The shop shows signs of a struggle: jars of ingredients lie smashed on the floor and a large quantity of blood remains uncleaned and splattered about. The city guard investigated and had the body removed and ritually cremated, but apparently their duties did not extend to cleaning up the shop.
With his small size and ability to squeeze into gaps the others can't navigate, Quarr is able to make a significant find. Under a cabinet in the corner he finds a distinctive copper earring, covered in spilt incense and blood. Nabeeka confirms that it belonged to Vitusa, the victim.
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Quarr holds up the earring to show everyone. He sniffs and licks it momentarily to investigate all of the possible fluids on it.
It seems to be covered in incense and...... He licks it again.....yup. That is blood. He holds the earring up to Drax and shoves it in the big man's hand as he scrounges about for more clues.
That will look good with your dress.... His voice trails off as he crawls underneath another shelf.
Further searching does not turn up any more evidence.
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Drax snatches the earring with teeth bared at Quarr, then sniffs at it.
"Maybe the killers have the other one," he says with a growl. "Maybe they will try and sell it!"
Drax momentarily brightens, pleased with his idea.... then his big shoulders slump a little. "But this city is large. There would be hundreds of places for murderous thieves to sell a piece of jewelry. That will not help us. Argh! Can magic find this other earring??"
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"Unfortunately, unlessss we believe this earring to be undead, or evil I cannot provide any assissstance beyond wise counsssel... I have heard of spells enabling object locatttion. Perhapsss we could use one of these..." He turns to Konrad, who seemed intent on the feather earlier on. "Or perhapsss Lord Posen might do usss the honors and look into the essence of thisss earring. Alternatively, as it is a very nice piece of jewelry, perhapsss someone somewhere has sssseen it'sss twin."
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Konrad stretches as he muses on the party's options.
"I may be able to determine some of this earring's history, yes. If it is not a veapon or armor, I can only attempt such divination once a day, und it my not work. I vill do it, of course, if that is the vish of the group! I just vish to keep you informed!"
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Konrad removes his gauntlets to handle the earring more deftly. He lightly traces the outside edges, watching carefully for invisible psychic vibrations.
Action: Reading an object requires at least 1 minute of uninterrupted concentration.
Try Again: Yes. Multiple readings on an object or place always give the same results unless its circumstances or ownership have changed, but additional checks might reach further back into an object's history. You don't reroll the saving throw to determine if a psychic imprint is false. You can still use psychometry only once per day.
Konrad holds up the earring, staring at it for some minutes, as he slips into a trance-like state. Slowly, a vision comes to his mind. Konrad sees the inside of the shop, but from an odd angle. It's as if he was observing things from the vantage point of someone's ear lobe. He can just barely make out a woman's chin in his peripheral vision.
Shortly, a well-built Vudrani man with a beak-like nose, thick eyebrows, and a shaven head comes in the front door. He marches up to the woman, speaks, and gestures wildly. (There is no sound in Konrad's vision, so he can't make out what is being said). The woman responds, and the man becomes more agitated. Suddenly, the man's form shifts, and his features change. The thing standing before you has the head of a bat, and it's limbs have elongated and twisted. It draws a falchion from its belt, and swings at the woman. The viewpoint tumbles end over end, and comes to rest staring up at the floor of a cabinet. The vision then fades to black.
Konrad is about to set the earring down, when another vision comes in to focus. This time all he can see is the head of a Vudrani woman, still wearing the companion earring. The soft tissues of the head appear to be burned out by acid. The head is resting on a muddy floor, with several bits of debris and garbage visible in the background. This vision lasts only a few seconds before fading back into darkness.
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Konrad slowly rouses from his vision, considering the implications of what he saw so he can phrase it in a succinct manner. Only the dull clinks and clanks of his armor shifting mar the silence.
"This earring belonged to a voman. She vas in a shop vhen a Vudrani man vith a beak-like nose, a shaved head, und thick eyebrows charged into the shop. He vas agitated by something. Vhen the voman did not answer the vay he vanted, he turned into a strange bat-headed creature und chopped off her head vith a single stroke of his falchion. Sometime later--there's a bit of a gap in my psychometric vision--the head vas burned out by acid. It's somevhere vith a muddy floor covered in garbage und debris."
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Drax makes one of his many eloquent faces. "That could describe half the rubbish heaps of any city, let alone this one," the half-orc says sourly. "And we knew already they use acid on the people they kill."
"But a bat-headed creature! That is a clue. And a description of him when he does not have a bat-head!"
Drax wheels on their poor intrepreter who has so faithfully played translator so far. "Where do you keep your bat-headed people?!"
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"Thisss man you dessscribe... His apperance ssseems dissstinctive enough that we could asssk about him. Sssurely neighbors have sssseen him. Perhapsss they may even know him. It is a tenousss lead, but a lead nonethelessss. The namelessss one's idea is alssso an interesting one" hisses Ananta contemplatively.
Aseem takes a step back from the half-orc, a worried look crossing his face. "Bat-headed people are not common around here. I have no idea where you would find one. Perhaps we should retire for the evening, and wait for Lord Mahindra's report in the morning?" He glances hopefully around at the rest of the party.
It is growing late and most of the nearby shops are closing for the evening. Seeking information about the location in the vision, or the man, will be difficult at this time of day.
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Konrad nods as he listens, scratching his mane/beard, a pensive expression on his face.
He finally rouses, grinning as he calls upon his energy once more, throwing his hands up in the air.
" Come now! This has been a long day, und ve have done a lot of vork. Ve should eat und drink und sleep und vake up tomorrow fresh und motivated!"
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"BAH," growls Drax, at Aseem's disclaimer that he doesn't know where bat-headed people are. "You people should organize your city better!"
Sullenly, Drax assents to returning to their lodgings. It's been weeks since he killed someone, counting the ship's passage here-- he is especially twitchy and ill-tempered, and side-eyes Quarr speculatively several times.
The party returns to the house Lord Raheem has made available. The night passes peacefully. However, the same could not be said of your wakeup call.
Aseem makes a grizzly discovery first thing in the morning. The burned-out corpse of the rumormonger Mahindra has been unceremoniously dumped on the front steps.
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"We mussst be onto ssssomething, else Mahindra wouldn't have been sssilenced. Ssssomething Mahindra would have thought of had we come back to ssseee him. In any cassssse, his death occured elsssewere, and was induced by thiss ssstab wound here. Sssspeakign with the dead would be... Ausspiciousss. Unlessss the bruising here would prevent him from sssspeaking."
Ananta then pries Mahindra's mouth open, delicately, to determine if the body still has a tongue.
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Drax grunts at the body, poking at the man's gruesome injuries with no sign of squeamishness.
"Stabbed to death," he concludes, agreeing with Ananta. "Probably choked first. The blade-user knew what they were doing! I wish to meet them and test MY skill against theirs."
Drax crouches by the body, rocking back on his heels. "Perhaps we should look around Mahindra's house. Maybe the killers took him from there."
The local constabulary arrives to investigate reports of a corpse on the front steps of the party's dwelling. After displaying Lord Raheem's letter of introduction, the local law asks only a few brief questions before removing the corpse, and going about their business.
The group makes its way to Mahindra’s home to investigate his death. His wife Shoa, says that Mahindra was last seen the previous evening, heading to the Low-Caste District to follow leads on merchants. A brief note found in Lord Mahindra's study says, “Must check the seller of saffron and cardamom shipment that arrived last spring.” Nothing else of interest is found in the man's house.
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Going about town, Ananta asks about saffron and cardamom.
"It sssseems we are getting closser to the truth. And I believe, unfortunately, that like many such truths it will be born in blood." the nagaji states serenely, before adding for Drax's benefit "That means I think we're going to have a fight on our hands Drax of Belzken."
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Drax brightens noticeably at Ananta's promise, going up onto his toes and bouncing a bit. He flexes his hands eagerly. "I hope it shall be soon! I am not impressed with these cowards, who strike at a distance and flee before I can hit them. They also strike at merchants, and other soft people. I will cut the skin from their bones in proper battle and then they will understand war."
As he follows Ananta and the others about for the duration of the information gathering, Drax frequently snaps his hands to make his kukris drop into his palms, testing out his fancy wrist sheathes with eagerness.
"Warrior of Lastwall! What is the strongest thing you have defeated in battle?" he asks Konrad at one point, clearly restless.
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Konrad cracks his neck and smoothes out his mane.
" Ve vill have a battle indeed!"
He places his helmet on his head, then hefts his earthbreaker. After checking to make sure nobody is in the way, he swings it a wide arc. Even this mere practice swing appears enough to break a man's ribcage.
"The strongest?"
He sighs as a proud memory washes over him.
"I vonce fought the Spawn of Yog-sothoth, von of the evil chaos gods of the Dark Tapestry! It tried to hide under the cover of invisibility, even though it vas the height of three Konrads standing on top of von another. Its many tentacles und its terrible bite tried to strike at me, but it could not break through THIS--" he bangs a fist against his breastplate "--ARMOR! Ah! Und the smell vas terrible, vorse than a battlefield after a day in the hot sun, before any of the bodies have been buried."
He moves his earthbreaker to one hand and pats Drax on the back with a hearty slap.
"Und you! Warrior of Belkzen! Who vas your greatest victory against?"
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Drax approves of this story, nodding along at the dread description of the beast. "Gorum approves! The worst creature I have slain also had a foul stench. They said it was a hez-roo. A demon! It tore the weak in half with its claws and also had cowardly," Drax grimaces, "spells.
"But Drax is not weak! Even when the demon gripped me in its claws and tried to separate my limbs from my body, I fought, and I put this blade," he holds up a kukri made of black metal, "into its eye and then its brain! The battle was fierce!"
Drax grins hugely at the memory, showing off his filed teeth, and then his shoulders slump as he looks around the street that features a lack of demons or evil chaos gods.
"COME SHOW YOURSELVES!" he shouts, earning startled and confused looks from the poor Vudrani townsfolk, most of whom likely don't even understand the tongue he is shouting in.
"...bah," Drax says, and sulks. "So where is this Lankesh? Maybe he knows more."
The group's enquiries lead them to a modest house in the Commerce District.
A well-built Vudrani man with a beak-like nose, thick eyebrows, and a shaven head answers the door. He looks the group over, then brusquely asks: "Yes, what do you want? I'm very busy."
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From what I have heard. lankesh lives here alone. Quarr pips up. as he smacks a small hand against Drax's leg. Show him the earring and your dress.
He frowns up at the beak nosed man. There has been a murder it seems. Quarr cocks his head in thought at the man's nose. Are you part bird? He flaps his wings in excitement. Like me? I have the wings of a bat!
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"A thousand apologies Master Lankessssh. My companions, essspecially the one who has taken on the wings of the bat, are overjoyed because you may bring usss a step closer to an underssstanding of events, unfortunate eventsss, that have taken place recently. May we asssk some quesssstions of you?" humbly asks Anata, who nonetheless puts a hand to the hilt of his sword.
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"If the purpose of pain isss to disscourage further interactions, I do not think that will work on agent Quarr. He is a gnome and a pathfinder. Perhapsss appealing to the other great ssstrength of any warrior, that is the ability to endure, might be how you will win thisss contest of ... I mean... However you would name this mighty Drax" advises a nonetheless unperturbed Ananta, who nonetheless mentally goes through the gestures and words needed to heal a wound.
"Enough! You foreigners come to my house and dare to ask questions of me! You will regret your curiosity."
Initiative:
1st: Elenial, Konrad
2nd: Lankesh
3rd: Drax, Quarr, Nox, Ananta
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Konrad takes his hammer down from his shoulder. With his crowned greathelm on, the perpetually good-humored Konrad takes on a stoic, severe appearance. He settles into a balanced, even stance, ready to charge off in any direction he needs to.
"You vill regret your choice of violence."
A shield of force flickers for a moment as it comes into existence. He calls back to his allies.
" Stand behind me! I vill be your shield."
He moves up into the face of Lankesh, prepared to take whatever punishment the man would seek to dish out.