All in Charisma (A LitRPG/Isekai Adventure)

Glamshara stepped forward, blowgun in hand. Her features closely resembled those of Queen Grizshara, but her hair was a vivid purple, and her glowing violet eyes accentuated her striking appearance.

"If you've come for my head, you're wasting your time," she said. "I didn't poison the princess."

"Trickster witch!" Bohemond spat, lunging forward with his sword drawn.

Justin stepped into Bohemond's path, raising his cane. "Hold on, wait a second! Let's hear her out."

"Smart one," Glamshara said, her lips curling into a somewhat mad smile. "So, Borgruk, I guess this little mystery is beyond the capabilities of the goblins, to the point where you have to bring in two humans and an orc?"

Borgruk scowled. "The orc is a Blood Warden. His magic was almost powerful enough to counteract the poison. Now they're to find an antidote. And justice, if it's to be had."

"Ah, justice," Glamshara said. "You have a funny sense of it if you're coming after me. It's easy to blame the crazy poison mistress, isn't it? Especially when she's so jealous of her dear baby sister who stole the succession!"

Kargan shot her a wary look. "You're… not helping your case here."

Borgruk growled from behind them, his hand gripping his scimitar. "She's sly, this one. She'll twist your brain with her lies!"

Glamshara's smile widened. "Your brain? You're more earwax than brain, Borgruk. Besides, you were here during the excavation, just like me."

"You think I could make a poison like you?" he laughed. "You're dreaming!"

"No," Glamshara said, her tone turning deadly serious. "You didn't make the poison. It takes a bit of intellect, not to mention the ability to follow directions and read. Then again, you are most definitely someone's useful idiot. Of that, I assure you."

Borgruk growled again. "I've heard enough. Let's bind her and bring her back."

He took a step forward, but Glamshara raised her blowgun in warning. "You know my aim is true, Captain. I'd think twice if I were you."

Borgruk hesitated.

Kargan shook his head in frustration. "None of this helps. If she's telling the truth, then the actual poisoner is still out there."

Glamshara smiled slyly. "And what's your name, love?"

"Kargan," he replied, nodding to the others beside him. "This is Justin and Bohemond. Like Borgruk said, we're here to investigate."

Bohemond stepped forward. "You have one chance to explain yourself, Glamshara. If I even think you're lying—"

"Yes, yes, I know what'll happen," Glamshara interrupted. "But I'm not the enemy here. I didn't poison my niece. That work was far too sloppy." Her smile widened. "If I wanted her dead, trust me…she would be."

"She will be dead if no antidote is found," Justin said. "So what you said doesn't make sense. The princess has only two or three days left. If you want to save her, we need your help."

She looked at him, assessing him carefully. Justin met her gaze.

"Why did you flee?" Borgruk demanded. "That's something only the guilty do!"

Glamshara clenched her jaw, anger flashing in her eyes. "Is it, Borgruk? If that's what you think, you suffer from a shameful lack of imagination. The truth is always more complex."

"Get to the point," Bohemond said. "This is a stalling tactic."

"As you wish." She seemed to gather her thoughts. "Here's my side of the story. As soon as I saw the poison taking effect, I recognized it. I have the Alchemist class and possess a boon called Venomous Insight. It allows me to identify when someone is poisoned and the type of poison in play. So, I knew exactly what it was as soon as it passed Nyrissa's lips: Shadow's Kiss."

"Do others know you have this boon?" Justin asked.

"No. I keep my abilities hidden. I'm only revealing this now to help prove my innocence. Rather than disclose everything and risk tipping off the would-be murderer, I left. I had to act quickly to create an antidote and administer it before anyone realized what was happening. Thankfully, the right ingredient was down here. I remembered seeing it during the expedition."

"What happened?" Justin asked.

"I'm getting to that. I thought I could whip something up in a few hours and be the hero for once. That would've worked, except…" She trailed off, frustration creeping into her voice. "The Heart of the Moonflower—the main ingredient for the antidote—was missing from the supplies, along with the Sandbloom extract and a few other items we cataloged."

Justin's gaze sharpened. "And all that was here when you first investigated the lab?"

"That's right. I saw these ingredients during the initial expedition. We all did. No one knew their significance, so I had to explain it to everyone. The Heart of the Moonflower will cure any poison produced by a blooming plant, even when two or more blooms are combined, like in Shadow's Kiss. It's what we call a Universal Antidote, at least for poisonous flowers. But it was gone. In the meantime, I've been trying to come up with something else to buy the princess more time. So far, my efforts have failed. There are a lot of ingredients down here and many combinations to go through."

"How was she poisoned, anyway?" Kargan asked. "No one explained that part."

"That's simple. You probably already know this, but the poisoning of Nyrissa was a mistake. The Queen was the more logical target, and they attempted it by poisoning her dessert. Everyone knows my sister loves her Ember Yam Pie. She's crazy for the stuff. But the murderer hadn't counted on my niece stealing the Queen's pie piece during the Feast of Fates."

"Seems like a strange coincidence," Justin said. "Nyrissa just happened to steal the Queen's dessert, thus foiling the attacker's carefully laid plot."

"It is a strange coincidence," Glamshara agreed. "But think about it. It's hard to imagine why someone would want to kill Nyrissa. There's no real reason. But rather than fess up, the true poisoner pinned the blame on me. I knew they'd do that as soon as I left, but all I cared about was saving Nyrissa."

"That's noble of you," Justin said. "And why would this other person want the Queen dead?"

"That's anyone's guess. Power? Revenge?"

Bohemond leered at her. "As things stand, if Nyrissa dies, you're next in line after the Queen. And the Queen herself mentioned you have your differences."

"Yes. But I'd never kill her over them."

Justin needed to focus on the details. Glamshara could talk in circles all day. "Tell me more about this sharing of food. Did the princess eat every bite of the pie piece?"

"That's right," Glamshara said. "Every bite."

"I trust you were present at this dinner," Bohemond said.

"Of course I was! I'm family, and it was the Feast of Fates. It comes but once a year. Even Pervy Uncle Jorkus was there, and nobody likes him."

"I was there too," Borgruk said. "At the time, I couldn't tell anything was wrong. No one could. It was only three days later that we noticed something was off with the Princess, and that Glamshara was missing. It was confirmed this morning to be Shadow's Kiss poison by Zogmar."

Justin watched Glamshara. "Was the Queen the only one served this pie, or was it just a piece of a larger pie? Did others eat it?"

"Why are you asking about the pie, Justin?" Kargan asked, his voice laced with frustration.

"She mentioned the pie was poisoned. It would be strange if the Queen were the only one served a single piece of it."

"I can only assume the poison was baked into her piece specifically," Glamshara said, contemplating. "The pie was precut, and the serving utensil was already in place. The Queen is always served first. It doesn't take a genius to figure out how that happened."

"The devil is in the details," Justin said. "And who handles the food before it goes out?"

"The Head of Kitchens," Borgruk replied. "Halkra. She's been questioned extensively already. She has served the Queen well for years, as did her father before her. She claims to test each item of food before it's sent out, and that's backed up by the cooks and servers. Her horror at being involved seems genuine. I know her well; she's not one to lie."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"She could have tested the wrong part of the pie," Bohemond said. "Only one piece had the poison, after all—the Queen's piece, which was taken by her daughter."

"Exactly," Glamshara said. "Can we move on now?"

"Not yet," Justin said. "I have one last question. Why would Nyrissa steal the pie? I would assume that, as the Queen's daughter, she would be served next. So why would she rush to get the pie unless she has a particular craving for it?"

"The child is notoriously impatient," Borgruk said. "It's not unusual for her to take her mother's food, if you can call it stealing. It has been known to happen if it's a dish she really likes."

Justin thought it over. Glamshara had mentioned that the Princess stealing the pie was an unfortunate coincidence, while Borgruk had said it was somewhat common. It was difficult to determine which statement was more accurate, and it might be wise to question others about this detail later. Why poison the Queen's pie piece if there was even a small chance it would go to the wrong target?

"Let's get back on track," Kargan said, interrupting the pointless pie talk. "Let's discuss the missing alchemical ingredients. How do we know you didn't take them for yourself and set up this whole situation to make yourself look innocent? You've had plenty of time to come up with a story."

Glamshara's eyes flared with anger, but she kept her voice controlled. "If I wanted my sister dead, I would have done it far more discreetly. Poison is too obvious. That's my specialty, and I'm not a fool. Whoever devised this plan wanted the blame to fall on me. It's easy to blame me; I have a motive—my sister and I don't get along. But my sister knows me better than that. She knows I wouldn't act so recklessly."

Justin held back the urge to reveal the Queen's doubts. It seemed she was leaning toward blaming Glamshara. Could someone else be poisoning the Queen's mind? Zildur, perhaps?

"Who else is close to the Queen?" Justin asked. "Is there anyone who disagrees with her on something important? Anyone who has been wronged in the past? Someone who wants her power?"

"All her advisors are likely suspects," Glamshara replied, her voice bitter. "Grashuk, Zogmar, Zildur. As for any disagreements, I wouldn't know. I don't move in that circle anymore."

"Aside from the odd family dinners," Justin said.

"I'll give you that."

Kargan studied her. "If you didn't take the ingredients, who do you think did?"

Glamshara's expression darkened. "There were only a few of us present when the lab was first discovered—me, Zogmar, Borgruk, Grashuk, and Ralthog. Any of them could have taken it. Or, more likely, someone came down later. Zogmar and I never left the supplies unattended, and the others were guarding us. If someone went down later, it could be anyone in the tribe. That would have been the smart thing to do."

"And you're saying everyone knew the importance of the Heart of the Moonflower?" Justin asked. "Not to mention the Sandbloom?"

"Well, I explained it. So, assuming the others were listening, yes, they would know."

"Of everyone in the tribe, who would have the expertise to make such a potion?"

On this point, Glamshara hesitated. "I'd be lying if I excluded myself. But I wouldn't put it past Zogmar or Zildur to whip something up. Zogmar has book knowledge, while Zildur has helped me make potions before."

"Zogmar does have access to that recipe book," Kargan mused. "He showed it to us himself."

Justin considered this. If it wasn't Glamshara, Zogmar was a likely suspect. And if Zildur's Shaman class gave her access to potion-making and she had worked with Glamshara before, she also wasn't above suspicion.

Borgruk grunted. "As for me, I'm loyal to the Queen. I can't even make a basic poultice."

"I don't doubt that," Glamshara said. "Now, as for the missing ingredients, the Heart of the Moonflower is rare—extremely rare. It's found miles underground in very dangerous places. There was only one, and it's gone. The poisoner likely has it in their possession; perhaps you can start by searching rooms. Whoever has that is almost certainly the killer. As for the Sandbloom essence, it's from Farun in southern Atelinar. We don't get access to that kind of stuff, so I was excited. The other stolen items are red herrings to make the theft look more general. But the thief left marks. The Sandbloom essence has been tampered with, and I can prove it."

"You can?" Justin asked. "And you can also prove that you didn't do it yourself?"

"I can," Glamshara confirmed.

Bohemond crossed his arms. "So, let me get this straight. Your story is that someone, not you, stole the Moonflower to ensure there's no cure for the princess. They knew to steal it because you blabbed about how it's a universal antidote. Since everyone knew of its importance, anyone could have taken it. But the person who would most know its importance would be Zogmar."

"It's likely," Glamshara admitted. "But I think it runs deeper than that. Whoever did this didn't just want the Queen dead—they wanted to ensure there was no way to save her at all. Nyrissa was caught in the crossfire. The would-be murderer is definitely someone close to the Queen, someone who could slip into the kitchen unnoticed and add poison to her sweet treat. That would not have been me."

Borgruk sneered. "I'm with the others. You took the ingredients to make yourself look innocent. You knew someone would come for you, so you made up this story."

Glamshara shook her head, her voice tight with frustration. "If I had the Heart of the Moonflower, I'd already have the antidote prepared. Do you think I'd be wasting time down here otherwise? If I were trying to escape, I'd be far away from the tribe by now."

Justin's mind raced with possibilities. "If what you're saying is true, then Zogmar is the prime suspect. Besides you, he's the only one with advanced alchemical knowledge. Does he have any issues with the Queen?"

"Not that I know of," Glamshara said. "I'll admit that Zogmar and I have had our differences. He's always hated me for my talents, especially since I found the class core he thought he deserved ten years ago. I'm a Level 12 Alchemist now, which is no easy feat."

"Damn," Justin said. "That's impressive."

"Thank you. But while Zogmar would be happy to throw me down a chasm, he's loyal to the tribe and the Queen, by my estimation. Grashuk? He's ambitious. He's married to Zildur, and they both live in the palace. If anything happens to the Queen and the Princess…"

"Grashuk would be the natural one to take over the tribe as Warlord," Justin finished for her. "Assuming he got you out of the way first. Maybe their plan was to kill the Queen and isolate Nyrissa so she'd be easy to control. Except the plan went off-script."

"My niece is already under Zildur's tutelage, learning Chaos Magic," Glamshara added. "They are quite close, especially since Nyrissa has taken on the Shaman class."

"She can't be twenty yet," Justin said. "No way."

"Well, we Goblins can start our classes a bit younger, at age ten. Perhaps it's in exchange for our shorter lifespans. Plus, as heir to the tribal throne, Nyrissa has access to resources that most don't. Anyway, Zildur treats her almost as if she's her own. If she had a hand in this, then I'm sure she's grieved by how it backfired."

It painted a convincing picture, but Justin still wasn't sure whom to trust. "That's a tidy story. You mentioned you had proof about the extracts?"

Glamshara nodded. "Come with me."

The party followed her to a set of shelves, where she opened a small chest and revealed a row of vials filled with bright orange liquid.

"These are the Sandbloom extracts," she said. "When I returned to the lab, I noticed several had been tampered with."

Justin and the others watched as she explained.

She held one vial up to the faint light of a nearby ether crystal. "This is one of three vials that was opened and resealed poorly. See the bubbles in the mixture? Air was introduced. Whoever did this wasn't skilled in alchemy. They left evidence behind."

"Would Zogmar be that sloppy?" Kargan asked.

Glamshara grunted. "He's sloppy, but not like this. He knows the value, and it would go against his nature to ruin that. Then again, if he were trying to implicate someone else, he might be sloppy about it. But if that's not the case, that leaves the other three who were here… Ralthog, Grashuk, and…"

"It wasn't me," Borgruk said. "No way!"

Justin fell silent. Could their guide somehow be involved? It was an uncomfortable thought. They were relying on him for information. He'd have to keep an eye on Borgruk while pretending not to.

"That leaves Ralthog, then," Kargan said. "And Grashuk. Although, as mentioned before, they could have sent someone else down who wasn't connected to the original excavation at all. That would've been the smart thing to do."

Glamshara nodded. "The shoddy job could explain why the poison is taking longer to act than expected. Nyrissa should have been dead by now. Thank the Goddess she isn't."

"Why not simply take the Sandbloom essence?" Bohemond asked. "Why try to make it look like it wasn't touched?"

"They didn't want both the Sandbloom and the Moonflower to be discovered missing at the same time—it would have been too obvious. That's why they stole a few other high-value items as well. They took what they needed from the Sandbloom, then resealed the vials carelessly, adding a bit of water to disguise their actions. The Sandbloom is so vibrant that no one would have noticed it… except for the bubbles. They were wise enough to take it from three vials instead of one or two, so the colors wouldn't be too mismatched."

Bohemond stared hard at Glamshara. "And how do we know you didn't tamper with these yourself? You claimed to have proof of that."

Glamshara sighed in exasperation. "Because I don't benefit from this! I've been down here working nonstop to find a solution. Without the Moonflower, I'm running out of time. Do you think I'd use poison to kill my family? Me, a poison specialist! It's so crude that it's insulting!"

"Yes, but maybe you are counting on us to think that," Bohemond replied.

Glamshara looked as if she wanted to shoot him with her blowgun.

Justin turned to Kargan. "What do you think?"

Kargan's expression was thoughtful but serious. "We need more information. If Zogmar or Ralthog is involved, we need to follow that lead. Maybe we can question Grashuk and Zildur as well. Searching their rooms is a good suggestion, too. I doubt it'll turn up anything now that we're hunting for clues, but it's worth a shot."

Borgruk shook his head. "This reeks of manipulation. That's all I have to say about it."

Bohemond rubbed his chin. "You know, there's one thing no one is mentioning: Grashuk was eager for us to resolve this quickly. He even offered a reward."

"That cave rat was never known for subtlety," Glamshara said with a smirk.

"He didn't provide details. The case is settled in his mind."

Her eyes darkened as she spread her long hands, stained with the silvery residue of ingredients, as if to say, "There you go."

Justin withheld his suspicion about Grashuk's "rehearsed line." Who could have put him up to that? Or was he reading too much into things? It was possible he was working with the murderer.

Justin knew they could accuse Glamshara, but the Vault description had also mentioned that anything less than perfection would likely result in their deaths.

More than that, Justin was now invested. He wanted to know the truth.

To uncover it, they had to dig deeper, untangle the full web, and reveal the story.

"We're not naming anyone yet," Justin said. "As Kargan mentioned, we need more information. If Grashuk, Ralthog, Zogmar—or even Zildur—are involved, we need to find out."

Justin left Borgruk out of the equation since he was present. Something told him Borgruk wasn't involved; the Queen would not have appointed him unless she trusted him. Still, he didn't want to leave anything to chance.

Glamshara nodded in agreement. "You'll need to question them, then. Start with those who were here. They'll have answers, I'm sure of it."

Justin took a deep breath. "We'll go back to Zogmar. Let's see how he reacts when we ask about the Sandbloom and Moonflower. Then we'll try to find Ralthog; he's the only one we haven't met yet."

Borgruk hesitated. "And while we're gone, she will have time to escape."

"You'll find me here, working," Glamshara replied. "As I said, if I wanted to leave, I would have done so long ago."

"We should go," Kargan said, stepping forward.

"Keep me updated," Glamshara said as they turned to leave. "Who knows? I might have something for Nyrissa when you come back. It won't cure her, but it could buy some time."

"We'll keep that in mind," Justin said. "Let's move."

As they left Glamshara in her lab, Justin lingered, glancing back around the corner to watch her. She stood among the ancient alchemical equipment, her face a mix of frustration and focus as she worked.

He could have stayed to watch longer, but time was pressing. It did seem as if she was looking for a solution. But wasn't that what she would want them to think?

Innocent or guilty, the truth needed to be uncovered.