"Are we almost done yet?"
Wren nods uncertainly.
"I think so, Arval," Wren coos over the weakened human. "We should get you back where you can rest and be healed. And I need to register to be Brodur's defender. Oh, he'll be so happy to see me, I think. And I have his book to give back to him."
Wren thinks we're ready to return to town,
The group search the abandoned village and eventually find a dilapidated cart. However, for hauling the bodies of children it's just right. Throwing a blanket over the collected bodies, the group make the long, tiring walk back to Hergstag. They finally arrive well past midnight. Thanks to the incredible reversal of fortune at the day's trial, Lepidstadt is no longer in drunken revelry, but instead drunken belligerence. There's a lot of fighting in the streets as you pass through them. However, nobody really wants to tussle with a group of heavily-armed adventurers hauling a bad-smelling cart.
You all finally arrive at the courthouse, where the guards are as unfriendly as ever and somewhat horrified at your request to have the bodies held as evidence. Nonetheless, it is agreed to and the bodies are taken in as evidence.
If they will let Wren register to be a part of the defense team this late at night, she will.
If they will let Wren visit Brodur at this time of night, she will and will bring the book to Brodur so that he might have something to read. She would also explain what she had done today and the new friends she had made who were all trying to help her...and Brodur.
She will return to inn's room, and rest for the night after making arrangements to meet upon the morrow.
Kawrock would also like to talk to Brodur about the book. As he believes it may have belong to Elsa.
With the bodies safely interred in the evidence locker, the group briefly pause to let Wren sign her name on the register for a public defender for the Beast. The night shift guards glare unpleasantly at you as they unlock the massive trap door in the front room of the courthouse, and pass you a torch to head downstairs.
Once more, 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.
It looks up to the group as they approach, its low, rumbling voice felt just as much as it is heard.
"When do you guys want to purchase the scrolls to speak with the dead?" Eldon asks casually, as if asking when the others want to get some lunch. "In the morning, before court?"
Eldon walks up closer. "Hello, Brodur! Yes, we're your friends."
He waits for Wren to show the book to the flesh golem. "Do you recognize this book, friend?"
When the others go to see Brodur, Kawrock looks over at Arval. "I'll go take Arval to see a healer and pick up the needed scrolls if possible."
Wren bustles into Brodur's room like she's been friends with him their entire lives.
"Oh yes, Brodur," Wren begins to gab while offering up the book, "we are most definitely friends. We found this while we were searching your home. We thought you might like it. In addition, we have much good news: we are going to defend you. We have registered with the...blahblahblah...searching for bodies...blahblahblah...cute little wraithlings...blahblahblah...ugly mottled feathers...blahblahblah...sucked Arval dry like a Calistrian...blahblahblah..."
Wren launches into what they've done since she joined the team. When she finally pauses for breath, she looks to see if Brodur has any questions or can think of anything else to help them.
If and while he speaks, Wren will draw a long peacock's feather from her armor and begin making brushing movements about the cell, Brodur, and herself, cleaning with Prestidigitation. She will also create the smell of fresh air, flowers, and, of course, morning dew.
* * *
Brodur looks at Wren in utter bewilderment for a moment. As she starts talking about Ellsa and her body, Brodur's face scrunches up and the stitches go taught. His jaw moves up and down silently, it's hard to tell if he's laughing or crying.
As Wren then gets talking about the dead wraith, Brodur nods slowly.
He seems a little more relaxed as Wren freshens up the place.
Brodur takes the book in his hands and nods slowly.
Wren clucks, taking the book back from Brodur after she is done cleaning.
"Well, it's late now, but I can spare some time to read to you if you'd like, Brodur," Wren says gently.
If Brodur acquiesces, Wren will read for about 1/2 hour before making her excuses and going to bed. It was likely that she would have another long day on the morrow.
Wren will return to her room, sleep, study, and meet the party in the morning.
Arval buys a restoration spell in the closest shop he can find and immediately gulps it down. A minute later and his skin tone is back to normal, he feels normal again.
"A lot better!"
He says as he slaps Kawrock on his back.
"Let's get back to the others!"
He seems full of energy again.
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Lena glares at the bird brain elf, as she grabs the book off Brodur. snatchy elf!
Ignoring her lena turns back to Brodur. That book is yours, Brodur. Elsa would have wanted that. And Wren will give it back to you when she is finished. Won't you wren.
She looks at the sad giant and sighs. I going to get some dinner. Good night, big guy. I'll see you tomorrow.
Then she leaves the room. She heads out and goes to the Inn the party is staying at, to eat and sleep.
Whiskeyjack nodded at Arval and the tengu as they left to find the man some healing, while he accompanied the others to the jail. Apparently Wren just didn't know how to stop talking, as the elf chattered away to Eldon, the guards, her imaginary parrot. At one point she fell silent, and Whiskeyjack looked over to see what had happened. The moonlight flitted across her face and the dwarf flinched slightly. When Lena asked if something was wrong, the dwarf replied, "Nah, i's jest tha' I didnae recognize her withou' her mouth movin'."
In the room with Brodur, Whiskeyjack affirmed that they were indeed friends, and listens to the story of how the wraith had been luring the children to its lair, culminating with the death of Ellsa, and Brodur's retrieval of his friend's body. "They though' ye were laughin', bu' really ye was cryin' fer yer friend. Eldon, ye go' t' speak fer him tomorrow and tell 'em. He ain't a monster. He be a child. A big, powerful, scary looking one, bu' a child nonetheless. Hang in there, big guy. We'll see this through on the morrow."
Sleep came eventually for the warpriest, though it seemed as if it never would. The deaths of children always struck him hard, and having to dig up Ellsa's body still bothered him more than he cared to admit. Still, he'd see all of them buried in consecrated ground on the morrow. That would have to be enough.
The group leaves Wren, as elves do not sleep as humans do, to sit with Brodur and help him through the remains of the book of Taldan poetry. It's clear that being taught to read by a child only goes so far, but Brodur shows an insatiable curiosity for the language and works incredibly hard to decipher it.
The morning comes far swifter than the group would like considering the late bedtimes, but it comes nonetheless. As previously, the trial begins at 10am.
Wren has no further preparations to do outside of sleep and study.
Arval heads back to the prison and finds only Wren reading to the giant. He peers around to see if he didn't miss anyone and retires for the night, sitting just out of sight beside Wren.
Considering he also needs to be patched up Eldon leaves Wren and Brodur and heads to the local church, where he also requests a restoration spell.
The next morning Eldon shows up at court with the others, looking rather smug.
Yet another day to greatly impress everyone with my talents!
Wren fluffs her feathers in preparation for the day.
You arrive bright and early for the trial and take a moment to introduce Wren to Gustav Kaple, the stammering lawyer who seems completely unsure of what to make of Wren. Nonetheless, he keeps his professional demeanour and lets the group know that they will be once more kept in the defence chamber while the trial progresses. The bodies are accepted as evidence, with a warning that it may make the crowd even more irate, but nonetheless they are taken in.
From your place in the defence chamber you can hear most of the trial as it progresses. The first thing you overhear is a crowd that is absolutely mad with anger. The slaughter of children has incensed them, and you hear this exchange over and over again.
Murderer!
Child slayer!
BURN THE BEAST! BURN THE BEAST! BURN THE BEAST!
BANG BANG BANG
If you do no not settle down this instance I will reject all of you from this courthouse! Show some decorum!
The ornate Ustalavian court traditions take interminably long, but finally the witnesses for the prosecution are presented. You overhear three women speaking about how six children were slain by the Beast, and how it approached carrying Ellsa's body, laughing. The ghosts then drove the people from the village.
Finally, the witnesses for the defence are called up and the doors are flung open. The six of you make your way to the stands and the bodies are ready to be presented as evidence.
You all settle down and Gustav looks at you all hopefully.
"I hope you have a c-c-coup like last time. The crowd is v-v-very angry. Time for your speeches and... w-whatever you want to do with those bodies."
Wren looks at Eldon to see if he is going to take lead or whether he wishes her to. She is quite certain that she can make many friends in the jury and room...
Wren begins to preen, prepping her feathers to allow for a spirited, if hyper, defense.
Whiskeyjack held up a hand in front of Wren. "Best ye be lettin' Eldon do th' talkin'. The wee fellow had th' jury in th' palm o' his hand yesterday. Le's build on tha', shall we?"
The last thing Brodur needs is for this one's verbal diarrhea to put off the jurors.
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Eldon moves forward and bows to everyone present. "Good day, dear people! As you undoubtedly remember, my name is Eldon Appleton. The name says it all, I'm the one who's here to save the day."
"This here," Eldon says as he raises the book Ellsa used to teach Brodur how to read, "is a book. But not merely a book, oh no! This book tells a story that's not written inside. This book tells the story of a young girl, who tried to teach one of her friends how to read. This young girl's name was Ellsa, a kind child who saw past her friend's physical appearance and valued him for who he truly is..."
"This friend of Ellsa lived in the woods near Hergstag. That was, until recently, his house was burned by angry people. By now you may have guessed that Ellsa's friend is Brodur, the one accused of killing her. But is that true? No, it is not. For the true story is something else entirely."
Eldon pauses a moment, but continues just before the crowd gets a chance to get rowdy. "Hergstag was terrorized by a horrible creature, but it wasn't a 'beast'. It was a wraith, a ghostly creature little more than a dark shape with two flickering pinpoints of light where its eyes should be..."
Eldon goes into a lengthy explanation of what wraiths are and how they're created. He places extra attention on the fact wraiths make lesser wraith spawns out of their victims.
"And how is this related, you may wonder? Well, I'll explain. You see, when I and my colleagues went to investigate Hergstag we encountered some of these lesser wraiths. Among them... Ellsa! I can assure you it shocked me to see the poor child reduced to such a state. Therefor, I freed her from this poor fate. The child's spirit now rests where she should."
Oh... wait... We only killed one other lesser wraith... The other wraiths, probably including most of the other kids, fled into the forest...
Eldon clears his throat and at the same time his mind. He continues his story, omitting the fact that a multitude of wraiths now haunt the area around Hergstag. "I decided that it'd be best to clear the area of danger, and after defeating multiple lesser wraith spawn I vanquished the wraith that started it all. Inside its cavern we found the bodies of four children! Wouldn't you agree that's an odd place for the accused to place the bodies? Well, on closer inspection, I was able to conclude that they were indeed attacked and murdered by the wraith."
"We took the bodies with us, to give them a proper burial. But to prove what I've told you, I've also brought them as evidence. The following part may not be suited for those with a weak stomach. Be warned."
Eldon gives the sign for the bodies of the four children found inside the wraith's lair to be brought out. Once they're present in the court room Eldon points out that they have no physical wounds Brodur could've caused. "Instead, the bodies look like their life force was sucked out. And to compare these bodies with that of Ellsa, we had to retrieve her. Rest assured we intend to give her a better burial than she initially received, once this trail is over."
With a nod Eldon gives the sign for Ellsa's body to be brought out. Again, he points out the lack of physical wounds. "Instead, like with the other children, Ellsa's body looks like her life force was sucked out. If you examine the bodies it's obvious they all met the same fate."
"But... Ellsa wasn't found inside the wraith's lair. No, she was found dead in Brodur's arms. It was immediately assumed Brodur had killed her, but where's the evidence? There is none. But I have brought you evidence, dear people, of Brodur's innocence! And for that, I now ask my colleague Whiskeyjack to join me."
As Whiskey joins Eldon, the latter gives his companion a quick nod and whispers. "Time to cast the scroll."
Assuming Whiskey indeed casts the first scroll of speak with dead, Eldon gives the crowd a moment to react to the semblance of life that Ellsa's body suddenly shows. After a couple of seconds he motions the crowd to quiet down and starts talking to Ellsa.
"Good day, Ellsa. My name's Eldon Appleton, but you undoubtedly know that. My colleague here, Whiskeyjack, called you back from the afterlife for something very important. You see, dear child, we need you to tell us what caused your death. There are people who believe it was your dear friend, who you were teaching how to read." Eldon points out where Brodur sits. "Without your help he may end up in prison for the rest of his life, or worse."
Brodur looks up hopefully as Eldon speaks. The moment Ellsa's name is mentioned, he reacts, his enormous form shaking with his tearless, silent sobs. The distinction between laughter and crying becomes immediately apparent.
However, the moment the bodies are hauled out, all hell breaks loose.
Death to the halfling!
Those are children! That monster!
The judges manage to restore order, and Whiskeyjack casts the spell.
The desiccated body twitches, and then the mouth begins to move. A small girl's voice sounds out in the court room. People in the stands begin to lunge out at onto the courtroom floor, only to be tackled by guards and hauled out. Despite the chaos, Ellsa speaks.
"Bigguns is my friend. He was nice to me and didn't hurt me. I heard my ma calling when it was dark out. I went to a hill. There I saw a black thing with eyes. It touched me and everything went cold and dark."
The crowd fights harder against the town guards as they turn into an angry mob. However, enough are escorted out for the trial to continue.
I feared a reaction like this...
"Hear what Ellsa says!" Eldon tells the crowd. "He, who you call the 'Beast', is innocent! Ellsa was attacked by the wraith, on the hill where it had made its lair!"
Figuring he should do something to keep the remaining crowd at bay, Eldon tells them, "Dear people, it may come as a shock to you that we resorted to magic that lets us speak to a deceased person, but let something be clear. Most of these children didn't have a grave yet, they were lying on the floor of a cave. We intend to give them a proper burial as soon as possible. Ellsa, who was buried in haste just before Hergstag was abandoned by its residents, will also receive a proper burial. I and my colleagues will fund the burials."
Eldon points at Brodur, or Bigguns as Ellsa called him. "As you've heard, the one I've called Brodur up till now is actually called Bigguns. Very well, then Bigguns it shall be. And as you can see, dear people, he's crying. Not laughing. This was what people saw when Bigguns carried Ellsa's body into town, someone who cried over the loss of a friend."
Eldon motions for Bigguns to be brought over and hands him the book. As Eldon speaks to Bigguns, he does so loud enough for everyone to still hear him. "I believe this book belongs to you, Bigguns. The true story behind it has finally been told. Is there anything you wish to say to Ellsa before she goes back to rest? Like how you continued to practice reading, like you did when we showed you the book last evening? This is your time to say a proper farewell."
If Ellsa's family is also in court, Eldon will also let them approach. "Hold no grudge versus her friend Bigguns," Eldon tells the family. "As you heard Ellsa herself say, he was not the one who killed her. It was the wraith, which is no more. And please forgive poor Whiskeyjack for using this magic on Ellsa, as he helped me set her free from the wraith that held her prisoner. Also, now you know justice has been served to the creature that took her life."
"Psst. Tell 'em we be payin' fer a full funeral an' burial fer these kids. Ain't no reason for 'em t' think we dug 'em up an' ain't gonna be makin' i' righ'."
Eldon hastily nods in response to what Whiskeyjack said. "Yes, of course. I was just about to do so."
"To further clarify," Eldon tells the crowd, "we'll be paying for a full funeral and burial for the children."
Kawrock stay silent, letting Eldon do what he truly is best at.
Wren moves to stand up to address her adoring...
Whiskeyjack held up a hand in front of Wren. "Best ye be lettin' Eldon do th' talkin'. The wee fellow had th' jury in th' palm o' his hand yesterday. Le's build on tha', shall we?"
...and sits down just as quickly. She maintains her interest as Eldon stands to speak, and she cranes her neck to see him. (He is pretty short, after all.)
Wren notes inflections and word choice that she might have squawked differently...and a few more arguments she might have made. She also notes others that Eldon made that she did not.
All in all, she is happy with the defense.
Arval, scared to death the day before, looks really bored during the proceedings. When looking around halfway through the ceremony you could even see his head bobbing.
Although Eldon's words mollify some of the crowd, it's clear the group's actions have clearly angered a good deal of the city populace. However, with more guards moving in and a lot of gavel-banging, order is restored. You are lead out to the defence chamber to wait out the rest of the day.
After another hour or so, Gustav Kaple strides into the chamber, shaking his head ruefully as he removes his ornate wig.
"T-t-that was i-i-incredible again. The lack of i-i-nvestigation into this is a-a-ppalling. The witness st-st-story was confusing, it may have h-helped a bit if you had interviewed them but the s-speak with dead spell was vuh-verified as legitimate. I think we have that one!"
Kaple heads over to Wren, he is an austere, older man cutting an imposing figure in ceremonial robes, although his gravitas is severely hampered by his stammer.
"And wuh-we haven't met. Gustav Kaple, you are Wren? Th-thank you so much for helping with the c-c-case. But nonetheless there is o-one more crime to investigate."
After introducing himself to Wren he settles in and produces some papers. His stammer eases as he becomes comfortable.
"The l-last crime is the Karb Isle Sanctuary, an arson attack which killed D-doctor Brada who ran the Sanctuary and blinded his assistant Karl. A large, shambling creature was seen during the fire. Do you have q-questions?"
"Any witnesses t' th' attack still be around? We still go' th' costume tha' one freak used t' terrorize Morast. Mebbe i' were t' same guy. 'Large shamblin' creature' sounds awful like th' false description o' Brodur used in Morast."
"Oh yes, dearie, I'm Wren," Wren fluffs her arms, airing out her feathers and she responds to Kaple. "Lil' Eldon did quite a nice job in there. Just like I might have if given the words to read from a script."
"What are these, Mr. Kaple?" Wren takes the papers to examine them. "Did you want us to investigate this location as well? Do we have time to do that?"
Wren looks at 'Jack, Eldo, 'Lena, and Arval.
"Is this something we wish to do?"
"Bigguns," Eldon corrects Whiskey. "Though I have to agree I like the name I came up with more, it turned out the girl named our friend Bigguns before I named him Brodur. Let us do the girl and the friendship she built with the big one honor, and remember the good fellow by the name she gave him. May the memory of his name, Bigguns, be a memory to her."
Eldon pulls Wren's arm so she lowers the papers and he can also examine them. "Ah, yes, we do wish to. And I do hope there's more evidence to find this time around. If it weren't for my incredible wits and remarkable intelligence, in addition to Ellsa's personal testimony, the Hergstag case would've been lost."
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Lena looks worriedly at yhe retreating, disgruntled crowd.
the're so angry.
She looks at Eldon.
that was brave of you to take the credit for our work Eldon. she says with a sunny smile. all those people will now think you are responsible for how the case is going. I don't think they are pleased with you. In fact they may lynch you if you're not careful. You shouldn't go outside by yourself.
so on to the next case. What were the details again? And is brodur safe? It would be bad if the guards let someone in to garm him.
Gustav sighs at Lena.
"Arson attack. S-sanctuary on Karb Isle - some sort of asylum or something. Man named K-karl was blinded, claims he saw the Beast. And the B-beast will be locked in the dungeon again. I doubt the crowd could h-harm him anyways."
"Oh, thank you, Dearie," Wren replies gratefully at Kaple. "I just have one question, where is Carabile Sanctuary?"
Wren is ready to move on, hoping someone knows the way.
"Karb Isle is north of Lep-Lep... the city, you have probably p-passed it on your way to Hergstag. Same road. I don't know the location of the w-witness, you'll have to suss that out yourselves."
"I d-don't know. Find out," snaps Kaple.