Idril works the scene to the best of her ability.
One tiefling tells Asha that they are afraid the residents of the Devil's Nursery are nearly riled up enough to riot if this goes much further.
"The nearest one is the one I discovered.. the most recent."
"Yes, I believe we have learned all we can here for now. A piece of the puzzle, but clearly we need more of them."
Zea leads you a couple hundred feet east then a half-block south to a the center of a narrower alley.. blood-splattered walls and cluttered with debris, random refuse.. discarded broken bits.
There are few windows facing this way on the two-story stone buildings on either side of the thirty-foot long - five foot wide alley. None of the windows are on the first floor, and there are no doors within sight.
She points to the south side of the alley to indicate where she was that night. "I was not far away when I heard the scream... and arrived to find the body... maybe fifteen seconds after the screaming stopped. I saw nothing... no one else."
"Fifteen seconds..."
Indio's mind begins to tick off possibilities as he considers the very limited time-frame.
Obviously one possibility is that she is wrong on the time, or is telling a lie.
However, it is too early to draw those conclusions yet.
There was no weapon found, so even if there was an assailant far enough away that they would not have been suspected, the weapon would remain.
An invisible assailant perhaps? Or one who struck from the rooftops?
A throwing weapon that disintegrates when touching blood?
Hmmm...
Again Idril works the scene to the best of her ability.
"And when you discovered the body, what did you see? Think back please..."
The gnome tea merchant,who had been uncharacteristically quiet in almost trance like contemplation,jerked to life upon seeing the crime scene.
He did fancy himself an urban sleuth,after all...
There are no discernible tracks... nothing stands out at first.
Amongst the clutter of debris in the alleyway, Idril and Bastargrae happen to discover a bloody tooth... healthy and whole.
"I'm sorry.. I truly saw nothing." She then arches an eyebrow noting the discovery. "Odd...."
"Ew." Idril said closely examining the tooth.
"Ah well, now we may be making progress..."
"Allow me to show you the other location... I have a few things to do before nightfall, and like most others here... I'd rather not be out after dark."
Zea leads you to another alley a few hundred feet to the south and one block west. "This is where the first victim was found"
After searching the area as you have the others, you find no other signs or clues.
Zea sighs... "I wish there was more to go on... I hope the lack of clues will not lead you to give up on the matter."
Indio waves Zea's fears away with one hand.
"Perish the thought, the very LACK of clues just makes the mystery more interesting.
And we always rise to a challenge."
Looking at the tooth, Idril frowned.
"Well, humanoid anyway. Human-ish? Maybe Tiefling?" She mused aloud.
Bastargrae plucked thoughtfully at his chin as he contemplated as to why a tooth of all things would have been left behind at the scene of the murder.
.... Curious. Perhaps the killer attempted to take the tooth as a trophy and dropped it.Like a goblin or other savage humanoid. Then again,an individual with a tooth fetish like a demented dentist?
Then again,did Kintargo even have goblinoids in it?
Asha nods vigorously to reinforce Indio's words and reassure Zea of their commitment. It was quite obvious that Indio knew what he was doing and perhaps Idril as well had some experience with investigative matters. She tried to stay out of their way as she looked around, the meagre clues they had collected so far jumbled in her mind.
Perhaps there was something she could do... Turning to Zea, she asks: "Do you know where the bodies might be now? Perhaps if we examine them we may learn more."
Zea shakes her head in response to Bastargrae's thoughts...
"Not impossible I suppose. I know of no such thing having been sighted in the Devil's Nursery... and with our.. distrust of outsiders, I'm fairly sure word of a goblins or the like would have gotten to me."
She responds to Asha...
"Cremated.. as is our custom. We have a had horrible experiences with vengeful spirits in the past."
She directs her words primarily to Indio - likely due to his statement...
"I am not giving up either.. Should I hear of something relevant, where might I find you?"
Miss Longroad's coffeehouse or my Blue Tea Brews,said Bastargrae,offering a billpost advertising his business from beneath his tophat.
"Very well... good day to you all."
At the pretense of selling his wares, Bastargrae returned to the tiefling dominated Nursery pushing his cart and serving tea at a discounted price to gather any information pertaining to anything relevant to the mystery at hand.
Tea! Candies! Hot or cold! Chat and sip awhile,Blue Tea Brewery style!he called over the squeak of his cart's wheels.
As he went,he made a note to observe his surroundings to pick up anything he could piece together to these ritualistic murders.
To himself he mused,A repressed minority preyed upon due to being barely a step above slaves. Acceptable targets for predators not to draw much concern due to being dregs of the city's citizens.Yet the taking of teeth is a curious element to consider...
"Hm." Idril mused aloud. "Arent we just assuming the victims were chosen at random? Maybe they were connected somehow."
"Naturally, however, the first thing that will come up when looking at similarities is that they were all thieflings.
A race well known for suffering persecution beyond what is normal for other "outcast" races.
Moreover, they are found more common here in Cheliax than any other part of the world, and despite this fact, and despite the fact that their...ah...conception is something of an honour in our society, the result is seen with even less kind eyes here.
One could almost say that the disappearance of as many of them as possible would be well in line with the plans our new lord and master has for our city.
Not only would getting rid of them increase this city's stature, it would allow the demolition and restructuring of the area they now occupy."
"The first thing we do is to find out more about our currently only physical lead, the tooth.
Besides that, what we require more than anything is further information.
One possible lead we can research for example is the previous spree of this killer.
If it is somehow the same killer, we may be able to glean some information, and even if it is merely someone using that alias as a cover, they may still follow the modus operandi enough to give us some insight."
"While I do understand that we should not work slowly, since it might cost lives, we can only save as many lives as possible by stopping not only the killer, but also the reason why the killings happen.
And for that, we need to not only gather information, but also to verify and discard any false information which might be out there."
Asha follows the conversation between Erodel and Indio with interest, but does not interfere, criminal investigation being something she is quite unfamiliar with. At the mention of information, she perks up slightly. "I know a few people around here, I can ask around. Only... I don't know what to ask."
Indio begins to slowly stroke his moustache as he considers.
"Yes...what exactly should we inquire about..."
After a few moments of silence, Indio smiles slowly.
"Ah, naturally.
If we cannot determine what we need to know, let us focus on what we do know for now.
As already state, we know that the victims all relate in as much as they share a common racial connection, but it strikes me that they do have one more thing in common worth considering.
Namely the area where they were killed."
"We must not discount the idea that the first one may be a result of the second.
Or vice versa.
What else do we already know?"
Asha inspects the tooth, but discovers nothing new... just a healthy and whole humanoid tooth.
As Bastargrae trundled along Kintargo's backstreets and alleyways of the area dubbed the Nursery,chatting with its suspicious tiefling denizens and Hawking his wares,he found himself pondering throughout.
If I were a betting gnome, I'd wager we have ourselves a serial killer of sorts that preyed upon tiefling victims. A common occurrence amongst an urbanscape,even Kintargo's...At this realization,another obscure bit of lore emerged.
Bastargrae nearly dropped the mug of tea he'd been handing to a tiefling girl with a forked tongue, bowing sheepishly before turning away to retrieve his obsession log from beneath his poncho.
Ah,I see!
Perhaps the culprit was a copycat of sorts? Trying to to emulate another? Like the infamous Professor Mangvhune, Kintargo's worst perpetrator of serial slayings since it's foundation. Despite there being evidence and undeniable proof of his guilt,the most puzzling and perhaps the most daunting fact was no one knew the motives. Only speculations.
As a sleuth himself, Bastargrae fully intended to discover exactly why one of Alabaster Academy's esteemed faculty would become such a bloodthirsty fiend.
And he believed he knew just what their killer could be!
Idril rubbed her eyes.
"Well, I'm out of ideas. Maybe we should head back to base and start thinking of ways to raise money..."
"Perhaps, it may indeed be time to slip into sweet Morpheus's arms. Most good work is indeed done with a solid plan, and it is true that a rested mind is better for making such."
You can't be sure why Prof Mangvhune is considered the most notorious. His crimes may have been particularly vicious and without comprehended reason.
Asha is quite dejected about the scarcity of the information they have managed to turn up. She follows the rest towards the Wasp's Nest, stopping here and there to exchange a few words with the locals in the streets, trying to reassure them that something is being done.
Bastargrae stirred several lumps of sugar into his tea with a silver spoon plucked from the brim of his top hat.He sat on the edge of a table with his legs crossed,the few earnings he'd made from his peddling sitting beside him in a teacup to be added to the rebellion's coffers.
Sipping delicately,the gnome sighed,Not much,I fear. What little I could gather was that the tiefling occupants of the Nursery are on the very verge of rioting if those responsible aren't dealt with. Understandable considering Cheliaxians views on tieflings in general and the total disregard from the authority--those appointed by House Thrune, unfortunately. I been witnessed a few of the more vocal ones loitering outside the charnel house trying to incite their fellows.
Setting his drained cup aside, Bastargrae frowned at the conclusion that could see forming. I'm afraid if we don't solve this soon, we'll have another Night of Ashes in the Devil's Nursery and who knows what else the Thrunies will throw at us,he fretted.
"Ah..."
Indio taps his cane against the floor.
"Of course, if they are not driven out by the killer, they will riot, and when they do riot, the lord and master of our town has a perfectly justifiable reason to use force to subjugate and expel them...or worse.
It fits well with my previous conjecture, but it does unfortunately not bring us closer to an answer."
I propose...That we stake out the Devil's Nursery. Lay a trap for the killer and engage them.
"Hmmm...
Indeed, there is nothing to stop us from taking an active part while our auxiliary members continue to probe the underbelly of the city for more clues."
"Sounds good to me! Otherwise we'd have to start thinking about... ugh... fund raising." Idril said with a shudder.
Then we're in agreement. But who to go and who to stay on standby?mused Bastargrae. I,for one,am not much use in combat but I will still go regardless.
Asha is bustling about, serving tea and other refreshments to the rest of the group, too anxious to sit still. At the gnome's proposal she perks up, glancing hopefully at the others. "I'll go, too. I... I can't fight, but I can be of use in other ways." She gives Erodel a concerned look, afraid he might veto her tagging along. The man clearly knew his thing when it came to fighting and he might not appreciate her being underfoot in a potentially violent situation.
You see fewer and fewer residents about as curfew comes along.
A little after 9 o'clock, you hear yelling.. seconds later four tieflings run past the alley where you are. You hear the sound of armored individuals giving chase.
"Do we have a way to slow them down? We cannot risk involving ourselves in combat, but if we could buy them a few moments of extra time..."