Sarey nods sadly. Oh, its true I'm afraid. Two weeks ago now, it was.She was picking flowers on a hill outside town when she just... vanished. She hasn’t been seen since. There were no signs of where she may have gone. Some folk say it were wolves, or maybe goblins up from the bog. Others say she must have run away, but she was such a sweet little thing, I can't put no stock in that.
Snatching up its bow, the valiant little insect's eyes dart about as it locates its pack.
"This one will need more arrows, nearly half were spent fighting the giant and flies. Two weeks is already too long; this one will not leave Isabellafriend alone any longer. Neither cultists, nor giants, nor Grimtooth himself will stop this one from finding her and bringing her home."
Tiny features scrunched in determination and antennae thrumming with nervous energy, Morgtii begins to march forth, intent on finding Isabella, not even waiting for the arrows it had just requested.
Raidh places a cautioning though gentle hand upon the entobian.
"Morgtii - friend! Tarry! I know you fret, however Sheriff will shortly arrive and armed with more knowledge we will be. And more arrows not long after that. Then we might seek Isabella with great power."
Raidh turns back to Sarey.
"How far doth Isabella's home lie? And have thee heard aught of any connexion twixt the Cultists and foul thawn? For myself I know little..."
With these last words Raidh looks amongst her party.
Wolf-Eyes shrugs. "Demons an' cults an' what-not ain't my speciality." He looks to Rodolpho, "Dolph, your a man o' learnin', would followers of Kaja-whats-it stoop to makin' off with a little kid?"
"I'd put nothing past a clan of demon worshippers. Sacrifices, slaves, I'm sure they have all sorts of nasty reasons to take a child. Maybe even some worse than those two," he shudders as he takes a drink from his cool mug.
Your friend is right, Morgtii. Its almost sunset now. Haring off into the dark after a two week old trail that everyone's already searched over isn't going to help anybody. Handel calls over from the bar.
In short order Oarsman returns with one of Eiren's deputies, Tommy Peck.
Sheriff's busy on town business right now, the boy states. But she sent me over to collect your statements. He officiously listens to the group recount their tale of the attack on Lidda's cottage, then thanks you all for you time and makes to leave.
If asked about the missing Droam girl, Tommy nods sadly. I guess it has been about two weeks now. She just up and vanished with out a trace. Billy Firth said he saw her playing up on Orchard hill, but there wasn't any sign of her. We searched for days but... he shrugs Goblins if you ask me. Nasty, sneaky little vermin. That's why the bailiff put a price on their heads. That why you lot in town? Goblin hunting?
"We will find her, and if it is possible, bring Isabellafriend home safe" Morgtii says, features scrunched in steadfast determination. "But this one knows that morning is the wiser course." The little entobian seems to deflate somewhat at this admission of defeat, or at least delay, and dejectedly returns to his seat.
"Easy there, Morg," Wolf-Eyes says with a consoling pat on the enotbian's shoulder. "Errythin' in its own time."
To Tommy: "Goblins? Naw, we were sent for by Silion Tuldaril, but like your boss, he's away on business too. But out of curiosity, how big a price are we talkin' 'bout?"
25 gold coins per full set of ears! Exclaims the burly grizzled veteran at the other end of the bar, revealing that he had been eavesdropping on your conversations. I hope you boys aren't planning on muscling in on my bounty, he grins at the group seated at the table. All the goblins 'round these parts, they know right enough to fear the name Aedron Ekstrom. He pats the bandolier of hooks around his shoulder affectionately.
Raidh smiles her sweetest smile and looks over her assembled friends.
Buoyed by their efforts against the thawn, Raidh raises a mug of water to Aedron.
"Boys, eh? Not sure if'n Morgtii qualifies, and I as sure as horsedung don't. So I guess we two can muscle in plenty. Don't worry Good Ekstrom, there are plenty enough goblins to go around if news is news."
[+3 Charisma, +4 for 2 counters]
Har! exclaims Ekstrom. He invites himself over to your table and through the rest of the evening Raidh's saucey charms win the man over thoroughly. While he is rude and abrasive, and possessed of the worst breath you have ever smelt on a human being, he is a good hearted fellow and is what he appears to be - a sword for hire drawn to these parts by the baron's generous bounty on goblins.
***
By mid morning the next day a boy arrives at the Greenbriar with a message that Silion has returned and invited you to lunch at his home at noon.
"We have a few minutes. Should we do a quick search of the area where the girl was taken? Do a quick bit of scouting before we meet with Silion? Or we could sit here and drink all morning," the Mage says with a laugh.
"I dunno, Dolph - the trail's been cold for 'bout two weeks now," Wolf-Eyes says somewhat glumly. "Maybe, and I mean maybe, Dewall could pick up a scent, but we'd need somethin' a hers for him to smell first."
He reaches down and gives the mutt a scratch behind the ear. "You gotta pretty good nose, partner, but I dunno if it's that good."
"This one would appreciate it if we made an attempt. Perhaps we can obtain something of Isabellafriend's from her home for Dewall?"
Isabella's parents are despondent and of little help. They and their three other children work hard from sun up to sundown to eke a living out of the land and Little Isabella wandered off, as unsupervised five year olds are wont to do, and vanished within sight of the edge of their pumpkin fields. They willingly give you one of the child's bonnets and wish you the best of luck, but its clear from their faces that they have already given up hope.
Wolf-eyes gives the bonnet to Dewal to sniff, and you lead the hound up to Orchard hill - last place Isabella was reported seen - but the trail is just too old, and Dewall can pick up not scent.
Raidh takes a look around, but it's clear she's as despondent as the parents. Seeing their loss brings her up short, a sharp pang of loss she seems to empathise with.
Dolph remains silent around the parents. At the group's failure to pick up anything, he trudged back to town with the others. "I doubted we'd find anything, but that sure is a bummer. Don't know what might have taken that little girl, unfortunately. And they are long gone. Let's go see Silion."
And so it is with heavy hearts that the group heads off to keep their lunch appointment with the town wizard.
The halfling housekeeper Pruet greets at the door and sees you into the dining room, where Silion waits, reading a book. He turns and peers over the rims of his glasses as you enter, then rises and greets each of you with a welcoming handshake. Please, come in and have a seat.
The table is set with nuts, cheeses, dried fruits, still-warm bread and a large pumpkin pie. Decanters of water and wine are there to fill your goblets as well. The room itself is comfortable; full but not cluttered. The walls are lined with bookshelves filled with small bottled ships.
I'm glad you could come on such short notice. Pruet tells me you made it into town last night - I hope my absence wasn't too inconvenient. Please eat! Its rude to discuss business on an empty stomach...
Shy little Kee-rik is waiting for others to make the first move...
Dolph smiles at his former master. In a show of respect, he waits until Silion moves for the refreshments, and follows soon thereafter. He tears of a hunk of the warm bread and takes a nice piece of the cheese, pouring himself a goblet of wine, while the others follow suit. "It is good to see you again, Sir," he calls out between bites, wondering what business was so urgent.
Accustomed to good manners, Raidh smiles by why of greeting, sits and sets to with gusto.
After the meal Pruet clears away the plates, and Silion prepares himself a pipe. After several long puffs, he leans back and addresses the group, his tone changing from familiar to grave.
Back in my days as an adventurer - oh, some twenty years ago now- I came into possession of an artifact. A book of great power some believe to be penned by the Great Beast Terniel. It is said that the book is capable of giving the reader their heart's desire, but the histories re littered with the stories of the foolish and the vain who brought about only suffering with it.
Several weeks ago, I opened the book to read it. Here Silion raises a hand as if to forstall an ojection and hurries on quickly.
Now, almost immediately I knew I had made a mistake. I closed the book and locked it away in my library. But... I had a bad feeling about things and so I hired some mercenaries to guard the blasted thing.I poured over every scrap of lore I could find, went over all the research I had accumulated over the past decades trying to assuage this growing sense of dread. Eventually I hit a dead end, so I decided to consult the libraries in Bels. That was several days ago. While we were away, my home was attacked. The mercenaries were all killed and the book was stolen.
I want you to recover it for me.
Kee-rik makes a little *eep* sound.
Wolf-Eyes does some math on his fingers:
"The girl disappears two weeks ago, your book gets nabbed a few days later, we run into the thawn yesterday..." He pauses to pop a handful of nuts into his mouth.
"Sounds like somethin' is comin' to a head."
"Tell us more about this book. Would it be of interest to demon cults? Who knew you had the book, other than the mercenaries? I never knew you to possess such a tome in my time here."
To a demon cult? It would be of interest to anyone who craved power. Silion peers over his glasses to look pointedly at Dolph. Would you turn down the chance to be granted your heart's desire?
As to who knows about it? Well, I don't go about advertising its existence. Even the mercenaries didn't know what precisely they were guarding. There are a few colleagues in Bels that know about it. But they are trusted scholars every one. They understand the danger it poses. No, I fear you are closer with your first guess. I suspect that when I opened it, other... factions... felt its power somehow and began searching.
"Does it have any magical residue on it? Anything we could use to track it, other than just asking around town for any rumors?"
No, no means by which to magically trace it, but come with me. Silion stands and leads the group to the door to the hallway that connects his home to the tower. They broke in through the house then came straight here. He throws open the door to reveal a short stone walled hall. At the end of the connecting hall, a summoning circle has been drawn in ash, and the entry doors to the tower have been battered down and now hang uselessly on their hinges.
I've cast spells to preserve things exactly as I found them. Please, look around draw your own conclusions. Silion steps back and lets the adventurers -turned-investigators get to work.
The library consists of a large chamber about 50 feet across and contains a fortune in literary works. Fiction, science, mathematics, religion, magic, astronomy, music, any subject you can conceive has a place in this library. Signs of trouble are everywhere, most evident by the blood splattered around and the 3 dead bodies. There are other signs too, including a broken and splintered door, overturned furniture, scattered books, and a distinct set of dark footprints burned into the stone floor.
"So this is what comes from keeping dark books. Hmm."
Raidh looks at the ashen summoning circle, and the trail of blackened footprints leading to the pair of bodies in the center of the chamber. Raidh juts her chin at the circle, and asks the mage
"Not yours I'm guessing , Silion? Anything you can tell me about it?"
Raidh then looks to the other body.
"Looks like that one ran. From Mr Darksole."
Raidh does not step in to the room yet, waiting to see what the others think and see before helping out.
Wolf-Eyes makes a slow circle around the room.
"Somebody sure made a mess o' things in here," he says as much to himself as anybody else as he inspects the wreckage.
He crouches down by the two bodies laying near one another, careful not to step in the pool of blood. Maybe he could discover a clue as to what ended these two people's lives.
Dolph begins by casting Detect Magic, as he always liked to know exactly what he might be dealing with when it came to magic.
He used his knowledge of the arcane arts to observe whatever he could.
Knowledge Arcana
He next inspected the summoning circle, the footprints, and the bodies in turn. If anything else jumped out as magic, he also inspected that.
Perception
Perception
Perception
Silion responds to Raidh, folding his arms across his chest. I have some suspicions, but I 'll let you form you own theories before I share them. I wouldn't want my personal bias' to colour your investigation.
Re: Dolph's detect magic - your spell reveals numerous magical tomes on the shelves and a very faint lingering aura of illusion clinging to the body of the guard near the door.
Dolph's Know:Arcana - Despite Silion's reticence on the subject, Dolph recognizes the circle as something clearly for the summoning and binding evil outsiders. Its makeup is not consistent with the summoning of either demons or devils, although it bears markings in common with both.
The footprints - Footprints belonging to an unknown creature have been burned into the stone floor starting at the doorway and ending near the center of the room – they are thickest near the two dead bodies.
The two bodies - Both bodies show a variety of wounds including bites, claw slashes, puncture wounds, and constricting bruises punctuated by rows of small, round areas of raised skin.
The body near the door - Intrigued by the faint magical aura, Dolph looks more closely. This guard was fleeing from whatever entered the tower. He never drew his weapon. There are no marks on his body although his face is twisted into a mask of terror.
Kee-rik doesn't really know what he's looking for, but he'll look anyway. One thing he's looking for is some sign of where the creature that burned its footprints into stone[!] went after it went to the center of the room. Perhaps up?
He's also making sure to look at walls, perhaps more closely than the others, as he thinks of walls as slightly unusual floors.
"Silion - you know anyhting about thawns? We met one of ther ugly brutes at the burning cottage. These guys with the raised lumps - is this thawn-work - would they turn into thawns if they didn't die? Are there thawns that get summoned?"
"There is illusion magic on this body here. Silion, can you attempt to dispel the magical Aura? It seems there might be a deeper clue here. Also, something was summoned here, could you tell us what the last thing you summoned was?"
Thawn, no not that I'm aware. So scholars do believe that Thawn may have been something else at one point in their history and- devolved- into their current form, but to my knowledge there is no recorded case of someone spontaneously turning into one.
As to that aura, yes I noticed that too. Nothing to be gained by dispelling it. It is simply residue left from whatever spell killed the pour soul. My guess is that he died of magically induced fear.
Kee-rik searches the room thoroughly. The burned-in footprints leading from the door to the battle scene are coated black dust - soot perhaps, and stop abruptly in the middle of the room. There is no sign of whatever made them leaving or anything to indicate it is still here.
Other things that you note: 3 wheeled ladders are attached to the book shelves, 1 is out of place. There are a couple of tables and chairs in the library – 1 table has overturned chairs. 2 sets of bloody boot prints lead away from the battle. Under a table, near the center of the room, is a severed hand. The thieves appear to have known exactly where to find the Book of Terniel as the library is not disturbed in a manner that suggests a search took place. One of the pairs of bloody booted prints suggests the walker was being supported by the other, as if this person could not stand or walk without help. A small silver signet ring lies in the blood pool. It bears a falcon crest.
Overall you estimate the struggle was short and decisive, and involved at least six combatants.
From his lower vantage point, Wolf-Eyes spots the silver ring, gets up and retrieves it from the pool of blood. When he sees the falcon crest, he searches his memory for any possible significance.
Know. Local
Upon seeing the ring, Dolph tries to recall if it has any local significance.
Both Dolph and Wolf-eyes recognize the rings crest. The Norion family, descendants of legendary adventurer Alceril Norion, uses the falcon as their family crest. There are three families directly descended from Norion living in or near Erien, two in town and one in the homesteads
Raidh tries to hide it, but is a little crestfallen that her theory is untenable. She brightens moments later, and reapplies herself to the task at hand.
Looking at the various disturbances, Raidh thinks out loud.
"This table's chairs are tipped over - perhaps the guards we're surprised whilst sitting, and upended - or the chairs were flipped midfight. Though, something doesn't add up - looks like at least six folk fought, but we see three bodies and two sets of footprints. Where's ghostly Six?"
"This belong to any of these guys?"
Then Raidh looks to see if the ring looks like it was worn by the severed hand.
"Otherwise, we go knocking on the various Norion dwellings and see if any of them need... a hand. Norion's huh..."
Wolf-Eyes snickers at Raidh's pantomime. Then he stashes the ring in a pocket.
"Was a Norion guarding the book," he wonders. "Or lookin' to pinch it?"
He turns to Silion: "These mercs you hired, were they locals or out-of-towners?"
"Silion, is this ring yours by any chance? If not, I think we have a solid lead. As Raidh has said, we can start by investigating the family."
No, the ring is not mine. The Mercenaries were not locals
All three of the bodies have all of their requisite hands. You cannot tell if the ring originally can from any of them or from the severed hand.
Examining the ladders, Morgtii checks to see if it can spot why the one is out of place.
The ladder reaches the top shelf of the bookcase, where a single tome is conspicuously absent.
"Silion, is this the only tome missing?". If the answer is affirmative, Dolph is ready to start on the investigation, assuming the others agree.
Yes it is. Nothing else was taken. The thrives knew exactly what they were looking for.
Raidh paces, ready to move on.
"Look, someone out there is a wounded thief, possibly handless. Let's get going. Although it might be quicker to split up to check all the Norion steads, perhaps we might run into confrontation that needs all of us?"
Satisfied with their investigation of the crime scene, the group decide to head back to Greenbriar to formulate a plan. With the help of innkeepers Sarey and Handel Firth, you are able to piece together some more information.
The crest on the ring represents the Norion family. Generations ago, Alceril Norion made a name for himself as a dragon killer. The truth is that he was one of the few survivors of an army that went after the dragon and is credited with actually slaying the beast. Several of his descendants still live in or near Erien. They are:
Galit and Alice live with their four children in a large home on the north side of Erien. They work in the fields like everyone else in the village, using their inherited wealth to supplement their earnings.
Digory and Claremonde live with their two children in a tiny cabin on the south of Erien. Digory squandered the money he inherited long ago, and is a biiter man liked by few.
Lorin lives with his wife and their eight children on a farm in the Outer Homesteads about 6 miles out of town. They maintain several nearby fields and keep livestock on their farm.