[CARR] The Den of Deception

[RedeyesofDN]

"Right on the money, sweet cheeks"

I look around the room, and smile gently. "You think more bodies are about to fall through the roof or..." I twirl my bracelet. "I know it's wrong, but I'm getting kinda excited!!"

[Blackrune]

"Right then. I'll continue where I left off. Make sure to take notes for later."

He was getting warmed up to the idea of a team, seeing how the place appeared to rather large for one person to investigate it all.

With those words, Blaze set out to once again walk through the dining room to enter the pub.

[NihilismFormula]

Boku found himself curious exactly what the purpose of the bomb was, if it was connected to why the group had gathered. Assuming that it was for the stated reason, it didn't feel like a police investigation would stop them pursuing that, quite the contrary. Of course, there is no firm reason to not see the two are isolated incidents (unlikely as it may be on the surface), or perhaps they hope the police can do their job for them in a way their current resources can't.

"It's all nonsense anyway." Boku muttered, and followed Blaze to the Pub

[RedeyesofDN]

I decide to tag along with the young men for now, curious as to where they may lead me.

[Bad Player]

The group enters a long, dimly-lit room, reminiscent of a classy pub. A long bar runs down near the western wall, and behind it countless bottles of liquor and spirits line the wall. A couple of red stools sit in front of the bar, which is filled with glasses, mixers, and other components for drinking. A dart board is on the southern wall, and near it a couple of armchairs in a circle. In your head you can almost hear the sound of smooth jazz in the air. And what do you know, there’s a shelf filled with records, with a gramophone and a second, similar-looking machine on top. Near the center of the western wall is another obsidian statue on a pedestal of a creature with the body of a lion, wings, and the head of a woman. You think you see a second statue in the northwest corner of the room, but can't tell what it is from your vantage point. On the eastern wall is a large painting of a figure with a black cloak and a goat’s head is speaking to a large group of women, who are huddled together with grotesque and twisted features. In the center a woman wearing a white cloak and veil kneels facing the group, and to the right a woman in a black cloak is sitting in a chair a small distance from the group.

[Blackrune]

"I was in this room just after the alarm started. It's worth noting that our friend Asher Levine emerged from the door to the right here then."

[RedeyesofDN]

I walk over to the wall of records, eyeing over the material, pushing a few aside with my fingers. "It looks like out long dead host was really old school."

I hear my comrade over. "Hmm, so he look tense, odd, suspicious in any fashion?"

[Blackrune]

"...Hm, did I say right? I meant left. The door to the west that's closest to us." Blaze scratched the back of his head, unsure how he managed to mix that up.

Some detective you are.

"He seemed a little anxious and insisted on us leaving right away. Given the situation that wasn't too surprising."

[NihilismFormula]

Keeping an ear on the conversation, Boku chooses to examine the Lion's statue and the other strange figures.

[Bad Player]

It's an obsidian statues, like the others, depicting a strange creature. The body seems to be of a lion, or at least some quadruped. It also has bird-like wings coming out of its shoulders, folded back down along the length of its body. Its head, however, is the head of a human woman. It's facing east, away from the wall the pedestal was placed next to.

Boku is also able to see the statue in the northwest corner better. It appears to be an unkind-looking humanoid with leathery wings and two small horns.

[RedeyesofDN]

While looking over the wall of records, I eye the shelf for anything that isn't record related, or seems out of place on a shelf full of records.

[Bad Player]

Nope, everything on the shelf seems perfectly in-place and ordinary. In fact, the records are even organized!

[Blackrune]

Blaze noticed the other detective looking around the statues.
"More of those... this is probably a sphinx. Well, it could also be a manticore, but it's probably the more well-known creature.
Of course, a sphinx of all things may well be related to a... riddle."

Blaze sees if the statues here could be picked up as well. He also checks if the one in the northwest corner has any other notable features about its body.

"I'm not sure what this one might be. Possibly just a more regular depiction of a devil."

[NihilismFormula]

Boku frowned. He doubted these gaudy statues were there for no reason... perhaps he should examine another one before jumping to conclusions.

Boku examines the humanoid/devil-like statue to the north right more closely- looking for things like positioning and anything unusual about it.

[Bad Player]

The first statue, which does seem much closer to a sphinx than a manticore, can be picked up. It has some weight to it, but there's nothing keeping it down. The statue has a circular base with a notch sticking out, and the top of the pedestal has a depression in the same shape.

The second statue does seem to be some sort of devil, or something close to it. It's in the northwest corner of the room, and is facing the southeast. Nothing about it is readily different or unusual about it. Compared to the other statues you've found, at least.