Well then let us hope that the judicial process works as it should he smiles before bidding you a good day. It really is lovely to see you again Ms Cross, the years have been most kind to you. Once your duties here are done it would please me greatly if we could all have dinner together and catch up properly. Good luck.
Auntie. Kendra says quietly. May I have a word a moment?
I agree with everything Jon said, you were all amazing in there. But sitting in the gallery... you didn't hear some of the things people were saying... horrible things. About the Bea- Bland I mean. And you as well.
Vala there is such hate for that creature. They need it to be guilty, they need to know what happened to their loved ones and just to have someone to blame.
I know you will get to the bottom of whatever this is, but I fear what might happen to you along the way.
I... ummm.... I got these.
She takes from her purse a pair of perfect, plain silver rings.
They call them Sanctified Rings. It just... if something happens to you... I'll know. she shrugs and looks a little embarrassed. It's just for my peace of mind, ok? and smiles wanly.
"I'm sure you would, Jonathan." Vala's tone and smile are both equally playful and shrewd as she shakes Jon's hand. "I look forward to it."
Justice Daramid and I were concerned that there should be a fair hearing, but from what you have seen thus far do you truly believe Bland innocent? How extraordinary a creature it - he - is.
Zed looms in the corner. "The evidence so far seems to support that, but there is much more to learn. Perhaps the creature was being controlled. Perhaps it has memory loss. Perhaps it has blind fits of rage. I knew a man like that, gentle as a puppy most of the time, but in combat he was such a ferocious beast he was known to cut down his allies if they got so close, and he didn't even remember it happening." Ever the pessimist and skeptic, the tragic dhampir does little to lighten the mood.
"I'm sure you would, Jonathan." Vala's tone and smile are both equally playful and shrewd as she shakes Jon's hand. "I look forward to it."
Only you and my mother call me Jonathon, Ms Cross. Derlith laughs with a shake of his head as he shakes hands with the menfolk and exits through the throng milling around the courthouse entrance
Dr Crowl takes one of the delicate tools and holds it up to the light. He sets it down again, cleans his spectacles and takes another look.
It is a fine thing, like a cross between a pair of tweezers and a scalpel and as he examines it with an odd gerbil-like expression of concentration he nods curtly as if confirming to himself he had he right answer.
Chirugeons tools. Yes I'm sure of it. he says confidently. Intended for quite precise surgery I would say. This isn't my area of expertise of course and the only reason I'm so sure is that I visited a Chirugeon myself only a few years ago. Terrible abdominal pain and I have little faith in.. Well... Faith-healers. He used tools like these to remove my spleen. Do you know what that is? Me either. But it turns out I didn't need it after all because here I am fit as a flea!
Ahem. It's skilled work and only a person of means would own a set like this. Damned careless to leave them lying around for just anyone to pick up.
He looks at you over his glasses then, subconsciously more so at Vermundr and hastily adds.
Oh not that I mean to say that you are just anyone of course.
As you leave the courthouse you find the crowd outside thick and bustling. Very few of them make the effort to move out of your way and you find yourselves practically having to shove past.
The looks you get are openly hostile from more than a few and one man, you recognise as the one removed by the Herald after his outburst, hawks and spits in your path. Flecks of it land on Zes's black boot and with feigned horror the man says;
Oh please forgive me sir...... You're so pale I never saw you comin' he adds at the end with a sneer
Constantin says to Vala, "Thanks, Auntie."
He keeps his head down, but looking from side to side, as he pushes his way out of the courthouse.
"No need to apologize. I'm use to bloodstain on those boots, a little spit will be easy to get out." He says casually, not slowing down. Humans. The stupid ones are so shortsighted.
Before leaving Kazamir verifies the details of the next day's trial and requests any information that Gustav has.
Vermundr shares a glance with Hazel, they were getting somewhere.
"Are there any prominent chirugeons in the university? Could you point us in their direction? They might be able to tell us where those in their trade get their tools made."
Vala's lips draw into a tight line and their color fades as she considers putting the rude and belligerent man in his place. Zed's cool response deflates her indignation though, and she swallows whatever harsh words she might have otherwise shared.
I don't recognise this symbol. he points to the small Raven. But there is an area of the city called the Surgeons Flats. The shops there supply the university and private customers with all manner of medical supplies. I would venture that would be a good starting point.
Vermundr glances at the setting sun and nods in agreement. "I'm curious how things went in court today."
Sorry to have bothered you.
No bother at all, dear. Dr Crowl replies. Only too happy to help. I'm sorry to rush off but I am still overseeing repairs to the department after all the mess that blasted Beast caused. Hopefully they'll wrap this all up nice and quickly.
Hazel and Vermundr make their way across the city toward the courthouse and find that they arrive just as the trial finishes for the day and the exiting crowds begin spilling out into the streets. The tension and negative feeling is all too palpable as they pick their friends out, pushing their way through the throng.
"About like you'd expect. We started with a pretty strong case, and most of the townspeople hate us for it," says Constantin matter-of-factly.
"Indeed. Let's get out of the public eye, our very presence is causing unrest." Zed suggests.
Vala nods, the gesture heavy with weariness and frustration. "We should speak with Kaple first though, dear. We'll want to gather what information we can from him before we continue our investigations for tomorrow's circus. Oh? Did I say 'circus'? I mean 'trial'." She smiles wanly and shakes her head.
"You're absolutely right, Vala, I nearly let us walk into tomorrow's trial unprepared. Let's find Kaple," says Constantin in agreement.
Vermundr remains stoic, the response the rest of the party had gotten for their part in the Beast's defense was expected.
"Hazel and I think we've got a lead on those tools. A professor at the university seems to believe they're chirugeon's tools. We're going to follow up with some folks that forge them tomorrow."
W..w...well....that went w...w...w...w....w...w... that was ok. Kaple says when you locate him back in the courthouse, his horrific stutter dragging out the sentence.
No on the c..c...contrary. I was d...d...d...d...delighted with how that w...w...w...went.
Tomorrow we will be looking at Hergstag. And I think it'll be worse than today even because the victims the creature is accused of murdering are all children.
It formerly a small, religious farming community in the Dippelmere Swamp. The village has been abandoned since the attacks 7 months ago. Until that time, the villagers of Hergstag lived quiet lives and made passable livings farming and hunting.
Only three remain in the area. Three sisters named Garrow, Starle, and Flicht now own a small windmill on the outskirts of Lepidstadt and are witnesses for the prosecution. All in their late forties, the three lived their entire lives in Hergstag. The prosecution will be using them as witnesses and though I've questioned them, he looks abashed. they just teased me. So perhaps you will get more out of them.
Zed listens attentively and quietly to the stuttering man. He has more patience than most people, so a long conversation didn't really bother him.
"Hmm, a small pool of people to talk to. I can't imagine we would still be able to get ahold of the rest of the people that left."
"Before we plan any trips outside town we should finish following the leads we have now. Hazel and I can take care of that."
"A sound plan Hazel, I agree."
"All right, looks like another long night. Everyone got all the tools we need?" Constantin says. He doffs his hat, brushes it off, and puts it back on.
Vala nods in agreement with the others, finding the plan to be reasonable and wise. "I'll head to the university. They might open up a bit more to an old colleague and there could be something we missed that might point to whether the Beast suffers blackouts or not."
"Don't sell yourself so short, Hazel," says Constantin. "While finding clues and arguing cases may be at stake, this kind of investigative work is not without hazards, and your skills as a warrior and a healer are equally essential!"
Hazel and Vermundr head to the Surgeons Flats area of the city. It consists of half a dozen long cobbled streets lined with shops selling all manner of medical and alchemical equipment.
The first shop owner does not recognise the makers mark but he is able to provide several names of other artisans who may be familiar with it.
Vala returns to her old university campus. The place is very familiar to her and she even sees a couple of familiar faces that she nods to and makes polite conversations with.
Making her way to Dr Crowl's department, she can see the workshop is still in disarray. Book cases lie fallen on the floor, scattering their contents across the tiled floor.
Books and tools lie broken in all corners of the room.
But one area remains surprisingly untouched in stark contrast to the destruction. The pedestal that once held the Seasage Effigy is crowded with small fetishes and delicate mother-of-pearl fish carvings that are undamaged.
Dr Crowl himself is still in the department, gingerly packing up pieces of broken ceramic and wrapping them in brown paper, evidently he has lost faith with the cleaning crew and has decided to do it all himself.
The sisters' windmill is easy to find on the outskirts of the city. Constantin politely knocks and a small, white face appears at the door. Beyond her are another pair of women craning to see who has come calling.
All three of them are in their late forties. They all have the same round faces, upturned noses and unimpressive brown hair. They introduce themselves as Garrow, Starle, and Flicht.
Flicht, apparently the eldest, asks, What can we do for you?