The skills required to make surgeon’s tools are rare, but because of the presence of Lepidstadt University, some 20 such artisans work locally. All of these craftsmen operate within an area called the Surgeons’ Flats.
Janos shakes his head. "No idea. Maybe if B'yelka can charm a craftsman, they could take a look and tell us."
B'yelka snatches up her husband and dashes out the inn door, "We'll be back! Late!" Once outside, she waits while Tibi calls a coach, and whispers to him, "Not too much tonight! I had a headache all day!"
"Should we look for this Hora and sons tonight? maybe jaust ask Drosil to take a look and go see them early in the morning?"
Tibideau yawns at the thought of seeing any of the other group members for the rest of the evening. "Of course we should look for the surgeons tonight, and alone. I'll just about bore myself silly with anyone else's company." He takes her arm and turns to face her. "I have something to give you." Tibideau slips his emerald ring off his ring finger and puts it on B'yelka's left hand. "If you're my wife, then I should give you a ring. And I should give it to you on principle. An emerald without a redhead to wear it is a terrible shame." He winks, then shifts in place uncomfortably. He scrunches his nose. "I really hate being so sentimental. Let's get into some minor mischief. But I'll keep it easy on the brandy."
Completely surpirsed by Tibi's 'engagement' B'yelka stands still as a statue. Thoughts run through her head, This should be Reylond! No, not him, he would have fallen if he were with us. Not Tibi, pretty as he is... this does not feel right! The consumate actress, B'yelka rises to the scene: "My dear husband, I will wear it always as a reminder that I am wife to a wonderful man." Paying back the shock she touches Tibideau's chin with her finger, raising his lips as she leans in and places a very familiar kiss on her 'husband'. Don't squirm, my Beautiful Boy... She draws away from him, her mouth a wicked smile and eyes smoldering.
Anton looks up from the tools with a frown on his face
Why are you two pretending to be married again?
Blech!!! Girl lips!!! Tibideau hides his revulsion and smiles at his betrothed after she pulls away. In all seriousness, he says, "Yes, I am a wonderful man. Plus, with that ring, all those nasties will have a harder time hitting you!"
Tibideau tips his chin up haughtily at Anton. "If you don't like it, look away." He shrugs. "A woman is safer if men think she's already kept. Especially in a big city like this." He eyes B'yelka's whip. "Not that this one can't protect herself."
Zbraslav Hora is a bookish, taciturn man who wears thick spectacles. He frequently deals with various tinkers and itinerant peddlers who sell his wares, and keeps a ledger of all of his sales. Zbraslav noted down the purchaser as Vladka Kostel, a red-haired Varisian woman who wears a green silk scarf depicting a swan. Zbraslav knows she works for an auction house, but he doesn’t remember which one.
bald head and tufts of hair above his ears. He is not about to release information on his clients to just anyone who comes in off the streets.
information using Vladka’s description, or a DC 20 Bluff
check to trick Master Klud into revealing the identity of the
buyer, after going to the Merchant's and talking to them:
Mr Hora, thank you for your help. We really need to speak to this miss Kostel, would you have any records of her employers or do you think any of your own staff might remember?
After obtaining the name and description of Vladka Kostel from Hora, Anton and B'Yelka ask around about her for a couple of hours. They find out she works for Ledov’s Chirurgery Merchants. By the time they get the information it's quite late though, too late to pursue the lead this evening. Everyone retires to the Whispering Trident to prepare for the morning's trial...
The morning comes and with it the time for the first day of the actual trial. A significant crowd gathers around the Punishing Man at dawn, and a carnival atmosphere engulfs the courthouse. The clerks arrive early to prepare the courtroom and chambers. Other members of the court arrive as the time approaches 10:00 a.m. The three justices arrive in black coaches with several guards in attendance.
The Ravengro Six are kept in the defense chamber until just before it's time for the trial to commence. At 10:00 AM The Trial of the Beast begins. A trio of guards leads the Beast into the court and shackles it to the large iron chair in the center of the courtroom to the jeers of the crowd.
Chief Justice Ambrose Khard commences proceedings by laying out the rules of the court in a lengthy speech, interspersed with gong strikes by the Herald. Khard concludes his speech by announcing that the good people of Lepidstadt have suffered many acts of terror and barbarity at the hands of the Beast of Lepidstadt for many years, and that while the Beast is doubtless responsible for numerous murders, the prosecution will focus on three recent cases to prove the Beast’s guilt during this trial.
During the opening statements Prosecutor Otto Heiger outlines his case. He alleges that the Beast is responsible for the murder of 10 people in the village of Morast a year ago, in addition to two other horrendous crimes that will be described as the trial continues. Barrister Gustav Kaple then makes his case for the Beast’s innocence, a halfhearted attempt full of stutters and awkward pauses, all the while being jeered and booed by the baying mob in the gallery.
Then it's time for the prosecution to call witnesses. Otto first brings three locals from Morast, two young women and a man, to the stand. The trio describes events as they saw them happen—that over a series of nights, the Beast came to the village and took people away; that a trap was finally laid for the Beast; that the Beast was driven into the swamp, and, they assumed, killed. Otto then calls the village elder, Lazne, who led the mob that drove the Beast off. He confirms the events related by the other three villagers.
Next it's the defense's turn to call witnesses. Kaple calls...
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"Drosil the G-g-g-rey!" Amidst the jeering of the crowd at this last, Drosil steps forward confidently. He recalls his conversation with Dantrian the night before, addressing the particulars of darkvision and golems. Keep calm, man. You've been through worse.
Drosil clears his throat softly and waits for the jeers to die down. When he speaks, his rich voice washes over the assembled spectators, and they fall completely silent. "You have heard evidence from the good people of Morast that an assailant came into their village in the black of night, using no lantern, no torch, nor any magical means of lighting his or her way. We do not dispute this - how could we? We were not there, and so we trust that this information is accurate. 'How is this possible?' you may wonder. 'How is it that they could, with no source of light, find their way in the dark, into peoples' houses, and see well enough to abduct them, carry them off, and evade pursuit?'"
He lets the echoes of his voice carry and fade, allowing the question to firmly settle in, then he continues. "To answer this question, we must know something of golems. They are creatures born of magic - that magic infuses them and gives them great power, great strength. They are created to be slaves, to have no will of their own, but to work tirelessly for their master, through day and night. Rather than have them have to carry torches and the like to work through the night, however, their creators give them this ability - to see in the dark." At that, the crowd rises up again, their fears confirmed. They call for the Beast to be led to the slaughter, the trial concluded.
Drosil holds up his hand and, slowly, the noises die down once more. "I say again, this is an ability that is constant; everlasting, for the life of the golem. There is no scroll to be read, no spell to be intoned, no potion to be drunk to give them this ability, for they already have it." He lets this information sink in as well.
"In our investigation of the assailant's camp, located in the village's old boneyard, we found this," he holds up the vial with a flourish, "a vial for an alchemical extract that grants the imbiber this same ability, to see in the dark. 'Why,' you may ask, 'does a golem need such an extract, if they have this very same ability given to them by their creator?' I tell you this; a golem has no need of such an extract - it would have no effect on them whatsoever. Therefore, we can only conclude that the criminal responsible for the assaults on the good people of Morast was not a golem, and thus not the Beast!"
As Drosil finishes his empassioned and reasoned speech, Anton enjoys the momentary look of confusion on many of the faces in the gallery and the frantic scribbling of Prosecutor Otto Heiger.
Drosil returns to his seat and Anton cannot help but whisper with a mischievous grin;
Fantastic job, brother! Must feel good to be on this side of the dock for a change! he takes up a pencil and makes a few notes of his own.
You've just helped justice be done, let's just hope the others keep up the momentum. I'm not as confident in this face mask as our other evidence so I'll let them go first, hopefully to put this matter to bed before I even have to address the crowd.
B'yelka smiles broadly at Drosil, It's not too often that the opener is so... perfect! As he sits down the Diva whispers to him, "We should put some polish on that natural talent!"
As Kaple calls his next witness, B'yelka rises and takes very deliberate, measured strides towards the stand. Her steps rap against the wooden floors, drawing the crowd's attention. Demonstrating no fear of the rabid mob in the gallery B'yelka approaches the stand. She turns to face the crowd and begins speaking.
"The Beast is not human, he was not born of a mother. The beast is only as intelligent as a young child. The depth of the crimes we uncovered at Morast tell us much about what the beast could not do. At the camp made in Morast's cemetery we found six empty graves..." she pauses letting the idea of grave robbery sink in to the ignorant minds assembled. "What need would the beast have to take corpses from the earth? Not to feed! Firstly, it has no appetite, secondly there was no evidence of consumed bodies in the cemetery, though there was a campsite. With no bodies from the empty graves the question arises, 'What happened to the honored dead of Morast?' Did the Beast steal them? Is his child's intellect clever enough to plot necromancy with corpses? He knows no one to sell them to, he knows no arcane words to animate them."
Not sure how convincing her words are in the face of the outraged crowd B'yelka reaches for the dramatic. She turns to Justice Khard, "Your Honor, we intend to porve not just that the Beast is innocent of the crimes laid out in this court, but that we will find and bring to justice the perpetrator of these heinous crimes!"
Anton stands next and adjusts the suit that B'yelka picked out for him at a local boutique. She knew how to accentuate his lean frame and broad shoulders and had told him to wear his hair tied back with a thong of leather and shave the bristles from his face. It still didn't stop him feeling like a fish out of water though.
He strides to the witness box with purpose and tips just the merest of nods to Aaron as he passes. He carries a small leather bag with him, a handwritten tag dangling from one of it's cords.
Justices. he says in simple greeting to the gathered judges. My name is Anton Klasnic, paladin of Desna and representative of Aaron - the creature commonly know as the Beast of Lepistadt.
I sympathise greatly with the suffering the people of this city have endured over too long a time. But the evidence we will present to you today, and over the coming days, will demonstrate that this creature; he gestures with an open hand. ...should not be the source of your anger.
He slowly places the bag on the stand before him.
For those with delicate constitutions I recommend you avert your eyes now, for the face of evil can be ugly. he retrieves the face mask from the bag. We recovered this from the scene at Morast, a mask - made from human skin. My father used to have a saying; "A pig in a top hat... is still a pig in a top hat." he smiles his dazzling smile and is relieved to see a few of the disgusted faces in the gallery turn to one another with nervous laughter.
Suffice to say, this vile article could not serve as a disguise for a creature of such physical stature as Aaron. So what is it's purpose? At this point we can merely suppose. But I must ask my good Justices to consider the following questions; why would this creature need a disguise? And even if it chose one, why such a meagre effort? The answers must only be, of course, that it would not. Which suggests that there is another culprit at large, one that my colleague B'yelka has already suggested.
“Next, nobleman of Taldor, son of a senator, Tibideau Maroon LeClerc of the LeClerc House!”
Tibideau bursts out of his chair with grace and power, decked out in an extremely tasteful mix of dark blue Ustalavan and Taldan fashions, hair pulled into a restrained and almost manly low ponytail. He sees that the crowd is growing restless and decides to win them back onto their side. The judges may decide the verdict, but the people set the mood! He puts up his arms in acknowledgement at his motley audience and spins around, nodding, smiling, and waving at everyone in attendance.
”Good morning, esteemed onlookers!” Tibideau spreads his arms out to his sides and nods while taking a few steps toward the gallery. ”Is this a great day for a trial, or what?” The crowd bursts into excited clapping and hollering. He notices a few local ladies swooning at his handsome smile. He winks in their general direction and one of them faints. He chuckles light-heartedly. ”Goodness, someone send a doctor to Section C, near the door!" He pauses, and smiles roguishly. "Or a glass of mead!” The audience bursts into hysterics, and when the laughter dies down, Tibideau replaces his mischievous grin with a gaze of total seriousness. ”But, the rest of you had better stick to water. You will want to have a clear head for what I’m about to say.” He turns to face the judges with a stern expression. I’m Dantrian!
Tibideau tips his head to the side in a mix of thoughtfulness and affected confusion. ”Most respected judges, we have heard an interesting tale from the witnesses today.” He whirls around to face the jeering crowd again, then alternates his attention between the crowd and the judges. ”You all know that bloodthirsty caimans roam the swamps of Morast. Large, ruthless beasts ready to snap up unsuspecting fishermen and explorers.” He lowers his voice. ”A caiman bite is pretty nasty. It hurts, it stings, and most of all, it scars. It cuts deep, and leaves quite a mark.”
Tibideau approaches the beast, stopping mere inches away from the sorry creature, accompanied by awestruck gasps from the audience. ”DO YOU SEE HIS SHOULDER?” he bellows, gesturing dramatically toward the golem. ”Grotesque, yes, but harmed? Scarred? Slashed? Certainly not!” Tibideau reaches behind the witness stand and pulls out a large poster of a blood caiman sketched next to a man of average height. ”As you can see, the caiman’s jaw is large, his teeth sharp. But where is the evidence of the bite?” He holds up the poster and slowly turns around so that everyone in attendance can see it properly. He sets it back down behind the witness stand and speaks again. ”Regular healing magic, the kind that makes scars disappear, doesn’t work on a construct like a golem. Plus, if the witnesses’ story is true, then the accused was also dragged to the bottom of the swamp by the caiman, certainly out of reach of anyone skilled enough in creating golems to fix him.” Tibideau shrugs, as though what he is saying is completely obvious to even a casual observer. ”The facts show us that this golem was not bitten by any large animal, and therefore could not have been the assailant seen at the swamp in Morast by our witnesses.”
The witch bows to the judges and the audience, and returns to his seat triumphantly. He whispers to Dantrian as he sits down. "That poster came free with the latest edition of Swamp Things Quarterly!"
Janos can't help but smile at his friends' presentations. Excellent work, all of them! I hope it's enough to begin to grow some seeds of doubt into peoples' minds. He gazes at the judges, trying to discern any sense of their thoughts on the case.
The judges' faces are like stone the whole time, impassively listening to everything put forth, but showing no outward reactions.
Dantrian watches the proceedings in focused silence, his fingers steepled before his chin and lips as each of his companions presents their piece of evidence. Whatever comments or criticisms the alchemist may hold, he keeps them to himself. As Tibideau sits down and whispers, Dantrian responses, "Indeed. A helpful illustration."
By 2:00 p.m. Chief Justice Khard brings the first day of the trial to a conclusion. As the Beast is led away, the crowd boos and bays loudly. Hissing, spitting and cursing those who would dare to defend the Beast.
After the trial, Gustav Kaple suggests that the Six investigate the six murdered children in Hergstag before that segment of the trial begins the next day. Hergstag is a small, religious farming community in the Dippelmere Swamp.
"Well, Janos - this place should be right up your alley, so to speak. Hergstag is in the middle of a swamp." Drosil give Janos a good-natured pat on the back.
"From what I understand, until the attacks seven months ago, the villagers were largely peaceful hunters and farmers. However, the village has been abandoned since. In fact, everyone has moved away from the area except for three sisters - Garrow, Starle, and Flicht - who own a small windmill on the outskirts of Lepidstadt. They're witnesses for the prosecution, so we should probably go see them first."
Janos chuckles. "You know, even a swamp rat realizes the swamp is not the nicest place to live."
"Well, let's go see this empty village and visit the sisters. Same deal as in Morast. They might not want to work with us once they hear we're officially on the defense team of the Beast. Maybe if the village is abandoned, I can find some good tracks."
Once the court breaks, B'yelka asks no one in particular, "Isn't it nice that the locals don't beleive in pageantry and costuming? I'd hate to think we left something out." She hums contentedly to herelf as she leaves the courthouse.
Once clear of the courthouse she makes her way back to the Whispering Trident and changes out of her 'city garb' into her 'adventuring garb' and makes ready to ride out to Hergstag and the Sister's mill. "Why are you boys taking so long!? We don't have time for this prancing about!"
The sisters' windmill is easy to find. All three of them are in their late forties. They all have the same round faces, upturned noses and unimpressive brown hair. They introduce themselves as Garrow, Starle, and Flicht.
Flicht, apparently the eldest, asks, "What can we do for you?"
Standing on the ground in front of the sister's mill B'yelka addresses them plainly, "We are seeking evidence in the Trial of the Beast. I am sure you have spoken to others, but justice demands this service of us. Can you your experience from that fateful night in Hergstag?"
"It wasn't one night, but a period of time. The kids vanished, one by one, only to return as ghosts. Then one day the culprit was found—the Beast of Lepidstadt. It walked right into the village with one of the dead children, a girl named Ellsa. The monster was laughing as it held her! As soon as we saw it we set on it with pitchforks, but we couldn't catch it. It got away into the swamp. The children's ghosts continued to haunt the village, and before long it was too much for us, so we all left." Flicht tells her story easily, as if she's told it many times before.
Starle looks a little uncomfortable as her sister finishes. "That aint all, Flicht. Remember Karin? She died in her own bed two days before the Beast wandered into town. Her daddy heard her screaming, but there weren't a mark on her."
"Well, what does that have to do with the beast, Starle?" Flicht retorts, giving her sister an annoyed look.
"And what precisely did you observe of these ghosts? Can you describe how they looked? Did they communicate in any way?"
"They look like shadows twisted into children’s bodies and wreathed in black fire," Flicht says, while making a warding sign against evil. "They called for help sometimes, or just appeared and disappeared. They were scary, you know, like ghosts are.."
Dantrian taps his finger against his lips in consideration.
Curious. Black fire and twisted shadow is not characteristic of the ghosts we encountered within Harrowstone. Though, perhaps there are multiple types of ghosts. Tibideau and one of his outlandish almanacs may have broader knowledge here, but it seems best to ask him once we are away from these sisters.
"I see. And this child Karin? Could you tell us more about her?"
"She died in her bed like Starle said, not a mark on 'er. Then she came back as a ghost, same as the others."
"Could you indicate which house was hers?"
"No. I aint going back there. It's on the west side of town, across from a patch of trees. At the intersection where two roads meet."
Janos muses for a bit as the sisters recount the tale. "You said you saw the Beast with this girl Ellsa. What did he look like? And who was Ellsa? Was she special in anyway that the Beast would show up in town with her?"
"It was the same one what was at the trial this morning. Nine feet of stitched up evil HORROR! Ellsa was just one of the local girls, nothing special about her."
"You say he was laughing?" Drosil asks. "I have seen the beast, and while he is monstrous to gaze upon, he is not necessarily as cruel as his countenance would suggest. While he may have looked like he was laughing, is it possible that he came into the village crying instead, distraught over the death of the girl? Could his face not be able to contort that way? Are his eyes even able to produce tears, created as they are?"
"You say the Beast brought her back to the village. If the world were turned upside down, is it possible that he did not harm the girl, but only brought her home? I mean, did anyone actually see the Beast hurt the child?" Silently she adds, Laughing, or crying? how could you tell what a thing made of stitched corpses was feeling?
"Was Ellsa dead when he brought her to the village? Did she become a ghost too?"
"You say he was laughing?" Drosil asks. "I have seen the beast, and while he is monstrous to gaze upon, he is not necessarily as cruel as his countenance would suggest. While he may have looked like he was laughing, is it possible that he came into the village crying instead, distraught over the death of the girl? Could his face not be able to contort that way? Are his eyes even able to produce tears, created as they are?"
[dice=Sense Motive]1d20+8
"How the hell should I know?"
"You say the Beast brought her back to the village. If the world were turned upside down, is it possible that he did not harm the girl, but only brought her home? I mean, did anyone actually see the Beast hurt the child?" Silently she adds, Laughing, or crying? how could you tell what a thing made of stitched corpses was feeling?
"I suppose it's possible, no one saw him hurt her. But what else coulda done it?"
"Was Ellsa dead when he brought her to the village? Did she become a ghost too?"
The poor girl Karin. When she died did she suffer any illness or was it sudden? And I assume the Beast did not return during that time.
The thought of these children rising as malevolent spirits after death concerns me greatly. I don't know much about golems but there are undead creatures who leave their foul taint on their victims.
"Karin was not ill. The best wasn't seen at that time."