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Dekarin listens quietly to the two skulls talking, amd makes his decision.
"I care not what happens to them; we have no proof of them committing any crimes, although I'm sure they most likely have. We got the info we need from them, let's let them go."
Upon being alerted of the fight, Dekarin rushes towards the parade ground, sword in hand, ready to stop the fight with his unique methods.
But hearing the rest of his flock start by talking, Dekarin slowly slides his greatsword back into its sheathe and looks around waringly.
"What...? I thought there was a fight going on."
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Andoliesa shakes her head mournfully at the skulks. "No, no, no... Do not throw your lives away on a wasteful drug!" She lectures them for a while before she eventually realizes her moralizing falls on deaf ears.
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Andoliesa sighs and shakes her head. Grandmother Crow, grant me patience. These people... She sighs to herself again. Too frustrated to speak with anyone when the others seem to have the crowds well in hand, she sets to studying the crime scene.
She becomes absorbed in her study and discovers several things of interest . She moves to follow the tracks that lead out of the tent. "Let's see where these lead, shall we?"
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Tchucko doesn't notice anything out of place (other than the fact that there's a dead body), but he starts to circulate in the crowd trying to gather any information he can about what happened and if there were any witnesses.
After gathering some information, Tchucko hears Andoliesa mention a set of tracks leading out of the tent.
"We should definitely check those out."
The tracks lead out the back of the tent, where they pass by a small pile of tear-away clown costumes before becoming muddled in a maze of wagons, tents, and other foot traffic.
Everyone expects a few purses to be cut at a town carnival, but the carnival's first day of business saw nothing out of the ordinary. Shortly before Esrelda was discovered, pickpockets seemed to come out in droves. Once one individual noticed it, an alarm was raised from the crowds and many people discovered they'd been "pinched". The precipitated the fight between the townsfolk and the guards.
Three circus clowns were observed near the sphinx's tent around the time of the mob scene on the parade grounds, which was unusual, as they had no business being there. Guards are always posted near the tent when the sphinx is doing an appearance. When Jherizhana is not there, patrolling carnival enforcers discourage people from loitering near the tent.
As you finish your investigation, Mistress Almara and the circus's chief enforcer, Master Venlock, arrive in a flurry on the scene. Master Venlock immediately begins securing witnesses and preventing any more people from getting close to the body, while Almara sends a worker immediately to fetch the sheriff.
"Another murder?" Mistress Almara barks, "we must get the law in here immediately. We are innocent in this whole matter and must prove it."
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After circulating among the crowd for a while, Tchucko returns to his companions and shares what he has learned.
"It sounds like Sister Esrelda had made public plans to speak to Jherizhana the Sphinx today. If someone was looking for frame the Sphinx, this would have provided a perfect opportunity."
"There also was an upsurge in pickpocketing around the time of Sister Esrelda's murder. Considering that whatever group is behind this appears to be made up thieves (they robbed the Locked Box, they hire skulks to commit petty crimes for them), they would be more than capable of sending out a crowd of thieves to attempt to make the circus look even worse."
"There appear to have been three people dressed as clowns hanging around Jherizhana's cage. We found their costumes at the end of a trail leading out of the tent. We need to figure out who was wearing those costumes and what they were up to. My gut tells me that they were the ones who killed Sister Esrelda."
Tchucko turns to Mistress Almara and shows her the clown costumes that the group just found.
"I think that who ever is behind this murder was wearing one of these clown costumes. Witnesses saw three clowns loitering around Jherizhana's cage around the time of the murder. Do these costumes belong to any clowns that work for the circus?"
"Also, is there any chance that the circus has any dogs or other animals trained at tracking? If we could sniff out the trail of the people wearing these clown costumes, we'd be much closer to cracking this case."
Mistress Almara shakes her head. "We're a circus. If you want dogs that'll stand on rubber balls, we've got a few. We've got dogs that follow us around an beg for scraps too. But tracking? That's nothing that we've ever needed before."
The crowd parts as Sheriff Feldane comes rushing in with constables. Looking over the scene, she angrily looks at Almara and says, "Where is she? Where is right now? Why isn't she in that cage?"
Almara flushes slight before saying, "Good Sheriff, our circus has been engaged in a slight... deception. The sphinx is no mere beast, but rather a bard that travels us. She plays at being a circus star and resides in a large, comfortable and private wagon of her own. I can assure you, she is quite safe. But, please, revealing this information to the public - it would spoil our ticket sales!"
The sheriff shakes her head angrily throughout the entire explaination. "You've brought a dangerous creature into this community - a creature that you clearly cannot keep track of, let alone control. I can't say I know for certain there's wrongdoing here on the part of your people, but after a point it ceases to matter. For the safety of my town, I'm putting this circus under quarantine. I don't want any of your people leaving these grounds unless it's to leave town completely. I'm giving you two days to get packed up and go."
She gives a gruff snort and says, "I haven't."
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"We've uncovered considerable evidence that the Sphinx, and thus the circus, is being framed. We've shared most of this information with the Constable - the rest we just uncovered now."
"The most damning evidence was discovered at the original murder scene - we found that humanoid tracks had been intentionally obscured around the body and that the animal tracks that were found were actually incompatible with those of a sphinx."
"This lead us to believe that a group of unknown humanoids were really behind the murder and robbery. This suspicion was confirmed when we stumbled across two skulks trapped in the Locked Box' vault. They eventually told us that they were working for a gang of humans who were behind the robbery. They revealed the names of the two skulks who serve as intermediaries between the human gang and the skulk community, but unfortunately, they managed to escape after the recent commotion."
Tchucko gives a knowing look to his companions after telling that slight lie.
"When we investigated the most recent murder, we found a number of eyewitnesses who reported three clowns acting suspiciously at the tent near the murder scene. We investigated and discovered humanoid tracks leading out of the back of the tent, and when we followed those tracks we discovered three discarded clown costumes."
Tchucko beams a bit before stating this next part.
"It is my contention that there is a gang of humans who have used the circus' arrival as an opportunity to kill Archivin, rob the Locked Box and frame the circus for the crime. All of the evidence points away from the Sphinx' involvement and towards a plot to frame the circus and it's star!"
"That's not enough. You have some evidence, but it still stands that the creature is not in its cage and another body has been found. Maybe if you can find definitive proof that the circus isn't involved, I can reconsider. You have my permission to keep with this investigation. But as for now, consider the circus quarantined."
With that, the sheriff turns on her heel and leave the scene, leaving her constables behind to document evidence and handle the logistics of the body.
Mistress Almara Delisen shakes a little as she hears this proclamation.
"Well," she says, "if there's anything I can do to help you with this investigation, please let me know."
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Andoliesa gives the circus chief a stem, disapproving glare. "It would have been good to have had this information about your sphinx sooner. Why don't you let us speak with your bard?"
"Tchuko, must we have hounds to follow the trail?"
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As the sheriff leaves, Mistress Almara blushes at Andoliesa's question. "Ah, yes. Well, about that - I believe Takashi has already found out the truth. While the sphinx is indeed our bard, she is also - well, let us retire to the private tents."
She leads you back into her private wagon. On the walk over, she pulls aside a worker, speaks quietly to him, and he rushes off.
"Just one moment; she is on her way," Almara says as she begins to prepare tea once more. Almost by magic, a knock sounds on the door. "I suspect that is her."
At the door is a young woman in a hooded robe. Almara quickly ushers her in and shut the door. Only then does the woman let down hood of her robe. It is immediate that her face is that of Jherizhana's.
"Meet Ika, our bard. She is responsible for the existence of Jherizhana - the sphinx is an illusion she maintains. Our circus works together to ensure her secrecy. You must have realized this yourself as you were nearly tossed out of the tent for snooping. I'm sorry that we couldn't be more forthcoming with this information, but if it were to get out - well, financial ruin would be the only possible result." Mistress Almara pats Ika comfortingly as she speaks.
Ika is quiet when she speaks, I - I'm very sorry for not being forthcoming earlier and truthful, but Mistress Almara has insisted that we must protect the circus. I never wanted anyone to be hurt. I can't help but feel I'm responsible for these deaths. If I wasn't providing the sphinx as a cover story for these murderers, maybe that poor man and woman would still be alive." Her eyes brim with tears.
Ika sniffs and wipes her eyes, "Thank you. But I still feel guilty - if only they knew that the sphinx wasn't real, they would start looking for the right people, wouldn't they?"
Mistress Almara's face instantly darkens and she states, "That won't bring these killers to justice. It doesn't change people's opinions of us, or maintain Ilsurian as a venue we're welcome to visit again. All it proves is that these bastards were too stupid to figure out they were framing an illusion. No one here is going to come to our shows anymore. We'll be forced to leave town and they'll get away with it. Continue the investigation. Hunting down those skulks seems like the next best thing."
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Andoliesa shakes her head. "You should all be ashamed of your deceit. I don't know how I am to trust that there is not even more illusion here than meets the eye." when the girl begins to shame herself, though, Andoliesa clucks like a mother hen and gives the girl a hug. "Now, now. Deceit is wrong, but it is not your fault that there are murderers about. If there is one thing you must learn it is that you are responsible for your actions, and other people are responsible for theirs." With that, she straightens up.
"Yes, Dekarin, lead the way."
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'In all this sadness there is only one good part... *click-click*... We have something to tell in a report to the Society about the mystery of sphinx.' - he carefully looking into the face of the bard - 'If that's all true. *click*'
He's still a little snaps his beak, and then with a sigh says: 'Let's go on the trail ... *click-click*... This one was hunting a long time ago. I think this one's eyes may help see something useful. Master Dekarin, lead us!'
Along the way he begins to talk aloud: 'This one is thinking about the options... *click*... Maybe this "Bard" is an illusion imposed by the Sphinx? Theoretically? Master Tchucko?'
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"They'd probably blame it on the carnival anyway..." Takashi suggests sadly. "Umm... I'm probably better at asking people if they've maybe seen something like a skulk... maybe I should do that?"
Takashi hesitantly asks around, trying to see if anyone has noticed odd creatures that blend in with their surroundings out of the corner of their eye.
Dekarin begins quickly tracking a set of footprints. While they go through a very muddied (and muddled area), he is able to pick a few out and follow them. The tracks clearly lead back to the town proper.
While following the tracks, however, he (and everyone with him) stumbles across a disturbing sight. Just off the path of the main road into town, a group of six large townsfolk are gather around a large tree. As the party draws close, it becomes obvious what is going on. A teenage boy is tied to a tree with a sack pulled over his head.
"Let's teach this thief a lesson," one of the men says as he pulls a fallen branch from ground and gives the boy a wack to ribs with it. "Teach those gypsies to come into our town and murder our folk. You go home and tell your mother what happens when you mess with Ilsurian!"
The man drops the tree branch in shock, looks over the boy, and then guts his chin to point one of the men to cut the boy down from the tree.
"How I'm to know you crows aren't just helping those carnies get away with stealing and killin' folk?" He does seem to look over the boy again, "After all, a group of you folks is call a murder, ain't it?"
As the other townsfolk remove the sack from the boy's head, his face is a mass of bruises - deep purple pools of blood under the skin, a split lip. He's Milandru, one of the children of one of the families in the circus.
One of the townsfolk gasps, "Oh no."
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"Step away from the boy so we can provide him aid and leave us. We will make sure to report you all to the sheriff and have you put under arrest for the minimum, attempted murder. After all, like you said, we would know best.
Seeing the decline of the boys healt, he draws his Katana and proceeds closer to the boy.
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Tchucko spits and draws his crossbow, leveling it at the townsfolk.
"Good to know that the kindhearted townsfolk we're trying to help are brave enough to beat an innocent child to death. You all best run away as fast as you can, or our paladin friend reporting you to the authorities will be the least of your concerns."
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Andoliesa runs towards the boy, shrieking "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!?" She barely has time to glare at them as she kneels by the boy and applies divine healing to him. Once the boy is stable she looks up, seething. "You ought to all be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves. I don't know how you will live with yourselves after this without much penance and earnest attempts at restitution!"
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The group of villagers blush bright red at the tirades, nad the self-appointed leader stammers, "I was just trying to keep my family safe! This boy's been hangin' around my son, putting thoughts in his mind. I - you know what these people are like, and to see one comin' around after the sheriff told them to stay in their freakshow, well I just - I."
One of the other men puts a hand on the leader's shoulder and says quietly, "Jasker, we went too far. These birds have it right." He looks over the tengu and says, "We'll go with you to the sheriff and turn ourselves in. No more trouble here."
The entire group is rather somber as Andoliesa heals the boy. After a spell or two his eyes flutter open and he begins to groan in pain.
"Mamă? Vreau mama," he cries.
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"I don't know what room you have to claim that these Varisians are worse than you when you will so easily commit acts monstrous as this one! Do not speak again of these circus people as if they are worse than you."
As the boy wakes, she comforts him.
Unless no one else is going with the boy, Andoliesa will join the tracking party. She remains quietly seething for a while afterwards.
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