Hi-Lo (mercantile)

[Urson]

Daisy
Daisy turns around, chuckling. Ah completely forgot what Ah came for! Ah need to get myself a shack!

[OGRE MAGE]

The grief stricken shopkeeper offers a free nights lodging to the halfling for helping to comfort her.

“The second shack in the third row is currently empty and available, miss Daisy. Make yourself at home and come back in a day or two to pay me for it. I should have things sorted out by then. And thank you again for your kindness.”

[Urson]

Daisy
Thank you Darlin'. Iffen you need some help sortin' out things, Ah'll be glad to. Ah can read and do some math, if you need it.
Daisy exits the store about the time the investigators arrive.

[OGRE MAGE]

"I might just take you up on that, Miss Daisy! Thank you again!"

As Daisy exits the general store, she sees a stoic human ships captain, an important looking elf, a regal looking, well dressed, and slightly out of place looking half-elf, all walking in with one of her own kinfolk, a dark haired Stout who looks fresh off the ship. They are all accompanied by her friend Liam, the only one she knows from the bunch.

Each of them nod to the female halfling as they enter the building.

[Quonundrum]

Dexter Broadleaf

Dexter's eyebrows raise just a bit, and he interjects, "Please allow me to clear up a misunderstanding. I am not without means. I am quite capable of sharing the cost of a shack, and would prefer that to being alone. I come from a large family, you see, and a solitary existence is not to my liking."

Andronichishche

While the small group meanders its way toward the Hi-Lo, Andron appears confused for a moment by Dexter's response but quickly realizes the miscommunication. "I beg your pardon, sir. We did not mean to imply you are a man without means, but simply Mr. Liam was suggesting a ... quid pro quo ... as it were, for your discretion about Mr. Nehru if it is decided your knowledge is not required. I would be amenable to sharing a shack in the long term, but the requirements of my research demand a considerable degree of solitude."

As they approach the door to the Hi-Lo, the door to the mercantile shop opens and Daisy appears silhouetted in the frame. Andron courteously steps to one side to allow the halfling to pass and nods in greeting ... "Excuse us, Miss Daisy." ... and enters the door behind her.

[Urson]

Daisy
Daisy offers a wide, friendly smile to the group. Morning, gentlemen. Be easy on Miss Nalissa. She's takin' it pretty hard about Mr. Nehru.
Nice to see another Halfling out here among the Bigs. Ah'm Sister Daisy Broadfoot.

[SirOwen]

Dexter Broadleaf

Responding to Andronichishche:

"Well," says Dexter. "If I cannot guarantee solitude as a roommate, I can guarantee quiet, if that will suffice. I sleep both lightly and quietly. No snoring to disturb either your prayers or your studies."

Responding to Daisy.

"Sister Daisy, it is a wonder and a pleasure to meet you! Dexter Broadleaf at your service and your family's!" Dexter has a wide, innocent smile. "I'm afraid I've just arrived on the island. You'll have to tell me where the good food and drink is." A brief twinkle appears in his eye before he adds, "So that I may escort you to dinner there!"

He turns a little more serious then. "This Mr. Nehru, was it? I take it he has passed?" At the mention of a death, Dexter's hand clutches at a small, iron representation of a footprint hanging around his neck.

[Quonundrum]

"Well," says Dexter. "If I cannot guarantee solitude as a roommate, I can guarantee quiet, if that will suffice. I sleep both lightly and quietly. No snoring to disturb either your prayers or your studies."

Andronichishche smiles down at the halfling, "I believe that would be quite sufficient indeed, Mr. Broadleaf. I've already paid twenty gold upfront for the next thirty days, but I am not sure if lady Nallissa charges an additional fee for extra occupants, and ...", Andron stops mid-sentence with a faraway look in his eyes as he recalls an important piece of data, "... actually, I haven't even seen the shack, yet. There may only be furnishings suitable for one ... but, we're here now and we can ask Lady Nallissa herself about the details."

Daisy offers a wide, friendly smile to the group. Morning, gentlemen. Be easy on Miss Nalissa. She's takin' it pretty hard about Mr. Nehru.

Andron immediately realizes the significance of Daisy's greeting upon seeing the ire evident on Nallissa's face. He moves to intercept her with an appeasing gesture of his hand, "Lady Nallissa, before you see Mr. Liam, let me please personally vouch that he has done everything in his power to prevent you from learning the truth about Mr. Nehru before he had all of the facts. Honestly, in search of the facts are the reason why we're here now, but I will let Mr. Liam explain the situation to you."

[Bluehorse]

Liam

Nods to Daisy Good to see you again, Sister Daisy. To the Constable. Here is Daisy, whom I mentioned to you before. She is good people. I am sure that without her aid we would have been much or even permanently delayed on finding out way back here.

[OGRE MAGE]

Nallissa sees the group of stern faced males enter the store and she instantly starts crying again.

"Ooohhh! This is it, isn't it? You have all come to give me the official report? He really is dead isn't he? He's not coming back here."

Quark seems content to let Liam handle the official news, but Glansandi isn't quite as tactful with his approach.

"We are here to check the contents of Nehru's office. Will you allow us to search it, or do we need to force our way inside?"

[Bluehorse]

Liam

The tired man gives the elf a look and shakes his head pinching the bridge of his nose as he takes a deep breath to try to combat the growing headache this was causing him.

Constable, if I may... he interjected with a practiced patient tone. He stepped forward and took Nelissa's hands in his. Madam, I fear that you are right. Mr. Nehru has indeed passed. I was a witness to the incident.
We only mean to investigate matters that seem to be linked to him. I apologize for my companion's abruptness. Please, do not fault him, it is simply his nature. I want you to know,
that in the end he went quietly though through no fault of his own. We were tricked into going somewhere we should never have been and now simply want to put matters to rest and quickly and respectfully as possible. May we please go inside his office and try to get a few things sorted before we make this news public? I am sure a memorial service will be our next step in making this right. While my company here goes over the records and perhaps find a will, perhaps you and I can sit and talk about what you are feeling right now, and any religious or cultural observations he may have perferred?
Would you like that, madam?

[Urson]

Daisy
Ah'm sorry, Mr. Liam. Ah'm such a scatterbrain sometimes- Ah saw Miss Nalissa hurtin' so, the only thing Ah could think was that even bad news is better than stewing and not knowing for sure.
Daisy smiles at Dexter and his line of baloney. We can discuss this later, Sugar. It appears yaya'll got important business to take care of.

[Quonundrum]

Andronichishche shifts his feet, eyes downcast, obviously uncomfortable with Nallissa's wrath. While Mr. Liam calmly explains the situation to the distraught woman, Andron shifts his gaze between the objects on display for sale. He quickly becomes extremely interested in some ordinary farming tools on a nearby shelf. As he casually examines each in turn, it would have been quite evident to anyone with a passing knowledge of farming that Andronichishche had no idea what any tool was actually used for ...

[Urson]

Daisy
You gentlemen mind if Ah tag along? Might be somethin' Ah can help with.

[Bluehorse]

Liam

Almost says no, then realizes this is a perfect way to get two birds with one stone. One, keep another close where he can keep an eye on her so she isnt accidentally spreading news before they are ready, and two, it means someone can keep Nelissa calm and distracted. Of course Sister Daisy.
Would you be so kind as to keep Nelissa company

[OGRE MAGE]

The Constable's eyes grow wide when Liam announces his willingness to take control of the proceedings, but the stern elf doesn't object to the idea.

Nallissa opens the door to the back office where her now dead boss used to reside, allowing the others to enter behind her. "He wasn't a religious man at all. In fact, he never had much use for the concept, and wasn't afraid to tell people that either. So, I cant help you to that end."

Inside the room, a normal looking office setting is found. There are shelves and bookcases around the walls, One of them is a solid locked cabinet that Andron is familiar with. There is a large ornately carved desk sitting along one wall that stands out above the rest of the normal furniture. This piece was obviously hand crafted by an artisan in the trades.

The still crying storekeeper goes to the log books on the desk, showing them to the men as she wipes her tears away and smiles weakly at Daisy. Quark takes the ships ledgers and begins paging through them to the last few entries.

Glansandi looks to Liam. "Where would you suggest we dig first, sir?"

[Quonundrum]

Andronichishche quickly surveys the desk to ensure nothing is missing from his previous visit, "Aside from the shipping logs there should be some notes verifying Mr. Liam's account of Mr. Nehru's purpose in the jungle." He next points to the desk drawers, "Inside the desk I haven't checked, as I had no reason to at the time. Nor the bookshelves." Indicating now the various shelves and bookcases. "And as I mentioned before, I did scan the room for magical auras and there is definitely something enchanted within the large cabinet."

Andron waits for Daisy and Nallissa to leave the room before continuing. "I also recall overhearing at the tavern about some pits in the jungle filled with a strange grey substance?* I didn't think much of it at the time but recall that when we found ...", Andronichishche catches himself here and pauses, glancing briefly at Dexter, "... when we found Captain Bing, he appeared to be wet with an odd greyish ooze. Perhaps this substance is linked to his escape, and if Mr. Nehru was in possession of a sample?"

*--->

Information Gleaned At The Hi-Lo:
She also spoke of a strange grey substance that collects in pits.

[Bluehorse]

Liam


Looks to the Constable and gets an 'oh crap' look on his face.  Turning a little red he nods.  I suppose I did step in it, didn't I Master Constable.  Very well... he says with a defeated sigh.  I agree with Master Andron that we should check through the desk.  I am sure he would keep most if not all of his daily workings there.  I will look over the bookshelves for now, and we can check the cabinet once everything openly available is searched.  No sense in searching something that no one has gotten into or out of yet.  The clue about the gray substance, I think, is cause enough to check that as well though.  I just hope he was a note-taking or journaling man.  I still think I fall under the status of being a suspect. he looks to Glansandi for confirmation on that last point.  Not trying to complicate things, but I am an honest man.

[SirOwen]

Dexter Broadleaf

Dexter wanders over to the large cabinet and just takes a look. He doesn't attempt to open it or pick the locks. He does inspect them for quality to give himself some idea of what he might be up against later.

[Urson]

Daisy
Daisy stays with Nalissa, chatting with her about nothing in particular, to keep her caln and occupied.