He finishes rushing forward and stops seeing the beast likely dead. He shakes his head, "I don't know. A panther?"
Beorn takes a moment to study the beast and tries to jog his memory as to what it might be.
It does look like a panther, but it is no animal or aberration. You think it is a magical beast.
"Let's bring this back. At least the guard will have some proof to alleviate the people's concerns. Thanks to everyone and Beorn's excellent skills, we took it down without much injuries."
Flouncy knows what this creature is.
It's a Krenshar.
He grabs the thing's face and pulls, showing how it scares its prey.
Scary-looking, but no match for our party.
"Interesting adaptation for intimidation." Beorn remarks as he begins searching for a stout young tree to act as a pole for carrying the thing back. When he finds one, he chops it down, ties both sets of the creature's paws together, runs the pole through the gap and looks to Zod. "Little help? I'll get one end you get the other."
This may be what killed the livestock, but I'm not convinced it's what killed those men. In fact, I doubt it was. The men were in town, and no one said anything about a krenshar. Let's examine the victims.
"I agree. It is most likely just chance they are both killing at the same time. I suspect those in town were killed by a blade." Beorn theorizes.
"Then it's time to canvass the city for information I guess. As for me once we get this creature back to the guards, I'm off to pick up Moonshine. I have a feeling I'll need her more now."
In response to Boern's direction, he states, "Yup, I got the other end." Then moves to position ready to lift with Beorn.
He asks the group, "Should we confirm if the bodies in the town were put down by a weapon?"
"I think we'll need to. May have to get a local healer in to look at the wounds. I can take a look at them myself. I might be able to identify the types of wounds." (heal skill 8) Beorn replies as they lift the krenshar and head back to town.
The walk back through to town goes by quickly. Townsfolk point at the carcass and many of them begin to gather.
We'll carry the beast back to the town center and string it for a bit on a tree or post. I want people to see what it was and that it has been dealt with.
Taking the beast to the town center and you see the paltry space given there between the three domineering buildings, the inn, the general store, and the store house for base building materials. There is scaffolding holding up on the makeshift store house, plenty of places to string it up to.
Beorn picks a good spot, strings it up and asks, "Where are these murder victims?" His question is for those around him, guardsmen and friends alike. Once he gets directions to them he will examine the bodies.
Koldur bids one of the gaping townsfolk to inform the guards and have one or a few them to come over to verify the beast.
With direction the guards would escort you to the captain of the guards. Back at the castle the captain offers, "The bodies are in the storage shed."
The guard pulled over by the gaping townsfolk asks, "How am I suppose to verify the beast?"
It's a krenshar. They're predatory beasts that can easily frighten creatures in order to eat them. We got this one. Let's hope there aren't others of its kind lurking about. You can cut it open to see what its been eating.
The guards look at each other and then back at Flouncy obviously disturbed.
---
Looking at the bodies Beorn confirms your fears, the bodies were killed by weapons. He thinks daggers or other small sharp weapons with many piercings.
"Unless we can speak with the dead, we'll need to come up with some sort of cunning plan to catch the murderer. Where were the bodies actually found? I'll need to look around those areas for clues." Beorn says to those around him.
The captain nods and offers up some of the guards who found the bodies, "They will show you where the most recent body was found, and then the other locations."
I'd like to find out more about the victims. Who knew them? Can we find out about their relationships?
"Good thinking. You follow up that angle, I'll look for physical clues." Beorn says and follows the guard out. At the crime scene he begins to go over it very minutely, taking his time.
The guards tell you what they know and relay, "The last victim was Ben Hardy Carpenter. He stayed to himself and was kind of a loner. He made nice work though."
Then once they get to his cabin on the outskirts of town you see several chairs and a table outside next to carpenter tools. One of the guards offers, "His last project he was working on the side when he wasn't working on making a building. Oh that reminds me you could talk to his foreman, he might know more. We found the body slumped next to the door facing the roadway, all of the stab wounds were on his chest. So he likely knew who killed him."
isolated communities throughout the River Kingdoms that tore themselves
apart from within due to the machinations of the Angry Hag’s priestesses. If the cult has indeed infiltrated the town, it must be found and eliminated before it can set the townspeople at one another’s throats.
Taking your time you see many different footprints but no obvious clues. There is debris in the alley as well, broken glasses, broken crates, and such a place where people have been depositing their broken items.
After learning which goddess you are dealing with, DC 15 Knowledge (religion)
Reveals that those
attracted to Gyronna’s cult are ofen adulterous wives,
embittered prostitutes, and spurned lovers.
A DC 15 Knowledge (local) or Diplomacy check to gather information
reveals about a dozen women in town who fit this profile.
With this knowledge in hand, the PCs might
question several women in the town, using Sense
Motive checks to see past the cultists’ Bluff
checks (note that the cultists fear the goddess’s
retribution and never admit to their religious
beliefs under anything but torture—but magic
like detect thoughts or charm person can draw the
truth out). Each suspected woman interrogated
has a cumulative 25% chance of actually being a
cultist, and each interrogation must be handled
delicately with a DC 20 Diplomacy check—each
failure results in rumors of “unfounded and
cruel interrogations” spreading through the
nation and causes Unrest to increase by 1.
Searching suspected cultists’ houses for
religious paraphernalia can turn up
evidence of the cult’s practices (shabbles
and unholy symbols) with a successful
DC 20 Perception check, but hunches and
circumstantial evidence are not proof, so the PCs
will likely have to catch the women in the act, especially
if they want to expose their leader.
Surveillance of suspected cultists (using Stealth,
Perception, or Survival checks) can lead the PCs to the cult’s
secret rendezvous
That black amulet is an unholy symbol of some kind. Whose hair could that be? Flouncy says, looking at the lock of hair on Ben's dresser.
"Maybe Rognar can give us a better idea of what deity the amulet belongs to. The red strip of cloth may have belonged to the killer. Take a good look at it and see if you can match it up when we meet some of these women. Is there a magic spell that could identify the woman from the hair? We will need to speak with the Vellitor woman and some of the laborers under Garbler, see if they can identify his most recent conquests."
"That or bring it up to the council and seek their aid in this matter. I'll need to seek out Sable and his paramour to see if their combined knowledge can aid in this."
He offers his possible aid, "You could scry the individual that owned the red cloth and hair. I would need a crystal ball and a quiet place. It would be easier done by a cleric, priest, or wizard."
We could do that, but where can we find a crystal ball around here? This ain't Absolom...
Flouncy brightens up a bit, saying, We have a respected commander here, though. Surely he can get a look-around.
The halfling grins at Koldur.
"Whether it be Rognar or perhaps your sorcerous friend Koldur, we should follow up on Zod's suggestion and see if the identity can me magicked. I can go talk with the laborers, Flouncy, can you follow up with the Velletor woman?"
Rognar takes the amulet and wracks his brain... "Yeah it is unholy but I don't remember who."
Koldur looks around his companions.
"I think it's time that we meetup with the council. Not only are they made up of individual powerful men and women. It's also to ensure that Zod here." he indicates their giant friend.
[b]"Is at least recognized as a member of this land. A citizen if you will. that will give him some freedom to move around as well in the event that he's not with us subject to our laws. This matter in my opinion also should be brought up as it involves the entire kingdom as well and we can get what we need at the castle's stores and armory rather then guess wrongly."{/b]
"Koldur, can you do that while we follow up other leads or do you want to do it as a team?"
"Of course I'd like to do it as a team. It also serves as something of a form of assurance if I should be unable to make it back and it falls upon one of you to report back. At least the council should know."
"Alright, let's go report in and then go badger us some witnesses." Beorn says rather invigorated by the investigation.
Your group ventures into the castle proper and Koldur easily leads the group around. Taking you to the Council room you only find a page. He nervously and quickly says, "Yes Koldur sir, is there something that I can help you with?"
When you ask to meet with council members he can tell you their locations, though the next council meeting is not to be held for another two weeks, "Balazar & Johanna are in the throne room. Counciler Moonbeam is using the air court house to work with and hear the voice of the people. Sable and Olivira can be summoned but are working in concert to vanquish foes. Rognar is with you. We still don't know where Toki went, he never returned. Royal Enforcer Ingvar is with Councilor Moonbeam. Magister Seraphina is still working on making simple school houses and finding proper teachers. Rai Thydal and Alembic have been missing for several months, do you by chance know a knowledgable person to be a Spymaster or Treasurer."
Koldur frowns as he hears about the missing council members.
"That bodes ill for the council to hear of some of us missing. Which ever the case however, I thank ye for letting me know where they are."
Turning to the group, the dwarf begins.
"The way I see it. We should pay a visit to all these people to report what we've being doing and also to make yourself known so that you don't get held up by simple misunderstandings like Zod here. As for spymaster? I got an idea about a certain bard we met that could fit the bill given his conneections. Our first stop is the Throne room to get the latest news and report ours as well. Then Counciler Moonbeam to get you all recognized as members of the kingdom and as its agents since Ingvar is with her. Seraphina is next since we need knowledge and that's what she has in spades. What do the rest of you think?"
He asks.
"We could also take this time to resupply, get our equipment and purchase new items that we could use."
"Works for me but don't forget about the investigation. We have parties of interest to interview." Beorn says, just along to get the bureaucratic stuff out of the way before getting back to the investigation.
Very well. We do all the business-y stuff first, then we find the missing folks and hopefully the killer. Piece of cake!
The clerk quickly relays, "We already know that you have been exploring and clearing threats from the lands."
Getting to the throne room you see that not many are present. The Caller announces Koldur and his adventuring band.
You go to the open air courtroom, the foundations of the building are in place. Temporary benches, tables, chairs, and a podium have been setup. Counciler Moonbeam and Ingvar are preceding over the court.
Once you track down Seraphina she gets to what you need fast, "What do you need? I have been so busy with the modicum of education."
|
Rognar wanders to the front gate with Adney holding a nubile woman and a keg and singing Halcamora's praises as he somehow finds his way back after the most famous binger ever in this city as Adney winces and tries not to correct Rognar being so out of tune.
hey at the gate! It's Rognar the cleric. Let me in ya ingrate!
The guards let Rognar and his guests into the castle courtyard.
In the throne room and Koldur being announced, your group enters to find the king and queen on their thrones. If you don't prompt yourselves she asks, "What news do you bring us?"
Being new to the adventuring group and not overly familiar with the king and queen, Beorn waits for Koldur to breach the subject of Zod and the current murder investigation.
Flouncy likewise holds his tongue. The dwarves got this. Better to let them do the talking.
"We encountered a mystery involving a dead unicorn. We're unable to decipher the mysteries it hold and was hoping perhaps you ight be able to shed some light on it."
Koldur begins once Rogar has finished.
"For a start, Here's my report:
We've being clearing Monsters around the city and just recently has slain one that could be the main reason for our people death's while farming the lands. The guards has taken over the task of assuring the townsfolk that this matter has being resolved."
"We also have here fellow stalwarts that have aided in our quest to ensure the saftey of our kingdom." Here beckons the rest to step forward.
"I present Flouncy Mago, Halfling with an incredible repotire of Arcane tricks.. Beorn Blackmane, Tracker Extraordinaire. Zod, One without a home currently and looking to make our kingdom his home. He too has skills that could aid our kingdom despite him being a giant." Here he pauses as he gives the rest time to present themselves.
"We have also come across an interesting man, Grigori. He's more interested in working with us even though he was sent by the King of Pitax to interrupt the workings of our kingdoms. Well connected and savvy. Recruting this person for his talents might help us."
"There's also a matter of unknown mystery about a dead unicorn we found and has handed it over to Seraphina for her to study."
Beorn bows at the mention of his name and waits to see what the response is. They had previously met the queen and king but it's not like they were on speaking terms.
Flouncy does the same.
Johanna responds to Rognar, "Thank you for such praise!"
The leaders watch and listen to Koldur intently. At each introduction after you bow they both nod for your recognition.
Johanna asks, "Thank you for informing us and introducing your companions again. So what request do you have for us?"
She offers her hand to Koldur in friendship and after his words offers, "Tell me what you know and I will do what I can."