| Mathus Kohlheim |
Mathus is happy to be back on his old stomping ground. He never spent any time in the Antiquities Department, so it's condition was something of a novelty... and source of curiosity. What was with the construction and repair work?
Untrained Know Engineering 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19 For any DC10 knowledge.
What in devil happened here? Are you expanding or renovating? You also need your undergraduates to pay more attention to cleaning and putting things in order...
WhtKnt
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"The other night, my department was broken into by none other than the Beast of Lepidstadt! Strangely, the Beast took only one item—a strange statuette called the Seasage Effigy. I must admit that I'm baffled. The statuette was very singular, but it was hardly valuable. Although the stolen statue has not been recovered, I am pleased that the Beast was caught, though I understand the poor creature cannot explain its actions and is clearly mad."
WhtKnt
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"I did not, but others did and the Beast was found among the wreckage at the scene of the crime."
WhtKnt
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"Aye. It was the strangest thing. The Beast was just standing there, looking confused. Offered no resistance."
| Lorant Endronil |
Lorant's brow furrows and he strokes his still-recovering beard.
"That juxtaposition's suspicious in and of itself..." he mutters. The others seem to be asking good questions though, so he refrains from asking in the moment.
WhtKnt
|
"Just as I have said. Were it not mad, why would it have stood and waited to be captured? And why did it not fight back?"
| Lorant Endronil |
"The way you describe it makes it sound almost like two different entities, one capable of wreaking this destruction and the other meekly standing amid the wreckage. Did the Beast...speak?"
| Lorant Endronil |
"Can you tell us more about this 'Sausage Effigy' you said it stole? Why wasn't it recovered when the Beast was apprehended? Where would the Beast have stashed it if the whole reason it was here in the first place was to steal that thing?"
WhtKnt
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"I confess that I do not have an answer. It was not found on the beast or at the scene. The Seasage Effigy was singular, certainly, but hardly valuable. As I said, just further proof that the poor beast is mad."
WhtKnt
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"Pity... yes, I suppose in a way I do. It is quite mad; incapable of knowing what havoc it causes. A shame, but the trial is like to be very short and decidedly not-so-sweet for The Beast."
| Judah Locke |
"Right. Anyway, Doctor have you ever seen anything like this?" Judah asked, hefting his strange metal pyramid up by it's chain and letting it settle on the desk with a heavy thunk. "Or do you recognize any of the markings?"
WhtKnt
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"I'm afraid not. These markings are some form of Infernal or Abyssal, but it's not the standard alphabet. Given enough time and a little luck, I might be able to translate some of it."
| Lorant Endronil |
Lorant looks at Judah with a raised eyebrow. He figured Judah was probably thinking the same thing he was: they'd need that amulet, and whatever powers it had bestowed upon Judah, on their investigation now more than Judah needed answers which could come later. He doesn't say anything aloud, though. It was Judah's prerogative as to how much he was willing to tell Dr. Crowl.
WhtKnt
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The professor slaps the heel of his hand to his forehead. "A rubbing! Why didn't I think of that?" He fetches paper and charcoal and busily makes a rubbing of the entire pyramid.
| Judah Locke |
"Eh, you have a lot on your mind. Thanks for the help." Judah said, dropping the pyramid when the Doctor was done. It fell like something much heavier than it's size implied, barely swinging at all as it reached the end of it's chain and bumped against his leg. "We'll be back when we've checked things out for you."
| Lorant Endronil |
Lorant nods and turns, leading the way out of the door. When they're outside, he turns to the others.
"Think we better go to the courthouse. Make sure we're all registered as the Beast's advocates, so we're not investigating this vigilante-style like we did in Ravengro. And after hearing what Dr. Crowl said, I think we'd better interview our..."client." Get their side of the story, if they're capable of telling it."
WhtKnt
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The courthouse is a large, squat building dominated by an enormous clock that overlooks the town square. A huge figure of wood, roughly man-shaped, stands in the square in front of the building. The building is three stories high, with narrow, open windows only a foot wide. Inside, you are directed to Barrister Gustav Kaple, who will be representing the Beast in the upcoming trial.
Gustav is a tall, broad-shouldered man in a giant court wig. He looks up as you enter. "May I assist you?"
| Lorant Endronil |
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"Actually we were wondering if WE may assist YOU, Barrister Kaple. Squire Lorant Endronil of the Knights of Ozem. This is my fellow squire Cassiel Hawke, and friends, Judah Locke and Dr. Mathus Kohlheim. We understand that you've quite the client to defend, and may need more eyes and ears to look into the case."
WhtKnt
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"Well, while I'm fairly certain that my 'client' is guilty, I am pledged to defend it to the best of my ability. The thing of it is, I'm having trouble coming up with any evidence to support its innocence. The prosecution is using three recent crimes attributed to the Beast to convict the creature of murder: the murder of 10 citizens of the village of Morast a year ago; the slaying of six children in the farming community of Hergstag 7 months ago; and the arson attack 4 months ago at the Sanctuary on Karb Isle, which resulted in the deaths of Doctor Brada and his patients and the blinding of the doctor’s assistant, Karl.
"I have interviewed the main witnesses from each of the three cases to be discussed at the trial and have found that their stories are very plausible. I wish to see justice done, however, and I am certain that without evidence in its favor, the Beast will be convicted. To that end, I am willing to assist you with your investigations unless I am at court. My role in court is to present evidence, cross-examine witnesses, and clear the Beast of any wrongdoing.
"I will say that I have a bad stutter which tends to manifest under stress. I suspect this is why I have been chosen to represent the Beast. If you do find any supporting evidence, it might be better for you to present it. We will have to hurry, however. The trial is already begun and preliminary evidence has been presented to the three justices.
"The trial begins in earnest tomorrow and the majority of the evidence for the three crimes will be presented over the next three days. It is my recommendation that you investigate the events in Morast first, as that evidence will be presented tomorrow. You can then investigate the other two crimes over the following two nights.
"That is about all I can tell you. Unless you have further questions for me, it might do to met your 'client'."
He answers any other questions that you may have [insert questions here] and then leads you into the cellar. 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.
"Gentlemen," the barrister states, "May I present the Beast of Lepidstadt."
| Lorant Endronil |
Lorant nods periodically at Kaple's description of the situation.
"If you don't mind my asking, Barrister, why is the Court even bothering with this spectacle? If even you, the Beast's advocate, is certain of the Beast's guilt, is there any reason for what seems less a trial and more a pageant? It almost seems like your colleagues are mocking you by assigning you this role, and that doesn't sound fair to me," he asks at the end.
When they're brought down to be introduced to the Beast, Lorant raises an eyebrow. A living legend, here in the flesh, supposedly an immortal terror sitting meekly and looking at them like a chastened child. This would be interesting.
"Goodmorrow to you. I'm Lorant Endronil, squire of the Knights of Ozem. This is my fellow squire, Cassiel Hawke, and my friends Judah Locke and Dr. Mathus Kohlheim. We're going to be assisting Barrister Kaple with your case. Have you...got a name we can call you by, sir?"
WhtKnt
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"Mocking me, aye, they are. So certain are they that my presence will be ineffective."
On speaking to the beast:
The massive creature heaves a sigh and mutters, "I did'n do it."
| Judah Locke |
Judah blinked. He didn't know why it was surprising to hear the massive hulk talk. For some reason, he had assumed the creature to be mute, or at least not to understand language. He looked at the macabre form in the chair again in a new light, feeling an unexpected pang of sympathy.
"Uh... alright. Who did?"
| Judah Locke |
Judah remembered being chained up, and every detail of the barrister's questioning was burned into his mind. He remembered how he'd been manipulated and made to look guilty. The irony was, at the time he actually hadn't done the things he was accused of. Not that it had mattered.
He found himself wanting to help the Beast. Sure, it was possible that he was lying, or crazy, but Judah didn't care. Justice didn't exist anyway. It was all just theatre to give people an illusion of safety and superiority.
The only way to beat a rigged game was to play in a way that exposed the rigging. That meant at least appearing to follow the rules.
How had it started when he was in the chair?
"Alright. We want to help you. What's your name?"
WhtKnt
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The Beast only shakes its head. "I did'n do it," it says morosely.
That's all I've been able to get out of it," the barrister says. "It doesn't seem to have a name. I'm not even sure that it knows what a name is."
| Judah Locke |
Judah tilted his head in the barrister's direction. "Well, I doubt you're going to win over any jurists by continuing to call him 'The Beast.' We have to call him something."