Cator closely examines the axe for any clues as to who its owner could be, or any special properties it might have
Hollie finds the same things the others found
Draxtherian breathes the smell of the mill deep into his nose, and the act nearly turns his stomach.
He manages to keep down his breakfast, but the smell is distracting. It looks to be coming most strongly from the axe, though it is omnipresent in the room.
When Cator approaches the axe, and begins to examine it more closely himself. First, smears of what look like rotten flesh and fragments of bone are caked on its blade, and second, the omnipresent rotten meat stink is strong on it.
When Cator approaches it closely, and looks at the chunks of flesh, the stench and the sight are too much for him to handle. A violent feeling of illness overcomes him, and he backs away.
Cator, resisting the urge to vomit or flee the area, tells the group "the, the flesh on the axe, it belonged to something undead. Maybe one of the victims used the axe in self defense." Working slowly, Cator makes his way to the bodies and checks if they have blood on their hands or hand prints that match the bloody print on the axe. To compensate for his sickened condition Cator uses heightened awareness on himself.
Cator also checks if Banny might have actually been undead
The scent is horrible, but the sight seems fairly normal at first. Krovek sees Katrine's body as just another violent death. But Banny's body gets his attention. "Another sihedron! This just got a lot more interesting."
"Undead? I thought they were mindless. Think an undead could've carved that thing?" He checks out Banny's body, mutilated face, and sihedron to understand how Banny died and how his body was defaced.
Hollie nervously fidgets with the ring on her hand, knowing its image is now linked to these murders too. The thought makes her even more uneasy about the thing.
Meanwhile, Draxtherian begins trying to find the trail of whatever god awful thing left this stench.
Cator, resisting the urge to vomit or flee the area, tells the group "the, the flesh on the axe, it belonged to something undead. Maybe one of the victims used the axe in self defense." Working slowly, Cator makes his way to the bodies and checks if they have blood on their hands or hand prints that match the bloody print on the axe. To compensate for his sickened condition Cator uses heightened awareness on himself.
Cator also checks if Banny might have actually been undead [dice=knowledge (religion]1d20+8
Banny doesn't look to be, or have been undead. His fingers have blood on them, but it's impossible to tell if it dripped down after he was mutilated, or otherwise.
Likewise, there's so much blood on the mangled corpse of Katrine that it's hard to tell if she ever held the axe.
Drax can tell, quite obviously, that a violent struggle took place here, but the area is so messy it's hard to pinpoint where the smell from the axe came or went, even with his superior senses.
Cator considers Krovek's point "Not all dead are mindless. Another possibility is someone who can control undead is behind this. Shae, do you know of anyone who either is or can control the undead who could have written that letter?"
After looking over the body with a practiced eye, Krovek points out some things about it.
"Banny has these big slash marks, but also some smaller ones--see these five-fingered claw marks? Them claw wounds smell rotten too. Banny wasn't holdin' no weapon when he died, not the handaxe or nothin' else. And nobody's gonna be talkin' to the dead with him 'cause he's got no jaw left."
He moves on and inspects Katrine's body.
"Pretty obvious Katrine died in the log splitter, and her face is pretty messed up too--wouldn't recommend tryin' ta talk with her spirit neither. Maybe she was holdin' the axe, maybe not--hard ta say but she's got blood on her hands, or what's left of 'em." He points to what's left of her hands, one of which is completely dismembered.
Cator, frustrated that he cannot identify what kind of undead creature was hit by the axe, asks the group "any of you guys know enough about the undead to try to ID what kind of creature got hit? Otherwise migth be wise to find a local cleric and ask them to examine this thing."
Lunal goes to see the remains of the axe, but gets hit by the same nauseating stench which nearly knocked out Cator. They say to everyone, clearly sickened "sorry, blech, it's obviously undead flesh - but I can't say what it's from."
"Shae, do you know of anyone who either is or can control the undead who could have written that letter?"
Shaedeen shakes her head. "The only evil priestess I know is Nualia. Maybe she has an assistant?"
"I don't see how he could've found out, unless he's got a mole in town. He left Sandpoint quite a while ago."
Cator replies to Lunal "yeah that was my reaction."
Needing some air, Cator heads outside. While there, he scans the crowd of onlookers for anyone suspicious.
Krovek asks the guard standing watch inside. "Do Katrine and Banny work at the mill? Would it be normal for them to be here?"
Krovek also looks for tracks to figure out which way the assailant(s) might have fled--particularly which door and whether they headed toward the water or on land.
Cator doesn't get the sense that any of the onlookers are especially maladjusted or odd, beyond the typical moral failings of gawkers that are thrilled by morbid curiosity.
Krovek heads outside, and scans the grounds outside of the building. Nothing stands out for most of the exterior of the lumber mill, except for the area near the dock.
Krovek notes a set of muddy footprints that lead from one end of the pier to the other. Following the path, it appears that a barefoot man of the same size as a human, scaled the end of the pier from the water, crossed along the length of the pier, and then seems to have clambered up the wall to a window on the upper level, leaving a diminishing trail of mud.
After surveying the exterior, he peeks inside a doorway from the dock. "Hey, check this out. There's footprints here from the water, walked all the way up the pier, then into that window on the upper level. Guess we know how he got into town without anyone seeing."
He heads to the end of the dock to see if there were any clues from where the assailant seems to have come from.
Shaedeen continues to look troubled by the brutal murders. When she gets a chance to speak in private with the others without a chance to be overheard, she tells them, "I met these people--including Ibor--the night we visited the Hagfish. They badmouthed Hollie a little, saying she might not be a whole lot better than her sister, but other than that seemed to be regular, hard-working folk. Was the killer there that night? I don't recall the stench of the undead being in the air...."
When the mention of the perpetrator being an undead is made, Hollie again leans in to Shaedeen and whispers.
When Krovek mentions tracks outside, Hollie and Drax head out to check them out, Drax doing his best to track them as far as he can.
When Draxtherian is outside, he spots the same muddy footprints that emerge from the water, move along the pier, and head towards the building. Like Krovek, he notices they climb up the wall, fading, but obviously show something went in an upper window.
Hearing Krovek point out the window that the attacker entered into, Cator heads inside to search the area around the upstairs window
"Still wonderin' why these folk were here in the mill. Could be time to wrap up and start askin' questions."
There's a little more mud on the upstairs windowsill, showing that whatever the thing was, it climbed in through this hole.
"Banny worked at the mill. Maybe the two of them were here to get some privacy? Bet Katrine was in the upper area when the undead creature came in through the window, she gets it with the axe, then gets shoved off into the log splitter, axe falls with her. Then the undead creature gets its hands on Banny and does all this. Banny worked here but I don't think Katrine did so Katrine might have been a surprise to the killer. Maybe Ibor will know more."
"Banny was the one who invited me over to their table at the Hagfish," Shae informs the others quietly. "I didn't get any strong vibes about it, but if their were a romantic link in the trio, you'd think that maybe it was Ibor and Katrine. Maybe."
She agrees that interviewing Ibor next makes a lot of sense.
Ibor waits in a holding cell below the Sandpoint Garrison.
Harker’s partner Ibor is a young man, handsome if a bit narrow-faced. He is still in shock after having discovered the bodies when he arrived at work this morning. The party sees Hemlock in passing, and passes along that they are visitng Ibor. He notes, "I have already interrogated Ibor, but I will admit that the you might be able to get something out of the miller that he could not. But you should be gentle in their interrogation, though—Thorn’s been through a lot in the last few hours."
Ibor sits, bloodstained, with a miserable, haunted look on his face. He sits quietly in his cell, looking at the ground, with his head in his hands. He doesn't look up when others come in.
A few cells over, standing and pacing is Ven Vinder, Katrine's father. He frowns as the party enters the lower-level of the garrison, but holds his tongue, and looks away. He has a pained look on his face - a mixture of sadness and rage.
Krovek decides that someone other than a large half-orc ought to start the questioning. He hangs out by the stairs, acting somewhat like a guard.
"Ibor.... What happened? And why are you locked up for it?"
Ibor turns away, "I... I've told the sheriff everything I know..." He looks down at the floor sadly. He doesn't seem to respond to the second question.
Before entering the area wioth the holding cell, Cator casts a second instance of heightened awareness since the first has expired. Entering the room, he tells Ibor [b]"Ibor, we want to stop whoever did this to your friends, but we need your help to track them down. I know it's hard to talk about but can we go over the details of what happened again?"
Still sitting back for the moment, Krovek offers some magical guidance to the party as they question Ibor.
Hollie steps forward, placing a sympathetic hand on the bars of the cells. ”Ibor, Ven, we don’t think either of you had anything to do with this. Please, tell us what you do know so that maybe we can use that information to find out who actually is responsible. We are just here to try and help, but we need your help too.”
Ibor sighs heavily when Cator prods him, though he doesn't seem to pay much attention to Hollie. In a low voice, he says "Look, Banny and Katrine used to have midnight trysts together at the mill. Ven's got a heck of a temper - but I can't imagine he would do something like that in a fit of rage. Dismembering his own daughter seems beyond what someone 'angry' would do."
Cator gets the impression Ibor is holding something back.
Ven folds his arms as he is addressed, his eyes red as if from stress or crying, he nods at Hollie, "someone killed my daughter! When Hemlock told me - I - got a bit heated, that's all, started smashing things around me." He raises a finger accusingly, "but those new folks you're with - we don't know anything about them, nor that girl" He gestures towards Shaedeen, sourly, "Hollie, you best mind your company - look what happened to my poor Katrine, I... " He thinks a moment and balls hands into fists and furrows his brow, "bad company leads to bad outcomes - if she wasn't with that Harker this wouldn't have happened!"
He approaches the bars of the cell and grips them. "Mark my words, I'll make whoever did this pay!"
Ibor overheards and buries his head in his hands.
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When Ven criticizes the group, Krovek can't help but respond mockingly. "Oh yeah, can't trust the strangers from outta town, but you townsfolk are all good, like sweet little Nualia. Feh." Animals were so much easier to deal with than these people.
Cator speaks quietly to Ibor. "we don't think it's Ven. Whatever killed them seems to be undead. Looks like Banny was the target and we want to find whoever did this. Is there anything you can think of that might help us? Anyone who might want Banny dead?'
The lack of acknowledgment from Ibor and then the vague and foolish accusations from Vindor tick Shaedeen off, but Krovek's comeback saves the rogue the need to respond.
If you both would rather rot in cells than speak in your own defense...I can live with that.
"we don't think it's Ven. Whatever killed them seems to be undead. Looks like Banny was the target and we want to find whoever did this. Is there anything you can think of that might help us? Anyone who might want Banny dead?'
Ibor gets up slowly, and quietly approaches Cator and Shaedeen, "look, Banny had been 'cooking the books' for some time. I never took part in the scams, but Harker might have stashed away quite a lot of money by skimming from the top of sales and business over the past several years. The Scarnettis, the noble family that owns the lumber mill, have a reputation for being ruthless—there are rumors that they’re responsible for burning several competing grain mills in the region, after all, and I wouldn’t put it above the Scarnettis to hire someone to kill Harker if they found out he’d been embezzling money." He looks at Shaedeen, "I... I'm sorry Shaedeen, I know you were just trying to help, Katrine thought you were great - she said as much." he sniffs and looks down.
Ven Vinder yells, "what are you lot whispering about!" He grumbles, then yells, "Hemlock, you old dog, let me out! Ask my wife where I was last night." The sheriff, is, of course, elsewhere in town, and the request falls on deaf ears. "Bah, don't lecture me on propriety, ya great clod, your daughter wasn't just murdered - and Nualia - she was a bad seed from the start, never should've been adopted" He looks angrily at Krovek, then thinks better of himself and says to Hollie, "beggin' yer pardon Hollie"
When no response comes, he exhales, and sits back, slowly, onto the nearby bench. He buries his head in his hands.
Cator tells Ibor "thank you. We will find whoever did this."
Turning to Van, Cator asks "When you say Ibor was up to god knows what, is there something in particular you have in mind? Anything you can tell us could help find your daughter's killer."
"I'll do what I can to help," Shae tells Ibor. She continues to ignore Vinder.
Cator asks Shae "Ever have an encounter with the Scarnettis? If they are literally lords..."
When talk turns to Nualia and her deeds, Hollie excuses herself from the scene. Once someone/anyone meet up with her outside, though, she says ”Lets examine the other bodies and see if they have clues, then go see what we can get out of this witness. Maybe he has calmed and isn’t as stricken by what he saw.”
Krovek realizes way too late he shouldn't have mentioned Nualia--obviously still a sore spot. Growing bored of the conversation, he pulls out what looks like a pouch of leaves, plucks one, and chews it to pass the time.
After waiting for a moment, Hollie notices Hemlock coming by. He seems to be a little tired, but comes over at Hollie's request. "Any insight, so far?"
"If you're planning on investigating that other set of murders, I found this note on one of the disfigured men. Perhaps you can make sense of it." He hands over a note, which reads:
Messrs. Mortwell, Hask, and Tabe—
A deal has come about that I need capital for. It involves property and gold, and though I am not at liberty to tell you the exact details, it will make us all rich. Come to Bradley’s Barn on Cougar Creek tonight. We can meet there to discuss our futures.
-Your Lordship
"Their bodies are in the basement of the garrison if you want to examine them. I couldn't make sense of them, they were so disfigured, but the names Mortwell, Hask, and Tabe - I know they were con men; troublemakers. I forbade them from operating here - and it looks like they came to a sticky end." He pales a bit, "well, you'll see, but they have that same star on their chests, carved in. That's why I assume they're connected. After you take a look at them, you should go to Habe's sanitorium - maybe talk to this thug - Grayst Sevilla - he was found near the barn where the men were killed. He was raving and attacked a patrol, his flesh fevered, eyes wild, mouth-frothing, and clothes caked with blood." He sighs, "don't know if he did it, but it might be worth a look. That said, he's been in their care for a few days - there's no way he could've killed Banny and Katrine." He puts his hand onto the back of his head, "honestly, little of this makes sense."
Shaedeen looks at Cator blankly. "Scarnettis? Never heard of 'em."
Hollie reads the note as Belor talks. ”This is all so strange. The current theory is it is an undead of some sort. But it seems possible that it is smart enough to use weapons and climb through hidden entrances like a window. Anyone able to control such things has to be powerful and smart. Not to mention evil. And I have no clue who would fit that description. But we will certainly go speak with this survivor after we examine the other bodies.”
Cator tries to recall anything he knows about the Scarnettis
He sighs, "agreed - it is strange. If there's nothing else, I'm going to get back to my rounds." He bows slightly, and moves to leave, if Hollie has no further questions.
Hollie just nodded to Belor and offered a polite ”No thanks.”
She turned to Draxtherian, who was looking around at himself with an excited look. Suddenly, his scales started to shimmer as if catching the sunlight, and his body began to take on some sublime changes. He grew slightly as his muscles filled out, his body matured and became more nimble, his wings grew more robust, and his claws grew a bit larger. His scales also took on a more metallic sheen, growing to appear more like the mithral namesake he has claimed as his own.
Once the effect was done, he looked around and said ”Well, that was interesting,” he says as he flaps his wings excitedly. When he does so, the force actually lifts him slightly off the ground! His jaw gapes a moment as realization sets in, and he excitedly mutters ”Oh...oh it’s about time!” before forcefully flapping them, lifting up into the air! He then excitedly flies about overhead like a young horse might run for the first time!
Cator turns to Shae "I think we learned everything we will here, why don't we find the others and go to the morgue."
The bodies of all three men lie in state in a cool basement room below the Sandpoint Garrison, not far from the holding cells containing Ibor and Ven. All three bear the seven-pointed star of the sihedron rune on their chests, but their faces and bodies are so badly mutilated that they would be unrecognizable if they were known to anyone here. Their remains are barely more than loose flesh, bone, and skin.
Krovek follows along to the cool basement. "More sihedrons. Startin' ta seem like some kind o' ritual killin'. Maybe someone wants ta relive the old days."
Krovek starts examining the bodies, looking to see if they followed the pattern or if there were some difference. Since it seemed like they were dealing with undead, he also checks for any sign that the bodies might somehow rise again.