"No, Kurst, I don't think Brinya is involved but she needs to know. And we need to piece together all the information we can get. But I agree with my companions here; the other investigations can wait.
Something strikes Morti as Kurst discusses the hopeknives and receipt.
"Afore we go, kin we look at yer knife a bit more? I wanta be sure t' recognize its match if we see it.
"An', you speak of exchangin' knives as a form of betrothal -- the receipt says Rodrik was Urnsal's customer, but the engraving, 'for rodrik, my love', looks like a gift to 'im, not from 'im? Or would 'e be engravin' it wit' 'is name for someone to remember 'im by?"
Turning to Cabe and Falric, "Th' two o' you must know Brinya th' best; d'ye want to break th' news t' 'er? Fraid it would be best coomin' from some'un she knows."
Kurst lets Morti investigate his knife so he gets an idea of what it looks like. The guard looks around and hands Morti the knife found on the body. "Here, use it in your investigation but don't lose it. It is a piece of evidence after all. Maybe Brinya can answer some questions about it."
"As fer yer questions, I agree that it is odd that Rodrik have a new knife made. Perhaps, she had the engraving placed on the blade before the exchange and then he lost it? And he was trying to replace it? I do not know. We are guessing a lot. I am sure you will find the truth. Keep me informed."
As the party makes its way downstairs, you can see the crowd gathering outside being cordoned off by some militia members. As you leave the inn, you are recognized by the town as Ruby's champions and you hear shouts of "Is it true? Did Rodrik kill himself? I can't believe he is gone."
You ignore the crowd's pleas and questions and make your way over to the Brinya's lodgings in the upper portion of town.
You pass by the South Tower (E), manned by guards, which forms the southern anchor for the first of Trunau’s inner walls, which separate the plateau holding inner Trunau from the main gate at ground level.
You pass through the Inner Quarter (K), which is walled and gated at either end. This slope climbs between Trunau’s lower quarter and the stone plateau of Bloodmarch Hill 40 feet above.
Entering Upper Trunau, you pass by several houses before finally arriving at the Brinya's place, which is NW of the amphitheater (A). You approach the boarding house and knock and ask the attendant for Brinya. You are led inside and told to sit in some chairs, until a comely red-haired half-orc woman comes to greet you. "Ah, Ruby's champions from last night. You are all a little famous in this town. To what do I owe the pleasure?" It is clear from her cheerful reaction that the news about Rodrik's death has not yet reached her.
"Brinya, I'm not exactly sure how to tell you this, so I suppose being direct is for the best. We have bad news. About Rodrik.". She took a deep breath and continued. "He was found this morning. Something terrible happened. He was dead.". Eli waited for the news to sink in before continuing.
Brinya stares at Elisen in shock, her eyes pleading for Elisen to be mistaken, but when she sees the seriousness in the arcanist's eyes, she screams and goes limp, so much that Elisen has to grab her before she collapses to the ground. "Nooooooo..it is not possible! My love!" Brinya weeps uncontrollably for a few minutes, while the boarding house guests bring her water and some herbs to calm her. You can tell she is quite loved by her boarders and employees.
After a few minutes and some sips of water, she is able to speak, through muffled tears. "What happened...why is my Rodrik dead?"
A tear rolls down Falric's eye upon seeing Brinya's reaction, as he remembers the day his "father" died and his world came crumbling down upon him, a world he tries to hide with his cheerful facade. He decides to let Elisen, as a woman, handle the discussion with Brinya.
"We were hoping you could you us with that. Someone made it seem like a suicide, but there was evidence that someone might have hurt him. Do you know anyone who wanted to do him harm? I know this is a horrible situation, but we need to find out who did this awful thing."
Eli had the others chime in and tell her everything they found at the scene, including both the notes, the knife, etc.
More tears spill when there is a suspicion of foul play. "I will help as much as I can. I will tell you all I know. I owe Rodrik that at least. We had been seeing each other secretly for months and we both knew it was that once in a lifetime love. Rodrik finally proposed to me using his mother’s ring. I accepted in a heartbeat. Even once we were engaged, Rodrik was careful to keep the relationship hidden from his father, who wouldn’t approve of the match. I grudgingly respected my beloved’s wishes for privacy, though his cowardice inspired no shortage of annoyance as well, and was a source of many fights. It didn’t help that Rodrik soon became preoccupied with some sort of investigation, what he called “his greatest work”—the details of which he refused to share with me. It was what probably got him killed, according to this note." More tears ensue. When she is able to continue, "To make matters even worse, Rodrik’s father, Jagrin, did finally find out about our engagement and repudiated his son for betrothing himself to a “filthy half-orc”, as he called me. Rodrik stopped spending time at the Longhouse to avoid his father and began staying nights at Cham's place, when we could not meet for a secret rendez-vous."
When she is shown the knife you found at the scene, her face grows somber. “That’s not Rodrik’s hopeknife,” she says levelly after examining the knife, “because his hopeknife was mine. At least, it used to be. When we got engaged, we traded hopeknives to symbolize our union, and had Sara Morninghawk engrave them with our love notes.” Pulling at her heavy silver necklace, Brinya reveals a hopeknife dangling from the chain. “See? This was Rodrik’s hopeknife. It says, ‘For Brinya, my love.’ I don’t know where that hopeknife came from, but it’s not Rodrik’s. It’s not the knife I grew up with. Rodrik could be such a fool at times. He told me he lost the hopeknife last night just before Ruby's Hopeknife ceremony. He said he lost it in the course of his investigation. The hopeknife I had given him! Can you believe it? When I learned of this, I was so furious, and I told Rodrik I didn’t want to see him again until he found it or otherwise made things right." The tears start flowing more. "If I had known that last night would be the last time I would see my beloved, I would have acted much differently." She collapses to the ground, crying "This is all my fault! He's dead because of what I said to him!"
Barundar presses his lips together into a line. The woman's grief was palpable, clearly taken aback by this news...he was no reader of peoples, but it seemed to him that the woman's grief was genuine and heartfelt. At Eli's behest, the dwarf steps forward and, in a low voice, recounts how he found the hidden compartment that had the receipt for the hopeknife hidden inside.
Hearing about such a sad love story makes Cabe feel like he is being pummeled in the stomach. Sara obviously has a lot to explain here. And could it be possible that this lass unwittingly sent Rodrik to his death, causing him to take a foolish risk? Cabe stiffens, at a loss for words. Slowly he says: "No, Brinya. He is dead because someone murdered him. We will find out who did this, and then we will avenge him. This I vow."
Ric waits for the woman to calm down and then asks gently, "So he never mentioned what he was investigating? Do you know if he told anyone, his partner in the guard, anyone? Anything you can remember would be helpful."
"Aye, whoe'er kilt Rodrik, 'twas their fault alone, an' not yours," adds Morti.
Thinking of the receipt, he asks, "Did ye ha'e Sara herself engrave th' knives? Or did Rodrik ha'e both engravin's done? An' how long ago did ye make th' exchange? Ahm soorry to pester ye at such a tiem, but any clue ye can provi'e would help us find what happened." -- The paper we found had Rodrik ordering a single knife, dedicated to himself -- was he trying to replace the one he lost? And before or after he admitted to Brinya he'd lost hers? Clearly Urnsal needs to be our next stop.
Brinya feels comforted by the party's words. "Please make his killer(s) pay! I don't know if Rodrik told his partner, he never told me anything. Did you check his journal?" Seeing the party's dumbfounded looks, Brinya continues, "Rodrik kept a journal, where he wrote his poems and notes about life and any thoughts that wandered into his head. He never went anywhere without it. I would love to have as keepsake if you find it...we became engaged 2 months ago and had the daggers made together at Sara's. I don't know why Rodrik had a receipt. Perhaps he was trying to make up for the loss before he told me about it officially. Please find out who did this!"
Eli hugs the woman. "We will get to the bottom of this, I promise. If you think of anything else, please come find us. In the meanwhile, we are going to be investigating this. I am so very sorry for your loss."
Brinya hugs Elisen and thanks her and her friends and wishes them well, as she hurries on to her room to mourn the loss of her love. With no more information to obtain here, the party heads to the...smithy? You travel through the streets of Trunau, mostly empty as they have moved to Lower Trunau as the story of Rodrik's murder circulates through the town. The perceptive members of the party catch a glimpse ahead of a male figure drop his hold on some leashes, just as the party was approaching, as if waiting for them to pass and then runs north up the street, out of your LoS. In his wake, however, the figure leaves three rabid-looking wolves!
Eli casts Acid Splash, targeting Arctic wolf, hoping to catch it Flatfooted.
RTA
Damage .
Falric wants to catch up to the fleeing man, but realizes his and the party's safety is paramount. He rushes up to the silhouetted wolf with his 30' of movement, scimitar in hand, and gracefully attacks the flat-footed creature with his blade, letting his agility do the most of the damage, all the while fighting defensively, spinning his blade around to protect himself!
The elusive halfling springs into action and expertly drives his scimitar into the surprised wolf, cutting alongside its stomach, leaving it barely alive. Before the wolf can react, a ball of acid hits it, melting its face and ending its existence.
The two wolves try to eat the very elusive halfling but their foam-filled bites catch nothing but air!
Cabe moves 20 feet towards the wolves and draws his warhammer.
Barundar charges forward into the fray, yelling a battle cry as he uses his own momentum to swing his dorn dergar through the air, building up speed in the heavy ball until he is able to bring it crashing into the wolf nearest him!
Eli again casts Acid Splash, targeting Arctic wolf.
RTA
Damage
Round 1: Morti moves with Cabe, drawing his great axe while closing on the wolves.
Falric attacks the Arctic wolf but he is too focused on defense.
It was a bad round for the party, as Barundar, Elisen, and Falric all missed their attacks.
The arctic wolf attacks the elusive halfling, while the growling wolf attacks the off-balance dwarf, biting his leg. It tries to drag the dwarf down to the ground but it loses its grip.
"Oy! Leggo, ye mongrel!" the dwarf says, managing to shake the wolf of his leg and put enough distance between he and the wolf to get another swing in.
Not giving up; Eli again casts Acid Splash, targeting Arctic wolf.
RTA
Damage
round 2: Morti closes with the wolves, taking a place in line next to Barundar and swinging his axe at the beast --
If any of them are still standing, Falric goes on the offensive and swipes at the wounded wolf!
Barundar does not take well to getting bit in the ankle and brings the ball of solid iron down on the wolf's skull, crushing it and killing it instantly! Morti moves forward and also cuts the wolf viciously, leaving it barely standing, before the agile halfling slits its throat with his scimitar!
Unfortunately, the streets are still abandoned and you catch no sight of the wolves' master.
"Hmmm, these wolves look poisoned, not rabid. I think we may be dealing with an alchemist, people or someone with a lot of knowledge about that. Alchemy is a hobby of mine. I experiment with potions and such in my spare time. The Oil of Taggit and now poisoned wolves. I am sure not too many in this small town can know about that, if it's a local perpetrator. We also know we have an enemy after us, so be alert. Let's get to the smithy."
"By the way, good fighting you guys. Bar, your ankle is bleeding. You should get that bandaged so it does not get infected."
"I should take a look at that ankle but that will take some time. It seems that bad things are afoot so maybe we should proceed before that alchemist scum gets there before us."
"Thank goodness we are all relatively okay. How did wolves get here in the streets? Were they put here for us, or just to cause general chaos, I wonder?"
"An import'n question -- if they're targetin' us, we ha' t' worry about somebody in the guards makin' the connection from this morn. But if they weren', then killin' Rodrik an' unleashin' poisoned hounds on th' town is an outright attack, an' they won't stop at that."
"Let's hurry on, yes, but I also worry 'bout Brinya -- in either case, she's a like target now, for bein' in contact with both Rodrik an' us."
"I doubt very much that th' dugs attacking us wis coincidence. Nae efter we git asked tae handle Rodrik's murder. Tis tae convenient. Somebody's trying tae rub us oot afore we git tae deep intae this."
After some minutes, you alert some guards to the dead wolves in town, who also ask how did they get into the city and promise you to initiate an investigation. Speaking of which, your investigations lead you to Morninghawk’s Fine Steel, commonly known in town as “Clamor” (). Cabe works there and can tell you about the Clamor’s smith, Sara Morninghawk, who is herself a half-orc, and the vast majority of the hopeknives in Trunau are crafted at Clamor. Clamor is a squat, cramped building in the western corner of lower Trunau. The clang of metal on metal rings out of the building most hours of the day, and the heat from the forge fills the stifling smithy, as you enter the establishment. Sara Morninghawk, the town’s muscular half-orc, half-Shoanti smith, sees Cabe and stops pounding on her anvil, and calls out to him, "Cabe, glad to see you here, have you heard about Rodrik? The news is all around town! That poor fellow. And also, Urnsul did not show up to work today. Have you seen her? Oh, I see you've brought friends...or customers?"
Cabe tries to suppress a blush as words come tumbling out of his mouth in no particular order. "Not customers I'm afraid, at least not at the moment. I did hear the news, yeah. Awful thing, really. We promised Brinya to find out what happened. We'd like to talk to Urnsul. Maybe we could swing by her place and rouse her if she's slept in."
"Aye, we need tae ask her aboot a special wirk she wis commissioned tae dae. Fin' oot whit she kin tell us aboot it." Barundar adds.
"Was Urnsal good at what she did 'ere? Do ye know the jobs she was workin' on -- maybe a receipt book or log o' her jobs?"
"Yeah, what we are all trying to find out is you know anything about this receipt?" Falric hands Sara the paper.
Eli thinks the quick tongued boys had covered the major points to be assssed so she held her tongue for the time being. The receipt and the new half orc...that about covered all of it for the time being.
Sara narrows her eyes at so many questions and tries to answer them. "Urnsul told me she just arrived in town about a week ago and was passing through, told me her life story, which was pretty sad, and asked if I could offer some work while she was here. She started two days ago. She told me she was staying at Brinya's place. She was a quiet and reserved girl, did decent work. What is this about?" When Falric shows her the receipt, she moves to the counter and pulls out her ledger. "I keep a detailed registry of customers and their orders. Yes, here it is. I remember now. Rodrik came in about a week ago and commissioned a new blade. I did the preliminary work on the knife. In fact, it was one of the first jobs I gave to Urnsul. All she had to do was add the engraving. I assumed she finished the blade."
Sara starts looking around the shop. "That is strange, it should be around here, but I can't seem to find it anymore. Not that it matters much anyway. Why are you asking all these questions? What is going on?"
-- Completely willing to believe Sara knows nothing of the crime, Morti offers up the backstory.
"Ye already know Rodrik's turnt up ded. He was killt wit' a hopeknife, this un --" showing the evidence "any chance ye know it?"
"It isn't 'is - 'e gave that un to Brinya. It isn't 'ers - that un's missin'. Unless it's the un 'e commissioned from ye last week that's gone missin'? ...then none seem t' know where it came from."
"...unless Urnsal does, but we ha'nt found 'er yet. An' we jus' came from Brinya's place...Brinya di'nt say aught of 'er when we showed 'er the receipt -- yer sure that's where she was stayin'?"
Sara is intrigued. "Let me see the knife." She carefully inspects it and feels the weight and quality in her hand. "Yes, definitely, this is the one I worked on. If you look here, you will see it's missing the inscription." Sara shows you the blade with no writing on it. "I don't know how Rodrik would have had this in his possession. I would not have released unfinished work. As for Urnsul, that's where she told me she lived. I didn't verify her address, that's not my practice. Do you think she took the knife?"
"If she didn't take the knife, is there anyone else that works here you might suspect? We are trying to get to the bottom of this. She's the most likely suspect, it seems, but we want to explore all options."
"Only employees I have are Cabe and Urnsul (temporarily) and myself. Now what is going on? Isn't Rodrik's death a suicide, as I've been hearing?"
"Even if she is th' maist likely suspect, ah think thir's mair goin' oan 'ere that meets th' eye. This doesn't seem lik' th' kind o' thing yin body, workin' alone, cuid pull off."