"Uhm... Should someone check the body?" Kenji asks hesitantly. "Like, for clues as to how she died?"
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Koan blushes at the extra attention Ameiko gives him as he and Kenji arrive at the caravan's campsite. The young man nods to everyone he knows and gives a short bow in greeting to those he is less familiar with before trying to find his tongue to answer Ameiko, "Y.. yes. Your brother gave me the... quick... the abridged version of events." He listens for a few moments as the rest relay what bits of info they have uncovered, "If... this was a murder of convenience or one of forethought, it seems Mrs. Maressa's testimony is the lynchpin and key to this whole kerfuffle."
Koan looks to Ameiko as he attempts wrangle his bangs from out of in front of his eyes, "Um... Ameiko, I'd be glad... to talk to her for you if you'd like? It would be... my honor."
Ameiko nods at Koan's suggestion and says, "That's our best bet. Any of the rest of us would be noticed, and I wouldn't want to get in the position of having townspeople think we were trying to intimidate or silence the one witness." She bites her lip for a moment, then says, "Honestly I don't know the best way to handle the problem of the body. We need to know more! At least Kenji kept the torches and pitchforks away for a day. Hopefully that will give us the time we need."
Koan heads back into town to track down Mistress Maressa, and under the guise of being a traveling musician who is always looking for interesting stories, he prods for information.
Mistress Maressa is a stout middle-aged woman, and it takes very little to realize that she is a small-town stereotype: A woman who affects the posturing of a moralist, while engaging in gossip about every and all of her neighbors. She is all too eager to tell Koan all the sordid details about the town and about what she claims she saw.
"Well," she says with a flick of her wrist, "it was just a bit before sunset. I was passing by the bridge because I was bringing my laundry back from the river, where I had spent all afternoon making everything clean again. Clean sheets are a boon, don't you know! ANYway, I had just passed Scarletta Nyboe, and I gave her as pleasant a greeting as ever, don't you know, in spite of her peccadilloes, and then I saw Eloran giggling with that portly fellow from the caravan. I don't know what a bright young flower like her would have seen in a scoundrel like him, don't you know! Well they were cooing and laughing under the bridge like a pair of newlyweds, don't you know, and I'm not one to spy but they certainly seemed cozy what with their hands all a-roaming! Of course being a goodly woman I was not going to stand around and watch that sordid business, especially with laundry to finish!"
"I suppose going back and checking the body for signs of how she died is all we can do right now." Lyraesel says to Shalelu.
Koan listens intently as Mrs. Maressa gabs on about what she 'witnessed' and lets her finish before he tries to act the gossip himself, "Oh my, that is sordid! Was Eloran known for dallying with strange men or travelers? You seem to be passingly familiar with the portly caravan man to have noticed that it was him right away that had won the heart of the poor dear, Eloran? And you mentioned Scarletta Nyboe? I don't think I've heard the news about her before. She a friend of yours?"
Kenji, in true 'self-propelled trouble magnet' form, will go to find the home of the now deceased girl and her father. He is suspicious that she wouldn't have left some other clues to her killer behind. Or maybe a lover she wrote about in a diary.
He will leave in a rush, but can be followed by another party member.
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"I suppose going back and checking the body for signs of how she died is all we can do right now." Lyraesel says to Shalelu.
The two woodswomen sneak back to the river and find the body, still where they left it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Koan listens intently as Mrs. Maressa gabs on about what she 'witnessed' and lets her finish before he tries to act the gossip himself, "Oh my, that is sordid! Was Eloran known for dallying with strange men or travelers? You seem to be passingly familiar with the portly caravan man to have noticed that it was him right away that had won the heart of the poor dear, Eloran? And you mentioned Scarletta Nyboe? I don't think I've heard the news about her before. She a friend of yours?"
Mistress Maressa sniffs loudly and says, "Scarletta is sure no 'friend' of mine. I'm a woman of good character, not like that hussy. Tramping around the town in her red bodice with the shoulders off! Just asking for attention because she can't attract a good man to settle down with her."
The irony is not lost on you that Mistress Maressa is, herself, an unmarried middle-aged spinster who couldn't 'attract a good man,' as if that were some barometer of personal quality.
"Poor Eloran, she was growing into a flower of youth, but now plucked before her time. She was always careful with strangers. She did spend a little time dallying with her friends Constance and Tarken, dreaming and woolgathering. Not practical! She could have learned something from Constance, who at least practiced a trade at the bakery."
The woman continues, "Now I know I've seen that caravan driver before; he came through here last year with some of his Varisian friends. A lot of scoundrels, I do say! If they were upstanding men they'd settle for a good job, not defrauding good townspeople and then riding off in that caravan before they're caught. A bunch of thieves and vagabonds, if you ask me. Why, they can't leave too soon!"
Once again, the irony is not lost on you that she is railing about travelers without regular employment and homes, to a traveling musician who makes do wherever the road takes him, and she seems oblivious to her own oversight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kenji, in true 'self-propelled trouble magnet' form, will go to find the home of the now deceased girl and her father. He is suspicious that she wouldn't have left some other clues to her killer behind. Or maybe a lover she wrote about in a diary.
He will leave in a rush, but can be followed by another party member.
Deborah hikes up her skirts and pounces down the steps of the fortune-teller's wagon and says, "Wait! I'm coming with you. I was hiding in the wagon when the townspeople came; they probably didn't see me. And..." she trails off as she nervously twists her mouth with indecision, then says, "...maybe if the killer is out there he might try to come after me, if he likes young women. I think together we can probably fight him off if he does show up -- maybe even stop him."
Sure enough, nobody troubles the two youngsters as they head into town, Kenji with his hat down and carrying his bag on his shoulder to obscure his face, Deborah walking along beside him as a companion. With some guarded questions, you eventually find the home of Eloran and Varek is in the town's business quarter; Varek is a cooper. At present he's stuck at home quite ill (for obvious reasons). It's a small home of the usual sort for a town craftsman, with the shop in front displaying his wares (barrels) and rooms in the back and upstairs.
Making her way through the shadows alongside the stealthy ranger, Lyraesel pays close attention to the dead girl's body, studying her wounds to determine her cause of death, and what she may have endured prior to it.
After a few moments with Maressa, Koan has a feel for what kind of woman she was and acted accordingly. He nodded and parroted her emotions, feeding the hypocrisy like one would slowly slip logs into a campfire to keep it burning.
Mistress Maressa sniffs loudly and says, "Scarletta is sure no 'friend' of mine. I'm a woman of good character, not like that hussy. Tramping around the town in her red bodice with the shoulders off! Just asking for attention because she can't attract a good man to settle down with her."
Koan acts shocked as he listens to her description of Scarletta, "She sounds like she has no shame. You'd think that such a 'deviant' might have stuck around to watch Eloran and the man trade 'pleasantries', enjoyed such a peepshow, right? Do you think she might have seen something too?"
"Poor Eloran, she was growing into a flower of youth, but now plucked before her time. She was always careful with strangers. She did spend a little time dallying with her friends Constance and Tarken, dreaming and woolgathering. Not practical! She could have learned something from Constance, who at least practiced a trade at the bakery."
Koan frowns and summons up a few tears to moisten his eyes, "That is so sad that such a young woman will never know the feeling of finding true love and raising a family. I'm sure her friends now see the error of allowing too much idle time lead them to mischief and woe. I'd like to offer them some small condolences myself. Do you think Constance is working at the bakery today even with all the troubles afoot? And where does Tarken wheedle time away?"
The woman continues, "Now I know I've seen that caravan driver before; he came through here last year with some of his Varisian friends. A lot of scoundrels, I do say! If they were upstanding men they'd settle...
Koan bangs his fist into his knee, "Quite right, scoundrels, the lot of them! Do you remember what he and his friends all looked like so everyone would know if another of them gets into mischief who it was exactly that caused the trouble?"
Kenji looks up at the house, thinking. He glances at Deborah. "Think she had an upstairs room?"
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mistress Maressa says to Koan, "Indeed, this whole sordid mess would never have happened if people kept to their work and stayed away from outsiders. A valuable lesson." She nods with a self-satisfied look. "I don't doubt that Constance and Tarken are both hard at work now, they must still make bread after all! That layabout Tarken is probably shirking duties at the mill. Well, if it were up to me a little discipline would shape those youngsters right up! Keep them from bringing more trouble around."
She leans in conspiratorially and whispers, "Scarletta is probably moping about at her little garden plot, as usual, pretending that everything bad that happens to her is not her fault. Looking for easy men to try to rob them of their money, I'd think."
"The sooner that caravan is on its way, the better, I say! All those Varisians can go back to fleecing each other." she finishes triumphantly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the site of the body, Shalelu keeps an eye out for interlopers while Lyraesel examines the cadaver. It is somewhat disturbing, to say the least, to be examining the naked corpse of a young woman surreptitiously.
Lyraesel presses on the abdomen and a large quantity of stagnant water floods out of Eloran's mouth. She checks the neck and back but there are no signs of cuts or serious bludgeoning wounds. At a guess, you would say that she was drowned. Her fingernails are ragged, indicating that they were probably broken in a struggle against her attacker, which means that whoever killed her likely held her underwater.
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Deborah and Kenji look up at the two-story building that once housed Eloran and still houses her father. Deborah says, "Overprotective father of a teenage girl? Yeah, he has her sleep upstairs, so boys can't climb in the window and she can't climb out."
Kenji rubs his jaw, wishing he had stubble or something to enhance his image.
"It can't be that hard to get up there." he reasons, looking the building up and down. "Can probably get at it from a nearby roof or scale the back."
Kenji sighs. "But that'd mean leaving you here. I don't like leaving you where you could be ambushed."
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Kenji rubs his jaw, wishing he had stubble or something to enhance his image.
"It can't be that hard to get up there." he reasons, looking the building up and down. "Can probably get at it from a nearby roof or scale the back."
Kenji sighs. "But that'd mean leaving you here. I don't like leaving you where you could be ambushed."
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Deborah says, "No way! I'm going up there too. Just, after you."
Kenji give her a grin. "ok!" he says happily.
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"She wasn't beaten or stabbed, but drowned. Held down underwater by whoever attacked her. Probably to prevent her from telling anyone about what was done to her." Lyrasel says to Shalelu, needing to talk to process the anger she feels at such a pointless death. "A sick monster who used her and killed her. We have to find them and kill them or this will happen again."
"Right you are, ma'am. Well, I thank you for your time today to go over these tragic and scandalous events. If you think of anything else of interest, please let me know as I'll be around town for a bit longer." Koan bows formally to Maressa as he sees himself out of her home. So now, he had three more names to gather yet more threads to weave the true tapestry of what events transpired to Eloran. First would be a stop by the girl's friends, Constance and Tarken, then on to find Scarletta. Maybe one or all of them would know more than that gossiping busybody, Maressa.
Kenji manages to scramble up onto the second-story lip on the roof of the house, then helps Deborah up. The window shutters are closed but not locked; it's simple enough to push them open and vanish into the room.
The upstairs bedroom is, by the standards of a typical Golarion commoner, fairly swank: This girl, after all, has her own room and her own bed. A straw-filled mattress and down pillow are flush against the wall to the right of the window. There is one door, which is shut. A small trunk rests next to a low table and stool. Several sheafs of paper lie on the table, covered in scribbled numbers. The table itself has no drawers; it is very simple, just a flat four-legged plane. Near the back of the table, where it is mostly flush with the wall, is an oil lamp.
Deborah makes a "hmm" sound and whispers, "I don't think this family would bother with traps. Lucky us. What did you want to check out? If you wanted to check the papers, I can look through the trunk, or maybe check the bed."
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Shalelu nods in grim agreement with Lyraesel's assessment. "This killer is a predator of sorts. Somehow he tricked this poor girl into this tryst, then disposed of her while she struggled. This has the stench of foul magic to me," she says curtly.
"What do you think we should do? Set a trap? Try to find tracks at the site that the witness described? Stay hidden in the woods and watch the town for suspicious people?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Koan, meanwhile, heads back toward the bakery, where he was already visiting earlier in the day. Constance is easy to find: She's the woman about the same age as Eloran, garbed in a long baker's robe and apron with flour dusting her face. She's a somewhat plain-looking girl who is obviously tired from hauling sacks of flour and shoveling loaves of bread out of ovens all day. Koan tries to slip in a few questions while she's busy working.
"Everyone's pretty scared," she says as she kneads several pounds of dough into small rolls. "I mean, girls like me. If nothing is done about that killer, how can we be safe?" She sprinkles the dough with a dusting of flour and then places them on a large wooden paddle. "Eloran only had eyes for Tarken. She said she was going to get him to marry her. This is just so shocking. Maybe it's because Tarken was taking too long? I don't know."
Constance's father, the local baker, peeks in the back with the oven and nervously says, "Constance, dear, you know to have folks talk to me about business! Keep working on those dinner rolls." The impression is very much that this worried father doesn't want to potentially drive away business, but is still a bit concerned about his daughter talking to strangers -- enough that he is worried about it even in his own shop.
Kenji keeps his voice low, knowing how alert an overprotective parent (or sister) can be. "Yeah. careful with the trunk, it might be creaky." he cautions.
He slips over to the table to read through the papers.
Kenji keeps his voice low, knowing how alert an overprotective parent (or sister) can be. "Yeah. careful with the trunk, it might be creaky." he cautions.
He slips over to the table to read through the papers.
The papers look like they are documents for the business: ledgers, sales figures, the kind of boring paperwork that make good practice for learning sums and tabulations. Based on a quick look at the figures, business has been brisk: Eloran's father Varek has been selling quite a few barrels to the local brewers.
Deborah kneels down and carefully opens the trunk. She rummages around a bit in it, then takes out a small wooden box and opens that. The smaller box is empty.
"Jewelry box," she whispers. "It's empty, so Eloran was wearing the jewelry, unless she loaned it to a friend. Nobody's mentioned it so I'm guessing it hasn't turned up either."
"Maybe if we can find who has them, we can prove they did it?" Kenji asks, thinking.
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Koan looks at the worried father of Constance and bows his head to the man, "I'm sorry, sir. I was only relaying my condolences to your daughter on the loss of her friend. I'll be but a moment longer."
Afterward, he turns his attention to the girl, "Did Eloran mention any plans she might have had before the tragedy? Or had she been acting oddly recently or perhaps have any odd things happened about town in the last few days? It is strange that she was willing to toss her infatuation with a boy she has been pining over for a while on a whim to be with some man that she probably knew nothing about. Does that not strike you as very peculiar?"
"I think that trying to find tracks might be our best chance. She clearly struggled so there's a chance there might be signs of it and a trail left by her attacker." Lyraesel suggests. "Once we have an idea what we're dealing with the trap might be a good idea though."
Lyraesel and Shalelu sneak over to the eastern bridge. Staying unnoticed takes work -- the women are practically crawling through the grass, as during the day, commerce takes people over the bridge quite regularly. Shalelu does her best to look for tracks.
"The area's all muddled from the struggle," she whispers with some frustration. "I think Eloran came from the direction of the south side of town, which makes sense as she lives over there, but I can't find where here attacker was or went."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kenji pores over the receipts and finds a lot of boring transactions: Sales to brewers, sales to boatmen, even a couple sales to local individuals (probably folks who want to collect rain or brew their own beer) -- Kenji notes several sales to individual names, but since he doesn't really know anyone in town he doesn't know who's who.
As Kenji and Deborah search the room, they hear footsteps on the stairs.
Deborah freezes for a moment, then whispers, "What do we do? Should we go back out the window?"
The footsteps pause for a moment, then continue on their way up the stairs toward the room!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Constance replies to Koan, "It is really weird. Eloran could've had her pick of men. She was really pretty. A fat traveling merchant isn't what I'd consider her first pick. It's not like she was planning on leaving town or anything. Her father's well-to-do, she has some good money and good prospects. It doesn't really fit her at all." Constance sniffs and wipes her nose with one hand, then grabs a hand towel and daubs at her eye. "But she was my best friend. I miss her."
Kenji points to the window. "Go!" He whispers. He helps her out the window, and without hesitation takes a front flip out the window. Using the sill to arrest his fall, he drops lightly to the ground and immediately hides up against the wall to avoid being seen if someone looks out the window.
Koan nods in agreement, "Very, very strange. My condolences for the loss of your friend, Ms. Constance. May sorrow turn it's face from you for many years to come." The young man bows to the young lady and makes his way back out to the streets to hunt down Tarken, the 'lazy' love interest in this tragic affair.
Kenji easily slips out the window like a salmon leaping upriver. Deborah stumbles over her skirts as she clambers out.
Somehow she manages to hike up her skirts, climb out the window, and make it onto the ledge outside. The door rattles and opens, and as Kenji leaps down and rolls on the ground, Deborah slides along the side of the wall. The sounds from inside the room indicate that someone is moving around in there, and Deborah barely breathes as she waits.
Finally, after several minutes, the door closes again. Deborah lets out a heavy sigh, and then struggles her way down the wall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lyraesel and Shalelu do their best to search the scene of the crime while remaining unnoticed. Lyraesel is able to make out the spot where the altercation took place. Eloran, it seems, was on her way over the bridge when she changed path and came underneath. The other party -- presumably Vankor -- it's harder to tell; the tracks are somewhat muddled, especially because of the signs of the struggle.
One thing does stand out: The tracks are fairly shallow. They are not the kinds of tracks that a heavy-set man like Vankor would make in the muddy ground beside a river -- they aren't deep enough.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Koan excuses himself from the bakery. You have a crawling sensation on the back of your neck as you leave, and you notice that the baker actually comes out front and watches you go, nervously.
The mill is just next to the baker's, situated on the river. (It's a bit upriver from the bridges, though.) The grinding of the millstones is pervasive. Tarken is hauling large sacks of grain from the storehouse up top to the mill below, where it's ground into flour. He certainly doesn't seem to be lazy.
Koan interrupts Tarken after he spreads some grain on the millstone. "Sorry, did you need to buy some flour? It looks like you already have some bread there," says the young man. He's of average height, with beefy arms (probably from carrying sacks of grain all day) and sandy hair. He has a narrow chin and a slightly overlarge nose but is handsome in an Owen Wilson-ish way.
Staring at the muddled tracks Lyraesel frowns. [b]"This ground is soft. Vankor is not a small man, and I've seen him get down from the wagon, his footfalls are not even close to as light as these. They'd be a lot deeper." she says trying to determine the direction they'd come from before the struggle or headed after.
Kenji walks up under her as she starts to climb and holds out his arms.
"I got you." he whispers up to her, offering to catch her.
Once she's down, he rolls his shoulders and shakes his head. "Did you find anything useful?" he asks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kenji helps Deborah clamber down. "Thanks," she says with a slightly embarrassed smile. "The thing that stuck out to me was that empty jewelry box. If the killer took the necklace... that's either going to be perfect evidence, or it's going to turn up planted in someone's possessions. C'mon, let's get out of here before we have any more close calls!"
Kenji nods. "Let's get out of here!" he says.
As they set off, he glances over to her, trying to suppress a grin. "So... did you see that jump?" he asks. "Pretty smooth, huh?"
Koan smiles sadly as he motions at Tarken, "Actually, I've come to talk with you, if you have a moment. It's about Eloran, the poor girl. My name is Koan and I'm planning on writing a tragic ballad to remember Eloran so that others might learn from this tragedy and to help immortalize her so that friends and family can have closure. I heard you two where close and I'd like your thoughts on what happened."
To Kenji, Deborah says, "I hope you don't take any more falls! If these people catch us poking around they will burn us at the stake." It's not clear how much she thinks she's exaggerating.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tarken looks a bit dumbfounded at Koan's request at first, then he says, "A ballad? Really? That's... uh, I don't know what to say. That's a really nice way to remember her." He stops and thinks for a moment, then says, "Me an' Eloran an' Constance all kinda grew up together, Constance is just over yonder since her family's bakery uses a lot of flour that we grind here. Eloran's pa is the local cooper, he is pretty wealthy though -- he gets a lot of jobs making barrels for shipments of ale and such. Eloran's an only child though, her ma died giving birth to her, so her pa was always kinda protective. Y'know, she's -- uh, she was -- a nice girl, wealthy family, everyone knew that she could have her pick of husbands some day, maybe she'd even own her pa's business and be pretty wealthy, yeah?"
"Anyway we were just, all friends, right? Because we've all grown up together. It's not like we were planning to run away or have a life on the road or anything like that."
"Constance was always more... sensible, I guess? Eloran was more whimsical. And she was used to getting her way. So sometimes we'd have a little free time, on festival days and the like, and we'd go over to the north side of town to see the sights, or visit the magician's sideshow, or once we even went to the Silver Moon to listen to some music and have some of the imported ale. Constance thought that was probably not a great use of our time and money, and Eloran got so sick! But that was weeks ago."
"Maybe Eloran got it into her head that she'd go off with that traveling caravan that just rolled into town. But she had anything she could want here -- her family has money, she could pick a suitor, she could even take some of her pa's money and move to Galduria or even Magnimar if she wanted. It don't make no sense."
He scratches his slightly-scruffy chin idly. "As far as I know she was just doing jobs for her pa that day, going to collect orders and bills from shippers along the north side. They use a lot of her pa's barrels to ship all the local ale and beer to other places, y'see. She should've just been taking orders and collecting money. A sudden fling with a traveler... doesn't make much sense."
He trails off, frowning. If you want more answers you'll have to direct the conversation, though he seems more than happy to talk.
To Kenji, Deborah says, "I hope you don't take any more falls! If these people catch us poking around they will burn us at the stake." It's not clear how much she thinks she's exaggerating.
Kenji gives her a one-shoulder shrug and a grin. "Don't worry about any stakes." he says protectively. "I don't know if you noticed, but I can control fire. None of the people I care about are going to burn while I'm around."
Koan nods as he listens and pulls out a notebook as he jots down a few things that Tarken said, "Had you seen Eloran any the day of the incident? Before, during, or after her time she was collecting orders and money with the shippers?" The young man waits for Tarken to answer before following it up with another question, "According to your mutual friend, Constance, Eloran had a bit of a crush on you. Did you know anything about that?"
Deborah grins at Kenji's "fire" comment and says, "All right, you win that one!" as the two head back to the caravan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Koan, meanwhile, digs for more information.
"I didn't really know that Eloran liked me," says Tarken, surprised and then morose. "She never said... how are you supposed to know, anyway?" He sighs. "Um, anyway, I saw Eloran briefly, because she had to cross the bridge to go to the north side of town, and she waved as she was going by. She came along the riverside road here." He points to the frontage road that follows the river and passes the mill and bakery. "Nothing unusual though. Nobody with her, nothing strange, she wasn't carrying anything unusual or anything. I've seen her go out with the purchase orders before, usually means it'll be hours before she's back."
Koan glances at the road, "Curious-er and curious-er. Thank you for your time, Tarken, and my condolences on your loss. If you happen to think of anything more you'd like to tell me on the subject of Ms. Eloran, I'll be around town for at least the next few days." The young man sadly nods his head to Tarken as he makes for his fourth stop of the day, the scandalous Scarletta.
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Lyraesel and Shalelu return safely to the caravan, followed a bit later by Kenji and Deborah. The group circles around to discuss what to do next.
"We can't stay here more than another day," says Sandru. "Otherwise the townspeople will be back, and likely angrier than before. We have to either solve this or get on the road soon!"
Vankor, looking distressed, says, "We have to clear my name! Otherwise I can never come back to this town again -- and I love the local meat-pies!"
Koya firmly says, "We must see this through. We cannot simply leave while there is a hidden murderer about in the town."
Ameiko looks thoughtful and says, "You've done a good job of collecting clues. What should we look for next? Maybe Koan will help us put the pieces together."
As usual, Shalelu says, "...".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Koan tracks down the "infamous" Scarletta. As her name implies, she has striking red hair and a matching red bodice -- she certainly stands out. When you catch up to her, she is wearing a simple brown kerchief over her head, but her hair still peeks out the sides and back, unmistakable. She is, as predicted, digging in a small garden plot. She apparently is resident in a small house in the town with a fenced garden. The house does not have an attached shop, so you're not exactly sure what kind of trade she might practice, if any, but it's also obviously an older home and she doesn't seem to be independently wealthy.
When Koan pauses at the fence, she looks up, then blows a strand of hair out of her face. She appears to be in her late 20s or early 30s, a woman who's seen some of what the world has to offer and has been left deeply wounded by it.
In her right hand is a trowel. On her left hand is a plain brass ring, though according to Mistress Maressa, Scarletta is unmarried.
She is currently weeding a plot for cabbages.
As Koan lingers for a moment, she says in a soft voice, "I don't know you. What did you want?" She gives the impression mostly of being sad.
'We can either try to find someone that fits the description, or try to lure him out." Lyraesel suggests.
Koan hesitates at the fence as he feels a strong sense of regret at even involving this woman in their troubles. She seems nothing like what the gossiping hen, Maressa, had painted her. Koan finds his voice after a moment, "Miss Scarletta, I presume? My name is Koan and I'm looking into the tragedy that befell poor Eloran recently. Something about the whole thing smells wrong and I'm just want to make sure the 'right' person pays for their misdeed. In talking with others about the incident, one witness, a Mistress Maressa, said she had greeted you close to the scene of the... murder. Did you by chance see Eloran and her 'gentleman caller' on their way there? Did you notice anything, even the smallest detail, off about them?"
Scarletta sighs at Koan's question. She puts down her trowel and looks up and says, "I don't know what Maressa told you - I was just coming home after selling some of my tomato preserves. I stopped to pet Chomper and give him a rub behind the ears when I spotted Eloran and that stranger from the caravan sneaking under the bridge, looking for a secluded spot. Very... close. I don't want to put any imprecations on anyone else with gossip," she finishes. She holds Koan's gaze steadily.
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Back at the caravan, Sandru says, "I'm going to try to head into town and purchase some food for tonight and tomorrow morning. I'll change my outfit and wear one of the costume wigs so that it's harder to recognize me. With luck I'll be in and out in an hour with some more things for Kenji to cook!"
True to form, Sandru puts on a blond wig, puts on a simple hat, and trades his classy Varisian vest for a plain shirt and coat. He heads into town looking for supplies, but finds more than he bargained for...
(This is the intro hook for our new member, whose character knows Sandru and will recognize him after a good long look through his disguise!)
Koan nods as he listens, "I had my fill of gossip after talking to Maressa, so just the truth as you saw it would do me fine, miss. Did Eloran seem happy to be with the fellow? As in she was there under her own will?"
Scarletta's brow furrows, and after a moment she sits up slightly from her gardening squat and rests her hands on her legs while looking down at her cabbages. She seems to be considering the question. Then she says, "She seemed... compliant." Her gaze shifts back up and she says, "Not like the blush of illicit love giggling under a shroud and bursting to be expressed. Like... she was going along."
Koan looks back at Scarletta as revelations sprout in both their minds, "Was Eloran known as a particularly good actress? Because if she wasn't then that does away with the thought she was being strong-armed by physical force. I'm sure her distress would be easy to read in such a case. No, it is probably one of two answers: she was about something entirely more serious than an illicit tryst or she was being lead away under magical compulsion. My bet is on the latter."
Scarletta shrugs expressively, then says, "I couldn't say. I don't know anything about such things." She frowns and adds, "But if she was compelled... anyone could become a victim, no matter how careful they are." Her unsettlingly steady gaze carries some kind of burden when she says, "How could such a person be stopped?"
Koan ticks off fingers as he answers Scarletta, "There are trinkets and wards that might help, or I've heard reciting a mantra in your mind over and over can sometimes work, but really the only sure way to counteract such a person is to stop them from using those abilities in the first place. By blade, fist, spell, or word. And the more people that know such a person is capable of that, the more they should be on the look out for its use." Koan sighs as he rubs a hand against his forehead, "I'm sorry for burdening you with more worries today, Miss Scarletta, it was not my intention. Thank you for sharing what you saw. I shall make sure I put it to good use. May fortune smile on you for the rest of the day." Koan bows to the lady as he heads for the caravan to share what he has learned so far.
The group reassembles at the caravan in the early afternoon. Everyone shares what they have learned.
Ameiko idly brushes at her hair as she says, "So now what? It seems like Vankor is off the hook, but the only way to really convince the townspeople of that concretely is to find the real killer, and that maybe means finding that missing piece of jewelry. And presumably it's someone using some kind of magic."
Sandru arrives with a fresh load of foodstuffs, and with a dwarf accompanying him. "Good luck, everyone! I ran into an old associate. Morgrym Stonestepper here spent a little time with the caravan before, and it's great fortune that I ran into him in town. He's got a bit of wanderlust and has agreed to help an old friend -- that means me -- in exchange for traveling with the caravan when we do leave."
"That's good news," says Deborah, "since that's another person the townsfolk won't recognize. He and Koan can both move freely around the town without drawing attention!"
Shalelu draws in breath and then says, "I think when we confront the killer, unless we find a way to draw him - or her, or it - back here to us, we will all need to go. And we'd better be right, because if we wind up in a fight, the rest of the town will find out pretty quickly."
"We found the jewelry was missing." Kenji offers. "Also, there were a number of people she was seeing regularly, helping her pa's business. She did his maths. Didn't recognize any patterns though; got interrupted."
He pauses. "I hope someone had more fruitfull results."
-Posted with Wayfinder