"Well, if he ported away, I can´t find him. If he is invisible.... let me see.
Caesare searches, but can find no trace of the man. He seems to have teleported away.
"Well then, I suggest we let the other residents in on the fact that he's a murderer, and then we fill the Werewolves in as well. We need to restore order, before things degrade farther. He likely has the heart, he would have needed a way to control the were spirit."
"I got a sense from the diary that the Whispering Way has the heart and they used Estovian to get it. He used that skull amulet around his neck to control the spirit. I think we need to investigate these Stairs he talked of and see what we can do to stop them."
Risbeth shrugs. "Possibly, however, whether he has the heart or not, we need to let the Wolves know about his scheming. Especially if you want to investigate these stairs, since it sounded like they were in Wolf territory."
"I agree with Risbeth, being polite will for sure be to our benefit! If werewolves are at least a bit like their more mundane counterpart, they are fiercly territorial."
Risbeth gives a small laugh. "You could say fiercely territorial without being accused of overstating it. You could also say insanely suicidaly territorial and not be far off."
"Okay, but what should we do about Estovion? Maybe he headed back into his office? We must stop the killings!"
"As I said, we should warn everyone else here about Estovion. You're assuming he hasn't gone to this stairway. If someone else knows where he might be hiding, then we can decide to change direction at that point. But for now, we don't know where he is."
The prof shakes his head. "True... true. Let's warn the guests and the lodge inhabitants." he says, walking back inside.
"Let's go and warn the others, Risbeth then find these werewolves so we don't have to kill them all just to get to the stairs and see what we find there." Sonny says while following the Professor out.
With a sigh Caesare shrugs."Let´s hope they believe us!"
"Grab the journal, it should help convincing everyone, unless you already grabbed it?" She looks at the professor.
"uh? What journal? Oh! The journal! Nonono, I forgot it in Estovion's office! Quick let's grab it!" says the prof, alarmed and rushing towards the office.
In a flurry, you head inside to find the guests all confused and milling about. The Professor rushes upstairs and finds Estovion's quarters a mess. It looks like he grabbed a few things and a bag and has fled the property, but with a little searching you find the journal. Meanwhile the guests pelt you with questions about the murder.
Risbeth watches the crowd act like a bunch of scared chickens, clucking randomly and over each other, and then punches one of the stone carvings, shattering it with her bare hand. "ENOUGH! You are all grown men and women, not a room full of small children. Now behave with some decorum and honor." She eyes the room full of people, letting a her exotic features aid her if possible. "Lord Estovian appears to have been the culprit of the murder, and has fled now that his involvement has been confirmed. He used a malevolent spirit. He has also been involved in the turmoil that has stirred up the Werewolves, including regicide. Now, it is vital that you remain calm. We will deal with Estovian, and we will convey to the Werewolves that the majority of you had no idea of what he was involved with. My companion is retrieving the truth of these accusations. In the meantime, we need some food..." She eyes the kitchen staff. "...as well as someone to watch for any approaching hostile forces..." She eyes the compound guards. "...and everyone needs to think back on the visit of some strangers a few months ago, who spent time with Estovian, right before the Werewolves became so angry. Where they went, did they leave anything behind, and so forth."
There is a great deal of hem-hawing as the guests express their shock at your coarse words. One by one they deny any knowledge of these 'guests', until the Markiza's servant, her 'hound' Ostrovach steps forward and speaks in a low voice. "I was here when those men came through. I came early to make the Markiza's way ready. They kept to themselves and spoke to Estovion, but they also consulted the Madame Ivanja, for her girls' 'skills'. She may know more." The housekeeper is quick to point out that Madame Ivanja rents one of the towers in the courtyard and keeps to herself.
Armed with this information, you head to Ivanja's tower, where a perfumed man in revealing silks opens the door. He bows deeply and escorts you to an inner room on the ground floor, where carpets, silks and pillows line the walls. He offers you food and drink, bringing a plate of sweets and a sweet wine for you. He tells you in a low voice that the Madame will see you shortly.
Madame Ivanja is a slender Varisian woman in her early 30s. She's confident and carries herself with the air of someone who is used to commanding respect. She bows to you, smiling. "I wondered when you would get around to seeing me. Sooner or later, most everyone comes to me. How may I help you?" Her voice is thick and sultry, but her eyes are light and smiling.
Risbeth returns the bow, although hers is a more formal eastern version, with her right hand over her left fist. She lets the more diplomatic characters in the group talk, as they want information, not calmed peasants.
Before the woman, the prof seems pretty ill at ease.
"Oh, erm. Hello! What do you mean you knew we were going to come? Are you skilled in the arcane art of divination?" asks the prof.
Ivanja smiles. "I dabble in the art of fortune-telling, but more to the point, I keep a keen eye or rather, many sets of eyes, on affairs." She gestures upward in the tower. "I employ lads and ladies to please and pleasure the various guests who come through this tower. Many people talk with looser lips when they're sleepy and warmed after a good evening's activities. You're here about those cultists who came through. My ladies tell me that Estovion fled at speed, which means he's been found out at some naughty business."
"He's been found out as a murderer and a regicide. Just to be fully correct..." Risbeth adds from the wall, where she's leaning and watching. "Sorry to interrupt, I just find that being precise when talking about things like this is better." She smiles.
Ivanja's eyes widen slightly. "He's been much naughtier than I expected. Regicide? Please explain."
"He was involved in the murder of the Werewolves ruler. The cultists were the ones who killed the leader, and then hid her heart, which is required for the rulership to pass from one to another. By definition, killing the ruler of a people is regicide." Then she shrugs. "Oh, and he summoned a dead werewolf spirit to slaughter witnesses... I'm sure you've heard about the death..."
"He HAS been naughty. Very well, four guests visited my girls that night. Niama is still here, but it will cost you to speak to her. I can't simply be giving away good information. 250 gold and she tells all."
Risbeth grins. "Well, we did give you some information you didn't have, but I assume you've already put that information into a discount on the price." She taps her teeth with one fingernail. She looks at the others. "Do you wish to pay?"
"Information is power. We might need any to solve this problem!"
Risbeth nods. "Then everyone cough up some gold, or you can work out what you owe in services..." She grins at Caesare. "Not sure you'd get much demand. Ladies and men into men tend to be rather picky about appearance. Men into females generally prefer breathing.. but will deal with not breathing, in my experience..." She smirks a bit and gives the Madam a wink before moving up to pony up her share of the 250GP.
Once you've coughed up the gold, Ivanja claps and the same man who greeted you appears. "Take them to Niama. Make sure she's lucid." The man bows and leads you upstairs. As you head out, Ivanja pulls a Harrow deck out and begins to shuffle.
Niama proves to be a beautiful Vudrani woman who lies upon pillows in a room on the third floor. Her eyes are unfocused and she wears nothing save a silky nightdress that covers none of her shapely body. She barely seems to notice when you enter and you can catch the smell of Pesh smoke on the air.
She seems to focus slightly on you as you enter. She smiles, in a dreamy state and murmurs, "Usually I work more one-on-one, but I can be persuaded."
Risbeth turns to their guide. "Lucidity seems to be lacking, perhaps a potion or something to clear her head?"
Niama laughs. "I am sane enough to speak for myself, oh pale one. The pesh simply makes life a bit... better. How may I please you?"
"We seek... information. About the men. Well not quite men. Werewolves that visited you lately. They were four. We need to know what they talked about."
The professor very embarrassed by the place and the girls. He's glad that Risbeth has been doing most of the talking.
She smiles in a dreamy sort of way. "Them. I don't think they were wolves. Well, the first three weren't. They were nobles, from Cortaud. One of them had a wicked little stunted man-thing as a pet. It creeped me out. All they wanted was for me to dance. So I danced. Then the fourth one showed up, a big silver haired woodsman who smelled like a man... Deep and musky. Then they told me to leave them. So I left them. I came back after an hour and they were gone. But I saw more than they thought..." She seems to go blank for a moment.
"They weren't from Cortaud. Their accents were southern, probably from Caliphas. And one of them had a necklace he kept hidden. It was a gagged skull, very S&M. They didn't talk much, but the one with the creepy little homunuculus mentioned “the Stairs of the Moon” and something called “the packlord’s heart.” The others shushed him. Obviously they weren't supposed to talk in front of me." She seems to focus on you for a moment. "That's all I know about them. They had an ill look about them. You're cute. Want to play?" She suddenly focuses on Risbeth and licks her lips.
"Oh! An homunculus! Like this one?" says the prof, exiting Norbert from under his cloak. "Say hi, Norbert!" asks politely the prof.
"Hi, madam." says the thing with a rasping voice.
Risbeth grins. "If I have some time between stopping a war and killing people who really need to die, I'd be happy to stop by and play... We could trade war stories afterward... Just no Pesh for me." She flips the woman a Platinum as a tip for the information.
Then she turns to the rest of her party. "I think our next stop is the wolves, yes? Between the account and the diary, we have what we need." She looks toward the prostitute. "Do you have anyone in the house who could draw the faces of the men for you? It would help to have pictures of them... Back when I worked a house, we had a cute lad who could draw anything you described to him. Helped put out contracts on deadbeats..."
Sonny nods to Risbeth, "I think you are right. To the wolves next, though the pictures would help. Even better would be something with their scent on it though."
"Ha, good thinking Sonny. Do you know anyone left anything behind, a torn cloak, a broken shoe..."
Niama shakes her head, still staring at Norbert. "They were very precise and left nothing. But I could describe them. Mahir is a good artist. He would draw them, if you wished." Mahir turns out to be a young man of around 16, who serves clients with a taste for younger men. He is shy, but proves to be a deft hand with charcoal and in a matter of hours, you have four portraits that are as good as anything you've seen in Museums.
Leaving Madame Ivanja's tower, you head back downstairs to gather your things. Heading into the woods you are immediately buffeted by the feeling that many unseen eyes are watching you. You follow the werewolf's instructions and sure enough, a huge black furred wolf appears before you, slipping from the shadows. Its form blurs and a man appears, looking wary. He nods at you warily, but waits for you to speak first.
"We have learned what happened to your packlord and who is responsible. The ones we followed here are members of the Whispering Way. They had helped Estovian in the past and came to collect that debt. The met in the tower here with after arranging the meeting with Mathus. Soon thereafter these agents attacked the stairs and made off with Sain's heart. We wish to investigate these stairs and try and stop these agents of the Whispering Way. The only person at the lodge who had anything to do with this was Estovian and he appears to have fled. Please don't murder the others for his mistake" Sonny asks the man standing before him.
Risbeth places a fist in her palm, and bows deep. After listening to Sonny, she nods.
"The one speaks the truth, and we have the proof of the Estovian's written personal journal, in his handwriting. We believe the heart may have been hidden by the ones we seek, on the Stairs. We would not approach them without the permission of your kind however." She pauses. "One of your kind was involved as well. We have a picture of his human form. I think you can guess who it was however."
She takes out the pictures of the agents, and the werewolf they were involved with. "Sonny, you forgot to mention that one of their own was involved as well..." She taps the picture of the werewolf in human guise.
With a pained expression, Augustus bows and lowers his eyes, speaking with a rasping voice.
"My companions speak the truth. Estovion is involved in this horrible story. We have... failed to discover his plans before it came to light. And before he murdered. And called ghosty werewolf."
The man literally growls. "Estovion? This changes much." He throws his head back and howls, a long cry that is answered by other cries in the night. "My pack runs for the Stairs of the Moon. Blood runs hot, but I will do my part to ensure no innocent blood is spilled. I owe you." He spits out this last sentence, clearly not comfortable with this debt.