"Well I don't. If you're not scheduled, leave."
"Is important to investigation. I think you should talk with us."
Vorkstag ignores Ezekiel and goes back inside.
"Well, that went well." Bulldozer eyes the wall, and starts feeling it for a good grip and foothold. "I can always jump the fence and see if I can bust us in if we need."
So I forgot one thing Steef found back at the campsite:
-A bloody sack. Inside is a severed human face.
I thought I had listed this, but apparently had not.
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Ezekiel will show the face around and ask people if they recognize it
"Can someone give me a boost?"
Ezekiel starts to head back to the place where they're keeping the Beast.
Everyone heads back to the Courthouse. Good thing, today's trial will be starting soon.
Is everyone ready to present your evidence on the murders in Morast?
The next morning, a crowd gathers around the courthouse, and the excitement in the air is palpable.
"Guilty! Guilty! Burn him! Burn him!" comes the chant from many voices.
Once inside it's a bit quieter. You're all seated around 10 as arrangements are made and papers put in order, until finally the Chief Jutice, Ambrose Khard stands up 10 minutes later.
"We are gathered here today to carry out justice..." he begins, intoning deeply. His Herald punctuates each sentence with the strike of a gong. Before long, you start to notice Judge Daramid surreptitiously rubbing her temples. It appears she already has a headache.
It goes on like this for a full twenty minutes before starting to wind down. Among the flowery speech and proclamations of fair and biased judging, he outlines some important rules of the Court. Foremost among these is a ban on unauthorized magic or other "trickery". First offenses will result in all evidence being summarily dismissed as untrustworthy, and a 1000 gold fine. A second will incur a further 2500 gold fine, and a ban from the court for a year and a day. Special dispensation may be given by the judges for certain spells, such as Speak With Dead on a victim to get a firsthand testimony. This is enforced by a hired cleric of Abadar (known for their impartiality) who uses methods (depending on his skill) ranging from simple repeated castings of Detect Magic, to simply observing the proceedings with Arcane Sight.
"...Yes, the Beast is undoubtedly guilty of many murder. But this trial will focus on only 3 incidences. These should be enough to either condemn the Beast...or perhaps prove it innocent." he smirks at the last words.
With that, the Chief Justice seats himself, and waves for the prosecution to begin.
A tall, thin, angry looking man stands at attention.
Kaple leans over and whispers in Azrins ear.
"T-that's Otto Heiger. N-nasty piece of work. Doesn't care about the truth, only convictions."
And so begins the trial's opening statements.
Otto begins first.
"Thank you, Juctice Khard." he begins, standing even straighter.
"The prosecution accuses the creature known as the Beast of Lepidstadt of various crimes. The brutal murder of 10 villagers in Morast. The heinous slaughter of 6 children in Hergstag. And the appalling arson of the Sanctuary Asylum on Karb Isle, resulting in the deaths of Doctor Brada and all of his patients, as well as the permanent blinding of his assistant, Karl."
"We aim to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this creature is guilty as charged, and punish it to the fullest extent of the law for these unacceptable crimes. Today we will present evidence implicating this thing in the violent murder and dismembering of several villagers of Morast, and bring it to justice for this crime. Thank you."
He seats himself calmly, and Kaple rises.
"We, uh. Um, w-we believe the B-Beast is innocent of these crimes, y-y-your honor. M-my assistants have gathered evidence and, uh, and stuff, and w-we'll use that to give the Beast the fair shot it deserves. Um, that's all. Th-thank you."
He seats himself as well, drenched in sweat even from that limited speech.
Khard speaks again.
"Bring forth the witnesses for the prosecution."
Three villagers come out and relay the same story Lazne told you, about how the Beast hunted the villagers until they fought back and chased it into the Swamp.
Lazne himself comes forth afterwards.
"Aint' not a doubt in my mind, that thing there-" he points at the Beast, caged in the center of the room. "is what kilt the villagers. I gots a good look at it when we's was chasin' it. Mmhm." he nods sagely and goes to spit, then realizes where he is, and swallows instead.
They then all file out.
"Bring forth the witnesses for the defense!" Khard calls.
-Six graves had been tampered with (bodies stolen).
-There was a campsite in the Boneyard, where surgical tools and a Darkvision Extract were found. The Beast has Darkvision naturally, so would have no need of such a thing, suggesting he at the least probably did not make that campsite.
--You traced the surgical tools back to Vorkstag.
---There was a severed human face in the nearby boat (unfortunately you never actually asked who it could have been from, so it's not very helpful).
And unfortunately that's it. You missed the BIG one due to your complete lack of Kn. Nature.
"We found this vial at the Bonyard in Morast," Azrin says as he holds out the Darkvision extract. "It is an Alchemist's extract of Darkvision. It's reasonable to assume it was used by the murderer."
"However, the Beast can see in the dark on his own. So why would he need this extract in the first place?"
The crowd mumbles and grumbles a bit.
"He's got a good point-"
"Bah, it don't prove nothin'. That thing probably killed some poor ol' Alchemist out in the swamp and stole his stuff."
"But they didn't mention any body or anything..."
"Well of course they didn't, doesn't help their case none to tell the truth. Lawyers, snakes, all of 'em. Dishonest and mean enough to try and defend this thing. Should burn with him, I says. Hrmph."
"We also found a set of surgical tools, and a severed human face. Frankly, I don't think the Beast is capable of using such tools with his massive hands, let alone perform such a...delicate procedure as cutting a person's face off. We managed to trace the tools back to Vorkstag and Grine - I'm not accusing them, but this proves that someone besides the Beast is involved in this crime."
Time to wrap this up. These people really don't like me - I should change that.
Azrin activates his Authoritative Vestments. "Unfortunately we have not had the time to investigate any further than this. I would like to thank you all for giving us a chance to defend the Beast. Please understand that we have no ill will toward the people of Morast, or toward the victims of this heinous crime. We are only trying to ensure that the guilty are punished and the innocent are spared, nothing more."
"Kid's got spunk, I'll give him that."
And with that, the day's proceedings are complete. The crowd seems calmer after Azrin's speech...for a moment, and the Court recesses for the day.
As the Beast is led away, however, that calm turns back to hatred.
"This doesn't prove anything! He still killed those kids and Doctor Brada, that's for sure!" some cry.
"Hell, I still ain't convinced he didn't kill the swampers!" others yell.
"BURN IT! BURN IT! BURN IT!" the chant begins again.
Kaple ushers you along before things have a chance to turn ugy.
"T-that went better than expected...we may actually have a shot now. If you investigate Hergstag next and turn up more evidence, I think we really have a chance!"
"I'll be amazed if I can get these people to stop skinning us alive with their eyes for five seconds. But you're right, we're off to a good start."
There are 3 people who used to live in Hergstag who are still in the area (the village was abandoned shortly after the children were killed). They're the witnesses for the prosecution and own a small windmill outside of Lepidstadt.
Azrin leads the way to the witnesses' windmill.
"You've all been really quiet lately. I take it my powers of persuasion and stunning good looks have rendered you speechless?" he asks with a cheeky but well-meaning grin.
When you knock on the door, you're greeted by a middle aged woman.
"What do you want?" she says warily, eyeing you suspiciously.
"Very sorry to disturb you ma'am, but we're investigating the Hergstag murders. Any help you can give us would be most appreciated."
Bulldozer nudges Ezekiel.
"Whats the deal with this Azrin guy? He always like this or sumthing?
"Very sorry to disturb you ma'am, but we're investigating the Hergstag murders. Any help you can give us would be most appreciated."
"Oh, I see. Listen, my sisters aren't really up to talking, and they don't know anything I don't. Mind if I just give you my story right here?"
Assuming you consent, she launches into a short tale.
"Well, the children just tarted vanishing, one by one nobody knew why. Their parents were inconsolable. So, about a week after it started, the Beast walks up into town, bold as you please, carrying one of the little girls, Elsa. Dead. It was just a laughing at this poorl little girl it had murdered, and we grabbed some torches and pitchforks and tried to catch it. It got away though, escaping into that damn swamp. The children haunted us, wandering the village at night, and after a while...nobody could take it any more. We all just up and left. We're the only ones still around."
Azrin notices she's hiding something, and can easily coax it out of her. She reluctantly spills the rest of the tale.
"Well, there was one other thing. One little girl...Karin was her name, was found dead in her bed, without a mark on her, and no sign of forced entry. Two days after the Beast was run off. I still think the Beats killed the others, but there might be something else there."
"So we first have the Beast, and now a group of living beats that are capable of assassinations? If I were the Beast, I would probably skip town too. There's nothing worse than murderous beats."
"Let's hear some more from the Beast's side of the story."
Returning to the courthouse and questioning the beast further reveals a little bit more detail concerning Elsa's death.
"I...remember some. I lived in a hermit' tangle in the swamp near Hergstag. Elsa found me. She wasn't afraid, like everyone else."
The stitching on his face begins to tighten, pulling it back into a grimace, resembling a sort of twisted smile.
"We became friends...until the ghost came. It only came out at night, and it stole their souls."
It lets out a sound that might be confused with a laugh for anyone not paying attention, but the look of pain on its face is clear: The Beast is, in fact, trying to cry, but has no tear ducts.
"I tried to stop it, but I couldn't touch it." he sobs.
"It killed the others, one by one, and then it got Elsa. I took her body back to the village, but they ran me off. And that's all I know."
"Is there anything else you can tell us about this ghost?"
"No. It showed up, killed the children, and I couldn't stop it. The kids themselves rose as ghosts after."
"Alright. Thank you. We'll see what we can do."
Azrin waits until they are out of the courtroom before speaking again.
"So...now we have to find some tangible evidence of an intangible ghost."
Azrin closes his eyes and rubs his temples. "Any ideas?"