Kadir saunters over and begins to inspect the masked thing's corpse, nudging it with his Musket before tentatively pushing it's mask up with his rifle barrel.
Other than their company, there is nothing abnormal about the crossbowman and the knife-wielding thugs. Or at least, nothing you can detect. At closer inspection, though, you find a single empty vial hidden in the belt of each criminal...
The masked creature, however, is nothing something one sees everyday. It doesn't react to Kadir's probing, but the removal of its mask reveals it to be a male... Gnome?! Or something close to that, in any case.
It's eyes are of a sickly yellow hue and its skin is as pallid as an albino's. Its nostrils are oddly large and one of them is pierced by what seems to be a small hook.
It's face is extremely skinny, with its skull being easily visible under its skin. Its teeth are extraordinarily sharp and disturbingly asymmetrical... His hair is at least 1 ft. long and covers most of his head. Its strings are of very light blue, almost completely white hue. Oddly enough, it doesn't show any signs of facial hair.
But these are not the only (or even the most) disturbing physical trait in the creature.
Most of the creature's face, the whole right side of its neck, chest and shoulder, as well as the edges of every wound he has, are covered in purple-colored veins, still pulsing, although very lightly and increasingly slower. There are also a couple syringe entry wounds on his neck.
Despite its bony face, the creature's body is unnaturally large, burly and brawny (for a Gnome, anyway), being much closer to the size and shape of a Dwarf than a Gnome's.
Its arms display not only the same purple veins seen in its head and torso, but also multiple burn scars. His hands are protected by two metallic gauntlets with sharp fangs.
The creature's wound exhales an unusual smell... There are 4 vials hidden in its pockets, 2 of them are empty. The other two are filled with a dark purple liquid.
Kadir picks up one of the vials and flicks it with his finger, peering into the dark purple liquid. "Some kind of strange alchemy maybe. Definitely might want to take this to an apothecary." Kadir picks his goggles back up and whispers an arcane spell to detect for magic on the vials and the creature's corpse and gauntlets.
"Let me have a look at them."
The substance is an unusually powerful and volatile alchemical concoction. Its properties are reminiscent of a combination of transmutation spells.
This formula is designed to increase muscle power and physical resiliency, but it seems extremely toxic and will almost certainly induce addiction and cause long-term damage to the user.
"Interesting. It's a strength boosting serum. Probably highly addictive, and has nasty side effects, but a potent increase to strength and hardiness for a decent period of time."
"If I had to hazard a guess it would probably be that this is a homemade analogue of a mutagen, granting increased physical prowess for decreased mental acuity."
Eitylen Insist in bringing the corpses of the guys ot the authorities.
Eitylen Insist in bringing the corpses of the guys ot the authorities.
*ahem*
Leng helps Eitylen carry off the corpses to the authorities.
Here!
The Muderer
- According to the only witness you know of, the murderer was vaguely humanoid, but bigger than Joel Ironblood, who is quite tall.
- The murderer probably has at least a passing knowledge of magic, as indicated by his care to remove/break both victims' jaws.
The Crime
- The murder occurred 2 days ago, at night. Near the docks.
- According to the Inn Keeper, that very same day, before the crime happened, a skinny man with pale skin and syringe marks on his forearms searched the whole apartment of one of the victims.
- Whoever was there, probably didn't find what he was looking for. It seems he was looking for something liquid or something that could be safely stored inside liquid.
- No dagger was found in the crime scene, despite the fact that all evidence (and common sense) suggest that the victim carried at least one such weapon with him.
The Victims
- The dead man had unusually precise cuts on his ribs and his arms displayed syringe marks similar to those found in opium user.
- According to Lady Hazel, the dead girl (Marilia) used to work at the Calistrian temple, but quit her job and left to live with the dead guy (Theodore - aka: Ted Left-Stab).
- Ted used be part of a fishing crew, but left that job a couple months ago.
- Ted got some extra income in the last few days.
- Ted hadn't been living in the apartment that Eitylen visited for at least a few weeks.
- The last known home of Marilia and Ted, was very close to the hostel where Louise grew up.
Related (?) Occurrences
- This wasn't the first murder in Blue Shell to display this sort of brutality, but it was the first one that happened out of the more dangerous areas of town.
- Another Viper girl (Louise) disappeared a few weeks ago. Her fate is still unknown.
- On your way to visit the hostel where Louise lived (coincidentally very close to the last known home of the two victims), you were attacked by two different groups, one led by a bloated man with a tint of purple substance next to his lips, (very similar to the one seen in the victims' wounds), and another one led by a grotesque-looking Gnome.
- The Gnome's skin is extremely pale (like the man who searched Theodore's room, according to the inn-keeper's description) and half covered by purple veins. He has a few syringe marks on his neck. He used a creepy-looking smiley mask to conceal his face and carried a modified, very effective and highly addictive Mutagen.
- The thugs in the second group allegedly worked for a man named Brodd Broken-Nose, and their intended target were employees of a guy called Lukuber, one of Brodd's business rivals.
- According to the witch, someone has been crafting and using some sort of poison that causes an unspecified change on the user, who then goes on to kill people. She knows that by observing the city through the eyes of her "children".
Also added this spoiler to the Campaign Information tab.
Calling the guards seems the better option. So, that one.
"I think it may be far more pressing to continue advancing towards the Hostel where Louise is from. We can deal with the guards when we've solved the murders and showing them a bunch of corpses is going to be a complicated mess." Brother Cyrus advises.
"The enemy knows we're on it's tail and if we don't move quickly we may lose sight of them."
Brother Cyrus claps Kadir on the shoulder.
"Your aid is much appreciated good soldier. The gods recognize those who do righteous work."
A trio of guards from the city watch show up a few moments after the brawl is over. They seem extremely surprised at the scene, for a variety of reasons...
"What the hell happened here?! Who are you guys?!" exclaims one of the guards.
"Holy s+&!!!! Are those Broken-Nose men?!" shouts the other.
"What in the deepest dark is that thing?" yells a third one.
I,..we,..uhm,..eh, they attacked us, and we, just, uhm, defended ourselves -
Kadir ignoring the guards mounts his horse. "We oughta find this Broken-nose fella and see what he knows about all this after we make it to the Hostels." Turning his horse to make his way past the guards, "Gentlemen I'd ask you to please block the street here so that this evidence isn't disturbed. This creature is connected to the murders and we're here to get to the bottom of it," Kadir says to the guards, pointing to the pale dead gnome-thing.
The guards seem unsure of how to proceed, ultimately, they decide it's best to call their superiors. Two of them stand guard over the bodies while the third one goes back to the nearest city guard quarters.
They seem to confused with the situation to do anything about you, and they let you go without any resistance. Still, you feel that you might have to do a fair amount of explaining in the near future...
Brother Cyrus quickens his step for he feels the culprit may be just around the next corner.
Leng keeps heading to where they were headed before, filing Broken-Nose in his "We'll see in a minute" file.
You soon reach an old building with no painting or coating of any kind. The walls display its raw stone and more windows that you'd have thought possible for its small size. Most rooms here are probably half as big as the simplest room in the Mad Shark.
The sign over the entrance simply reads "The Swimming Swine". Even from the streets, you can hear the whistle of the wind moving through the building's many cracks.
Dogs move unimpeded, entering and leaving the place as they will. A few sailors play dice on a table near the entrance while cursing each other with rather colorful expressions.
A woman in her fifties sweeps the small staircase that leads to the front door. Next to her, a parrot screams obscenities at passer-byes, but is throughly ignored.
Leng looks around for any clues on the streets around the place.
Nothing particularly suspicious comes to your attention... The holy symbol of the goddess Calistria can be seen in a few windows, which is unusual, and a few girls are prettier an better dressed than you'd expect from such a place, but that's about it...
Kadir dismounts and walks up to the staircase, giving a nod of respect to the woman sweeping. With his hand resting on his pistols grip he enters the tavern, looking for the most suspicious of the rabble.
The woman seems somewhat surprised by Kadir's presence and gesture, but not enough to stop her work or even reciprocate the nod.
The door leads to a small hall, with a less than ten tables, most of which are occupied by drunk men playing dice or one card game or another... A half open door leads to a less than sanitary kitchen, there are two corridors full of doors and a staircase that leads to the second floor.
This place is more of a really cheap inn than a tavern.
"Does anyone here know what happened to Louise?"
Most people in the room take a quick confused look at Tai Leng, then go back to whatever they were doing.
A one-eyed man with silver rings on his ear and brown-colored hair and beard, both of end up in a braid or two, skillfully plays five finger fillet...
"Lad... If you're looking for Louise you are quite late..." he says without as much as looking up to you "Lass went and vanished weeks ago... Spirited away, like a ghost."
He stabs his index finger, grunts and starts his game again.
"I bet she found some rich man to take care of her..."
Kadir sits down at one of the seats next to the one-eyed man and looks over the game of five finger fillet. "I'd love to play but i'm afraid my fingers are a bit too important."Kadir digs into his pocket and pulls out a gold piece and slaps it on the table. "You wouldn't happen to know about any other disappearances would you? I'm trying to find a friend of mine."
"There are no rich people this side of town, stranger..." says the one-eyed man "When someone disappears, the guard doesn't usually put a lot of effort into finding out where they went... They usually show up floating on the docks a few days later, though..."
"Louise is the first case I've seen of the watcher showing up more than once to ask question... Even Master Lorizindell was questioned..." he takes a long yawn, then speaks again "If I can tell anything about your friend, I will... But lie I said, we are not seen as a priority by the guards..."
Kadir nods and looks down at the man's hands. "I'm looking for a young woman named Evelyn. She's family you see and I promised to find her. With the recent murders i'm very anxious to see her alive and well. If you can help me i'll make sure you're rewarded."
"Evelyn?" says the one-eyed man. "You mean the wife to Mateo, the fisherman?" he scracthes his beard, surprised by the question. "She lives not 3 blocks from here. In the grey house next to a butcher's shop... I don't think she was close to Louise... but then, again, I didn't think she had any family, so who knows?"
The man refuses any payment offered for the information, saying that family is the most important thing there is and that it's not right to take money just for telling someone where to find their next of kin... He then goes back to his game, although he doesn't stop paying attention to your group.
Kadir stands up from the table and salutes the old man, "Thank you sir. Family and honor are all I have left."Turning to his party, Cyrus in particular, "I'm afraid i'll have to take my leave for the moment, I won't tarry long but I must visit my niece. Perhaps she'll know more about some of the missing girls. I hope we'll be able to meet up back here. If not i'll wait till you return if you must investigate further."