Kari sighs as she follows Lia and Kalisuel back into the bank to perform an inventory.
"I've gone from patching one person's wounds to several. You don't pay me enough Lia, not nearly enough."
But you can tell from her tone, she's merely joking, most likely to distract from the near-death incident.
Most of the magical items are accounted for including the nasty looking obsidian dagger and the shimmering cloth the escaping skulk was using. It seems the obsidian dagger had some sort of curse on it, but had restorative properties should the wielder wound another. The shimmering cloth explained how you missed the skulk when you got the vault, it let the item or person underneath remain invisible as long as they didn't move. Truly wondrous.
Aside from those, you notice that an item marked "Decanter of Sorrows" and an item marked "Imitator's Anklet" are not here, though neither the sheet nor the widow know what either item does.
Used to sizing up others and being sized up in turn, Laetitia is all too familiar with the look Owl levels at Kali, Lia and herself. She also takes note of the way his eyes linger on Kali, and though his face doesn't betray his thoughts, Tish, only familiar with one reason for the lingering male gaze, reaches an incorrect although amusing conclusion. "Don't tell me you're feeling sweet on the little mouse," she teases Owl once the three other women have gone back into the shop. "Should I be jealous?"
Whether or not she manages to get a rise out of the half-elf, Laetitia soon turns her thoughts back to the investigation. Her dark gaze is drawn to the drying pool of blood on the ground. Rather than stirring in her some amount of pity or empathy for the life she had a hand in taking, the sight only makes her feel frustration at the skulk for not having been more useful before it died.
Turning those dark brown eyes back up to Owl, Tish says, "If you have any ideas rattling around in that brilliant head of yours on how we can find the two skulks, I'm listening, because, other scouting every cave in the area for their breeding ground, I have nothing. If we do have to follow the shiver, as you say, then what can you tell me about it? Knowing whether it's a cheap fix or something for people with more expensive tastes might give us a good idea of which neighborhoods to start looking in."
Owl caught the odd look Kali gave him but not the comment. Probably burned a bridge there. He was slipping a bit recently. The past needed to stay in the past. He needed to get away. What better opportunity, then, than to go fishing for his favorite currency: information. "Excellent. I'll see you all back here in a few hours."
As he and Tish exit, his comment about Kali catches him off guard. Not that anyone could tell. His poker face was back in full force but there is a spark of angry that causes a slight twitch around the eye. But he could play games just as well. "Oh damn. I've done it again. My natural charms have caused a feud amongst the women around me. When will the bloodshed end?" It was a crude joke but it usually put women off and thus ended the snappy comebacks.
But back to the more pressing topic. "Shiver is a poor mans drug. Exhibit A," he says pointing down at the dead skulk. "Makes one feel invincible. Makes the weak feel strong. Some would say even over confident. Causes a lot of death." He says the words with just a hint of bitterness. Apparently even someone as morally objectionable as Owl could find the drug morally reprehensible.
"Also, its not we," he says placing his hands on her shoulders. "I have my own means of gathering information and I'd like for them to stay mine. But I have confidence you are just as smart and charming as you are pretty. You'll figure something out." he says in a tone just shy of condescending. He pecks her on the cheek and dashes away down an alley too quick for her to follow.
His preferred method is usually to pass around copper and silver to the poor and destitute around the city. Most cities had many of them and people always seemed ignore them. But they saw so much more than most gave them credit for. He listened to their stories and would pry small bits of information on the comings and going of the city. Usually their incite allowed him to piece together the true movement of the cities movers and shakers. And from there he would narrow his search down and ask more pointed questions. It also helped because the positive reinforcement meant that after visiting, the homeless would be more observant and open to sharing on a later date. Win win.
Throughout the inventory, Kali remains quiet and does her best to help, though it's clear that her fear isn't an act. Strangely, every now and then, she'd flinch or suddenly look to the side or stop what she was saying mid-sentence.
As they finish up, the young tiefling asks them something.
"Was Owl right about what he said?"
Unfortunately for Owl, The small fishing town of Ilsurian was a modestly made community and instead of passing coins to beggars he would have to deviate to offering to buy a drink here and to treat a child to a surprise allowance there.
It takes a bit, but eventually, he marks the neck of the woods a good hour away from town that the skulk's lair is most likely to be located. Though, he does note that the remaining skulks would number somewhere to be close to ten. Food for thought.
"What in the Hell am I supposed to do?" Tish asks, shooting daggers at Owl's retreating back when she gets no response. As a (former) Calistrian Courtesan, information should have been Tish's stock and trade, but she had never been shrewd or patient enough to see the value in something so immaterial. Secrets weren't worth more than gold, platinum was. So in order to contribute to this investigation, she would have to learn how to adjust her thinking, learn how to...
She disregards that line of thinking before it's even concluded. She had her own strengths and her 'friends' had theirs. Let them hatch their schemes and do the grunt work; Tish was perfectly happy with being the face of their little operation. But for now... "I need a drink," she says to the empty street, jingling the coin purse hanging at her belt.
"You don't hate me," Kali asks in a voice somewhere between wonder and disbelief.
Seeing the truth for herself, she wraps both women up in a tight embrace as she begins to sob softly into their shoulders.
"Thank you," she weeps, "Thank you!"
After recovering from, and apologizing for her emotional outburst, Kali follows Lia and Kari back to the inn.
"Um, Lia? Kari? Are we friends," she asks, not quite able to believe she had the courage to ask that after the way Owl had laid into her.
Two hours. That might have been a personal best. Rather easy to conclude the skulks didn't live in town when most had never really seen them before this. And the ones that had were on the side of town with a forest not to far away. 1+1=that way. He returns to the inn to see the others have returned. Tish seems to be three sheets to the wind and getting friendly with several new suitors but that was probably an act. He let's her ply her trade and finds a comfortable spot in the back to watch all.
Once they are all together he hits them with his unfortunate discover. "I have good news, bad new, and more bad news. Good news is I know where the two skulks are. Bad news is its a forest an hour from here. More bad news is they are not the only ones there. Sounds like 10 to 12 skulks a skulking and its unknown whether they are in collusion or not. Best to assume they are. That will make things...difficult to say the least."
"You mean that pillow fight when Thomias and I were trying to sleep," Kali laughs before pulling both Lia and Kari in for a hug.
"Well, between pillow fights and mortal wounds I'm starving," she adds just before her belly growls.
"So we need to be ready for fight, and a hard one," Kali observes. "Unless we want to try sneaking our way in."
There's a commotion coming from outside, through the windows you see lit torches, many bodies, and people both moving towards and away from the path that leads to the carnival grounds. However, at this time darkness has fallen so its hard to make out everything from the indside of the inn.
"Oh course we'll talk first. we aren't going to storm the place and arrest them like the guard. Should we narrow it down we could ahve them do that though." He grows pensive as he enumerates possibilities when he hears the commotion. He looks towards the window, thoughtful. Then his eyes pop just a little as he mutters, "You have got to be kidding me." He rushes to the door and heads out, grabbing the first person he can find. "What's going on?"
Kali hesitates a moment, not sure if she can open herself up to the barbs and arrows that were sure to come her way. The moment was over almost before it began. Let Owl stew in his smugness and nihilism. Damn the gods and the fates. She'd do the right thing because it was right.
Owl had barely taken three steps before Kali was sprinting to find the source of the commotion.
The man Owl approaches is red in the face, obviously well drunk into the evening.
"Thievin' Varisians! That's what! They're trying to bleed the town dry!"
When asked to elaborate, he continues.
"Over dozens townsfolk with their coin purses slit! They're getting what they deserve!"
Even more elaboration needed.... and when he comes back to the intial train of thought, he continues...
"Fight's already about to break out. I'm just gonna get me boys so we can shore up the numbers if they bring out the sphinx of theirs *hic*."
Hearing the explanation, Kali grabs both Owl and Tish and drags them to where the fight looks to be breaking out. Once the three of them are in between the two sides she shuffles to a halt and does her best to keep her weight off her still injured leg.
"Stop them from killing each other," she tells them, "they won't listen to me and both of you have silver tongues."
"I don't like where this is going," Owl mumbles to himself. Then a hand with a vice-like grip grabs him and starts hauling him in the same direction as the mob. "I really don't like where this is going," he says a little louder. Unfortunately, he could not free himself. She was, embarrassingly, a lot stronger than him.
Tish throws a cursory glance out one of the windows as she hears the angry mob passing, but quickly settles that dark gaze of hers back on her drink, too deep into her cups to realize that the townsfolk were about to set fire to the Carnival. But, as she raises her mug to her lips, she is unceremoniously yanked to her feet. "Hey! I wasn't finished with that," she complains, more irritated at spilling her honeyed mead than at the rough treatment she receives.
Naturally, her irritation finds its proper target when she finally notices that it's Kali marching her away from her well-deserved relaxation. "I can walk just fine, thank you." She punctuates this by sharply wrenching her arm free of Kali's grasp—a move which, to Tish's chagrin, causes her to briefly stumble. After fixing her rumpled shirt and straightening her corset, she continues to walk alongside the mob at her own pace.
Almost before Tish is finished straightening her clothes, Kali's hand strikes like a viper and twists into the neck of her shirt.
"I'm gimped," the petite swordswoman hisses as she picks her pace back up, "you should have no problems keeping up."
She is limping, but it's doing little to slow her as she drags Tish and Owl behind her.
Kali stops as she hears Owl get an explanation out of the drunken man and the color drains from her face.
"I don't like where this is going," Owl mumbles to himself.
After a scant pair of heartbeats, she grabs both Owl's and Laetitia's wrists and begins to drag them both behind her as she runs for the center of the commotion where she figured the fight would start. It isn't long before she begins to stumble along with an awkward gait as her injured leg complains loudly at the abuse.
"I really don't like where this is going," he says a little louder. Unfortunately, he could not free himself. She was, embarrassingly, a lot stronger than him.
"Hey! I wasn't finished with that," she complains, more irritated at spilling her honeyed mead than at the rough treatment she receives.
Naturally, her irritation finds its proper target when she finally notices that it's Kali marching her away from her well-deserved relaxation. "I can walk just fine, thank you." She punctuates this by sharply wrenching her arm free of Kali's grasp—a move which, to Tish's chagrin, causes her to briefly stumble. After fixing her rumpled shirt and straightening her corset, she continues to walk alongside the mob at her own pace.
After Laetitia manages to slip from Kali's grip, the sudden lack of resistance causes her to tumble to the ground, almost taking Owl with her. She scrambles to her feet and gets behind Laetitia as she finishes straightening her top and begins to push.
"We need to hurry," she gasps as she begins to push Laetitia ahead at a run, "I can't do this alone, I need both of you!"
As she passes Owl, she grabs his wrist again and begins to haul him along behind her. The trio continues on with Kali pleading with the other to hurry until they reach where the townsfolk were gathering to attack. Kali comes to a stumbling halt and nearly collapses as her leg threatens to give out. Unable hold herself steady, she leans against Owl, who can feel her trembling from exertion as she stubbornly fights to keep her feet. Her breathing is ragged from the pain as she looks into Laetitia's eyes.
"We have to stop them from attacking," Kali tells Laetitia and Owl both as she points to the townsfolk. "They won't listen to me, but both of you have silver tongues. Please, get them to calm down and stop this. It doesn't make any sense for a traveling carnival to be a part of some grand scheme to rob people while they're in town. We need to calm things so we can get to the bottom of this and I need your help to do it."
Kali whimpers in pain as her leg spasms and she leans more heavily against Owl. Her head slumps against his shoulder and for a long moment she just stands there as her breath comes out in pained gasps.
"Please, I'll do whatever you want as payment, just please stop this madness," she begs them.
As you arrive onto the scene, it's clear there's tension in the air. Angry Townsfolk screaming and yelling, the veins in their neck pulsing in anger. Some of them have drawn shortswords while others have saps out.
The circus folks on the other hand are trying to calm the crowd before they start to riot.
"Please sirs, we have no knowledge of-."
"Don't you lie to me you filthy Varisians!"
Hand finally free, Owl rubs his rest to restore some circulation. He looks down at her when she leans against him. She couldn't possibly be cozying up to him. No, she appeared exhausted. He briefly considered sidestepping. She really needed to stop leaning on others, physically and figuratively. But doing so would draw attention he didn't want. So he merely rolled his eyes. "It makes perfect sense. A carnival is a grand cover for a heist. Varisians have that stereotype for a reason."
If things escalated, it was likely their investigation would become moot fairly soon. And that meant no payment. He hated that but it wasn't worth it to stand between two groups so close to open violence. All it would take is a spark. He considered that line of thought for a moment. The group responsible for the heist planting people in the crowd to start things. Then the most beautiful sound tickled his ears. He turns and gives Kali a lecherous look. He looks up at Laetitia, wondering if she was thinking the same and carried to play along. He looks back down at Kali, eyes wondering. "Payment? What are you willing to pay hm?"
"Less than what Almara's offering, I'd wager," Laetitia answers in Kali's stead, fixing Owl with a patently unamused look. If there was any chance that Kali might have something of value, Tish might have considered playing along with his game. As it is, she finds herself a little more concerned with the possibility of their contract with the Carnival going up in flames. Her purse had been feeling a bit too light for her tastes since Riddleport, and she didn't intend to let the opportunity to fix that slip through her fingers.
"What?? A carnival is a terrible cover for a heist. Of course people are going to suspect the outsiders first... But it does make a good scapegoat for thieves that already live here. But good luck convincing them of that," Tish says, crooking her thumb at the angry mob. "My people have a rather low opinion of Varisians; if we tell them it would be stupid for the Carnival to rob the cities they visit, they'll just take that to mean Varisians are filthy and stupid..."
Kali's pained, desperate look catches Tish a bit off guard. She's never seen anyone look quite so vulnerable before. It makes the ordinarily heartless opportunist feel distinctly uncomfortable. "Fine! I'll help. Just... quit looking at me like that."
"I'll be a bodyguard, servant, cook, or whatever for however long I need to work off the debt! Just stop this from turning into a bloodbath, please," she pleads with both Owl and Laetitia. She jumps a little when Laetitia snaps at her, but something in her eyes lights up as she realizes what the enchantress is saying.
"Thank you, Tish."
There's angry people all around, but around four are openly holding weapons of sorts. Others may join in if something starts, on both sides.
Either Tish did not want to play along or didn't get it. Either way was a real shame. He thought they might have a good report developing but she might be influenced by money more than he was. Made her simpler to understand but that wasn't interesting, just efficient. "I believe we are dealing with just such a situations. And its worked perfectly," he says indicating the crowd.
When Tish pulls a complete 180 he considers the back of Kali's head and is thankful she wasn't facing him. If a look could get Tish to jump in between two angry crowds then he never wanted to see it. Teifling magic? Unique ability? Or a master of the puppy-dog eyes? It sent a shiver down his spine just thinking about it. "If you want to handle the crowds we should split up to make sure nothing makes this worse." He nudges Kali towards the carnival people while he moves towards the townsfolk. "Look for someone out of place. Someone looking to turn this bloody."
Taking his own advice, Owl slips into the crowd scanning for people that don't fit in. A little too calm, focused. Maybe palming a stone or weapon and trying too hard to look inconspicuous.
Owl begins to comb the crowd trying to find the out of place evidence. Though all he finds are the self-righteous flames of angry justice. There doesn't seem to be anyone or anything out of place.
'That's it! Get 'em boys!"
The two groups lunge at each other.
Kali didn't even have time to look before violence began to break out. Needing to quickly defuse the situation, she puts herself between the guards and the townsfolk and raises her voice as she holds both her hands up to both sides in a halting gesture.
"Think about what's happening? How often does this carnival come into town? Once every few months? Once a year? Why would they threaten their livelihood by stealing from you when they depend on being able to come back and have people attend," she asks the townsfolk, hoping that getting them to stop and think might be enough, but she was hardly the picture of confidence. Her injured leg quivered as it supported her and her voice sounded thready from her ragged breathing.
"Please, this needn't end in bloodshed," she pleads with them.
The volatile situation descends into chaos a bit faster than Tish had expected, and although she had promised to help disperse the crowd peaceably, her instinct for self-preservation has her waiting until Kali and Lia have gotten between the two sides to finally make her move.
"Alright, alright! Get back! All of you!" Laetitia shouts over the crowd. Once she can finally be heard without risk of shouting herself hoarse, she continues, striding through the small gap separating the two sides with as much authority she can muster. "Now, my associates and I have been given full authority by Sheriff Feldane to investigate this string of crimes as a neutral party. In order to do that, we'll need for everyone whose coin was stolen to step forward, and give us details of roughly when and where the robbery occurred."
Hopefully, the mob of disgruntled townsfolk is comprised more of intolerant Chelaxians spoiling for a fight than of folks who had a valid complaint, for the next thing she says is, "Good. Now the rest of you are free to go. Thank you."
Flitting through the crowd, Owl does his part to help by adding a quiet "I ain't fightin a sphinx" here and a "Sounds fair ta me" there, trying to shift crowd mentality in their favor.
The group puts on their best aid to the diplomatic route, but the fight has already started and things have spiraled past beyond control after the first punch was thrown. But perhaps Laetitia's regal entrance and Owl's murmurings have dissuaded any of the other locals from jumping in during the heat of passion.
The circus guards put up a total defense, holding off the attack of blades and bats with their saps and clubs.
Despite being professional foresters and fishermen, even these folks learn the sword to defend their home. And they're going to defend it with blood.
Three attacks connect on the two circus guards drawing blood. Both take a decent amount of damage, and look like another blow similar to the damage they've taken will most likely drop them.
"Take out the one's who can fight. Then the sheriff can round up the unconscious bastards!" one villager blusters.
Players up!
Anger boiling over, Kali takes up her shield and begins pushing the combatants apart.
"...Then the sheriff can round up the unconscious bastards!"
Laetitia sighs wearily as the fight begins in earnest. "My thoughts exactly." Fixing the blustering villager with a dark glare that saps his willpower , Tish unleashes a burst of psychic energy to overwhelm him and as many of his allies as she can.
Kali heaves herself between two combatants and is successful in keeping them from hurting each other or herself.
I'll let you guys make the rolls, but the villagers are all effectively out of commission. The circus guard are a bit worse for wear, but they look to Kali and Laetitia in thanks as you hear more folks rushing to the scene to help. Which side, well, you'll find out when they get there and the fight's still going on.
A whistle, harsh and loud, pierces the sound of fighting. Owl steps through the crowd doing his best to act like someone of great importance and tired of everyone's b+@+#~$$. When he speaks it is quite but authoritative.
"Gentlemen. That is quite enough. The sheriff, has hired a competent group to look into this matter. And though the investigation is ongoing, progress is being made," he says stalking towards the melee. He looks directly at the villagers Kali is holding at bay."Progress that cannot afford to be hampered by vigilantes who think they know better or are somehow above the law. What does obstruction of justice have as a punishment here? Or assault on an innocent person? How much are you willing to bet? Hmm?" He looks each man in the eye as he asks the questions. "This is a civilized city, not an anarchic rabble. Act like it. We will find out who did this and justice will be had. But every step you take down the same path or across it only muddles the trail. Makes it harder to follow. Now you can either go home and sleep in a warm bed and let professionals handle it." Pause for effect. "Or you can continue and spend more than a few nights on a s##@ty cot, surrounded by stone and steel. Your choice."
Owl delivers his ultimatum and waits.
"Please, just leave. We aren't looking for a fight, and neither are they," Kali says, trying to add a little more weight to Owl's words.
If there's one thing that village folk know, is you should probably listen to the man with the big words, even if he's a shorter man who's a bit rude at times.
There's some grumbling, and complaining, but Owl with the aid of everyone's previous peacekeeping attempts, seem to have defused the situation. Owl, you receive appreciative nods from the circus guards.
"Thank the gods you showed up." one says to the group in private. "Thought we were going to have a mob on our hands."
A panicked looking fellow dressed in colorful clothes of jester like style is running towards the party as quickly as he can.
"Sirs! Madams!" he hisses as he gets closer, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one else is listening. He even waaves at the guards to make space.
"There's been another murder. Another townsfolk has been found dead!" he hisses, his face covered in sweat, his face pale even under the colorful makeup.
Kali looks at the man and pales even more than the pain in the leg was making her.
"Where," she asks, dreading the answer, "where were they found? Where are they now?"
Yes. Dance my puppets. Dance. Inwardly, Owl was overjoyed at how easy it was to manipulate people. Confidence really was key. But outwardly he maintained the gruff, no-nonsense air of authority. He turns to the circus guards. "No problem. Now if you could get that sphinx of yours to be a little more cooperative then this could move faster. I'd heard it was being reticent."
He pauses as someone calls for their attention. Great, another murder. "You heard the lady. Who and where?"
The man, still shaking from nerves, quickly leads you to the murder sight. He seems to be leading you straight to the first murder site, but this time he opens the tent nearby and enters the space, lifting the canvas to allow you all to enter. Standing in the 'Lair of the Sphinx' you find a body of an older woman, dressed in robes the clearly identify her as a cleric. Her wounds look like the claw marks of a large animal similar to those found on the body of Archiven Walder.
You notice a slender rope burn around her throat, indicative of strangulation by garrote or similar weapon.
There don't seem to be any tracks at all around here.
Wait...there are tracks! medium humanoid tracks that seem to lead to the back of the tent, where some of the tent stakes have been pulled to permit egress.
"Here she is." the nervous man says.
"Get the sheriff. I'm sure the Umbra Carnival is being set up. This woman didn't die by getting mauled," She tells the man before turning to Owl.
"Don't you dare try and tell me this just some elaborate scheme by these people," she says coldly, "there's too many ways for that to go wrong."
Owl reiterates Kali's order. The sheriff needed to see this. He bent over to feel the skin near the neck and confirmed a slight indentation to accompany the redness he noticed. Strangulation.
He scoffs at Kali's next comment though. "Fine, I won't. But I don't toss out any possibility as a rule of thumb. You are right though. Complexity has more chances to go wrong. It's likely this was part of the plan to frame the carnival or a reaction to the skulks getting caught. I am betting the latter since this was far more poorly done than the first murder. You can tell she was strangled before the supposed mauling."
Taking 20 (27) on the scene again. Can he spot the removed tent stakes without survival?
"Where's Laetitia? Did we lose her," Kali asks, suddenly noticing that they were one short.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Tish snarks, pushing into the tent at long last. The normally sharp-eyed woman looks a little worse for wear at the scene, and she misses the obvious clues on the priestess's body until it's pointed out to her by Kali and Owl. "Do you think this is the skulks taking vengeance, or their human puppet masters?" she asks as she checks over the body for any personal effects. If looked at askance, Tish claims to be checking for signs of robbery.
"Just because you're a snake of a woman doesn't mean that I want to see you come to harm," Kali says flatly.
"If I had to guess, I'd say it was the humans behind the first murder and theft. As for vengeance," she shrugs, "could be. Could also be part of their plan to frame the carnival. People tend to ignore the details that don't fit if it doesn't fit with what they think is going on. Not much of a reason to be careful about it if the townspeople are already too mad to think things through."
Only if you have points in survival.
You all hear the tent flaps fly violently open as Sherriff Feldane marches in, her short hair soaked in sweat of the hastily made trip here. She glances down to see the body of the women killed, and her hand involuntarily goes to cover her mouth.
"Sister Esrelda..." Feldane says as she names the victim. "She's well known in the village for her good work at our temple of Erastil."
She turns to the party, and its clear that this particular discovery has been a bit more of a blow to her.
"I want answers. What have you found?"
"They strangled her before they cut her up," Kali says, pointing out the abrasions on the woman's neck.
"Sheriff, do you mind if I ask you something? How often does this carnival come? It seems to be a pretty big deal around here."