Alliah Surtova |
A young woman of about sixteen with beautiful flowing black hair and piercing eyes rides up to the farm house. Dismounting her horse she walks up to the assembled group at Bej's farm house.
"I was on the way to Zartoksta to meet my father, when I heard of the terrible happening here, so I decided to detour to offer my services. Do you mind if I inspect the scene?" she is wearing thigh high brown riding boots, and tight breeches with a loose fitting low cut shirt with many golden necklaces all adorned with pendants and symbols.
"By the way my name is Alliah." she says bowing her head to the group.
Roan of Irori |
Sorry people, had a crazy busy few days here.
"Ms. Surtova," Roan nods curtly at the new face. "Inspect the site if you wish, for now, we begin our hunt of the perpetrators." Taking to the blood trail that leads away from the scene, Roan puts his nose to use and begins trying to track the scent.
Survival (Scent Tracking): 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (19) + 15 = 34
Anastacia Stormwing |
Anastacia grabs the reigns of her warhorse, Avalanche, and follows after Roan. The trail must be followed while it is still fresh.
She does take time for pleasantries, though. "I'm Anastacia Stormwing, Priestess of Pharasma. Good to finally meet you Wyssal. I've heard you're quite the firebrand. Nice to meet you as well, Alliah. Though I wish it were under better circumstances."
Alliah Surtova |
"Hold a moment, I will accompany you. Let us be sure we have the right of what happened though." The girl approaches the body and mutters an incantation.
After a moment, some words appear on the wall of the farmhouse.
Who are you? (The name by which the creature is most commonly known)
What are you? (Gender, race, profession/role)
How was your blood shed? (Brief outline of the events that caused its wound, to the best of the victim's knowledge)
When was your blood shed?
These answers always appear in a language you can read even if the creature cannot speak that or any language.
I totally made Dante's daughter and cohort a divination wizard. Didn't expect it to be useful so soon!
leinathan |
Save vs. Blood Biography (DC 17): 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (4) + 15 = 19
Unfortunately for Alliah, the owner of the blood appears to be too strong-minded to be affected by her magic, and the answers to her questions never appear on the barnhouse wall.
Roan, however, finds quite excellent success in tracking the trail of blood and the clawed footprints that mirror it. They leave the farm, though they avoid the road for a mile or two. Eventually, they change, and the blood trail fades - though the scent does not. Suddenly, the tracks turn into regular, shoed human-sized footprints and continue onto the road, where they join dozens of other footprint-lines and become indistinguishable from the others as they appear to head into the town.
leinathan |
Oh, I thought you were casting it on the blood trail of the fled murderer. Hang on.
Writing appears on the wall, in flowing, red script.
Who are you?
'Bej Vanskian.'
What are you?
'A farmer and a wizard.'
How was your blood shed?
'By the claw and tooth of a large, black-skinned creature.'
When was your blood shed?
'Yesterday.'
Fhârn |
I believe that is how divinations operate :P
leinathan |
No, it is not the full moon tonight, or tomorrow. The new moon was a few days ago - currently, the moon should be waxing crescent.
I edited it to be a little more. Generally, though, I will be vague with divinations until y'all reach the really high-level ones.
Alliah Surtova |
From the spell text: How was your blood shed? (Brief outline of the events that caused its wound, to the best of the victim's knowledge). If by tooth and claw is all you can say without ruining the quest then I will drop it and move on. Just want to make sure that the spell is understood.
"Well if you would have my help, I will join you."
Anastacia Stormwing |
"A shapeshifter, probably..."
"Prey, not at all. What we hunt here is a predator, make no mistake about that. I fought side by side with Bej, he was a tough customer. We'd best bring our 'A' game, if we want to put it down, without losing some of our own."
"So, Alliah, you are quite welcome to join us, as far as I'm concerned. Your magic will be appreciated."
leinathan |
Roan is completely unable to track his quarry accurately on the main road, due to the concentration of other peoples' tracks and scents, though he is able to determine, by skirting the edges of the road, that they didn't leave the road before entering the city.
Wyssal Sloboda |
Wyssal starts taking notes...
"Seems we have a killer loose in town... I can start investigating around for clues and asking for new arrivals. We must let the people know, so they can take precautions, I think we can print a special leaflet to give around. Want me to include something? Where should people go if they know something? Where can they ask for help?"
Anastacia Stormwing |
" I think Fhârn is taking care of that sort of thing. Actually any of the Council would do, I imagine."
Anastacia climbs back up on her horse. "I'm going back to Bej's ranch. Perhaps one of the dead folk there saw something that can help identify the attacker.
Anastacia pauses for a moment in thought. "Perhaps you could track the beast back to where it came from, Roan."
Wyssal Sloboda |
Wyssal nods, and says goodbye.
"I will patrol in the night, just in case."
She will print a leaflet warning the people not to come out at night, as a "dangerous monster" might be on the prowl (she doesn't mention Lycanthropes or Shapeshifters). After the printing and distribution is on place (making sure all her workers are home before nightfall), she will try to gather information about recent arrivals to the town which are suspicious (leaved at night, returned at dawn, noises, bad smells, etc).
Time: 1d4 ⇒ 2 Hours
Diplomacy Roll: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19
At night she will gather her equipment, and go to the street looking for the murderer.
Roan of Irori |
Roan returns to his home and begins playing his web of informants, writing several copies of his orders Roan sees them distributed.
The murderers of Bej, former council member and farmer are shapeshifters who's attack came from the city, and returned to it afterwards. An attacker was wounded and left a blood trail, but may be hiding the wounds, whether by magical or traditional means. The attackers are extremely dangerous, proceed with caution and do not approach potential targets. Attempt to find information of inhabitants from the city who left early in the day but returned by midday, particular interest for any injured."
The letters distributed, Roan personally continues his search as well.
Diplomacy (Gather Information): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18
Wilhelm Orlovsky |
Sorry for being incommunicado for a few weeks. Work went nuts and I was getting a lot done in preparation for vacation which will start on Sunday afternoon for two weeks. I'll have limited access to the internet, but I'm not sure how much time I'll have to post.
When Roan leaves.
Glancing up from the notes he'd been going over, Wilhelm accepts Roan's report with knotted eyebrows. As his eyes scan the page, Wilhelm grows grim and his mouth twists into a grimace. "Ah... Bej. Let me know what you find as I've a meeting with Becky to discuss the next shipment shortly." His jaw tightening slightly, Wilhelm adds as Roan leaves, "Find out who did this, Roan. Bej was one of ours."
Whenever you guys are back in the city.
Hearing that Roan has returned to the council building, Wilhelm sends a clerk to ask for him and the rest of the council to gather. After all have entered and are comfortably seated, Wilhelm asks, "So, please tell me, what have you found and do you require additional assistance? Perhaps from the guard?"
Rowan Gideon |
Rowan followed in Roan's trace, admiring the man's tracking abilities. Bej's death had affected him deeply and made Rowan more reserved than usual. He nods in appreciation to Wyssal's and Alliah's offers to assist. Shaking his head to clear his dour mood, he perks up and offers Wyssal some assistance.
"Miss Sloboda, I want you to take Argos with you. I don't have a saddle for him, but if you're a competent rider he could give you more mobility for your patrols. Not to mention he's a good companion to have in a fight." He then leans over and rubs down his loyal canine, preparing to give him instructions if Wyssal doesn't object.
Diplomacy: Aid Roan: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7
Rowan goes around trying to assist Roan in finding gossip or hints hidden about. However, despite his friendly demeanor, Rowan soon realizes that he's been away with the fey for too long and people aren't as open with him as they once were.
At the council building
After seating down, Rowan looks to their leader. His voice quiet, he informs Wilhelm. "We found Bej and his farming companions slain. He fought back against his attacker and wounded the creature. Based of the prints and scent, it appears as though his attacker may have been a shapeshifter and most likely a lycanthrope at that. We tracked the beast back to the city but lost it's trail shortly after." He pauses a moment, looking around to see if anyone else has anything to add.
Wyssal Sloboda |
Wyssal smiles at Rowan, and touches his arm.
"Thank you very much, and I am a skilled rider. But I won't be needing your mount as I have my own, a very intelligent and spirited Pony called Liberty. I'll take her to meet you one of these days. About using her on the patrol, I am worried for her well being, so I think I will be on foot. I a small girl, after all, so I hope I can pass unawares if needed."
Anastacia Stormwing |
Anastacia rides back to the Bej homestead, along with Roan. When the inquisitor leaves, following the back trail, Anastacia remains behind. She spends her time preparing the bodies for funeral, but as the sun sets, she takes to her knees, in meditation and supplication to the Lady of Graves.
Through prayer and meditation, Anastacia gains the power to summon the spirits of the dead. From Pharasma, she draws enough energy to speak to two dead souls: Bej and his housemaid, whose corpse seems to be less damaged. Perhaps the woman saw the creature in it's human form, if it was she who opened the door...
Anastacia had not missed the fact that Bej's throat was savagely gored. The cleric decides to try a spell she never has used before, and one she would not have normally considered using. It is necromancy after all. The Restore Corpse spell is usually used by dark spell casters to grow flesh on decomposed corpses, if zombies are desired rather than skeletal undead.
In this case, Anastacia wishes to restore Bej's damaged vocal cords, enough that he may speak. She trusts that Pharasma will not judge her too harshly. Those neglected undead, to the East, do enter the mind of the zealous cleric; they have been left to fester far too long.
So, casting speak w/dead on the maid first, then restore corpse on Bej, followed by speak w/dead.
leinathan |
The guards at the front gate to the city inform Roan that they witnessed an injured woman entering the city gates in the middle of the day, the previous day. They asked her if she needed any help, but according to them, she snapped at them, "no!" before hurrying off farther into the city.
Anastacia's spells take full effect, restoring Bej's face and reanimating both it and his maid's mouths.
As I understand speak with dead, you get three questions on each of the corpses.
Roan of Irori |
"We followed the trail both ways from the homestead as well." Roan adds on to Rowan's summary. "The perpetrator came from the city and returned to the city. So we can be fairly certain they intend to hide amongst the populace as opposed to in the wilderness. The guards spoke of seeing a wounded woman entering the city who was agitated and refused help around the time when we suspect the murderer would be entering the city. It's quite likely that this is our murderer. Currently, I'd like to see if we can't hire an artist of some kind from the populace to make an image of the suspected woman with the guards who saw her, and use that to begin a hunt through the city. It will either bring her forward where we can question her and ensure that the wound was or was not caused by Bej, or drive her into the wilderness where she'll be easier to track."
Anastacia Stormwing |
Anastacia starts with the maid.
"Was there only one attacker?"
"What was the name of your attacker?" Just in case it was someone the maid knew.
"What did your attacker look like before shifting into beast form"
I might have different questions for Bej, depending on the maid's answers.
leinathan |
The maid's mouth contorts unnaturally, and it's weird to watch her speak to you because her face isn't expressing itself normally - her face is completely still. Only her mouth moves.
The answers come out, though. "Yes, only one." she says, and then, "I don't know." and "A young woman, wearing a pretty dress and a smile."
Anastacia Stormwing |
"Thank you. That was very helpful." Anastacia tells the girl. "We'll do all that we can to bring your slayer to justice. You may return to your rest, now."
Anastacia now turns to Bej.
"What was the name of your attacker?"
"Why would a shapeshifter want you dead, Bej?"
Saving one question...
Anastacia Stormwing |
"Do you think that this attack is part of a greater conspiracy against Domierov, Bej?"
Anastacia releases Bej's spirit then covering the corpse once again, she climbs aboard Avalanche, setting a rapid pace back to town.
In town she dispatches her acolyte to bring the bodies back to her monastery, for interment. She sends the guards along to support the young man.
Then Anastacia seeks out Roan, to share what she learned from the spells.
Fhârn |
//The meeting
Fhârn arrives to the council fully armoured and raring to go. His normal patience seems to have vanished and he drums on the table with his gauntlet until the meeting starts. The silvered suit of plate he was wearing was the fruit of his latest project - nearly six weeks in the forge and many more researching. He had completed it last evening. This was supposed to be a good day. With a frown he banished the wishful thoughts.
Finally, the meeting started. And the news was good. It would seem as if they had a good description of the murderer. At Roan's suggestion of a sketch, he nods and chirps in. "I might have a painter handy. We'll see if she can't get a sketch done as soon as possible. And I will prepare Share Memory in the morrow. That should give an even better identification." He leans back and sighs. "When we catch her, I suppose we will need to keep her alive for questioning. I suggest nets?"
//After the meeting
As soon as the meeting is over, Fhârn calls upon one of his advisers- Vivian Heartwood. He knew that the halfling had an artistic streak from the doodles on the maps he requested. With a bit of luck, it is enough ... "I am heading to the gate to get the guards statement - anyone care to join? If there truly is a method to these attacks, someone might be targeting Domierov's leadership. We shouldn't walk alone then..."
//At the gate
Assuming the trip went without incident, Fhârn and Vivian arrives at the gate about the same time. The halfling brought her canvass and paint as instructed and tried her hand at producing a lifelike picture as soon as they identified the correct guard.
Profession(Painter): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13
The stress seemed to be getting at her and the sketch turned out less then stellar. Perhaps it could still serve some purpose.
Rowan Gideon |
Rowan answers Fharn as he prepares to leave. "I will join you. After we get a description I'll take an owl's form and scout out the area for this killer."
leinathan |
Several months into the beginning of his work, Felix receives a missive from his kobold tribe, back far to the south. Not being great writers, though, the kobolds had sent a runner.
The runner, a young red-skinned kobold called Yab, arrives early one morning at Felix's office and knocks, shouting "Begging your pardon, Your Goldishness Sir, but I has a message for you from back home! There is much trouble with big green giants!"
Fharn's assistant created reproductions of the likeness for everybody, but it isn't super helpful, as it could match many, many women.
It seems, for hours, to be just a regular night. Then, past one o' clock, a young woman runs up to Wyssal on one of her routes around the town. "Excuse me, I need your help!" she shouts. "I recognize you from your pamphlets, and I didn't know who I could go to - my sister's been attacked!"
1=Roan, 2=Wyssal Rowan is an owl so he's excluded. 1d2 ⇒ 2