Ba, having been in a thinking position a fairly long while, decides that she should try a more proactive approach.
"So tell us about this Steely Dan character, and what led to his scratching you."
Ba raises a giant metal hand to hide the whispering.
"Min's got the right idea. Besogath has no motive and no connection to the victim, so that leaves Brian and Gail. But we can't discount Gail just yet, at least not until we find some solid proof …
"Not a lot," Ba huffs. "He doesn't know the deceased, doesn't know the other two either, and was in his room when the murder occurred. So maybe someone else is to blame for this."
She narrows her eyes, irises in Brian's general direction.
Ba begins to gesture to Besogath in a very basic iteration of sign language, lightly grunting as she does.
you-like-girl-dead?
girl-kill -- you-where?
other-two -- you know?
Ba tries to contain a sneeze, but is unsuccessful. After regaining composure she looks around again, more interested in what she can visibly observe.
She tilts her head a little to the side. "What exactly was the cause of Abigail's death?"
Ba scratches her head a bit with a huge metal finger, then turns to Brian. "Brian - what is your relationship with Abigail, and where were you the night of her murder?"
Ba nods in acknowledgement. "That sounds good. I'll handle things requiring muscle - Trial of Might, and Trial of Fury. I... suppose Gui can take care of the Trial of The Lost Ship, since he, um, doesn't seem to need air." She almost mutters the las…
Ba holds the map between two huge metal fingers, rotating it upside-down, right side up, and every other way. She tilts her head in a further effort to comprehend the map, but to no avail.
Ba steps forward, takes a deep breath, and with strange confidence raises an armored fist into the air, chest up and chin high. It isn't so much a gesture toward the crowd as it is a reaffirmation of her own conviction. She shouldn't - mustn't fail.…
Ba had never seen someone carrying a whole cannon on their back. Min seemed impressed by it - she was impressed also - and even more so when the old lady emerged from the flame. But still she is less than glad to hear that she and her newfound acqua…
Ba, sensing no danger, approaches the (hopefully) friendly creature, and nods understandingly at it. "I think it... they... want us to follow them and meet their mistress."
Ba, having less than an ideal night's rest, stumbles a bit out of her room and takes a few moments to process what she's seeing in the lobby. Rubbing her eyes doesn't seem to make this strange creature go away, and Min appears to be conversing with …
"We still need a place to sleep..." Ba frowns a bit. "I think I see an inn over there," she points in the general direction of a building with a sign well-weathered by the elements. Of course, she can only hope that it's not reflective of the qualit…
"I'm not particularly fond of him either, for the record." Ba shrugs, whispering in Yuduo's direction. "He gives me the creeps... then again, so does any other undead."
Ba takes a deep breath and three solemn bows, incense firmly between her palms. She pauses for a moment as if to silently pray, then repeats the bowing, three times in each direction. With the ritual done she sticks her incense in the pot, somehow f…
"Most think of the Shi as loyal guards... and nothing else." Ba draws a deep breath. "Not many would admit to this, but we have had slurs slung at us, our foremothers and forefathers... we avoid unnecessary conflict usually, so they think us harmles…
It had been almost a year since the question surprised Ba. "Your Grace," she says, again making a little bow, "I wish only to prove that my people are more than their stereotype."
Ba feared conflict. With Min just recovering from serious injuries, she cannot risk anything going wrong. "I am Ba of the Stone Lions, Your Grace," she kneels with her head bowed. "All three of us met in a tavern and we come bearing no ill will. We …
Ba, still recovering from her angry fit earlier, decides that she should pay attention to her injuries more. "Ah, um, I have some strange magical burns that don't seem like they will be easing up soon. I think I have some damage on my side, too..." …
I'll be taking Overload from Artifice to use with my huge robot kitten mittens if that's okay. Fist of the Eastern Star from Martial Arts as well because how could I not take this.
e: Forgot my passive. I'll take You're Next! from Savagery.
Ba's mind clears in time for her to notice the incoming angry mass of people. With no other means to deal with the crowd, she leaps toward the now-open portal and quickly vanishes in its swirling mass.
Ba is suddenly acutely aware of the stinging from her burns - they glow faintly with magic, seemingly eating into her, hurting more than fire commonly would. She hisses in pain and stops to snuff them out with her armored fingers.