hehehehe
:)
"So, how do we approach the Scarnetti's? I don't think we have anything that amounts to more than hear-say. Perhaps we can gather more evidence? Maybe visit the place where the body was found?"
Having left the bereaved father and rejoined the rest of the party, Nuri deadpans, "Are you suggesting that a small-town sheriff's lackeys might conceivably have overlooked something important? Approaching the nobility with accusations is unlikely to get us anything but closed doors everywhere we turn within their sphere of influence. Perhaps we should suggest that someone is trying to discredit them with such a bloody and public crime at their place of business; that might give them more reason to cooperate."
"I am for visiting the crime scene; mainly because I do not care to deal with the Scarnetti's. But it is possible we may have to do both, unfortunately."
Leaving the garrison you head to the east side of Sandpoint, to the shores of the river where the lumber sits. There is a small crowd of gawkers roving about and as you approach you over hear that the mill was in operation last night--something citizens have been complaining of lately was the late hours of the mills operation. Currently the machinery is not in operation and the guards posted to keep the crowds out part and let you all in.
Inside there are several points of interest:
THE TIMBER PIER: Timber is delivered to the mill via a small pier that extends out into the Turandarok River.
THE MURDER SCENE: The mill interior is coated with sawdust strewn with footprints and
splashes of blood. Harker's body, Katrine's body, and a suspicious axe remain here as well as a lingering stench of rotten flesh. The lingering scent of decay in the air is curious-it smells almost as if an animal had died somewhere in the room and its remains were allowed to ripen.
KATRINE'S BODY: Poor Katrine was killed instantly when she was pushed into the log splitter. Her mangled, ruined remains lie on the mill's lower floor amid heaps of bloodstained firewood. A pale-faced, obviously upset guard stands at attention nearby. The log splitter itself is powered by a waterwheel and consists of a chute in the floor with rotating saw blades that cut logs as they are fed in.
HARKER'S BODY: Harker's body has been horribly desecrated. The poor man has been affixed to the wall by several hooks normally used to hang machinery. The body is mutilated, the face carved away and lower jaw missing entirely. His bare chest is defaced as well, bearing a strange rune in the shape of a seven-pointed star. This rune is familiar to the heroes of Sandpoint. The body is only recognizable as Harker's by a faded tattoo of a raven across his lower abdomen.
THE SUSPICIOUS AXE: A handaxe is embedded in the floor near the log splitter, as if it had been dropped there. The handle is covered with bloody finger-marks.
Wren was immediately drawn in by the seven pointed rune on Harker's body. She moved to it, taking a long time to examine what she could of the remains. She looks at the group who had seen such a figure before. "Remember this? Every time this rune pops up, something bad seems to happen."
Wren tells the others what she had observed from looking at the body. "Anyone else notice the stench coming from those wounds? Is that poison, I wonder?"
Nuri notes the difference between Katrine's death, almost as an afterthought, and the focused attention given to Harker's mutilation. "Looks like the father was right: The man was the real target, and the girl was only in the wrong place at the wrong time. Seems her family was right to warn her off of him."
"Anyone else notice the stench coming from those wounds? Is that poison, I wonder?"
With a grimace of disgust at getting so near the corpse, Nuri steps nearer to examine the claw marks and their lingering fetor. "Wren, what do you make of that axe? Is it magically enhanced?"
"I believe this man was killed by some sort of humanoid undead," Nuri frowns. "What would a necromancer have to do with the Scarnettis? Or with you?" She turns to Eponine inquisitively.
Victor examines the crime scene, shaking his head sadly as such mutilation. "You are right about that sign, Miss Wren. Every time we see it, it belongs to something terrible. And I do not know the scent of poison so I could not tell you if that is what it is." As Nuri explains her findings, "Undead? Are you positive? Here in Sandpoint? It cannot be." Victor's mind returns to the tunnels of the glassworks and his eyes go wide. "No! Eponine, Wren, do you remember those things under the Glassworks? Could it be?! Could there be another one of those damnable things?! No no no no no no, this cannot be! This cannot be." Victor's breathing is increasing as his heart begins to race at the thought, anger and a great deal of anxiety obviously rising from within. Dragging his hands down his face and then through his hair. he yells furiously. Immediately beginning to pace back and forth and trying to calm down, he realizes Nuri and Roakkad no nothing of what he speaks. He takes a deep breath as he turns to explain. "Look, the two of you; under the Glassworks, there were these creatures that I think might have been undead. Horrible things, you see. With claws just as you describe, Nuri. But they were created by this tiny, little demon creature when it bled within the water. Do you," he swallows, worry etched miserably upon him, "do you believe that is what did this? I do not know if they were undead or not but what you have described sounds a lot like them. And if that is the case - if they have managed to find their way to the surface..." Victor just shakes his head at the horrible possibilities, hoping he is utterly wrong.
Eponine, lurking sullenly in the background until now, comes to when Nuri addresses her. "I don't know!" Then realizing Nuri wasn't accusing her of anything, she adds softly "I don't know. I wish I did, but I don't." With a sigh and then a determined grimace, Eponine finally steps up and examines the wounds too.
Knowledge (religion) to ID the undead type:
Clearly her preoccupation with the damnable note is affecting her during the investigation.
Wren continues to look at the surrounding area with her enhanced vision, following Nuri's lead, and examining the axe as well. "I hope it isn't, Victor. We barely made it out of those tunnels the last time. I doubt that is the culprit, as it has been quiet for several months. That is a lead we should, probably explore, too, though."
"Urgh...don't get too close to it," Wren retches, falling to her knees. "The smell, I can't..."
"Skeletons have claws, as do other mindless undead," Nuri muses, as if to herself, "but they wouldn't perform such desecrations, not on their own, at least.... Wren! What's the matter?" She hurries to the evoker's side to help her up. "Some fresh air... let's get her out of this place!"
Victor quickly moves to Wren's aid opposite Nuri. "C'mon, Miss Wren, let us get you out of here," he says as he helps to move her away from the stench as quickly as possible.
"Thank you...that stench. I've never smelled anything like it.". As Wren was taken further away, she felt a bit better, but still it took her a full five minutes to get her land legs back under her.
Nuri glances over her shoulder at the lumbermill. "I hope the others are getting somewhere."
Eponine will wander away from the gruesome site, making her way over to the timber pier. She'll look around a little as she takes in some fresh air. If nothing captures her interest, she'll wander in the same slow, meandering way back to the lumbermill.
THE MURDER SCENE: The mill interior is coated with sawdust strewn with footprints and
splashes of blood. Harker's body, Katrine's body, and a suspicious axe remain here as well as a lingering stench of rotten flesh. The lingering scent of decay in the air is curious-it smells almost as if an animal had died somewhere in the room and its remains were allowed to ripen.
Roakkad examined the room carefully but could sense no immediate leads.
One Wren gets her land legs back underneath her, she goes back to look at the remainder of the scene (everything unexplored so far). She avoids the area with the awful stench however...she didn't plan on ever smelling that again.
Eponine will wander away from the gruesome site, making her way over to the timber pier. She'll look around a little as she takes in some fresh air. If nothing captures her interest, she'll wander in the same slow, meandering way back to the lumbermill.
Nuri remains seated with Wren while Victor goes back inside to examine the footprints on the sawmill floor. "You're closer to Eponine than anyone," she points out to the wizard quietly. "She hasn't been seeing anyone in Sandpoint?" She offers an apologetic shrug. "I know the pickings are slim in a backwater town like this, but strand a girl here long enough and some of the local yokels might start to look bearable. And I wouldn't blame her for being embarrassed about it and not wanting to admit it in front of everyone. Or maybe someone married? Or ... out of her league socially? A big fish in this small pond?" She glances pointedly at the lumber mill. "A Scarnetti?"
Eponine wanders near the docks for a few minutes before something seems to catch her attention. Focused keenly on the ground, she starts walking slowly from the dock to the mill. She waves to the others, drawing their attention to the side of the mill facing the dock.
When others approach, she'll point out to them "Look, muddy footprints. Most of them are pretty badly smeared, but look here. This one looks like a man. A human male, and obviously barefoot." Stepping closer to the mill, she points to smears on the side of the building. "It looks like he climbed through this window. I don't see anything showing he came back out this way. That could mean one of three things: he went out another way, he came back out this way but the mud has all worn away, or he's still in there." The window she's pointing to is on the upper floor.
Before Epi's action:
Wren nodded at Nuri. "It would seem that way, but I haven't know Epi to be with any one recently.". Wren raises an eyebrow and smirks a bit. "She has seemed a bit on edge. Lack of companionship can do that, you know. I'm personally thinking the note might have been from an admirer of hers. Weirdos everywhere, even in towns as small as this.". As Epi walks back in, Wren looks downward, cheeks turning a bit red at being interrupted discussing her personal life with the cleric.
After Epi's speech:
"Finally a clue that doesn't make me nauseous! Let's search this whole area. I'm sure the murderer didn't hang around, but it's worth a look see."
"Hold a moment," Victor calls out as he returns to the others. "There was a barefoot person who pushed Katrine into the splitter and then killed Harker. And the horrible smell also permeates from the footprints as well... though not nearly as bad. Whatever manner of creature did this...," Victor just shakes his head, finding himself unsure of anything anymore.
"...was undead," Nuri finishes his sentence. "Barefoot, though.... You tend to find zombies and skeletons undressed because their clothes have rotted away, but they don't have the ... creativity to leave a scene like this. Liches and vampires tend to take more pride in their appearance: finely tailored clothes and certainly boots or slippers. This is something in between: intelligent enough to kill cruelly but not concerned with personal grooming." A thought strikes her. "Many undead have the ability to ensure their victims rise in their own image. I'm fairly sure the girl is safe, from her manner of death, but the one he took such trouble with.... It might not be safe to leave the corpse unrestrained."
Victor sighs heavily, not wanting to say what he's about to say, yet does. "Then I think we should burn it. For all of our sakes."
"We can suggest that to the sheriff, but I don't think we can just take care of it ourselves."
"Climbing through a second story window seems oddly... targeted. My understanding is something like ghasts can be intelligent and crude enough to be unshod, but why climb in like that. Unless it was sent, or knew someone was in there."
"This was not any ordinary undead rampage," Nuri agrees with Eponine's assessment.
A little over an hour after arriving at the Mill, you all feel confident that it contains no more clues that will help you solve the murders.
"There is nothing more for us to do here. I say we stop buy the Rusty Dragon and get something to eat. I am famished." Victor turns and begins to head that way.
"Are there any other leads we haven't talked about? If not, I agree with Victor...there's nothing more to accomplish here. I do think we need to make sure one of us is with Epi at all times. That note is frightening, and I'm worried about it."
Eponine grimaces. "We could always talk to Scarnetti. If we are careful not to accuse, we might be able to find something useful."
Eponine considers, then asks "How many properties do the Scarnettis own around here? If they are conducting illegal activities, would they base it out of their family home, or one of their other properties?"
"I should speak with the local priest," Nuri volunteers. "Perhaps he may know more about the undead or have a library to consult."
Victor pauses, turning back to the others. "If you wish to talk with the Scarnetti's, Eponine, I shall accompany you."
"Lets go, Nuri. Father Zantnus is always glad to see us! There's never any trouble when Victor, Epi and I end up on his doorstep," Wren adds, rolling her eyes.
Roakkad did not yet possess the local knowledge the others had, despite his unusual social agility. Thinking about this seven pointed star, he enquired of it with the other members of the investigation.
You say you've seen this star before? Enlighten me? Or refresh my memory if this tale has been spun before, with my humblest apologies...
"I've seen it in the catacombs under the island fortress ... 'Thistletop,'" Nuri offers. "It has something to do with whoever bound the monster beneath there, some sort of emblem or seal."