"I can feel the anger radiating off you..." Mr. Yellow comments.
As they move into the new area, he keeps an eye open for danger.
Rather a let down... , Mr Black says before heading down to the prisoners.
Dylan Shifts back into a fully human form.
"Or a relief, after all the things we've seen in this place," Mr. Yellow replies. "We have to hurry, we need to get cleaned up to present this evidence."
Agreed. I will in any way I can.
Dylan says quite solemnly.
As the group came back downstairs from the attic, Judah was coming inside from loading another box of evidence into the cart outside.
When he heard an unfamiliar voice, he froze, panicking behind his mask. His head snapped to their captives, and the looming black figure guarding them. With a frantic wave he hissed "Go away!"
The faceless thing tilted it's head for a moment, then quietly burst like a balloon full of ink. Black liquid that had been a humanoid shape a moment before fell to the ground and ran into the cracks and shadows, vanishing into the liminal spaces it had been called from.
By the time the rest of them made it down into the main room, Mister Grey was sitting comfortably in a chair with his crossbow trained on their captives.
As he heard their low conversation, a nagging feeling of familiarity unnerved him. Who had they found? He restrained his urge to run, trusting his companions had a good reason to bring someone new into their midst in the middle of a heist.
His mask covered his worried face, but inside his heart was pounding.
Ohohohohohohohohohoh how interesting Dylans not that tame but surprisingly useful Phantom was apparently easily amused, but by what?
What is wrong with you Figment? The Bloodrager asked mentally
You mean whats right? Apart from the stars? How most auspicious!
Eh, if she is amused by something then something insanely dumb will happen any second Dylan thinks as he moves past "Mr. Grey", not recognicing him, and shooting a very mean and exceedingly toothy grin to the former owners of this place.
Добрый вечер, красавчик,
приятно познакомиться с вами, несмотря на наши оптические различия, наша ситуация в чем-то схожа, хотя явные недостатки наших соответствующих хозяев, очевидно, довольно сильно различаются.
Давайте повеселимся, да?
As his phantom, while not manifested and fully inside him, attempts to reach out, telepathically, to something that speaks Abyssal?
Stop Bluffing BLYAD, you cannot communicate telepathically while inside me, the Professor was quite certain that this is quite impossible, and no, I am not going to let you out and... I swear Blyad, your delusions of grandeur and relevance are just an after effect of the sleeping poison! Dylan was increasingly distracted.
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We found some... fellow investigators... Mister Grey, but other than that? I think our work is done. Let's get everything out of here... including these two villains.
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Grey's masked face followed the big, angry warrior as he paced like a cat in front of their captives.
Wait, I know that guy. Dustin? No that's not right... Dylan! From that warehouse job. That I botched. He had to fight off the watch while the rest of us ran. Not a great first impression. Hopefully he won't remember me. What's he doing in this hell hole? How are we supposed to get out of here with two prisoners and that big bastard? Dammit what else could go wrong on this job?
He did a double take as he noticed the limp body of the woman in Mister Pink's arms.
Sonofab$+~%.
Mister Grey took a shakey breath and focused on how to get them all out of here without drawing every eye on the block.
"Alright. We still need a horse to haul the cart. Pink, that's your job. Black, find the new guy something to hide his face. I don't care if you have to wrap his whole head in bandages, just make sure nobody outside might recognize him later. Same with the girl. She's... alive, right? Nevermind, doesn't matter. With these two a!!**@!s we're going to look like kidnappers no matter what we do. Maybe put her in a sack, or one of those body bags we found earlier. The rest of us will finish loading the cart and keeping an eye on these two."
Mr. Yellow nods and moves to assist Mr. Grey with loading.
Black followed Greys lead and began bandaging Dylan's face after saying Trust us, we need to cover your features.
Lest somebody takes psychic damage from my good lucks yesyes.
Dylan grins.
"Right... I went to get horses, and then got distracted."
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Finding some horses to "borrow" is easy enough and Cassiel soothes his conscience by reminding himself of the importance of what they are doing and the greater good. Any evidence to be presented in the day's trial must be submitted before 10 a.m., and you make the cutoff only by a slim margin.
A significant crowd gathers around the Punishing Man at dawn, and a carnival atmosphere engulfs the courthouse. The clerks arrive early to prepare the courtroom and chambers. Other members of the court arrive as the time approaches 10:00 a.m. The three justices arrive in black coaches with several guards in attendance.
At exactly 10:00 am, the Trial of the Beast begins. A trio of guards leads the Beast into the court and shackles it to the large iron chair in the center of the courtroom to the jeers of the crowd.
10:10 a.m.: Chief Justice Ambrose Khard commences proceedings by laying out the rules of the court in a lengthy speech, interspersed with gong-strikes by the Herald. Khard concludes his speech by announcing that the good people of Lepidstadt have suffered many acts of terror and barbarity at the hands of the Beast of Lepidstadt for many years, and that while the Beast is doubtless responsible for numerous murders, the prosecution will focus on three recent cases to prove the Beast’s guilt during this trial.
10:30 a.m.: Opening Statements. Prosecutor Otto Heiger outlines his case. He alleges that the Beast is responsible for the murder of 10 people in the village of Morast a year ago, in addition to two other horrendous crimes that will be described as the trial continues. Barrister Gustav Kaple then makes his case for the Beast’s innocence, a half-hearted attempt full of stutters and awkward pauses, all the while being jeered and booed by the baying mob in the gallery.
11:00 a.m.: Witnesses for the Prosecution. Otto first brings three locals from Morast, two young women and a man, to the stand. The trio describes events as they saw them happen—that over a series of nights, the Beast came to the village and took people away; that a trap was finally laid for the Beast; that the Beast was driven into the swamp, and, they assumed, killed. Otto then calls the village elder, Lazne, who led the mob that drove the Beast off. He confirms the events related by the other three villagers.
12:30 p.m.: Witnesses for the Defense. Gustav calls upon you to present your evidence found in Morast.
Lorant, now cleaned up and back in his traditional attire, strides to the front of the group. They had quite the task ahead of them, as Gustav's...efforts had not been very convincing.
"Ladies, Gentlemen, Good Folk of Lepidstadt. The accused who stands before us today a creature of legend. And legends often grow as they are told, retold and added to, to the point where deeds both fair and foul may be assigned to the wrong person. The Beast of Lepidstadt, despite its fearsome reputation, was in fact NOT the monster that plagued Morast. Indeed, the true villains of this particular tale DEPENDED on that reputation, so the blame for their most foul and unnatural deeds could be shifted, pinned on a creature no one would think twice of accusing, while the real monsters hid in plain sight!"
As the pomp and circumstance was getting underway, Judah was quickly scrawling down notes. He wasn't much of a talker, but he was pretty good at getting out of legal trouble.
The trick was how to present the evidence in ways to maximise doubt.
After a bit, he shoved a folded paper into Lorant's hands and hoped the charismatic knight had enough time to figure out what to say.
1) The big red caiman. The B fought it. Got bit. Distinct bite pattern. We have it's head. Can compare with B's scars.
2) Face stealer. Disturbed graves in swamp. Medical tools found at sight. Craftsman records connect them to Grimes Chymic Works.
3) Evidence from Chymic Works. Face skin masks. Record book. Undead workers might be missing people. Ask witnessess about broken bones, missing teeth, etc.
4) Big captured henchman. Compare to B. Might have Caiman bite scars.
5) Face stealer Grimes. Interrogation? Truth spells?
After waiting for the crowd's shock to dissipate, Lorant turns to the witnesses from Morast.
"Speaker Lazne: in your description of the pursuit of our client, both in Morast and in this courtroom, you mentioned a gator attacking them and being what ultimately drove them off. Is this correct?"
Lorant produces the skull they've obtained.
"Would you say this skull is similar in size to that of the caiman you saw that night?"
"So if our client was indeed whom you saw that night, they should bear scars that would approximately match the shape and size of this skull, correct?"
"If it please the court, I would ask our client to remove their shirt and test to see if any of their scars match this skull, to prove or disprove whether they have received injuries consistent with a caiman bite."
And show it against the skin suits... , the Doktor quietly reminds Lorant.
"Yes, that was the next step after the shock wears off," Lorant whispers back.
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The judges nod their agreement and the guards come forward to remove the tattered remains of The Beast's shirt. An audible murmur moves through the assembled as the scarred, pallid grey flesh is revealed. Some turn away in disgust, while others gape at the sight. There are no directly correlating scars to the bite pattern of the skull. The senior judge bangs her gavel for order.
"Given the state of the defendant's condition, it is difficult for this court to consider your presentation as factual evidence. While there is nothing to suggest that the defendant was bitten, there is likewise insufficient evidence to suggest that it was not."
I can show to the court how medium sized bite marks on the client would look. He would obviously not enjoy this very much, but yeah, my own bite would leave a larger mark that what he has scar wise...
but not remotely as big as what the Caiman would do. It would reveal me as a Skinwalker and fanglord, your choice.
Dylan, being reasonably good at accessing bite marks because he bites things he should not be biting, offers an unusual option to Lorant.
"That won't be necessary," Lorant says. He turns back to the judge. "We now call the Chymist Vorkstag to the stand."
"Who wants to bet that Vorkstag's big assistant has the right bite scars?" Judah muttered.
Lorant tries not to smirk...the implications were clear: there was a monster involved, the people just had the wrong monster.
"Please state your name for the benefit of the court and those assembled."
"Mr. Vorkstag, you are clearly no ordinary man. What exactly ARE you?"
Dylan actually has a good idea, cast message, and waves his way into the crowd, as is not known to be part of the group after all.
Say the word "judicial" and I will see if I can whip up the crowd in your favor
Lorant gives a small nod hearing Dylan's message in his head, but doesn't use the codeword yet.
"Indeed...and it seems you've accumulated quite the wardrobe."
He turns to the nearest guard.
"Please bring forth the cabinet recovered from the Chymic Works."
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"You have stated you wear these as clothes. Where have you obtained them from?"
From corpses... be specific!, says the Doktor sternly.
"And for what purpose do you adopt these disguises? There are clearly more here than just the one you assumedly use for day-to-day work with Mr. Grine in your Chymic Works. Why assemble such a collection?"