Before Morrigan could help the man out of the barrel, Tsarra came up behind them and kicked it over, knocking the guy over to the ground. The man pulled himself to his feet, stammering out some excuse about how he ought to see a healer for his injury, eyes darting around nervously like he was trying to find some escape route. All of a sudden, or rather belatedly clicked in Morrigan’s mind who they were dealing with. The cunning fox might have fooled Morrigan in the beginning, but it took a liar to spot a liar!

Morrigan clasped their hands together behind their back, a look of innocence affixed on their face as they stepped closer to the Scorched One. “No need for that, friend! Fortunately for you, you’ve been rescued by an all-powerful wizard and alchemist… and their entourage, of course.” They waved a hand towards Tsarra and Blue Jeffberry. “I’ve just the remedy to heal your injuries - that cut’ll be right as rain in no time, and you can answer our questions about how you found yourself in that barrel, hmm?”

“A-Ah, there’s really no need - I believe I hit my head when my assailant shoved me in there.” He tried, digging himself into an even deeper hole. “So I’m afraid I won’t be any help to you, good sir. Thank you, but I really must be on my way-“

Morrigan took a step closer. “Really, I’m afraid I must insist. I’ve got just the remedy to cure all your ills.” There was one benefit to the charlatan’s unbearable demeanor and annoying attitude - as much as it grated on their companions, it was equally effective on their enemies. They reached into their bag, pulling out a vial of snake oil that they shook in front of his face tantalizingly. “Not only will this cure your near-fatal stab wound, but it will clear up that pesky amnesia, as well! Isn’t that wonderful?”

“Ah, well, I-“

“No need to be so nervous, my friend!” Morrigan leaned closer, throwing a hand over his shoulder with a knowing smirk. “… Unless you’ve got something to hide, of course. But there’s no chance of that, is there?”

The Scorched One broke out into a sweat.

Before Morrigan could lay on the heat, the sound of guards broke them out of their reverie. The guard from earlier made his way down the alley, regarding the scene with suspicion. That was the moment that it finally clicked for Blue Raspberry who the ‘victim’ was. The criminal, still trapped under Morrigan’s arm, shifted uncomfortably.

“I’m not the criminal, I swear! I was attacked!”

Morrigan’s claws tightened into his shoulder, whispering in his ear, “Fifty solars right now and I won’t rat you out.”

The Scorched One glowered at them. But considering he was surrounded by four armed individuals with no hope of escaping, there was nothing for him to do but take the deal if he wanted to get out of here alive. “My coin purse is in my pocket.” He hissed. “Please, just… get me out of here.”

Morrigan’s tail flicked behind them, sneaking around to the criminal’s back pocket, wrapping around something solid and jingly. The moment that they had their tail secured around the treasure, Morrigan smirked, subtly tucking it into their own bag.

“Pleasure doing business with you.”

They then shoved the Scorched One forward before shouting, “That’s him, officer! That’s the one that vandalized the streets and tried to pin it on us! We caught him red-handed!”

The man's face goes pale as the party quickly sells him out to the approaching guards. He shoots Morrigan a particularly scathing look as the Zeinav Corps restrain him and slap a pair of manacles on his wrists before hauling him off down the street. Civilians rubberneck and it doesn't take long for them to start spreading rumors about what they think happened to lead to this public arrest.

One middle aged gnome woman waves down at the adventurers from a second story window, clearing having to stand on a stool or chair in order to lean out of the opening. "Yooohooo! Wizard of the Wastes! Perhaps you'd like to 'investigate' up here later!" She winks. 

Tsarra snorts a laugh and then bursts out laughing. What a ridiculous day. She looks at Morrigan and Jeff with a big grin on her face.

"Well, there ye go, case closed. Wasn't so hard. Maybe we can all get second jobs as private investigators or somethin'."

Mercy to all of Zeinav if that actually becomes a reality.

"I think we deserve a drink! What say ye?" She gives Wolfe a solid slap on the back making his armor ring out like a gong. She then looks at Morrigan and sighs a bit. "Water under the bridge and all that, aye?"

"Don't worry ma'am, we'll help you! We're great investigators!" Blue called out enthusiastically, pointing a thumbs up at the middle aged woman in the window and throwing an arm over Morrigan's shoulder.

The woman looked down appraisingly at the armored man for a moment before shrugging. "The more the merrier." She replied and then closed her window.

Clients were already seeking them out! They must have shown some serious skill during their first investigation, catching that... what was it? Scratched Hand? Yeah, something like that, probably. They'd even gotten paid. It was a little unexpected that it was the guy they caught that paid them, but whatever. Blue didn't completely understand how investigatoring worked, but they'd figure it out. They were already really good at it, apparently.

"Let's go get those drinks! We can use the money that guy paid us to capture him!" Blue looked at Morrigan innocently.

Blue didn't get what Tsarra meant by "water under the bridge". There was water all over the place thanks to her spell, but they weren't under a bridge. Maybe they'd just ask her about it while they got some drinks and hopefully some food before they went to take care of their new job. Thinking of Tsarra, that reminded Blue of something and they looked to the fishy lady curiously.

"So, do you not need me to be the barrel anymore?" Blue asked. They'd been so ready to turn into that barrel to help in the investigation, but now the investigation was over. It was almost disappointing. They put a lot of effort into learning how to turn into objects and were excited to put it to use and be helpful.

Morrigan couldn’t help but feel incredibly smug as the criminal was carted off by the Zeinavian guard, being manhandled with the same rough treatment that Morrigan and Tsarra had received earlier. Oh, how vindicating it felt to be on the other side. They shot a wink up at the woman in the window, waving at her with ring-clad fingers. “Oh, you had me at investigate.”

They were about to make their way to the woman’s apartment when Blue Raspberry chimed in, not understanding what Morrigan was being propositioned for in the slightest. They put a hand out on Blue Raspberry’s shoulder to stop him from following after her. “Ah, Wolfe, this is a… solo investigation, if that makes sense.”

They brightened at the mention of being a detective. “I’ve got a friend who’s in the private investigation business. I bet she’d be willing to hire us on.” Though if the three of them ever worked for Issala ‘Izzy’ Arodre, Zeinav would probably be burnt to the ground come sunrise. But they’d probably solve so many crimes if they did. Look how quickly they solved this one!

Tsarra smacked Blue Raspberry on the shoulder, mentioning something about a drink. “Come to think of it, all of this detective work has left me rather parched.” They nodded back at Tsarra, in too good a mood to be soured by the petty rivalry they’d cooked up over the past couple hours. But all in all, they had more in common than it seemed at first glance.

They nodded at her. “Yes. Water under the bridge. Let bygones be bygones, as they say! Now how about we go get that drink?”

And then Blue Raspberry just had to bring up that coin pouch. How had they even seen Morrigan grab it-? You know, it didn’t matter. Their spirits were high, and a couple of drinks wouldn’t deplete their newfound savings. They pulled it from their pockets and juggled it from their hands with the expertise of a circus juggler before flashing the two a grin. “If you insist… drinks are on me tonight.”

They started making their way to the nearest bar, with the other two in tow. “How about this? You can turn into a barrel at the bar to show us your shapeshifting skills. But I’m going to need a strong drink first.”

Tsarra's in a much better mood. Advantage of having the memory of a goldfish is that you don't linger on being mad for very long. She crosses her arms and gives the two a smirk as they nearly abandon her in favor of some not-so-alone time with the stout woman, luckily the call of drink makes them put a pin in that for the time being. 

"Oh I just bet ye have all sorts of 'friends'," the fish woman teases Morrigan.

No doubts many of them were more victims of the fellblood's scams than actual friends. But she could respect the hustle at the end of the day. Especially if it comes with the benefits of being treated to drinks. 

"Y'know what? I'll admit it, I was wrong about ye. Yer alright in my books." She gives Morrigan and solid punch in the shoulder. "But yer still slimier than a beached eel in a swamp."

She looks at Wolfe and places her hands on her hips. "Aye, I'd love ta see yer party tricks at an actual party. Let's go start one and get sloshed!" She hooks an arm around Wolfe's and pulls him along after the purple fellblood. 

With that, the group spend a fair amount of time at the bar drinking and celebrating their success. Tsarra even introduces the two to her summoned giant sea turtle named Sheldon much to the chagrin of the tavern owner. But really, who was going to attempt to move a sea turtle large enough to act as a row boat.