[Open] A poisonous feast

[foggydetective]

Characters: Tohru Adachi [The Evil Queen (Snow White)] & everyone / anyone
Campaign: Break
Format: Either
Open
Summary: Poison plot time.

Prompts are on the comments. Feel free to contact me via the original plotting post or the Discord Server if you have any questions.

The food is being distributed during the festival mentioned on the intro log.

Comments

[chatwithdeath]

"Is that right?"

Well, that was convenient. At least there was also one guarantee that someone wouldn't be afflicted by this, but there was still a matter of everyone else.

"... Well, I could use some samples of the affected products before I send you to gather ingredients for the antidote. I was delivered some ingredients already, but I'm missing something... I want to see if I can derive that answer from the infected source." It's an odd compound that was certain, but whoever crafted it intended on making it difficult. Still, she needed to see how it affected (or didn't) the foods people had been ingesting to be certain.

[steadypulse]

A low grunt. Yep.

He moved a hand, down to a pouch hanging off his belt, pulling out something wrapped up well. The one thing he'd kept a hold of, maybe a little smaller than when he'd initially picked it up. "Meat coated with it do well enough?" What he'd had on hand at the moment, he'd consumed all of the fruits and vegetable he'd sampled from. "I can go hunt down others as well," he had the scent and could pick them out easily enough.

"Before the scent was solid I had to eat some of what carried the scent to be sure it was that and not coming from something else."

[chatwithdeath]

Watching him, she raised an eyebrow at what he drew from his belt, but her second brow rose when he mentioned it was meat. "Yes. That will work." Tainted meat would be a great source - she could see how the poison responded to heat after she collected the information she required too.

"I see... That's one method to improve your tracking ability I suppose. Still, if it serves its purpose." Accepting the wrapped meat, she nodded. "I may not require as many samples so you can bring back a few, but try to dispose of the rest. We don't need anymore victims."

[steadypulse]

Shoulders shrugged. "Has a certain taste to it, very faint. Stronger than the smell at times. Does the same whenever I eat various things that could be used for... this." Brewing and what not, so easiest way to make for certain and- well. If he could get a taste the smell was easier to identify, strangely. Even for things he could pick up on the scent of far more easily. Best way he knew how to explain that one.

76 nodded. "Been doing that once I identify a stall selling the stuff, as unhappy as that makes them." He at least paid for the bit he'd eaten, even if that wasn't much when he threw in a few other bits of gold. He hunted and foraged most of his food and supplies, he could afford it.

[chatwithdeath]

"Hm... I'll have to keep that in mind..." Especially for any future projects. What a strange world this continued to be...

"And here I would think they would value having their customers be able to return. Then again, it's not often you come across merchants in fairytales thinking about the long term. The typical story length doesn't permit that..." What a time to have a daughter; really the only reason she had that refresher. "I'll give you some more gold to use so you're not spending all of your own."

[steadypulse]

"Feel free to." He'd at least come around, and it would probably be better than him basically pawning things off when he came across various plants and the like in the forest. Sure he gathered things for himself, but it wasn't as if he could do anything other than eat them or use them for cooking food.

A low hum, because it wasn't wrong- "A few were happy to comply, some were just annoyed," and others were more irritated with bein inconvenienced and he didn't bother giving them more gold than the piece for the fruit or vegetable he'd eaten. "If you want to part with any, sure."

[chatwithdeath]

She'd be able to reward him with other things that pawning away might not be able to.

"Hm, hooray for the few," she blandly cheered, shaking her head still. Walking over to her counter, she briefly disappeared behind it, but came back with a small pouch. "I don't know how many stands you've already gone to, but this should cover at least inspecting the rest. You can keep whatever's left or return it - I just want to avoid having more people poisoned."

[steadypulse]

There was a brief snort, and it sounded almost amused. Hooray, blandly spoken, indeed.

The pouch was taken carefully, adding it to one of the spare satchels attached to his belt. "I'll return it, not hurting for gold." He barely spent what he got as rewards for the campaigns lately. "Anything in particular you want me to keep an eye out for? Other than the obvious."

[chatwithdeath]

"Very well." That was fine with her. She hadn't exactly been having issues with gold either.

Crossing her arms, she nodded. "I know you can smell it, but find out if anyone else can. Also, keep track of any physical changes that might happen to the infected products either inside or outside. If there's a way for the average person to tell, we could avoid a repeat incident."

[steadypulse]

76 nodded along, but he was listening all the same. "Only one I've found so far is the inside starts to turn quicker in fruits once it meets the air." Which had the unfortunate meaning of it having to either be bitten in to or cut open at the very least. Everything he noticed was subtle, and if not being looked for could be very easily missed.

Doubted that the subtle difference in taste was one that wanted to be heard, since that meant having to also take a bite out of it.

[chatwithdeath]

“Hm... unfortunate. It’s too late by then unless someone has a habit of checking inside.”

Whoever was doing this either had knowledge of poisons or their essence allowed them to craft a poison of this potency. Either way, not good.

“If you notice anything else, tell me.“ Poisons like this were troublesome.

[steadypulse]

His head tipped in a nod-

"Want me to bring whatever I gather here, or do you have another place you'd like me to drop it off to?" Because he would collect samples of what was poisoned just to try and help. See how a fruit compared to a vegetable or meat, as if that could help narrow things down.

[chatwithdeath]

"Bring it here. My door's going to be open since I doubt these numbers are going to remain like this."

As much as she might not want to do that due to it also being a shop, there's no other option really.

[steadypulse]

His nose wrinkled, hidden as the movement was, the flick back of his ears were a little more noticeable. Had a feeling the number would likely grow before things could get a better handle.

"Be seeing me back here soon enough then." Would only take the time to get hat he needed to and nothing longer.