"It seems we're safe to investigate. Only four children seem to have died here... one was carried to the village by Thomas, of course..." Kendra says as she climbs down wearily.
There is nothing else in there to be found. The wraith stands in the corner doing noting. But being watched by a dozen red glowing eyes is creepy.
Kendra closely investigates the four corpses.
The corpses are only skeletons mostly. They show no signs of a fight like broken bones or cut marks on the bones. Jut like one would expect from being killed by a wraith.
Kendra turns to the many-eyed cloak. "Can you speak?" she asks
"Yes" comes from the creature together with a hum like that of thousands of insects.
Herm keeps his hammer drawn, eyes on the wraith his body between it and Kendra.
"Why creature? Why do this to the children?"
"Well, it's my nature. I don't understand the question." brother swarm buzzes as a reply.
"Why did the children come down here?" Kendra asks. "They didn't all come at the same time, so why did they keep coming here?"
"Well, I sent my ghost children out to get them here." the hum tells.
"And I assume one of them just found you in here first?" Kendra asks.
After the wraith answered, she asks "There's only four bodies here, though, and there's six children who died. Can you tell us what happened to the other two bodies?"
"Some huge monstrosity took the body of the fifth and the sixth I got in it's bed." The wraith hums.
"What can you tell us of your encounter with the huge monstrosity?"
The wraith shrugs. "It tried to beat me with it's huge fists. Ridiculous these attempts." You think you notice a malicious grin.
"Do you have any control over your ghost-children? Must they do as you say?"
"Yes." the wraith hums while the sun continues on its way to the horizon .
"Alright." Kendra says. "Once the sun goes down, you will follow me. You will tell your ghost children not to attack us either, nor will you attack any of us."
She turns to her companions.
"If we ride back to lepidtstad, I can wait outside for a moment while you bring a box or something that the wraith can sit it, protected from the sun coming up. Then we can admit it as evidence - as obviously it killed the children."
"Are you sure you can control it that long?" Herm asks with a bit of worry in his voice.
"I cannot protect us on all fronts if 6 of the ghost children come to attack us"
"Yeah. Not going to happen." it buzzes out of the corner.
"I will have power over you for twenty hours and four. And I say it will happen."
"You want to wait until it's dark? Are you crazy?" Jominda objects as she listens in to the discussion with the wraith.
"I can't always force the commanded undead todo things completely contrary to their nature - such as walking out in the daylight." Kendra explains. "I can try though." She continues, as she turns to the wraith. "We're leaving now."
The wraith unwillingly comes along through the sunlight. So the group leaves with the wraith in tow. You are back in Lepidstadt late but you're able to get a box to store the 'evidence' for the next day at court as the guards as well as Barrister Kaple are still found there.
You go to bed as you have to appear in court the next day. The night passes uneventful.
Jominda wakes not too early. "This whole trial thing is seriously cutting into my beauty sleep."
As Kendra passes by with her spellbook under her arm, she comments "Like you would need any." She winks at Jominda and keeps moving to a more quiet area to do her studies.
Herm gathers the bones of the children, laying them out at graves before they leave town.
With a loud voice "Children we have brother Swarm, we have placed the bones we could find upon your graves, Rest in peace now children we will see that justice is done."
"I don't look as cute anymore with dark shadows under the eyes." Jominda replies before she checks her alchemical components and prepares her explosive vials for the day.
Flashback
~~~~~~~~~
There is time to put the bones into their actual graves though there is no option to find out which bones one belong to which grave. After a minute of silence and Herms short speech you leave town.
Flashback
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kendra greatly appreciates Herm's short speech and the respect they pay to the children. She places a hand on his shoulder to indicate they should move on once Herm's speech is done, but she doesn't say anything herself for a good while after that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Kendra finishes her studies, she returns to Jominda, still fiddling with vials and things. "I don't know, dear. You might start a new fashion." she continues the conversation from earlier. "Have you seen Herm?"
Jominda looks up from her stuff and around the wagon.
Herm rounds the corner a bit later, carrying his armor in his hands with his hammer tucked under one arm. His hair is still a mess but he looks shaved and ready.
"Ohh good morning ladies, I just need to finish doning my armor and I will be ready to set out." Herm stop setting his armor down on a table and then slowly putting it all on.
"Are we all ready once I am done here?"
"I am. Would you like some assistance with that armour?" Kendra smiles.
"I was wondering who should do the talking today. Should I take the role upon me once again? I do not wish to be treading on anyone's feet by just assuming."
Herm nods at Kendra's offer of help.
"This time I feel we have the evidence to support our claim, before we didn't or we missed something. You may speak again and I will assist you."
Kendra helps Herm into his plate armour and then acoompanies him and Jominda towards the palace of justice
The procedure is the same as the last time. You register the evidence you got - which is only the box with the wraith. The Clerk of the court sits in his small office room greeting you without showing any emotion. As you place the Box in front of him he asks "And this is?"
"This is the actual culprit of the murders that the 'beast' is on trial for today." Kendra smiles friendly. "I would strongly suggest you do not open the box." she adds as she raises a confident eyebrow.
"Also, we have this note." She hands over the note one which Harrold jotted down the names, births and deaths of the six children of Hergstag.
"Culprit of muder in a box." the clerk tells with his eyes wide open and notes it down on the list. "And a note telling dates of birth and date of death of six... children." he notes after some quick calculation of the ages always having a wary eye on the box.
"That's all?" he asks. And on confirmation takes the box and the note to bring it to the court room immediately.
The rest is the same routine as yesterday. You meet with Barrister Kaple in his office. The beast is brought up by the guards and bound to the special chair that is mounted in the room for this case. The crowd is let into court and it is enraged. They are much louder than yesterday. They are upset about the child murders and about the events of yesterday. You enter the court together with Kaple and Heiger. Last the judges enter the court. Everyone rises and once the judges are seated all others sit down too.
Chief Justice Ambrose Khard opens the second day of the trial announcing that the murder of six children in Hergstag will be tried today and invites the prosecution to make their case.
Heiger calls the three Sisters Garrow, Starle, and Flicht who all three witness that the children were murdered and that the beast brought one dead child back to town laughing at them. As the defense tried to come up with another beast yesterday he makes a point of the witnesses identifying the east sitting there and that it could not have been for any reason some other beast.
As Heiger is done Khard tells "Witness of the defense."
"We the defense would like to draw into question The Beast "laughing" Kendra has been doing research into Flesh golems as that is what the beast is and we have come to the understanding the beast cannot laugh. We believe that the beast was indeed crying."
"WE also brought in the real murderer, a Wraith that we have contained. He is called Brother Swarm, we found the children's bones in the cave that he was taking shelter from the sun in. He freely admits to killing the children's ghosts state he did the same."
At the convincing words about the crying instead of laughing the judges look sceptical but pondering the option. On the proclamation that you have brought the real murder the crowd acts up with a mix of disdain and curiosity. But The Holy Sister of Justice gets a really worried look on her face at Herm mentioning a wraith.
"Thank you Herm," Kendra says to her paladin friend before adressing the justices. "Indeed, we went to the town yesterday and found a wraith, but allow me to explain first."
"Witnesses, you say this beast walked into town carrying the body of Ellsa, laughing at the same time, do you not?" She waits on confirmation before continuing.
"Unfortunately, this creature did not kill Ellsa. If only it were so. He instead found the lifeless body of the girl and even tried to engage her murderer with his bare hands - alas to no avail. Unconsolable, he brought the body back to the town, so that the village elders may bury her with the respect due to her."
She turns to Thomas before almost whispering her final question, yet modulating her voice so that it still carries through the room. "Is this not true?"
The beast tenses as it hears the story he lived through again. As Kendra concludes it starts screaming "Elsaaahahahaa!" sobbing uncontrollably.
Kendra adresses the witnessing sisters. "This is the 'laughing' you heard?"
The sisters are embarrassed and cop out by telling they are not sure and it's such a long time and whatnot.
"This is the beast in anguish, not in victorious laughter."
"Next up I would like to call up a piece of evidence. It isn't much more than a note, upon which we penned down the evidence found at the site."
Upon receiving the note, she hands it to the sisters. "Would you confirm that these look correct to you?"
The sisters check the note and from one of them you get a mumbled "Yes."
"Yes was your answer" Kendra repeats before she hands the note over to the judges.
"Once again, I cannot but commend these villagers for their bravery. If multiple murders had happened in my village and a large creature shows up with a dead child in his arms, it takes courage to drive the creature off. In this case, the dead child was Ellsa, as established earlier." Kendra states.
"But in this case, it didn't help, did it?" Kendra asks of the three witnesses, and pauses for effect. "There was another murder shortly after you drove this creature away, one he therefore cannot have killed. As you can see on the note, which was just verified for its correctness, Karen died three days after Ellsa did."
Kendra pauses for this news to sink in.
The three sister look ashamed to the floor. An dissatisfied murmur goes through the courtroom. Chief Justice Khard demands silence using his hammer on the bench.
"Fortunately, we do not have to leave this injustice against these poor children lie unanswered. Their lives were taken too early, and we have found the culprit. Before I reveal it, however, I wish to have a word with the Holy Sister of Justice."
"Showing that these ladies lied and are perverting Justice to hide their lies and shame."