Neroli grimaces. "At least the bartender talked to us to tell us he couldn't help us. But everybody else here seems extremely unfriendly. To us, to each other. What do those caravan guards have against us? Do they think we brought the attack on the caravan?"
When discussing where to go next, Neroli agrees with Aris that the market is a good place to go.
What you learn in the marketplace:
The creatures who attacked are called
the hanoshafyr by the residents of the
mesa; they have existed
since the founding of Jace’s Stanchion.
Though the beast men are spoken of
quietly, you detect as much reverence
for the creatures as fear. You can
think of no race similar to
these that possess powers of the mind.
While these creatures seemed savage,
they recognized the manifestation of
psionic power. More than likely they
harbor no psionic ability themselves,
but they may have been able to
rudimentarily detect who was psionic
prior to an attack. This could account
for the devastating losses of mundane
travelers. The strange rune emblazoned on
the chests of the creatures may have
something to do with their ability
to detect psionic creatures, though
it is likely not a natural part of the
creatures.
You can see striking similarities in
features between the residents of the
Stanchion. While you detect no signs
of inbreeding, you can see that the sum
total of the populace comes from a
small handful of extended families.
The only place where you see guards of
any sort are in the compound of House
Duarran where caravans come in to
begin trade negotiations. The estate is
walled and has a tower on its premises.
You have counted at least a dozen
armed guards that protect the estate
and any goods that come into the
Commission. If people are asked about
the lack of town guard, most people
seem confused for a moment before
abruptly stating “House Duarran keeps
us safe.”
In the merchant’s stalls, you notice
items for sale that would not have
been made here. Perhaps these were
items that were bartered for and are
now in excess. All of them are aged
and some are in disrepair.
When Xerdillac asks
if some of these items were recovered
from the caravan they came with, the
answer is yes, but
Sense Motive reveals this to be false.
Pressing the issue yields no
helpful information.
The locals seem removed from the
conversations they have with you. Not
intentionally, but they have a difficult
time staying in the moment and often
will drift away by falling into silence.
The locals use no definitive statements
of time. They refer to general terms,
but nothing more specific than ‘soon’
or ‘in the evening’. They laugh it off as
losing track of the day if cornered into
admitting that they do not know what
the date is.
There is a pervading sense of sadness
or fear that sits in the eyes of the
townsfolk. When pressed, they seem
genuinely ignorant of it. To pry further
would be perceived as disrespect,
but the haunted look is always there
when the conversation lulls and their
attention drifts.
"What an odd town," Neroli says. "I can't help but think that the thumb of House Durran under which all of these people are living is not a benevolent thumb."
"As for the hanoshafyr -- given that all of us possess psionic abilities, if they stay true to form they will not attack us. Perhaps we could seek them out and find a way to communicate with them? Not only might we be uniquely positioned to find out why they attack the town, and what they have against the non-psionic, but perhaps they might also provide some information for us about House Durran. After all, they have been observing this town since the beginning."
"Easier said than done. I would like to see this House Durran with my own eyes before we go gallivanting about trying to talk to the creatures murdering people..."
Xerdillac points out "It looks like we have a little while still before lunch at the tavern. Where should we go next to ask questions?"
"Considering the large amounts of stonework in this town, the Mason seems to be of no small amount of import. Hopefully a craftsman has more wit to them than these commonfolk."
Edrielle nods, Good idea, let's try the mason and go from there.
The Twin Mills Masonry shop is run by a father and son team who
produce much of the stonework here in town. The
elder stonecutter, Gregor, is a solidly built man in
his late fifties; years of hard work have left him as
solid as the stone he shapes. His thick beard and
hair are still a vibrant red, a few strands of silver
just creeping into his mustache. Falnor looks much
like his father, though he is slighter of build and grey
has not yet touched his hair. Gregor does most of
the rough quarry work, cutting larger stones down
into more manageable pieces as well as cutting
stone for brick and tile work. Falnor is a specialist in
decorative pieces, focusing intently on fine sculpture
work and other intricate details. One of their main
tasks in town is to craft the shingles that adorn the
buildings, replacing them as they wear over time. When
you arrive, they are working on a hollow pillar.
Gregor and Falnor can be heard before they are
seen; the pair loudly arguing over some petty and
baseless matter as they work. It is obvious that there
is a rift between them. Gregor makes several comments
like “what would your mother say if she saw this
sloppy work” or “mind your manners, boy, you were raised better”.
Neroli will walk in and observe politely and quietly for a short time, not wanting to interrupt the work if it's going to cause offense. She'll try to find a time to announce their presence that is least likely to draw Gregor's annoyance towards them, while at the same time most likely to give the son some relief from that ire.
When the time seems appropriate, she will approach Gregor and say, "Excuse me -- we are travelers from out of town. The caravan we were traveling with was attacked. We haven't been able to learn much about the town, but looking around it seems that stone masonry is pretty important here. We were hoping that you might be able to help us figure some things out."
Arris admires the stonesmanship whilst Neroli handles the talking.
Gregor turns and greets you, but seems to have trouble concentrating on anything you say other than about his business.
Edrielle, you see a glint of something bright between the water wheels that power some of the masonry equipment.
Edrielle points out what she sees to the others, Could someone go and check that out?
"Hm? I uh...alright." Arris isn't keen on getting wet but goes along with it.
Arris pulls a gold ring still on a finger bone out from the mud. He notices that there is an almost complete skeleton buried in the mud.
At the sight of the ring, both men
break down. When questioned about the ring, neither
man can say where it came from or why it has such
an effect on them. Edrielle knows that the men have clearly had
their memories tampered with.
Arris frowns.
"Did this belong to someone you might have known? How does it make you feel exactly?"
The ring (and the finger bone) appear to belong to a woman. It appears to be a wedding ring.
The reaction of the stonemasons is composed of surprise, puzzlement, and tears.
Neroloi's brow furrows. "This is very disturbing."
She holds up the ring. "If this doesn't belong to somebody you might know, could you tell us what jeweler in town is likely to have made it or sold it?"
Both men just get more and more confused and agitated as you ask more questions.
"I don't think we'll get anything more out of them, but something is very wrong here. Let's head back for now and see if we can fill in the blanks."
Neroli nods. "Yes, let's head back... but I fear that somebody is doing something to everybody in this town. We may have to start snooping around."
"Hrgh." Arris makes a sound of displeasure.
"I am not made for snooping...but I can look after you all whilst you do so." Arris' mystical semi-translucent war maul begins to form out of agitation but dissipates before fully coming into being.
Edrielle nods, I'm afraid that I'm not so sneaky either, but I can certainly try to obtain information from anyone you think may be of importance.
You return to the tavern for lunch. You find that Betrand and Syonne have returned for lunch, but the other guards have not despite the
four being nigh-inseparable throughout the journey
to Jace’s Stanchion. Syonne and Bertrand both are
talking about settling down in Jace’s Stanchion,
mentioning that it seems like a wonderful place to
settle down and raise children. When you ask questions, they look
strangely at you, oblivious to the fact
that they had traveling companions or that Jace’s
Stanchion is anything less than idyllic.
"What led you to this change of heart? Who have you talked to, and where have you been in the last day?" Neroli asks the two of them.
Syonne gets more and more confused looking as she tries to answer your questions. You are unable to get any further answers out of her.
Let's go by the Dromite Colony next. At least one of their Hive should have a clue."
You go to the Dromite colony. The Dromites seem unfriendly, but more in a withdrawn way than a grumpy way. You also notice that they do not seem to have had their minds tampered with nearly as much as the human residents.
Arris chats up members of the colony and inquires to what their purpose in this town is.
Edrielle approaches one of the Dromites, asking in a friendly manner, Excuse me? If you don't mind, my friends and I are new in town and had some questions that hopefully you can answer.
"Music, art, fun! Entertain us, then we talk!"
Edrielle does her best to dance a beat upon the hard ground, but keeps tripping over her own feet. Finally she stops and looks down, hoping that one of the others will be able to do better.
Arris looks very stern for a moment...
"Two gnolls are sitting in the woods eating lunch. One says "Man, I hate my wife" and the other one says "Then just eat the salad!"
Arris narrows his eyes after delivering the punch line. Laugh damn you!
The dromites show no interest in either of your performances.
Neroli attempts to make a show out of spellcraft. She focuses her mind, waves her hand, and weaves together a small object out of ambient ectoplasm. She's going for a small kinetic sculpture of some sort, something that's only got aesthetic value. She's hoping to impress them by summoning it from nothing, as she's not much of a craftsman.