UnpleasantInvestigationSubthread1[From An Unpleasant Investigation Derron and Niko] Derron nodded, "Niko, leave the tankard and check on the man." Surprised, for he figured that Derron would send someone who knew the man better, Niko set the tankard down carefully on the table, and left to look for the hapless guard. He found him in the guards' communal privy, sitting on the bench and groaning. He was sipping water that one of his fellows had thoughtfully provdied, between bouts of frenzied activity. "It's a bad attack," said the guard, "but the water will help - I've mixed salt and honey with it too." It seemed as though Boissy would survive - but he would be beyond questioning for a while. "Have you ever seen anything like it?" Niko asked. "I have never seen anyone get a case of the - Well, you know - from beer." After Niko had gone, Derron said to Dame Editha, "Come with me. We will talk to the senior kitchen staff. The rest will wait here. Amboise, make sure of that. When Niko comes back, tell him where we've gone." He held the door for Dame Editha. "Beer?" said the man at arms in surprise. "I would have expected it to be lake shellfish or something like that - not beer." Boissy moaned a negative as regarded shellfish from his position on the privy. "I hate to disturb you," Niko said to Boissy from a safe distance, "but did the beer taste strangely to you?" "It tasted a bit sour," groaned Boissy. "I never finished it ... " "Hmmm...." Niko mused, thinking for a moment. Then he turned to the other guard. "You are staying here with him to make sure that he gets no worse, correct?" Niko asked him. After getting his word that he would, Niko left to report back in to Derron. The Steward's room was now largely empty, and Niko was informed by a maid who was sweeping it that the Steward had fgone to question people in the kitchen about the tankard (which still stood on a tanble to one side, with the remains of the beer inside it. Niko thanked the maid and moved over to the tankard, lifting it, and smelling it. It smelled sour, like old beer, but nothing else that his nostrils could detect. Not wanting to leave the tankard where it could 'disappear', Niko placed the container in a safe location in the steward's office, making sure that the maid did not see it's placement. Then he headed to the kitchen to find Derron. [Continued together in Unpleasant Investigation Subthread 2 ] |
