As Cireth, Caesare and Zanu peer into the darkened alley, only Cireth and Caesare can see that a scuffle between two men is taking place. One appears to be a local guardsman while the other is dressed in a sleeping gown and night cap and wields what seems to be a razor blade.
Cireth catches a glimpse of the sleeping gowned man's eyes, and sees that instead of pupils, they're instead completely white!
The man in the gown seems to be gaining the upper hand and the guard is bleeding in several places.
"Oh look, the guards are already on the job. No need to help him Ezechias. If the watch cannot handle themselves against a simple sleepwalker they aren't really well trained are they." Xerice jokes while observing the ongoing struggle with an amused look on her face.
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Caesare waits till Ezechias has attacked the sleepwalker and then with a deft flick of the wrist try to disarm him
Ezechias charges down the alleyway, followed by Caesare. Before Ezechias can lay a hand on the sleepwalker, he spins, revealing eyes wide open and white as he slashes with his war razor! , cutting the half-orc for damage! Ezechias is momentarily stunned and fails to get a grip on the man, while Caesare similarly cannot disarm him! As the man spins around into the moonlight, the group recognizes him as the older man who was riling up the mob at the graveyard just the day before!
Initiatives!
Round 1:
19 Cassandra, Xerice and Zanu
16 Foe
13 Exechias
12 Cireth
8 Caesare
Moving to flanking position Caesare uses an aid option to help the paladin
Xerice follows the others into the alleyway at a leisurely pace and observes the scuffle.
"Oh look, the guards are already on the job. No need to help him Ezechias. If the watch cannot handle themselves against a simple sleepwalker they aren't really well trained are they." Xerice jokes while observing the ongoing struggle with an amused look on her face.
She casually looks over to the dropped guard to see if he will be bleeding out and offhandedly comments upon it if that is the case.
Zanu acid splashes the sleepwalking man, who grunts as the acid burns his flesh. Xerice peers at the guard and discovers he is definitely not stable!
The sleepwalker slashes at the half-orc again! . His blade cuts deeply, wounding the half-orc for damage! From the mouth of the sleepwalker issues a strange, high pitched laugh that sounds nothing like the man you heard yesterday. "BLOOD! MORE BLOOD! BLOOD FOR FREEDOM!"
Caesare moves up to aid the paladin's attacks!
"Hmm I guess the watch in this town is really bad, this guy is actually dying. Anyone able to heal him? I don't think the town will appreciate it if we let this watchman die. We could just say we tried our best." Xerice says as she yawns a bit, more interested in the crazy guy then the dying man on the floor.
Assuming there is a good position where Cireth will not blast his comrads with colored light.
Ezechias' mace smacks the sleepwalker hard, who staggers slightly but does not fall! Cireth's burst of light plays over him as Ezechias' shield raises to defense, .
With a gasp, the man drops the war razor and raises his hands to feel around himself. At the same moment, there is a sudden brief feeling of a presence leaving the sleepwalker, whose eyes go from milky white to normal in a second. The man moans and calls out in a stunned voice, "Wha? What the 'ell is goin' on!"
The guard is soon stabilized!
Knowing that this man riled up the crowd against the professor, Xerice can't resist to pester the man, she knows Ezechias and they others won't harm him, but he does not know that yet.
Xerice moves over to the man and says
"You just killed the guards man down there you old poof. The town is gonna love putting you behind bars and punishing you for what you did, so will we for that matter. Now tell us why you attacked him and maybe, juuuuust maybe we will give you a head start."
The man looks at each of you as if you're mad. "Killed a guard?!? What the 'ell are you lot talkin' 'bout?" He doesn't seem bluffed or intimidated so much as confused. And he is already wearing nothing save a night shirt...
"Do what? Why the 'ell am I standing in an alley in me night clothes!?!"
Disappointed that she can't properly scare him, Xerice voice is a little more heated.
"Look you moron, you are covered in blood and on the floor is your razor. Next to that dead guardsman. See the blood? YOU did that. We saw you do that!
Aren't you worried. Not gonna pee your pants?"
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"What? I didn't attack no guard! I just went to bed and now I woke up here, my head achin' and you lot swinging swords at me! And that ain't my razor!" His voice rises at the end, as he turns and sees the severely wounded guard lying in the alley and the blood on himself. He looks down again, this time appearing more confused and scared than ever, "But I didn't attack no one. I jes' went to bed, I did. Fell asleep and here I am. I... I didn't attack no one, I swear."
"The guard will live. And you go home! NOW! And you all should be ashamed. Yes he attacked the guard, but the guard WILL live! Now, we have to get this guard to a healer. Do you agree Sir Ezechias!"
"What? I didn't attack no guard! I just went to bed and now I woke up here, my head achin' and you lot swinging swords at me! And that ain't my razor!" His voice rises at the end, as he turns and sees the severely wounded guard lying in the alley and the blood on himself. He looks down again, this time appearing more confused and scared than ever, "But I didn't attack no one. I jes' went to bed, I did. Fell asleep and here I am. I... I didn't attack no one, I swear."
"Ugh this one is too stupid to understand the situation he is in. He bores me. Do with him what you will."
With that Xerice turns away and goes back to the street, waiting for the rest to finish with the man.
Did no one see his eyes change? They were white, and there was a strange presence briefly before my spell hit. Did no one else sense it?
There is no need to torment the man. Sir, can you tell us your name? In the morning please get to the Temple of Pharasma and have yourself looked at. We'll take care of the gaurd
Does no one have any healing available? If not let's use one of the potions that from the supplies that the professor left behind.
The sleepwalker seems confused by the mix of condemnation and concern. In a mutter he says, "Gibs, I'm Gibs Hephenus. And yeah, yeah I'll go to the temple first thing." With a look of fear at Xerice and Zanu, he heads off toward the other side of town.
The guard is soon healed to consciousness, and with help is brought to his feet. He seems groggy, but tells you he saw Gibs walking down the alley in an odd fashion, which he took for drunkenness. He called out, and Gibs stopped, but when he got to Gibs, the man spun around and attacked him with the razor while murmuring something about the Splatter Man and "Must write the name, the name, the name!" over and over. He fought back, but Gibs fought with the strength and fury of a madman.
"Can anyone check if the weapon has a dark aura, or is magic? My dear Zanu, weapons rarely kill people, usually the people wielding the weapons are to be blamed! There are exceptions, of course, but you should check it first!"
The weapon appears to be an old, rusty war razor. If Ezechias detects evil upon it, he detects none at all.
Cireth will cast Detect Magic. Looking not just at the blade but at the surrounding area to see if there are any lingering auras.
"What was this mumbling about the Splatter man and writing a name?
That old fruitcake surely had it bad."
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Ezechias inspects the weapon thoroughly, then shakes his head. "The blade itself isn't evil. The spirit is gone. However, has anyone heard of the Splatterman? Was he ever mentioned in the Professor's chronicles?" he inquires.
Seeing that none are willig to tend to his wounds, Ezechias gulps down one of the potions. His large, gushing wounds start closing.
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After discussing the likely causes of the strange behavior of Gibs, and returning the poor guard to near-health, you head back to the Professor's house and set in for the night. Fortunately it passes without incident.
DAY 3:
The day dawns overcast, with a sense of gloom and impending doom hanging over Ravengro. Looking out at the sky, you see a lot of ravens hanging about over the graveyard.
As you sit down to breakfast, the windows are opened to allow a breeze to air out the stuffy home. You've no sooner began to eat your eggs and bacon than you hear a sing-song voice coming in from outside. It sounds like the cadence of little girls singing a skip-rope song:
"Put her body on the bed.
Take a knife and lop her head.
Watch the blood come out the pipe.
Feeds the stirge, so nice and ripe.
Drops of red so sparkly bright.
Splatters spell her name just right.
With a hammer killed his wife.
Now he wants to claim your life.
Tricksy father tells a lie.
Listen close or you will die."
"Well isn't that a catchy tune" Xerice muses.
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