A few moments after Evander and Gregor's rather convincing bluff, the secret door fully opens and out walks a human man with long, black hair and a mustache dressed in a blacksmith's smock. The front of the smock is covered in what appears to be dried blood. The man grasps a glowing red kukri in one hand.
He looks shocked to see you, but snarls before tightening his grip on the kukri.
The glowing kukri worries Matiscio. The dried blood covering it is a testimony to its deadly efficiency, and the man's blood-clad clothes leave little to the imagination of who got the kukri all covered with blood.
In fact, as Matiscio moves forward with the hope he can wrap a hand around the man's wrist and take the blade away from him, said worry actively resists the brawler's urge to take the murderous implement from the man. Is this fear I feel?
Celia steps over to where she can see the man as she intones arcane words unleashing her magic on him.
With the man surprised she blasts him once again with her magic.
HP: 36/36
AC: 14
Reservoir Points: [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Pearl of Power: [ ] [ ] [ ]
Lvl. 0 Spells: Acid Splash [U], Detect Magic [U], Light [U], Message [U]
Lvl. 1 Spells: Toppling Magic Missile [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Lvl. 2 Spells: Cat's Grace [ ] , Invisibility [ ] [ ] [ ], Knock [ ]
Lvl. 3 Spells: Invisibility Sphere [X] [ ] , Water Breating [ ]
Evander drinks an extract, and his arms lengthen.
Evander moves behind Matiscio and thrusts his rapier at Wex.
Gilda moves along behind the table , just in case Wex manages to evade both Matiscio and Evander and rush at her. She glares and shouts angrily at the man as she does so.
"Ya creep!"
"We probably caught yas in the act!"
Gilda continues her taunts before seemingly being unable to stop herself from cackling at the thought they did just that.
Matiscio was worried by the glowing kukri. The dried blood covering it is a testimony to its deadly efficiency, and the man's blood-clad clothes leave little to the imagination of who got the kukri all covered with blood.
In fact, as Matiscio moves forward with the hope he can wrap a hand around the man's wrist and take the blade away from him, said worry actively resists the brawler's urge to take the murderous implement from the man and he fails to do so. Is this fear I feel?
Celia steps over to where she can see the man as she intones arcane words unleashing her magic on him.
The missiles slam into the man and he falls over.
With the man surprised she blasts him once again with her magic, injuring him further.
Gilda moves along behind the table just in case Wex manages to evade both Matiscio and Evander and rush at her. She glares and shouts angrily at the man as she does so.
"Ya creep!"
"We probably caught yas in the act!"
Gilda continues her taunts before seemingly being unable to stop herself from cackling at the thought they did just that.
Wex’s defenses and attacks are both weakened.
Evander drinks an extract, and his arms lengthen.
Then he moves behind Matiscio and thrusts his rapier at Wex. He lands a solid blow.
Gregor starts up his encouraging performance before firing an arrow at Wex. He takes a moment to steady his shot to improve his aim and manages to land his arrow.
Wex snarls again before jumping to his feet, avoiding attacks in the process. He then tumbles past Matiscio, avoiding attacks from him and Evander, before rolling past Gregor as well. He comes to a halt in front of Celia, his glowing kukri only inches away.
Gregor is surprised by the way in which the man deftly dances past all of them. He tries something similar, trying to skirt around the man to block any exits. "Pigeon, close the door, do not let him escape. Allocco, can you hold him still?" His focus, unfortunately, is more on getting the message out than moving carefully in the tight confines of the small apartment.
Evander moves after Wex, only having to take a few steps to get back in reach thanks to his extract.
Unsure whether it is the murderous implement or the man who is to be feared, Matiscio closes the gap and once again tries to wrestle the kukri away from him.
Gilda takes a step back and ensures the door is shut while continuing to cackle that they've caught their prey .
"Ya got nowhere ta got, Wexie! Time to turn yerself in!"
Celia is a little shocked when the man advances on her so quickly and avoids the others so easily.
Not interested in seeing that that knife could do she steps back and casts a spell on herself as she disappears from sight.
HP: 36/36
AC: 14
Reservoir Points: [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Pearl of Power: [ ] [ ] [ ]
Lvl. 0 Spells: Acid Splash [U], Detect Magic [U], Light [U], Message [U]
Lvl. 1 Spells: Toppling Magic Missile [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Lvl. 2 Spells: Cat's Grace [ ] , Invisibility [X] [ ] [ ], Knock [ ]
Lvl. 3 Spells: Invisibility Sphere [X] [ ] , Water Breating [ ]
Matiscio, unsure whether it is the murderous implement or the man who is to be feared, closes the gap and once again tries to wrestle the kukri away from him. Wex’s grip proves to be too strong and Matiscio can’t pry it away from him.
Celia is a little shocked when the man advances on her so quickly and avoids the others so easily.
Not interested in seeing what that knife could do she steps back and casts a spell on herself as she disappears from sight.
Gilda takes a step back and ensures the door is shut while continuing to cackle that they've caught their prey.
"Ya got nowhere ta got, Wexie! Time to turn yerself in!"
Evander moves after Wex, only having to take a few steps to get back in reach thanks to his extract. Wex is too quick and dodges the investigator’s attack.
Gregor is surprised by the way in which the man deftly dances past all of them. He tries something similar, trying to skirt around the man to block any exits. "Pigeon, close the door, do not let him escape. Allocco, can you hold him still?" His focus, unfortunately, is more on getting the message out than moving carefully in the tight confines of the small apartment. Gregor’s easily able to avoid Wex’s blow and strikes back with one of his own, landing a solid blow.
Wex growls at where Celia turned invisible.
Ignoring Gilda’s demand that he turn himself in, Wex turns his blade on Gregor, stabbing twice. He misses with both attacks.
Celia takes a moment, while invisible to cast detect magic on the blade and examine its properties hoping to tell the others what its effect may be before moving to the other side of Evander preparing to cast another spell at the man.
Matiscio attempts one more to wrestle the blade from the murderer, but fails. Perhaps the problem here isn't the blade. Perhaps the problem is the man wielding it. Yes, how about you knock his lights out instead?!
Wex was clearly a much more difficult foe than they had anticipated. Evander studied his movements carefully, considering, before again thrusting with his rapier.
Gregor is relieved that the man was unable to land a blow, and attempts to give the little extra pep his companions may need. "He is just a man with all their weaknesses. We are a team. Focus on taking him down." He returns the swing again, but finding it harder to bring to bear a solid shot pressed between the man's swings and the window.
Gilda's pretty sure Wex is done for but she continues to glare at him from the safety her allies afford her.
"Alright, don't say we didn't give ya the chance ta turns yerself in!"
Matiscio attempts one more to wrestle the blade from the murderer, but fails. Perhaps the problem here isn't the blade. Perhaps the problem is the man wielding it. Yes, how about you knock his lights out instead?!
Celia takes a moment, while invisible to cast detect magic on the blade and examine its properties hoping to tell the others what its effect may be before moving to the other side of Evander preparing to cast another spell at the man.
On a successful critical hit, this +1 kukri deals 2 points of bleed damage, which stacks with any bleed damage already caused by the attack. Each time the wielder strikes a blow that deals bleed damage with this weapon, he gains temporary hit points equal to the amount of bleed damage dealt. No temporary hit points are gained if the target was already bleeding, even for a lesser amount. Temporary hit points bestowed by Balgorrah last for 1 minute. Balgorrah can cast bleed at will (and does so automatically if it notices any dying creature within 30 feet), and can cast death knell once per day.
Gilda's pretty sure Wex is done for but she continues to glare at him from the safety her allies afford her. He succumbs to her latest hex.
"Alright, don't say we didn't give ya the chance ta turns yerself in!"
Evander recognized that Wex was clearly a much more difficult foe than they had anticipated. Evander studied his movements carefully, considering, before again thrusting with his rapier. He lands his blow, stabbing his weapon into Wex’s side.
Gregor is relieved that the man was unable to land a blow, and attempts to give the little extra pep his companions may need. "He is just a man with all their weaknesses. We are a team. Focus on taking him down." He returns the swing again, but finding it harder to bring to bear a solid shot pressed between the man's swings and the window. Still, he manages to find an opening and injures Wex further.
Wex grips his kukri even tighter and his knuckles turn white before he stabs at Gregor again. Both attacks miss thanks to Gilda’s hex.
Matiscio shifts his mental gears and flexes into a more aggressive wide-legged stance, hoping that his feet manage to do better than his fist have so far.
Evander continues his attack on Wex. They'd have to bring him down eventually - he was just a man with a kukri, after all!
Celia recognizing the blade calls out to the others "Careful! It is an intelligent evil magical blade of the Skinsaw cult! If he hits something vital the wound will bleed really badly." Still invisible she pulls out a scroll from her haversack and casts it on herself.
HP: 36/36
AC: 18 (Base 14, +4 MA)
Reservoir Points: [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Pearl of Power: [ ] [ ] [ ]
Lvl. 0 Spells: Acid Splash [U], Detect Magic [U], Light [U], Message [U]
Lvl. 1 Spells: Toppling Magic Missile [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Lvl. 2 Spells: Cat's Grace [ ] , Invisibility [X] [ ] [ ], Knock [ ]
Lvl. 3 Spells: Invisibility Sphere [X] [ ] , Water Breating [ ]
Gregor, although frustrated at their hard target, does his best to keep from letting it show. "Keep at it team. We have him on the ropes. This has got to end soon."
Gilda simply continues to chortle, knowing the unsettling effect it has on the group's adversaries.
Matiscio shifts his mental gears and flexes into a more aggressive wide-legged stance, hoping that his feet manage to do better than his fist have so far. His second strike hits, landing a solid blow.
Celia recognizing the blade calls out to the others "Careful! It is an intelligent evil magical blade of the Skinsaw cult! If he hits something vital the wound will bleed really badly." Still invisible she pulls out a scroll from her haversack and casts it on herself.
Gilda simply continues to chortle, knowing the unsettling effect it has on the group's adversaries.
Evander continues his attack on Wex. They'd have to bring him down eventually - he was just a man with a kukri, after all! He lands another blow, injuring Wex further, but not killing him.
Gregor, although frustrated at their hard target, does his best to keep from letting it show. "Keep at it team. We have him on the ropes. This has got to end soon."
Wex, seemingly undeterred by your attacks so far, stabs at Gregor again, his eyes filled with murderous intent. He finally manages to land an attack, but it only cuts lightly into Gregor’s arm.
Matiscio pushes the advantage and slips into a flanking position. He tries to put Wex out of commission with a series of brutal kicks.
Evander watches as Wex finally wounds Gregor, then thinks, Let's see, when he did that...ah, there!
Finding an opening, Evander thrust his rapier at it, hoping they could finally bring the man down.
Feeling a little bit more protected after using her scroll Celia rejoins the fight as she turns visible when she unleashes a spell at Wex.
HP: 36/36
AC: 18 (Base 14, +4 MA)
Reservoir Points: [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Pearl of Power: [ ] [ ] [ ]
Lvl. 0 Spells: Acid Splash [U], Detect Magic [U], Light [U], Message [U]
Lvl. 1 Spells: Toppling Magic Missile [X] [X] [X] [ ] [ ]
Lvl. 2 Spells: Cat's Grace [ ] , Invisibility [X] [ ] [ ], Knock [ ]
Lvl. 3 Spells: Invisibility Sphere [X] [ ] , Water Breating [ ]
Certain that the fight is near over, his confidence got him a cut . In return he delights in Matiscio's move to a strong tactical location and strikes back. His aim is clean and the force of the swing fairly solid.
Matiscio pushes the advantage and slips into a flanking position. He tries to put Wex out of commission with a series of brutal kicks but none of his attacks land.
Celia, feeling a little bit more protected after using her scroll, rejoins the fight as she turns visible when she unleashes a spell at Wex. The man grunts from the impact but stays upright this time. He glares at Celia.
Gilda continues to chant and also tries to weaken Wex’s mental defenses. She succeeds.
Evander watches as Wex finally wounds Gregor, then thinks, Let's see, when he did that...ah, there!
Finding an opening, Evander thrust his rapier at it, hoping they could finally bring the man down. He lands his attack but doesn’t bring Wex down, though the man does look quite injured.
Gregor, in his certainty that the fight is near over, his confidence got him a cut. In return he delights in Matiscio's move to a strong tactical location and strikes back. His aim is clean and the force of the swing fairly solid. His strike lands and Wex finally falls to the ground, his glowing red kukri leaving his hand and hitting the ground with a thud.
Wex isn’t dead yet, but is bleeding out. He’ll likely be dead soon enough without intervention.
Evander says, ”Don’t touch the kukri. If it’s intelligent, it could take control of one of us.”
Gilda swallows hard and looks at Evander, her eyes wide.
"What?! A knife could do that?!"
Gilda's tempted to kick the thing as far away from her as she can, but instead finds herself backing away from the evil implement.
Her mind races.
"So, could that mean.. Wex didn't know what he was doin'?!"
Gilda glances at the bloody body of the man, certain he was a bad seed earlier, but now less sure of her convictions.
Evander nods. "Lily said it was intelligent - and anything that can think for itself can have an agenda. Wex may, in fact, not have been acting of his own volition. Let's get him stabilized, then we can find out. Lily, how can we safely handle the blade? Can we destroy it?"
Celia looks at the blad and nods to Evander's words as he explains it to Gilda. She thinks back on anything that might help them deal with the blade.
Gregor tries to at least first stop the man from bleeding out, but failing that he offers, "If we had a way to bind him quickly first, I can apply healing. I am reluctant to do so until he is contained. The bathroom had no windows. Lets put him in the tub to hinder any chance or attempts at escape."
Gilda appears reluctant to go anywhere near Wex, for fear the wicked blade may animate his body or some sort of spirit might rise from it and invade her own.
She breathes a sigh of relief as Gregor steps forward to staunch the wounds and carry the man to the bathroom.
She quickly becomes distracted by Wex's renter's agreement.
"Wha? Wex has a bathroom? I wonder what his rent is..."
Matiscio does the one thing he can do and starts searching Wex's apartment. It's a longshot, but who knows, maybe this killer *does* keep a diary.
From what Celia knows of the blade, it is an intelligent weapon that seeks to compel those of weak will to carry out slayings. While the blade could theoretically try to corrupt anyone, it searches for those most likely to heed its call - those of similar alignments or inclinations. Picking up the weapon is a sure way for someone to risk falling under its influence.
Despite Gregor’s attempt, Wex continues to bleed out even as he is placed in the bathtub.
With Wex out of commission, Matiscio is able to search the apartment more thoroughly. Looking behind the hidden door Wex appeared from, the brawler discovers a small room that Wex seems to have created from within one of the tenement’s support pillars. The crawlspace is just under 4 ft tall and a fine throw rug of Qadiran manufacture adorns the floor along with a few cushions. Heaps of books and papers are stacked around the rug, while a small stand opposite the secret door appears to be just the right size to serve as a resting place for Balgorrah.
The majority of the books and notes are, like the strangely off-topic books in the front room, concerned with medical and alchemical notes. Here, taken in context, they suggest a disturbing focus in the grisly studies of anatomy, the nature of blood, and theories on the source and ultimate fate of the mortal soul. Many of the notes focus on the rather lurid history of Kintargo’s time under the knife of the Temple Hill Slasher.
The bulk of these notes contains nothing new, but one note in particular considers the possibility that Mangvhune may have been manipulated by supernatural forces beyond this world, and that his spirit may have somehow become anchored to Kintargo due to some strange eldritch and primordial feature of the region, yet the note does not go into further detail.
Of more immediate interest are those notes chronicling the knife known as Balgorrah, which Wex has researched extensively—here, you learn of the knife’s origins as a weapon of the Skinsaw Cult and of how Mangvhune himself once owned the blade. It is more than apparent that Wex believes Mangvhune’s spirit resides in the blade, and that the weapon came into his hands because he was destined to carry on the Slasher’s work.
Matiscio even finds a small diary that Wex had been keeping. The content is deeply disturbing and goes into detail about Varl’s methods of stalking and killing his victims. The details exactly describe the way the Old Kintargo murder victims were killed. Additionally, Matiscio discovers that the entries detailing Wex’s planning and dark thoughts predate the actual recent series of murders by several months. An entry from about a month ago mentions Wex making a visit to the Newt Market and acquiring ‘a lovely red blade.’ The murders began shortly after that entry date.
The initial discovery of the place fills Matiscio with disgust, but when the details come to him through notes and papers, the brawler gets to experience uncomfortable emotions that not even Barzillai Thrune can invoke within him. "Eh, friends, you might want to have a look at this ... old Wex here maintains what appears to be a shrine to his blade, the spirit within the blade, and his killings ..."
Evander looks over the notes, in particular the journal. It appeared that Wex began planning to commit murder even before he acquired Balgorrah, but it was only after he had the blade he took action. "It appears Wex was possessed of a twisted mind - while he may not have committed the murders until the blade came into his possession about a month ago, he appeared to begin thinking about them and planning to commit them several months ago. Unfortunately, I cannot say if he would still have done so without acquiring the blade. Certainly, he became more effective and violent for having acquired it. Intersting - he believes that the spirit of the Temple Hill Slasher resides within the blade, and the weapon came into his hands because he was destined to carry on the Slasher's work."
Looking at the others, he says, "We cannot take a risk that the blade falls into anyone else's hands. If we can't destroy it, we need to find a place to bury it so that no one will ever come across it again. We also need to decide what we do with Wex - do we turn him over to the dottari, along with this journal and the evidence needed to convict him, or do we dispense with justice now, and ensure that he just...disappears."
Celia listens as the others explain what they have found. She just keeps a cautious eye on the blade. As Evander suggests them burying it Celia shrugs "I'm sure there is a way to cleanse it or destroy it. It just might take some research. You are right through, for now we can't just leave it here. I will take it, that way in case I accidentally touch it you should be able to get it away pretty easily enough."
As Evander asks about what they should do with Wex she gives him a questioning look "I mean what is the benefit of turning him in to the dottari? I can see a lot more poor outcomes than I can see any benefits. The man is a murderer and even with out the influence of the blade it seems that was already his intent. I think we should deal with him here and now rather than risk him escaping and starting to murder people again..."
Gregor takes into account the notes as discovered by the others, before looking down on the prone bleeding form of the man they just fought. "I feel that the evidence discovered is as good as a voluntary admission of guilt. This man's death is warranted, and I feel no need to attempt any sort of revival." He seems to completely disregard the man now. "I say we leave the diary for the authorities to find here with the body. We should, however, close the hidden compartment, takes all the books and notes about the blade and its previous owner for study in how to destroy the evil object."
After Celia finds some of Wrex's clothing so she can wrap the dagger and securely tie the wrapping so the blade doesn't get exposed, she will stick it in her haversack. She nods to Gregor's suggestion but notes "We shouldn't just leave him to bleed out. Someone finish it and give the man a swift death. We don't want to risk that by some chance he recovers."
She will work on gathering up the books and notes about the blade and its previous owner hoping it will help her research methods on cleansing the blade of its evil taint, leaving one of the others to deliver the final blow to the man.
Gilda's face twists as she's confronted with the facts about the blade, Wex, the cult, the primordial forces below Kintargo and decisions on what to do with the blade and Wex.
"He ain't gonna last long without healin'."
Gilda knows she could spare the man, but his dark thoughts discovered in his journal, seemingly separating him as his own malignant person separate from the blade keep her from stepping forward.
She shakes off the grim thoughts gnawing at her and focuses on what's next.
"We can leave the compartment open, ya never know if some clever dottari figures out stuff was moved. Plus, ain't it unsafe? Might wanna repair... eh, who am I kiddin'? Ain't like nobody cares about making this place safe."
She looks to Gregor.
"Is he dead yet?"
Wex's life fades away before anyone is able to assist him on his way. As blood pools beneath him, the shallow up and down of his chest ceases entirely and the man grows still. Gilda is able to confirm the man is truly dead.
Matiscio feels conflicted when Wex draws his last breath. Are they to take it all and possibly smuggle out his body as well? Or should they make copies of everything found here and give the official representatives of the law a chance to uncover what's been going on?
"Yeah, he's dead.", Matiscio says rather calmly. Whether out of respect or because he's sorting out his thoughts, a short pause follows before Matiscio speaks again. "This does leave us with the decision of whether or not to take all the evidence with us, or somehow make copies of it all and leave the originals behind. I ... I actually don't know what is the right thing to do."
"We leave the journal, but take everything connected to the dagger. We don't need the dottari to know about the blade. We should set the scene so it looks like someone came in the window, killed Wex, and took the lovely red blade referred to in the journal. Once we destroy it, they will never know what happened to it. The distraction it may create, however, and the resources they will hopefully commit to finding it, may help keep them from investigating our actions."
Evander looks out the window the blood was found on.
Gilda snaps her fingers as Evander helps the group settle on a plan.
"Hey! That's not half bad! Gets the blade outta here so it don't fall in the wrong hands and gets folks knowin' Wex is no longer a threat. And a bonus is it keeps the fuzz off the Ravens!"
Gilda gestures at the window.
"Ya can probably just head out there to make it all legit and stuff and I can go downstairs and say that Wex's door was closed but it sounded like some sorta fight goin' on in there!"
"No. We don't want the fight connected to our visit. We'll leave through the front door, locking his apartment behind us, and say we knocked but no one answered. In a couple of days, when the body starts to smell, someone can go complain, and then he'll be found. Pigeon, in order to keep cover, you should stay here in your apartment, then go out later."