Gur stares at the creature in his way, it was not the poor child's fault it had become a creature of undeath. But it was now time to remove that terrible curse from this poor creature.
Garrow turns back to Rufus with a sad smile. You're not...not going to the village are you?
As she does that, the tea is delivered - a strong brew, certainly, but not bitter. Garrow takes a cup, as well. Wraiths...I...can the Beast make people into...wraiths? What a hideous creature it is then!
"I'm sure they're fine!" Rufus says with a smile, slurping his tea. "But, my companion is correct. We should be getting on with the investigation. The hours tick by, and justice will not wait. If there's nothing else you think we should know, we'll be on our way."
"I'm pretty sure only a wraith can make another wraith, but ghosts are a bit more varied. I'm sure we'll find out more about what's going on as we investigate. Thank you for your time. And the tea." She smiles as they rise to leave.
Hold Gur. Give the child one more chance.
Leeoli looks away.
"A living creature that could be turned to the service of good you would put down, but a manifestation of evil you wish for me to stay my hand? You make me question your sense some days." Gur goes to clean his blade, before realizing the dead thing leaves no blood upon it.
Garrow looks above the lip of her cup. [/b]No...I can't think of anything else. We...we just want peace for the poor children, and their parents. I feel the only way to get it is to see that monster put down once and for all.[/b]
Well it depended on whether or not a child could be saved. I thought it possible that the child was possessed by a ghost, and that it had fled.
In any case, imagine you what could have remained upon the ground. A child's body. Broken by a big brute. What evidence could you have provided for your innocence for a child's murder, eh? Tell them it was possessed by a ghost? Leeoli sneers. You should think more.
Dura gives a friendly wave as they head down the path. "I know they don't know any better, Rufus, but... it just bothers me that everyone wants to place blame on Charlie. If he wanted to, he could have slaughtered them all. It just doesn't make any sense to blame him." She rubs Daniel's head as they continue toward the others.
Leeoli gently searche's the man's clothes. Obviously the normal ways of law enforcement aren't working out here. Let's go and find Dura and Rufus.
"Well, the tea was excellent, though answers not abundant. How was the field?"
Dura's nose wrinkles as they come nearer to the "scarecrow." "Gods, why would someone do that? Did you have any luck?"
"Something tells me this has more to do with bad luck and the little death we fought earlier. How many children were taken?"
We heard a small voice cry for help from that house. It turned out to be an incorporeal apparition of some kind in the form of a small child, but with a deadly touch and intent. Does this sound like what the sisters described?
There were six children murdered, and the sisters marked all of their houses on the map. The house in which Gur and Leeoli had encountered the apparition was Allen's. The next house to the southwest is Ellsa's...Ellsa was the last of the children taken, and the girl whose body was brought back to the village by the Beast himself.
"I may be dumb, but why would Charlie bring back one body if he had been killing children? Maybe we should head to see her home."
"I agree. Just like the last site, there are so many inconsistencies. At least these people actually saw Charlie, so I can understand their conviction." She points the way toward Ellsa's house.
How do you know they saw Charlie?
"One of the ladies said Charlie came into the village with the corpse of Ellsa, that he was laughing, and that they chased him away. Again, my suspicion is that he could have killed them all if that was his intention."
"Ustalav has its share of monsters. They come in varieties as motley as song melodies. Again, the question is raised: Was our Charlie the perpetrator of this crime? On that we have seen no damning evidence."
This house is slightly larger than the last - at least in height, as it has a loft level under the high point of the sloped roof. The outside is quite overgrown, as was the last...Allen's house. The door swings freely, but creaks under the pain of hinges that hadn't moved in some time.
There's a small "room" off of the main room, partitioned off with a hung curtain, and the loft above is accessible by a well aged ladder that looks like it would only carry one of Gur's tree-trunk legs.
"Reminds me of home," Rufus says softly.
Leeoli holds up his hand in warning, and then points up to the loft. Something is up there Leeoli mouths.
Dura nods to Leeoli. She pulls a dagger out of her bandolier and casts a light spell on it. She flips it in her hand to grab the blade and then throws it toward the loft. "Come out, whoever you are!"
Gur reaches up to grab the lip of the loft, attempting to heave himself over the edge.
At first only silence greets you from the loft, and you begin to think that perhaps it was a trick of the light. However, after a moment, you hear a very small voice, just above a whisper.
Please, come help me. I'm afraid he'll get me.
Gur grabs the lip and pulls himself up to the ledge of the loft, and a form under some old blankets slides back away, into a corner...though only a few feet away due to the cramped loft.
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"Don't worry child, I will help you. Who is after you? Uncle Gur will stop them from doing anyone harm."
Gur reaches for the form, and the soiled blankets fall away. Out comes a horrible wretch - dark black skin with a wavy black outline - like wreathed in a fire of nightmares. Two bright red eyes shine like coals and small streams come from each - like tears of flame. It has a pleading, girlish voice as it lunges towards its savior!
Rufus climbs the ladder, drawing his sword once he reaches the top.
"And what are you?" Rufus grimaces as he asks the obvious question.
Leah puts a blubbery pill into his mouth and begins to chew.
"Is everything in this village damned?" He screams as he brings his axe around.
Gur goes back to what he is good at.
Rufus scampers up the ladder, seeming to be surprisingly light on his feet in spite of his gear. His question goes unanswered as the girl turns pleading eyes up at its attackers.
Then, Gur's axe slams into her, and carves out a deep wedge of her skin, showing the odd supernatural flames within. The girl wails in pain. You're worse than him! She charges at Gur, swiping at him with black hands.
Pfff! Leeoli spits a massive wad at the abomination.
Rufus steps forward and takes a powerful swing at the shadowy creature, his blade lodging into the wooden floorboards.
The creature that was once a child avoids the worst of the spittle, but still hisses as it flings its arms about wildly, attempting to remove the restraining stuff.
yep, that's a third of my con.
Gur winces in pain as his life force is drained from his body. Another swing is aimed to free the poor child from eternal damnation.
Rufus continues this blasphemous dance with Gur and the hellspawn, his attacks hindered by the impropriety of attacking even this sort of child.