your suspected culprit
◎ Investigate the crime or track ongoing investigations
◎ Submit noticeable actions
◎ Write rapid IC exchanges

Available Forms

For details on each form, see the sections below.
Be sure to reply under the applicable category as required.

Mod Communications

If you have any questions about the limits or scope of what you can do before you formalize it in an investigation, you can go over the details with us here. You can also submit the suspect to Celeste under the appropriate heading. Submitting the name of the suspect is not required to complete the mystery, but doing so may contribute to whether the suspect is caught or escapes.

If you have questions about non-investigative aspects of the event, see the Questions thread on the OOC Plotting Post.

Contact Us

<b>Player Name:</b> <b>Character Name:</b> <b>Submission:</b> (Describe your question OR write the name of the Witness your character will accuse as the suspect)

Investigations

To leave opportunities for others, please limit the scope of your actions per submission. For example, if you'd like to test a key, you must specify a narrow set of locks in a particular section. Additionally, while there are no strict limits on how many investigations you can be involved in, we do ask that you try to stagger them a little to help us keep pace.

You can investigate something multiple times as long as it makes sense for your character to try again. This includes following up with witnesses if characters learn new information. To investigate, fill out the form, then comment under the item you're investigating.

Investigate a witness, scene, or evidence

<b>Player Name:</b> <b>Character Name:</b> <b>Other characters involved:</b> <b>Witness/Scene/Evidence:</b> (What is the witness, scene, or evidence your character is exploring?) <b>Action:</b> (Describe what your character is attempting to do and how. If multiple characters are taking action, include their actions.) <b>Thread:</b> <a href="urlhere">Thread</a> (If applicable. Linking a thread is NOT required, but can help us tailor our responses) <b>Notes:</b> (Anything else)

IC Exchanges

Use this option if you have an interaction you'd like to play out, but setting up a standard IC thread would be impracticable. For example, if your character wants to speak to several people about a piece of evidence, you might want to do an IC exchange. IC exchanges can take place in the real world or the Horizon.

Treat this like an informal IC network thread done in person, where character reactions, snippets of dialogue, and other details can be quickly played out and concluded in-game without committing to a full log thread. Exchanges are game canon, and can count towards Activity Check under the category of a Network thread.

Start an IC exchange

Using the provided form is optional. Begin a thread freeform if you prefer.

<b>Where & when:</b> (Where and when is this exchange taking place?) <b>Purpose:</b> (What's the reason for this exchange?) <b>THREAD START</b> (Write the scenario, your character's actions, and any dialogue as usual)

Notable Actions

Submit any notable actions that are likely to gain attention from other players such as fights or disturbances.

Submit a notable action

<b>Player Name:</b> <b>Character Name:</b> <b>When:</b> (Approximately when is this incident taking place?) <b>Where:</b> (Where is this incident taking place?) <b>What:</b> (Describe the incident) <b>Link:</b> <a href="urlhere">Thread</a> (If applicable. Actions can be submitted without a thread if they're minor.)

Comments

[vixening]

[ she takes the seed and pouch and turns them over in her hands, the centipede hovering nearby. there's a quiet sort of: ] Hmm. [ that escapes her a moment later, noticing the magic of it all, uncovering the small bits of magic she can.

so it is transformed, then. that's interesting, and the seed... she moves the sachet and seed into one hand, lifting her other towards the centipede just in time to notice the elbow to geralt's ribs.

yennefer's eyes glance up just in time to see geralt's move away from her, recognizing the feeling of geralt looking and appreciating. she smiles at him, briefly, before having her hand and muttering a few words - effectively reversing the transformation magic on the centipede and allowing it to turn...

into a rabbit? yennefer frowns slightly, surprised, and that is when a dark mass appears and begins to suck the rabbit away. yennefer, recognizing that whatever is happening is going to happen and that there isn't much more she can do about it, turns her attention back to the other items and drops the unseen servant of it all as well. ]

This is Academic magic. [ she says, to the two of them though she looks to primarily to geralt. ] Similar to what they have in Thorne, but much closer to what they practice in Ikorr. [ if dean looks closely enough, it does seem that yennefer has...almost entirely escaped the glitter. like completely.

she looks nice, after all. she's not going to let anything change that. ]

[aquaveiled]

Player Name: Freya
Character Name: Himeka Sui
Other characters involved: Dion Lesage

Witness/Scene/Evidence: Marcellus Ver
Action: Himeka has been meaning to try and track down Marcellus for a while, regardless of all the shenanigans. If they can corner him in the Feasting Quarter, she's going to drag(on) Dion with her to have a lengthy chat about the local cuisine. She wants to learn about his techniques and preferences and poke a bit about his secret ingredient. (Though, chef to chef, she will understand that he likely won't be able to share with her what it is.) If need be, her clout as a chef is something she's happy to throw around...even if most of it was from her own universe.

All this included, she probably wouldn't be able to resist trying to challenge him to a friendly cook-off if he's up for it and nominate Dion as the judge because of his "unassuming palate" which gives them "even footing".

Dion will be mostly quiet and may be clearly (affectionately) bullied into this whole thing, but he will remark that all of Marcellus' food has been very tasty.

Thread: TBD
Notes: I honestly have no idea if this will bring up anything useful, but there's no way that Himeka won't find the local Gordon Ramsay and try to talk to them. I'm sorry for myself and her

to Julia, mind-text upon seeing this note.

[wiedzminka]

What's the information about Cassia and why is it relevant?

If you've already been in there, anything else of note besides the hairbrush? (Also: why is it "secret"?)

[ This is Ciri indulging Jaskier's B&E whims... it's all his fault. ]

[parce]

nikolai would feign surprise and disdain for learning that someone tried to poison her. he'd pour it on, claim it had to be jealousy or some such and sympathize with her some more.

when she starts in on marcellus, he would try and coax a little more of her.

- is her reason for her irritation just because he peacocks around?
- has he done something to her personally?
- he'd throw in a 'would you like me to go beat him up?' kind of line to continue to get into her good graces.
- has marcellus done something to other performers that's gained her ire?

[divinityfrompain]

Cassia was the star performer but she was mysteriously and unexpectedly, suddenly, sick tonight and replaced with someone who is apparently missing now. Just disappeared. It may not be the strongest lead but we're noting things that are off tonight.

I was only able to go to the vanity because I was pretending to powder room. There were closets and clothes and some paintings I didn't get to look at. The hairbrush was stuffed deep into a compartment under the vanity. It has Retha and Cassia's hairs on it. It was with a note that said Retha thinks Marcellus is sus, or she may be jealous he's with her ex.

[wiedzminka]

[ It certainly helps to know where the hairbrush is. That should save her some time.

Cassia and Retha sharing a hairbrush that was hidden... hm. ]

I see. Thanks.

Will grab what I can.

[wiedzminka]

Ciri will skim the notes briefly but won't take them.

She intends to hide the hairbrush under the puffy skirts of her dress; she could tuck it in the underside of her corset beneath the dress.

Knowing that Cassia was poisoned, Ciri will also look for any remaining cups/plates/food etc that may have been left in the dressing room -- or other items that look like a potential poison-delivery mechanism that would stand out.

Note: when they're ready to bring the hairbrush to Soraya, we'll respond with Jaskier and Ciri's approach. just wanted to check on the other stuff first!

[divinityfrompain]

Thank you!

[cryptsleeper]

Noted.

Returning to the question about a vampire's blood being in the wine, Alucard will ask if consumption of another vampire's blood comes with any changes in natural abilities, shared thoughts with the other vampire, anything at all - explaining that vampires back home recreate by turning and so he wants to be clear about the nuances.

[wiedzminka]

wow Dad, embarrassing

Aloy will help the poor knocked out dude out of the crates and try to ask what happened to him. She'll also give Ciri the container she found. Considering the vampire doesn't seem to know much and looks pretty out of it, Aloy will help the guy out of the baths area and offload him onto the first NPC who seems willing to take him off their hands and get him some water or something.

Since Ciri sees the heart on the way out of the sauna, she'll linger to investigate it and when it fades away, she'll ask who's there.

[northerndragon]

Even if he does love her, it is not necessarily true that he wouldn't do something in his own interest. Might be that he was eager to get her away from the house.

Soraya admitted to us — me, my sister, and Koby — that she had been spending time alone in the vault, although she was not meant to be. Still, I saw no reason not to believe her. She is ready enough with answers.

blood sample from sauna

[wiedzminka]

Aloy and I found blood in the sauna. Collected a sample, but it's not... clean. Anyone think they can extract just the blood for testing or whatever it is we're doing with blood in this whole investigative circus?

Also of note: a bystander near the baths was knocked out and hidden in the lost and found. He was attacked by 'a bear and a wolf' -- his words. Probably someone in those animal masks sneaking around. Unfortunately, he was too addled to say much, and I don't think he had more information what the bear/wolf did.

Related to the blood?

[abraxasmods]

The vampire is confused, but is physically fine. He wanders off with the nearest vampire they give him to.

While no real answer comes, Ciri may feel a strange energy in the air watching her. It leaves soon afterwards.

[northerndragon]

Thank you.

With you saying that, I believe it.

[lightkeeping]

Between the three of them, we imagine they'll be pretty thorough, so they'll certainly find the vase!

They would inspect the flowers first and foremost, taking a sample if they can. Is it possible the smell is found elsewhere at the festival? Is there anything else unique about the flowers?

Aloy would inspect the vanity, too, for anything out of place, or hidden in drawers.

[abraxasmods]

Babis answers that it wasn't the vaults. He isn't crazy enough to break into that! He was only trying to have some fun, not get himself jailed forever. He said it one of the wine merchant's cellar at a fancy party he was invited to as a plus one.

He answers he hasn't been in Ikorr long enough to study the vaults below, but Ikorr looks like it heavily relies on magical wards. With that in mind, the biggest challenge would be the magic. Once that's broken, the physical locks would likely be child's play.

[funbreaker]

This all checks out and makes sense to Thancred as far as he knows, and while he can't be certain that Babis isn't lying, his gut tells him it's not him. So he'll thank him for being such a good sport and answering their questions, as well as letting him keep his lockpick, and then will offer him a few more drinks for good measure and wish him happy birthday once again.

the dusk wine (+ special lockpick services)

[funbreaker]

Geralt and I put Babis in the mood to chat, though it didn't take much work, to be fair. He revealed to us proof that he did in fact steal a bottle of Dusk Wine (he had the label), but explained that he'd taken the bottle itself to Luna to avoid being caught with it.

The werewolves told him something interesting, however. They were able to detect vampire blood in the wine, which as far as Babis, Geralt, and I know, is not regular. This might throw some level of suspicion upon Marcellus that we would do well to investigate further.

He also kindly let me keep his lockpick — which I may or may not have stolen from him. It's quite well-made and between it and my own skillset, could be used to open some trickier locks. If anyone has come across any, I'm at your service.

[abraxasmods]

The vampire concedes that's a convenient feature. He asks Alucard to show him again out of sincere interest.

Alucard receives a variety of herbs to look at. The botanist only has small amounts on him since he hasn't brought his entire stock to this one night. Most of what he was expecting to sell were flowers, not culinary herbs, though he's quite pleased Alucard's expressed interest.

Sampling each one, Alucard will recognize some. They're used in a variety of foods and wines across Ikorr. Ones that are lower cost will be used more commonly. If Alucard attended the Nightbloom party the summer that Nocwich opened and recalls those flavors, he would be able to place the more expensive herbs, too. These are used in higher end dishes.

The botanist explains he can't sell Alucard any large batches right now, but he's been petitioning the Ikorran Pact to open a stall in Oleuni Square. If he makes it there, or if Ikorr decides to open its doors fully, he would like to see Alucard again.

[abraxasmods]

These plants are distantly related but are not identical.

The flower at the Nightbloom is a unique flower that is only kept in the Nightbloom. The flowering trees that produce the sap are rare and grow only in the woods. This seed produces a shorter flowering plant, one that might be considered a crossbreed between the two. Instead of producing a sap, its flowering buds or seeds can be used to enhance magical properties of certain spells.

Although not as potent as the sap, it's somewhat easier to obtain. The major benefit of this seed and plant is that it isn't regulated by the Ikorran Pact so possessing it doesn't come with any limitations.

Yennefer would be able to recognize that its potency is lesser, thus indicating that the source is not identical.

[northerndragon]

Jon tells Babis he should go ask Soraya about the torso, figuring it's not his problem if she doesn't let the kid look at it.

But Babis's general air of seeming drunk and being in good spirits, coupled with the clues that have come out so far and how much he was into chatting and how readily he discussed his interest in the design, means that they all thank him for his time (sincerely, in all three cases), wish him a happy birthday again (Sansa and Jon both say "nameday"), and move on!

[abraxasmods]

The botanist won't know what Geralt is talking about. He'll disappear around back and return with a puzzled and concerned expression. He explains that he did have a notebook where he's written information about the growth and care of rare plants unique to Ikorr. He has no idea who would take it. While the information is valuable for a botanist like himself, he doesn't believe it's anything someone would be interested in stealing. In fact, he's happy to lend it to people who ask.

He'd like his notebook back, however. It contains many years of work. Rewriting all of his notes would be a terribly arduous task.

[northerndragon]

Player Name: Elizabeth
Character Name: Jon Snow
Other characters involved: Sansa Stark, Koby

Witness/Scene/Evidence: Merchant stall area
Action: The three split up and separately move around the merchant stall area, checking out the wares, over about 20 minutes or so. They're really just listening to see if they hear anything new, but are not acting like they're listening. If a merchant seems inclined to chat, they would do that.

Once they regroup, Koby and Jon poke around in the storage area while Sansa keeps watch. Onlookers who have noticed her before would probably assume she's waiting for one of the men she's been seen with at the event.
Thread:
Notes: If this is too much at once and needs to be two separate actions, eavesdropping comes first, and we'll resubmit the actual snooping. When it comes to poking around in storage, it should be noted that Koby and Jon are both on the short side, we guess! Koby might notice stuff that a taller person might miss.

[divinityfrompain]

I wonder if it's his blood in it. It would make more sense than him using anyone else's. If someone can get the wine, we could test it out on the blood signature.

[funbreaker]

It does seem like the most plausible explanation, though we would have to run tests to be certain. Surely there are other bottles of the vintage somewhere around here, although I suspect it will take some effort to get our hands on one.

This also doesn't directly connect him to the theft, but it felt like an important detail.