Warren couldn't precisely call his investigations fruitful, but the paladin would not cast aside anything he managed to glean in the short days following the discovery of a second trader found dead in his own home in as many weeks. He had been unsuccessful in attempting to track down the woman he'd had the questionable fortune of running into the night before Bockenbower turned up dead but asking around had clued him in.
Valeria Verene had been seen in some of Ul'dah's more suspect watering holes dating back to her arrival in the city-state moons and moons ago. Winthrop Figgenbottom had returned from one of his trips with a buxom elezen on his arm and wasted no effort in showing her off to anyone who would look. She stood out on account of her exoticism. The truth of the matter was simply that when an elezen of such bountiful endowments turned up in the city she was a different sort of attraction, though those who knew Figgenbottom questioned how much of her spoiled, pampered demeanor was truthful. The idea that Figgy had simply found a whore or a slave and had her put on a show crossed the mind of more than would admit it.
Word on the street spoke of Figgy's business being squeezed out by competition. No one would name names out of fear of winding up in a similar situation, but everyone could see it. The Syndicate didn't care who devoured who, and as long as the eponymous entity was constructed of anyone with more than two gil to rub together it wasn't really possible to narrow down suspects. Pressure from those looking for his space, heavy hands coming down from on top, clever calculating from someone on the rise. Ultimately it didn't matter.
Valeria turned up on the arm of Bertus Bockenbower after Winthrop's demise, and near as anyone saw that was the first time she reappeared since word broke. People suspected Bockenbower had siphoned off Figgy's stock and kept him on a string while bleeding the company dry. Valeria suddenly turning up in his camp led some credence to the theory; If she had words in the fat bastard's ears it would have been easy to convince him it was best. Bert kept his books on lockdown and with the Blades spearheading the official investigation, it would be impossible to determine whether or not he actually managed to snake anything away from his competition. Given how much people talked about the illegitimacy of Bert's real income and the attitude towards how much the Blades were on the take or in cahoots...
There was a lot of rumor and hearsay, speculation and wonder. Warren didn't have anything to go on but other people's ideas and thoughts.
Start with what you know.
Winthrop Figgenbottom died broke and alone. The instrument was an overdoze of some variety. Valeria Verene was last seen with Figgenbottom before he died and next seen with Bertus Bockenbower. Bockenbower died alone within a day of getting into a fight with Valeria, who hadn't turned up since she ran into Warren Castille.
From Warren's limited perspective, there was only one common thread linking the two traders. He had to find Valeria Verene.
Valeria Verene had been seen in some of Ul'dah's more suspect watering holes dating back to her arrival in the city-state moons and moons ago. Winthrop Figgenbottom had returned from one of his trips with a buxom elezen on his arm and wasted no effort in showing her off to anyone who would look. She stood out on account of her exoticism. The truth of the matter was simply that when an elezen of such bountiful endowments turned up in the city she was a different sort of attraction, though those who knew Figgenbottom questioned how much of her spoiled, pampered demeanor was truthful. The idea that Figgy had simply found a whore or a slave and had her put on a show crossed the mind of more than would admit it.
Word on the street spoke of Figgy's business being squeezed out by competition. No one would name names out of fear of winding up in a similar situation, but everyone could see it. The Syndicate didn't care who devoured who, and as long as the eponymous entity was constructed of anyone with more than two gil to rub together it wasn't really possible to narrow down suspects. Pressure from those looking for his space, heavy hands coming down from on top, clever calculating from someone on the rise. Ultimately it didn't matter.
Valeria turned up on the arm of Bertus Bockenbower after Winthrop's demise, and near as anyone saw that was the first time she reappeared since word broke. People suspected Bockenbower had siphoned off Figgy's stock and kept him on a string while bleeding the company dry. Valeria suddenly turning up in his camp led some credence to the theory; If she had words in the fat bastard's ears it would have been easy to convince him it was best. Bert kept his books on lockdown and with the Blades spearheading the official investigation, it would be impossible to determine whether or not he actually managed to snake anything away from his competition. Given how much people talked about the illegitimacy of Bert's real income and the attitude towards how much the Blades were on the take or in cahoots...
There was a lot of rumor and hearsay, speculation and wonder. Warren didn't have anything to go on but other people's ideas and thoughts.
Start with what you know.
Winthrop Figgenbottom died broke and alone. The instrument was an overdoze of some variety. Valeria Verene was last seen with Figgenbottom before he died and next seen with Bertus Bockenbower. Bockenbower died alone within a day of getting into a fight with Valeria, who hadn't turned up since she ran into Warren Castille.
From Warren's limited perspective, there was only one common thread linking the two traders. He had to find Valeria Verene.
![[Image: yEROfKO.png]](http://i.imgur.com/yEROfKO.png)
