video, un: hopscotch

[clavesregni]

[Caitlyn enthusiastically shows off a small wooden box. Visible on the lid is an insignia of a Minaras governmental medical facility. Over Caitlyn's shoulder is a redhead looking wholly uninspired by this discovery.]

This was found following an altercation with a group of drunk individuals. One man was tall, must have been a little over six feet, with a blond beard, head shaved, and some sort of tattoo visible on his neck. Another was a few inches shorter, clean-shaven and close-cropped black hair, wearing a rather ostentatious, if tattered, blue coat. The third was a few inches shorter still, also clean-shaven, with long brown hair tied in a ponytail and several scars along the length of his forearms.

[Vi rolls her eyes as Caitlyn rattles off these descriptions. Caitlyn, oblivious, continues:] Does anyone know who these men might have been? If they could be identified, they could perhaps be located and questioned as to how a box belonging to a medical facility came into their possession.

[Vi mutters,] Probably going to sell whatever it is to the highest bidder.

[At the interruption, Caitlyn glances over her shoulder to respond to Vi. Her tone is less critical and more like she's excited to brainstorm possible motivations.] We can't assume that.

[Caitlyn turns back to the contents of the box.] Yes. Um. There are herbs inside, they smell-- [She takes a whiff, wrinkling her nose.] --earthy. Musky. And faintly of fruit. And... [She smells again, and a horrified look crosses her face, as though she's just smelled the most odious smell imaginable. She quickly moves the box further away from herself, looking at it as though it's done her a great personal wrong.] Urine.

[Vi shouldn't look so amused at the posh description, but she does.

Caitlyn holds up a few of the whole dried leaves and flowers: foxglove, wisteria, passion flower, and valerian. There is a small sack visible inside the box containing more herbs ground up.]

Are there any herbalists in the group who might be able to identify these? What purpose could these serve, either individually or in combination?

[Vi leans in closer and says,] And by the way, I need to talk to the resident hextech genius.



[ooc: for the herbalists out there, this combination of herbs leads to memory loss]

Comments

video; un: owl lady

[traaaaaash]

Don't sniff that too hard, it causes memory loss.

[ A beat. ]

Unless you've got stuff you wanna forget.

[clavesregni]

Memory loss? [She frowns down at the box with grave concern.] I suppose those men must have tampered with the medical facility's supply. But how? There aren't exactly a wealth of herb gardens down here. And to what end? Would there be a demand for such a thing?

[traaaaaash]

[ She shrugs. ]

Honestly, I wouldn't even be surprised if there was.

[clavesregni]

I suppose there are nearly unlimited nefarious purposes to which someone so inclined could put a memory-erasing cocktail.

I don't suppose you know of anyone down here who would be on the market for such a thing?

[faceblocker]

[ So much this face at Caitlyn's assumption that it was tampered with. Obviously could be, that's something any undercity might do. Not the only suspect, though. ]

[clavesregni]

[She reaches out and tries to take the box back.] What's that face for? Have you got any other ideas as to how or why the box was tampered with?

un: magic wand

[faceblocker]

[ Immediately plucking the herbs from Cait and clapping that box shut. Nobody needs any more memory loss today, thanks. Vi may not blindly trust someone's word, but she doesn't want to risk Caitlyn's memories just to be contrary. ]

You're sure? You can tell just by looking?

[traaaaaash]

Well, that and the smells you described. Matches some of my research.

[faceblocker]

Some guy could have just pissed on some of it for all we know.

[ She's half joking. The contents of the box are in pretty...'dry' condition, at least. Better not to take the chance either way. ]

It's not all bad. Some of it smelled a little nice. Familiar almost.

voice; un: v

[techmaturgy]

["Red hair, face tattoo" is not an easy description to forget, so when this particular post gets his attention, he knows immediately who this is. He should feel some relief--Caitlyn was extremely worried, after all, but there's a part of him that's still suspicious. He doesn't know much about how they came to meet, nor does he know the circumstances that brought Caitlyn to Stillwater in the first place. He doesn't know why Vi is asking for him, specifically.]

Looks like you found each other.

[And a box of medicinal plants, but he has a feeling that's not what they want to ask him about.]

Is there something I can help you with?

voice; private

[faceblocker]

[ For this she'll use her own pocket watch, letting Cait do her detective thing. ]

Viktor? [ Like his username doesn't all but confirm it. ] Caitlyn said you worked with the pretty boy Councilor. So, theoretically, you'd know how to fix broken hextech?

[techmaturgy]

Jayce Talis is my research partner, yes. You're Vi?

[Her referring to Jayce as a Councilor first just reminds him of how much things changed over his last few days at home, to the point where it feels almost wrong to be speaking in the present tense. He's removed from it all, now, but the unexpected well of bitterness in his chest lets him know that he's not as far away as he likes to think.

But his feelings are less pressing than what she says next. There's definite suspicion in his voice, now, like he has some idea of where this is going, but does't want to allow himself to hope that there might be Hextech here.]

More than theoretically. I helped invent it.

[faceblocker]

Uh─ Yeah.

[ Caitlyn obviously already mentioned her. What did she say? ...Not important.

Vi can't help but wonder about how much he helped, because research partner definitely seems like more than an assistant. He was nowhere near the council room, though. By choice? How closely do his ideals line up with Jayce's?

Jayce had said he wanted to act, but it ended up just talk when real trouble knocked. She's going to have to assume this guy might think the same and try to keep it from her if he gets his hands on it. ]

Okay, well say I more than theoretically have some hextech around. You'd want it back, wouldn't you? What would you use it for?

[clavesregni]

Yes! I'm so glad you'll finally be able to speak with each other. Since we're all from the same place, the three of us ought to work together to get home, don't you think?

[She glances over at Vi, a faint look of concern crossing her face. She doesn't actually know why Vi wants to talk to Viktor, but she has a guess.]

I don't suppose you know anything about herbs?

[techmaturgy]

[Viktor is not necessarily as enthused, but he can begrudgingly admit that it's nice to have at least one familiar face. He knows by now that that people are sometimes brought here in twos and threes--he just hadn't anticipated living long enough for the dice to roll in his favor.

Not something he's going to talk about here, though.]

I never paid much attention in botany class.

[That's probably a joke. Did he ever take a botany class? Who knows.]

[clavesregni]

Nor did I. Not as well as I ought to, as it turns out. [Not a joke on her part. She definitely had intro botony as part of her general schooling and she found it dreadfully boring.

There's a sort of an awkward pause before she speaks again, more softly this time. It's not that she wants to hide anything from Vi, per se, but she wants to get Viktor's perspective on the hextech gauntlets, and she'd like to do it before she talks to Vi about them again.]

Is there anywhere we could meet? I'd like to speak privately.

video; un: cat's cradle

[wantshappiness]

Sorry, I don't believe I've seen either of those people.

But, um. How long ago did you see them? Was there anyone else nearby who might have seen them?

[Her powers are on the fritz since coming out of the unwinding but maybe...she could find something useful from someone nearby...? It's moments like these that she thinks psychometry would be a useful power to have.]

[clavesregni]

Must have been about ten minutes ago, now.

[She glances around, but there's only her and Vi in the alley.]

Only the two of us, I'm afraid.

[wantshappiness]

Oh...that's inconvenient, isn't it?

But they were drunk, you said, right? Maybe if we ask around in some bars close by someone might remember seeing them.

[Why is this underaged girl saying 'we' like she's planning to enter a bar...]

video, un: long rope

[eyeofthavnair]

Ah, I recognize some of those. Foxglove - the one shaped like many stalks of bells - is poisonous.

[clavesregni]

Someone else pointed out that together, these herbs cause memory loss.

Would the foxglove be poisonous if inhaled, or only if ingested? And how poisonous is it? [She holds up the box again to give a sense of how much is in it; all told, it's a 20cm by 20cm box, half of which is taken up by the sack of grounds herbs, the oher half by whole dried leaves and flowers.] With a dose of this size, would an affected person die or merely fall ill?

[eyeofthavnair]

Actually...I believe is poisonous to the touch. Please be careful with the box. [She seems like a Reasonable and Responsible Person, but his caring nature makes him say it anyway. He'd feel bad if something happened because he didn't share what info he has.]

I do not think it often kills. But I imagine it is unpleasant, of course...[He makes a bit of a face.] Hmm...why would someone take poisonous herbs for memory loss? Could this have something to do with the...coal...plague?

[Is that what it's called? He's new. :X ]

[spellsandcharms]

[ It's a pocket watch. Except that it isn't. And that's more than strange. She can recognize an enchanted object well enough, but what do they expect her to do with the damn thing?

She peers at the screen with vague suspicion before settling back in her seat with a sharp sniff. ]

Like she said, together they could cause memory loss.

Individually, you could treat headaches, insomnia, a handful of other things.

Half of them are toxic.

[clavesregni]

Yes, someone mentioned that this one [She holds up the foxglove.] is poisonous.

Do all of them have medicinal properties, as well as ill effects? If prepared correctly or in a small quantity, for instance, could the foxglove be beneficial? Since this appears to have come from a medical facility, there could be a perfectly innocent explanation, if that's the case.

[She holds up the small sack of ground herbs and goes to sniff it, before remembering that she probably shouldn't be sniffing things that may cause memory loss.] I wonder whether all the herbs are mixed in here together or whether there's a less dangerous combination in the bag.

[spellsandcharms]

[ She snorts, a clear sign of her doubt. Maybe she hasn't been here long, but long enough she's sure nothing questionable in this place is perfectly innocent. ]

Could be. If you know what you're doing.

[ Plants, at least, Sarah understands. ]

I wouldn't bet on innocent. And I wouldn't sample their special blend.