"Lets find a more reasonable priced Inn than what is available in this part of town. A good nights sleep and then meet up with the Tiefling brothers in the morning."
"If I remember correctly we should go see Barrister Gustav Kaple to present what we have found thus far in our investigation."
Araxiel and Secondous manage to get the woman talking after some coaxing. It turns out her name is Sari Klebem. Her husband was pretty well-travelled and knew the swamps intimately well. The last time she saw him, he was talking excitedly about a strange creature he saw on an island north of Morast. He described it quite thoroughly as a large, hulking creature that looked like a patchwork of several different creatures. It has strange tusks, scales, bits of fir, and was huge and grotesque. After that, she never saw him again and was convinced the creature got him.
After receiving the note from the pigeon, the Tiefling Bros manage to meet up with the group with the decision to leave for Hergstag the next day. Satisfied that you have explored the clues from Morast to the best of your ability, you bed down at the inn Judge Daramid has secretly paid for. You are due to speak to Barrister Gustav Kaple in the morning where you will discuss your evidence before selecting one of you to present it at trial.
Trial of the Beast, Day Two
The five of you are now inside of the courthouse, having a pre-trial meeting with the Barrister.
Gustav smiles nervously at the five of you as you are seated in the defence offices.
"So in an hour we will begin to hear the charges relating to M-M-Morast. You will have the op-opportunity to present any evidence you found to argue for the B-Beast's innocence. We expect quite the crowd today. The entire city wants to see the B-B-Beast burn. Let me know what evidence you have unc-c-covered and we can see what arguments to make. It is advisable for the most well-sp-spoken of you to present the evidence. My st-stammer won't d-d-do you any favours."
He looks at the party expectantly.
"So who is that?" Drau asks, surveying the room suspiciously.
"I'm not sure who's the most well-spoken, but lets go over the evidence." Rowena sits on the cold hardwood floor.
"The case of Lepidstadt is...unclear. I can't think of a way to get the Beast off from that, other than saying that the statue was never found with the Beast. Morast, however, seems pretty easy to defend against- the swampers claimed they saw the beast get mauled. But the Beast is alive and well...they never even saw his face to properly identify him."
Rowena sighed and placed her head on her pale stubby hand. "And that's...all I have."
"Well, the Beast is not on trial for the b-b-break in. They just want to go straight to the murder charges. So the Beast was attacked? Where? Would he show s-s-scars?"
Rowena gazes pensively at the stuttering man. "Yes. He should have some scarring on his shoulder if he was bit...Who's the best speaker here? I'm not very...personable."
Araxiel nods in agreement with Rowena.
"Folks ain't likely to listen if I'm talkin' neither. They'll just think it's us monsters sticking up for each other or some such nonsense... not that'd be a bad thing."
Gustav waves a hand to the side impatiently.
"Well figure someone out. Do you have any other evidence or theories about what happened? You have time to examine and interview The Beast as well if you wish."
"I think we should go see the beast to examine his shoulder and get his side of the Morast story." She heads over to the room where the beast was being held.
Hearing nothing else, Gustav nods once and takes you all down from the defense office, through the main floor, and down into the dungeon.
You step into a small, barren area of grey stone. A large cell is opposite the trapdoor you descended from. Within, a towering abomination sits in an iron chair, bound with no less than a dozen sets of manacles. Stitching holds together this grotesque patchwork of flesh and bone, beast and man, though the wires are so taut they look as though they may fly apart at any moment. Its mouth is twisted in a permanent sneer, and a shock of lank, dark hair clings to its scalp. The creature slumps in its chair, a despondent expression upon its monstrous face.
The Beast looks up at the group forlornly, and then drops its head again.
Rowena looks at the beast, wondering if she could question it without a scare. She approached slowly, waving Toypurnia toward the door. "Hello there..." She circles the iron chair to examine the strength of the manacles. "They have you locked up tight, don't they...Have you heard of a swamp in Morast?"
Araxiel hangs back, remembering how unfond the Beast was of him from their first encounter.
Otis tries to detect evil in the beast.
