With the beetle dispensed with and the group healed, they get ready to continue. Fingers tries the door and discovers it is locked fast. The shutters on the cabin are also closed and locked.
He left in such a hurry he barred his home against intrusion? Or perhaps his ill fate came after he left home...
Irina casts a glance to Fingers and shrugs, ready to let him try the door before resorting to more "direct" measures...
"Out in the wild I'd guess he locked it by rote. Might mean he was attacked outside his home. Might also mean any attacks locked it behind them. Finger, you want to have a try at the door's lock?" Zoresk stands idly to the side, waiting for his companion to go to work.
Nilan waits patiently for his ally.
Fingers takes out his case of lockpicks and sets to work on the door lock, the tip of his tongue protrudign slightly from his mouth as he works. He thinks he has it quickly.
Fingers settles in, and true to his name, has the surprisingly decent lock opened in short enough order. The door swings open to reveal an immaculately tidy one room cabin which has been organized into an area for cooking, sleeping, and then a sort of office which has a desk covered in papers.
Once he has the lock open, Fingers opens the door, and sword in hand, makes for the desk to see what manner of papers such a man might've been working on in a cabin in the woods.
Koriko chants a spell, as she steps into the cabin after fingers and begns examining their surroundings.
The group spills into the cabin and begin searching the place from top to bottom. The papers on Jerend's desk are a series of notes, written painstakingly with the simple grammar of the uneducated and accompanied by beautiful drawings. They all appear to be notes on various dangerous and rare creatures and beasts in the area, along with some beautiful sketches of the creatures.
Jerend apparently started a new scroll in the months leading to his disappearance, which was vaguely stated as 'several months ago'.
17 Pharast
Found a hydra east of town. Huge! Kept away and let sheriff know. Too much for me. Should be too cold for it.
30 Pharast
Leucrotta tracks near the village on east shore of lake. Very dangerous. Stayed there for three days. Nobody hurt. Moved on.
6 Gozran
A white stag! I saw it. Old Deadeye speaks to me through it. I must find it again. Saw through the forest.
25 Gozran
Almost got caught by a cave fisher in old tunnel. Careful! Don't care. White stag is everything. Can't find it. All I dream about.
10 Desnus
I know where it is. Bless her heart. I will meet my destiny.
"He got reckless tracking that white stag.", Koriko absently comments as she tries to call to memory what she knows about the various creatures mentioned in the scroll.
Hydra
Cave Fisher
White Stag
Irina snorts at the magus, Reckless? Sounds like the man became obsessed. Is that a thing? Can a stag make people go crazy for it? Sounds like magic...
Irina idly looks around the cabin, curiously wondering if there are storage areas for gear or other personal items...
"'Bless her heart'? Who does he refer to? The Stag doesn't seem to make any sense. Nalla perhaps? Or someone else?" While puzzling over the oddity, Zoresk runs over what he knows of each of the creatures. He idly suggests, "An illusion or some other trickery might work, though it doesn't necessarily have to be a monster. Might just be some human with a grudge who can cast a spell."
Nilan frowns I don't know about the others...but a White Stag is a symbol of Erastil, god of the Hunt.
The group deliberate over the notes. The leucrotta is not known to any of them. However, the cave fisher comes to mind immediately as the crab-like creature they slew when they emerged from the mountain. As well, the hydra is a famous creature, a creature with seven snake-like heads where two will grow when one head is cut off unless acid or fire is applied.
Nilan knows the white stag as a symbol of Erastil and believed to bring good fortune and the blessings of the God. His followers believe that the Grim White Stag is a herald or avatar of Erastil, an enormous white stag with branches for antlers.
Zoresk knows that white stags occasionally show up as albinos, like with any other animal. They are notoriously rare and tend to have a lot of mystical significance, but to his understanding are just normal deer.
Irina pulls at her hair redoing her ponytail as she sighs, Great so he was chasing a god or the animal of a god or a really rare deer or something. Sounds a little intense. Where does that leave us? Nature boy chases deer. Ends up dead in town.
Noticing her sword is still in her hand, Koriko sheathes it: "He met a cave fisher in 'the old tunnel' that might be the same creature we slew before finding the town. So he was there, although to write this he obviously had to come back here."
She takes another look at the log: "He reported to the sheriff at one point. That is a lawkeeper in your parts, no? We should ask what they know. I am not sure if we find more clues retracing his steps."
Zoresk scratches at his stubble, looking around the room a moment longer. "Something seems off about this whole business, though I can't put my finger on it. I think talking to the sheriff sounds good, though we should take a moment to see if there's anything else we can learn here. It might be this White Stag business is all a ruse left to throw us off our tracks. Another look for a hint of kidnapping or otherwise might be worthwhile."
Fingers works with Zoresk for a once around the cabin looking for any secret caches or other hidden items. If they don't find anything, Fingers is ready to head back to town.
Zoresk takes a good while to search the house from top to bottom, and then finally notices that the desk looks to have been moved several times. Groaning, he shoves the desk to the side revealing a trap door. Beneath is a simple root cellar with some very old vegetables. However, it also appears to be where Jerend stored his valuables.
Within is a bundle of 10 high-quality arrows and a bag with 28 platinum in it. As well, there's a high-quality green silk scarf. It appears to have been written on in ink, which crumbles a little at the touch. In spidery, but immaculate penship the word Remember is written.
Nilan detects magic on the scarf and studies it...
Fingers is surprised to find that amount of wealth buried in the cabin. He counts the coins, spinning them over his fingers as does so.
"Keep these, or give them to the girlfriend? Obviously Jerend doesn't need them anymore..."
The scarf is not magical. Although it has been in a root cellar for months, it still faintly smells of perfume. Kumyo is not familiar with the styles in the area. To native Avistanis, it looks sort of feminine but the styles of the wealthy in Ustalav are notoriously ostentatious.
The arrows are magical.
"We'll have to see if he has any next of kin. Don't want to run into trouble with the law, so we'll need to be a bit discreet." He looks over the scarf, frowning in concentration as he does so. "This seems oddly subdued based on what I'd heard about the nobles hereabouts. Not a native though, so that might just be the embellishment that miles add. Still, if it isn't Nalla then that raises some questions. The wealth as well."
Having found what they could at Jerend's cabin, the group made their way back to town in search of the sheriff. The journey back to Douleurs was uneventful and pleasant; tall fir trees striking into the sky and forming a base for the spectacular view of the mist-shrouded Hungry Mountains north of the town.
Returning to town, the group heads towards the combination barracks, jail, and training yard. There, they spy Trestleblade barking orders at a couple of scared-looking teenagers. He spies the group and waves cheerfully.
"Ladies! And the rest of you! How can I help you? You two idiots, at ease. Get out of my sight."
Trestleblade grins, walking over to the group, taking a moment to eye Irina a little too obviously.
Nilan doesn't hide his distaste for the man, but he bides his tongue.
Koriko skips courtesies "We found Jerend's notes. According to them he reported seeing a Hydra east of town. Do you recall anything about this, also anything else he said?"
She shows him the notes: "He mentioned several other creatures, most notably a white stag, he seems to have believed a divine omen."
Irina offers simply a raised eyebrow but offers little else at the leering. She waits patiently for Trestleblade to respond.
"Jerend?" he blinks. "And a h-hydra? Ah. I don't know nothing about that. Why do you ask? Sad business with him. He liked finding out about weird beasts in the areas, warn people about them, take notes. Didn't know him well. What did you wanna know about him?"
Fingers stands back watching. He doesn't think asking law enforcement has ever helped anything, but has gone along with the group. He looks keenly at the acting sheriff trying to see if the man is lying or holding back something.
Zoresk looks skeptically at the would-be guard captain, eyes searching for some hint he's not being truthful as he replies, "Sad business indeed. I'm just worried that he might run into something nasty enough to cause issues. We read through his notes and he mentioned reporting some of the beasts he saw to your predecessor. We were hoping you might shed some light on what they talked about. Did the old sheriff, ah... I don't recall his name, sorry, have a journal or notes or such?"
Nilan watches Trestlebade, not trusting the man one bit.
Although Trestleblade has proved shifty, if reliable until now, Zoresk can immediately tell the man is not happy about the question and appears to be babbling to cover up his reaction.
Trestleblade stares at Zoresk for a moment, blankly.
"Uhm... no?"
Zoresk is pretty sure Trestleblade is being untruthful and not being particularly good at it.
Zoresk simply arcs an eyebrow, then smiles disarmingly at the man and says, "Well, that's a criminal shame now isn't it. It's almost too much for me to believe that he didn't keep notes, but I suppose being a sheriff is a busy job. We're a bit worried about a few of the beasts Jerend mentioned, you know, and we were hoping to prevent anyone else being hurt like Jerend. You saw him at the end, right? Mind broken and scared of everything. It certainly would seem a shame if that happened to anyone else, don't you agree? Anyhow, can you direct us to the old sheriff's next of kin? You never did mention his name, by the way. One last thing, you'd mentioned that Jerend like to warn people about beasts and such. Did he ever warn you about the hydras and such we mentioned. When was the last you saw him... before he reappeared raving of course."
Looking intimidated as Zoresk presses, Trestleblade takes a step back from the group, speaking quickly.
"Sure, he told me where a couple were. I can show you if you're interested. And Sheriff's name was Hinl, he were a good man. Maybe a couple notes, but nothing in 'em about Jerend. Legal stuff, confidential, right?"
Trestleblade is still not being entirely truthful, or at least his motivation isn't a helpful one.
"Ah, Hinl, of course. I'm glad to know his name at last. I'd appreciate it if you'd show us these notes you mentioned. Is that possible?" Zoresk looks at the man inquisitively, still scrutinizing the proven liar for further lies.
Perhaps we could see these notes, to find out what drove the man Jerend mad? Nilan asks.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Irina smirks as Kumyo so casually imparts so much in so little words, she can't help but pile on slightly tossing her braid over shoulder and relaxing her stance a little.
You know, grateful and what have you../
Trestleblade's baser instincts kick in as Kumyo and Irina step in and switch tactics for charm instead of directness. He licks his lips.
"I uh... heh. Sure. I guess it can't hurt. Aw hell, why not? What's the... worst that can happen."
Having caught on to his tells, it's pretty apparent he feels he's risking something by showing you the notes.
Acquiescing, Trestleblade leads the group into the barracks which contains a small office. He makes his way in and unlocks a desk before pulling out a sheaf of notes.
"Now these are confidential. Not everyone wants to know the dirt on everyone else, hear?"
As he passes the notes over, he grins to Kumyo and Irina.
"Now, what did you say about being grateful? Care for a drink or ten?"