Saoirse studies the assembled crowd noting both the trust in the council and the rising concern over the unexplained deaths, and the fear that there may be more on the horizon.
She would suggest they inspect Brevin's body first since there hadn't been time to clean him up as yet. There might be some hint as to how he died.
Very well, this may help us plan for tomorrow.
"I agree with King Andreas. We must move quickly. There's nothing more dangerous to a kingdom's stability than the fear of the people."
The group goes to the Shrine near the graveyard. The caretaker for the graveyard, Sam Elliot, brings you to a small room at the back of the shrine where the two bodies are. Both bodies are covered up, but the larger of the two has a clean cloth over it, while the smaller has a cloth that has red patches where the blood has seeped into the cloth.
Approaching the smaller of the two bodies, Saoirse gives the caretaker a respectful nod, before taking out a piece of parchment, which she sets respectfully beside the body.
Making an intricate arcane gesture, she hums a soft, mournful tune, a rhythm suitable for a funeral ceremony drawing to a deeply impactful close as writing begins to appear on the parchment, written by an otherworldly hand.
"Nasty business." A quick look is enough for Duzz to know he'd rather stay outside. Never fancied bodies.
Saoirse removes the bloody sheet and you see a body that is ravaged.
[spoiler=Saoirse]
Who are you? Beven
What are you? Male, Human, shephard.
How was your blood shed? Beven finished cooking his meal as darkness fell. Shortly after he heard bleating from the animals and went to see if something was bothering the flock. He found the small flock all crowded on the far side of the corral. As he looked to see what was startling them a feral scream resounded behind him and then there was sudden pain as something sharp and strong ripped into him from behind.
When was your blood shed? Early the previous evening after sunset.
Rillka observes Saoirse perform her ritual and says a silent prayer for the fallen. Healing is not her area of expertise, so she waits for the tall folk to learn what they can.
Andreas forces himself to look at every detail of the remains that was Beven. His jaws clenches tight as his teeth strain at the power that is forced on them. The muscles in his arms are visibly stretched tight as the knight tries to keep calm. The anger is etched all over him from his face to his posture.
He was just a child. This should not have happened.
Blood drips from Andreas' clenched fist as he tries in vain to contain his anger.
His body shakes as the anger grows inside him.
His hand comes up, fist balled and pulled back to strike out so that he may sate his anger.
...I will...
...I
The hand unclenches and drops to his side, the blood dripping freely to the ground. The shaking subsides and his body relaxes again.
You were to be safe here. To grow old and have a family. Not to die like this.
His other hand reaches up and rests against the boy's chest. The gesture is slow and gentle, a stark difference to his other hand a mere moments ago.
I am sorry.
He removes the hand and lays the hand against his own chest in the same location.
Rest and may Pharasma guide you to your rewards.
Studying the scene, Saoirse isn't able to tell much other than the violence of the boy's death, cut as the ritual is completed, she watches as the details appear on the parchment. "He was killed from behind, violently...never had time to see what did it. But the animals did. Thier bleating drew him to look for what was disturbing them." she says, reading the mystical text.
"It happened just after sunset, might be the creature's hunting pattern."
With a sigh, she rolls her shoulders, respectfully wrapping the sheet back around the boy's corpse before stepping back. Noticing the blood drops on the floor as Sir Andreas' clenched fist shakes, but doesn't say anything.
We should look into the other victim. Perhaps there will be more details to be found there.
"The spell I used only works with blood, and it looks like the other victim has been cleaned up, though we can still see what a cursory inspection shows." Saoirse replies. "And based on what we have so far, Duzz speaking to the animals might actually reveal something about what it was that did it."
Saoirse slowly goes through the process of unwrapping the other body, taking the time to study it carefully.
Rillka peeks as Saoirse lifts the sheet.
Andrea is quiet and reserved as he looks at the second body. His reaction is the same as before. A mix of anger, sorrow and a sense of failure.
Under the sheet is a body of the woman that had served many of you over the last year. The body has been cleaned and where possible it looks like the wounds were roughly stitched together to try and make her as presentable as possible. She is missing her left ear and appears to have been attack at the neck similarly to Beven.
With her wounds cleaned up and the attempts at stitching, several of you can tell that she seems to be missing portions of her internal organs. Sir Andreas seems to think that she is missing her liver, heart and several other internal organs or at least parts of the organs. Several of you can see wounds that seem to come from claws or teeth rather then forged weapons.
Saoirse tries to get past the bandaging to some of the dried blood she notices, however whether through mischance or being a bit emotionally rattled given the circumstances, her hand slips, breaking the sutures in the process as she gets at some blood.
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Saoirse sticks her hand into where the liver should be and the sutures break. She has some dried blood. The caretaker gasps and stammers at seeing his rough work broken.
Who are you? Saki
What are you? Female, Human, Barmaid
How was your blood shed? Saki left work late at night. The night is bright as she walks home lighting the path for her. As she is walking down the path she hears something behind her. She starts to turn when two fury arms wrap around her from behind and a sharp pain hits the back of her neck and all goes black.
When was your blood shed? Two nights before. The same night the cattle was killed that brought Duzz.
Relaying the details after reading the words that appear as a result of her spell, Saoirse frowns as more evidence builds. "It sounds much like an animal attack, but her last memory is of arms grasping her, arms covered in fur, before the pain at the back of her neck."
"This was the same night the cattle were killed."
Attacks occurred at night, from behind and that this thing has furry arms.
Duzz, I am to understand that you have a way with animals? The only thing left that I think will help is the livestock. They did see what happened. How do we go about finding out that information?
Albert has a look around the shrine while the others investigate the body. Maybe there's something interesting in here . . .
Or maybe not.
Albert sees a small shrine. It has an open room and then one side room where the bodies are kept. Its clean, but sparse.
"I can speak with them." Duzz confirms in his strong voice. "But it is important to remember that they are still animals and thus limited by their simple minds. Nevertheless, we should absolutely ask them."
It was nice to feel useful. Very nice.
Well then, let us see what we can learn from them.
Standing outside the shrine you see the people milling about town as they go about their business. Many of them seem to be watching the group and whispering among themselves.
Sam, the caretaker, is standing by the door and seems to have heard your talk about animals. As he escorts you out of the shrine to where the rest of the group is he says, "I could show you to where the bodies were found, but I think the flock scattered. I am not sure if his family has found what's left of them yet."
Saoirse believes she knows roughly where they were found if you wish to travel without Sam as a guide.
Rillka pulls one of the area maps from her map case.
You can show us the general area if you have business that would need your attention here. It sounds like we will need to shepherd the flock back to the family, anyway.
Sam points to somewhere along one of the paths his finger wavers a bit and then he points to some fields as well. "I am not sure exactly where on the map...but this path was were Saki was killed...somewhere around here. And Beven was found in these fields. There was quite a mess, if you look around there you can probably find it."
Between Sam's description of the area and her own rough estimation, Saoirse leads the party to the field the flock was pasturing in, taking in the increased signs of violence as they approach.
You find your way to what you believe to be the pasture. A quick glance at the area shows that a small corral is partially destroyed. Inside the ground is torn up and bloodied. Chunks of viscera litter the ground with flies and other bugs buzzing around them. Saoirse also quickly spots a bloody section of ground not far from the corral which she believes is where Beven was slain based on her spell.
As they live the confines of the town, Duzz excuses himself as he goes fetching his mount, a majestic elk. Perched on its horns, there is also a pair of birds, a hawk and an owl.
"Do you want to look at the blood and damage around, while we look for the flock?" Duzz asks Saoirse and the others.
Soon after, he starts to look for the signs and tracks of the animals intending to follow them. With a click of this tongue, the hawk takes flight to land by his side. "We are looking for a flock, Asor, and we'd appreciate your noble help." He bows slightly to the bird, who then takes flight again and then starts to fly in circles high above.
Asor calls out after a while with the hunting noise indicating that it has found something it considers to be a lone sheep.
Albert examines the corral to see if he can tell how it was destroyed.
Did something panic the sheep and they burst it? If it was from outside, does it seem like from above (a large creature), or directly inward?
Rillka makes notes for her map and follows along with the Tall Folk. She is not sure what to make of Duzz or his zoo but lets them do what they are doing.
I think we should investigate every detail no matter how insignificant it may seem.
"We have wolves, or dogs, or something else that looks like them." Duzz says, pointing out the canine prints in the mud. "And they lead to that copse of trees."
Before he heads towards the trees, he hears Azor calling and circling in the distance. "Looks like Azor has found some sheep."
"Considering the trail is already cold, I believe I should speak with the sheep first."
Rillka nods agreement and shrugs... if it wasn't for their investigation of the murder the thought would be humorous. As it was, it was fairly serious and a wise plan.
Saoirse follows along, trying to piece together the building evidence, as she warily rests a hand on her rapier's hilt.
Albert attempts to piece something together from his own knowledge, as well.
You remember the well lit areas while Beven and Saki were outside in your visions. You suspect that this is because they were both evenings with a full moon. The final full moon would be this evening.
You have heard tales of humanoids cursed to turn into animals during the full moons. They are said to be ravenous. If such a cursed being came to town between the last full moon and this one it might explain the killings in the dead of night and the partially eaten bodies.
You consider things arcane and dark. It occurs to you that many people having been coming to town. Perhaps some foul summoner has come and is using the darkness of night to summon creatures from the depths of the Abyss or through the foul planes of the Hells to kill off their rivals or are feeding the people to them to pay off whatever debt they have to these foul beings from the far planes.
Aberrations could also do it, but off the top of your head you cannot think of an aberration that would do what has been happening.
You remember Saoirse mentioning well lit areas while Beven and Saki were outside. You suspect that this is because they were both evenings with a full moon. The final full moon would be this evening.
"Hmm...lycanthopy....it would all make sense." Saoirse mutters, as the pieces begin falling into place. "I've heard...tales...stories, lore...people turning into cursed beasts during a full moon. Ravenous monsters that hunt, stalk and brutally kill their prey."
As she thinks through it, her words begin to paint a gruesome picture. "From what I was able to get from the blood, both attacks happened in well-lit areas, despite being at night, so it happening during the full moon makes sense. In fact, if this thing hunts during the full moon...tonight would be the last night for a month."
What is this lycn..trophy. throaty. Is this some witch curse or magic?
Rillka nods silent agreement as Saoirse speaks, and waits for Tall Folk to come up with a plan... hopefully one that involves him getting a weapon.