Dario considers the man offer for a few seconds and then slowly nods. "You know an academic can't eat his books, but we do tend to sacrifice for knowledge. Very well. 60 it is and two days in custody. That will give me time to have the payment sent to you and the paperwork drawn up. Shall that suffice, Master Crax?"
He turns to Leeka. "You hear that? Go with the Dottari and assuming nothing untoward has happened, I'll be along in a couple of days to fetch you. We have research to continue and you'll be in my employ now. Trust me, my place is a mess."
Leeka nods and moves to stand next to Colgrim, meekly holding out her wrists to be bound.
Colgrim cuffs Leeka. Come along then. He then leads her off to jail.
Byron watches in amazement as Iolana holds her tongue as Dario, Colgrim, and Leeka defuse the situation.
Iolana walks away, back to her bakery, considering stopping by Stanley's shop... but thinks better of it. She spends the rest of the day in the bakery selling the baked goods. Byron also sees that the woman in the blue hood leaves shortly after the situation is dispersed.
Byron, after seeing everything that has transpired, decides to go to market, and he obtains quite the haul for his goods over the rest of the day and part of the next. The market shops all over town provide an easy way to convert the items being sold into gold or other trade-able goods. By the next evening, the group will meet again at the temple of Aroden.
Colgrim takes Leeka to the temple. We'll get everyone informed about what happened. I think it would be best to get you to the jail the evening before in case he shows up early.
Leeka nods. "This whole thing might soon be over. I've been waiting and worrying for them to find out what I had done, but now that they have...it's okay, Colgrim, I know you're just doing your duty. I don't blame you."
Arael looks at Colgrim and Leeka's actions, and is visibly upset at what has been done, but he understands what needed to happen to allow Leeka to stop living under an unkind boot or, worse, being taken to Egorian.
Iolana feels slightly sick to her stomach watching Leeka be led off in chains...but she manages to hold her tongue, since she realizes it's necessary for the success of their continued subterfuge. She spends the rest of the day pounding down loaves and working the front desk in the bakery; Madame Krizt, the portly proprietress, seems an even fouler mood than usual, so Iolana mostly tries to stay out of her way. It's not hard, or much of a problem...the young woman is mostly lost in her own thoughts.
She walks back to her little garret room that evening wrapped in silence, lost in thought...and, when she gets there, spends the night in quiet prayer and unquiet sleep.
Dario bids Crax farewell and returns to to his office for a short time. He considers the 'purchase' of Leeka and the implications of it. However, he knows it was the right choice. After an hour, he returns to the temple to join the others.
"Leeka, thank goodness you're alright. I think this will be for the best anyway. Colgrim can put in the paperwork, and you'll be back here in no time. I'll have the papers drawn up for Crax and send him the payment. And I wasn't kidding about my office being a mess. It was ransacked. I can't tell for certain nothing else was destroyed, but I know two students' papers were burned. I don't know if that's a warning for them or me."
Dario will help with the sale of the items, especially as it will secure Leeka's freedom.
"I would help with the clean up, but I guess I need to stay out of sight for a few days," Leeka says.
That would be best.
After everyone is done pawing the cash and goodies Colgrim asks a question.
So what do we do now?
Stanley takes a few notes on the state of the body... sorry patient, as he still yet lives. First, he notes the missing fingers, and feet, trying to jog any memory of it realting to something he had heard of before.
The tongue could be anything, and is a favorite for keeping people from either talking, and to send a message to keep others from doing the same. To tie it to any one group would be a shot in the dark.
Then he focuses on the tattoo. Art not being his forte, he takes a sip of water and blows it out between tightly pursed lips into the smallest mist he can. Once the area is moist but not wet, he presses the pattern hard against a piece of parchment until the water dries. He hopes to transfer the majority of the image onto the page, so he can better study it. He examines with the same intent as the ritualistic cutting.
Stanley:
This was likely caused by followers of Zon-Kuthon, who are numerous within Westcrown, but this is blatant, odd behavior. Usually this would include a slave, rather than someone who is most certainly not a slave.
Further, the implements likely used were on par with Surgical tools that Stanley uses. Definitely a ritual of some sort. While the boy was part of a minor noble (merchant) house, he now has no home to go to.
The Tattoo (Knowledge Religion and Knowledge History):
Stanley's investigation finds the temporary henna tattoo to be that of barbed chains. There are multiple religious means for this type of tattoo. In Asmodean worship, it is to bring a lesser into control of a superior, although this usually begins with the removal of an entire hand (usually the right).
The other possible reason for this is a follower of Zon-Kuthon. They derive some sort of pleasure from denying others the full use... some would indicate it is carnal in nature. It could also be used as a ritual component for various undead or other terrible, summoned creatures.
Remainder of the story: The boy remains unconscious at the apothecary. Given his injuries, this is not uncommon, as the body must adjust to its new "shape" in this case. Amputation of any sort is traumatic, but the boy won't be any better off once he wakes up.
Byron:
Good Sir,
I see you take care of your friends. Yes, I am watching, and you and yours seem to care, but I do not know why. I wish to reward you for perhaps doing a great civic duty. I am making Hunting a Shadow Beasts a profitable venture, that has the added bonus of being good for the city.
For each head of a shadow beast delivered to the garbage stoop outside the tavern across from the old Leroung estate, there is a 100 GP bounty. The beasts don't dissolve as summoned monsters should. Not until daylight hits them.
All are welcome to try, but not all will survive. You and yours may just be strong enough to face them.
Colgrim takes Leeka to the cell block for runaway slaves, where she best fits the description that Gug provided for charges. Dario and Gug meet... an unpleasant meeting for sure.
Dario's legal fees total 15 GP for all the paperwork that must be filed and for Leeka's removal from the rack that Leeka was attached to while she was waiting for him. Leeka is unharmed, but very sore from the terrible experience of the jailers, despite Colgrim's attempt at ensuring mercy upon her. As the two sign the deal, with Gug being an unpleasant fop at best, Dario is able to hold his own in conversation, Colgrim returns to retrieve Leeka with the proper payments, and spends the rest of the afternoon filing the appropriate paperwork for Leeka's release. By the time he is done, it is almost supper time, but otherwise, the day goes smoothly.
The group gets to meet, and discuss their plans in full at this point. You can meet at any bar or in the Temple of Aroden, your call.
Colgrim sighs as he finishes the paperwork.Now we'll have to wait for dawn to get that corpse up.. He thinks as he shuffles off for some grub and heads for the temple since it seems to be their agreed upon meeting spot.
So. He says when they are all together.How about we get that body propped up at dawn? Can't keep it here for any longer.
When Byron shows up at the temple, he has a grim look on his face.
"We need to be more careful. I had a note left on my doorstep overnight... Someone called 'Blue Hood' has been watching us, and wants to reward our 'patriotism' by placing a bounty on the heads of shadowbeasts... Apparently, for every head left on the garbage stoop of the tavern across from the old Leroung Estate, we will be rewarded with 100gp."
He then sighs.
"Whilst this watcher appears, at least at this stage, to be friendly, we cannot count on all future ones to be equally tractable. We must be on our guard even more, if we are indeed to become more... public... figures."
I say we ignore it, we know nothing about them and luring someone in with cash is old hat.
Dario smiles as Leeka reenters the temple. "Ah, Leeka, I hope the trials of the jail weren't too terrible. Hopefully it will all be worth it in the end, my dear. Don't worry, I fully intend to provide for you and allow you to explore your own freedoms."
He turns to Byron as he explains the message. "Interesting, Byron. This 'Bluehood' could be quite dangerous to us if he or she keeps tracking our movements. At the same time, however, they have not turned us in or even blackmailed us. Instead, they offer us a reward for killing a shadowbeast, something that terrorizes the citizens at night. Hunting one, though..." He whistles. "That would be a different experience."
Don't know a thing about them. Just that there are things out there that do kill folks who run around after dark.
"Well, it is worth keeping in mind, at least."
Leeka smiles and drops Dario a curtsy, albeit a stuff one. "Jail was fine, master, as much as could be expected."
Come now, Leeka. Dario isn't your master but a friend, so you don't have to call him that.
Leeka doesn't seem to have heard Colgrim...
"Indeed," Iolana says, placing a firm, but gentle, hand on the halfling's shoulder and smiling at her. "I'm glad that your 'enslavement' is, at this point, a purely legal state of affairs." She fixes Dario with a minor stink-eye t odrive her point home--not threatening, just to let him know she has expectations.
Hearing the news of the "bounty" they've been offered, Iolana purses her lips. "I agree with Colrim. With no idea who this 'Blue Hood' is, it's too dangerous for us to go out hunting these things. He could bring down our entire group." She pauses in thought. "Perhaps, though, we should try to learn what these shadowbeasts actually are...certainly, if they're keeping good Wiscrani from moving about after dark, it would do well to get rid of some of them if we can. Is there anywhere we could learn something more...solid...about the beasts?"
Stanley was lurking in one of the doorways during the conversation, "This may seem out of place, but I think we should look into this arrangement. Here's my reasoning. It offers us a better look at this 'Blue Hood'. If we can at least fill the bounty once, we can look for who notices, or how and where we are rewarded. Without these clues, we have no lead on thsi 'Blue Hood' that seems to know something of us."
He scowls, and fishes a parchment from his scroll case, "On a more disturbing note, has anyone heard of any brutal or ritualistic murders lately? I had a young man delivered to my offices. He appears to be a young scribe by the name of Belger Horam, that has had horrific acts visitied upon him. His feet, pinky and ring fingers on both hands, and tongue have been removed. He also had this mark," He shows the ink transfer he performed, "drawn on his left wrist."
"I was able to garner some idea of the marking, and the ceremony of the cutting as possibly Kuthonian or Asmodean, but nothing concrete."
Colgrim looks disturbed at Stanley's report of the maiming. Haven't heard a thing about that happening.
Dario pats Leeka on the shoulder and offers her a place to sit. "Peace, Iolana. I did it to get her out of that situation. Much better this way than with Crax." He watches the halfling girl ignore the others. "Let's be gentle with her. Her only mistress is gone and she may be suffering from the trauma. I'm sure the jail didn't help."
He looks at Leeka. "Let's get you something to eat, shall we?" He rises to move towards the small kitchen when he hears Stanley mention Belger Horam. The half-elf spins around. "What did you say?! The boy's name? Belger?!"
The Professor's eye dart around wildly. "That can't be right! He's one of my...I just..." He looks at Stanley. "His fingers and tongue were cut out?! The paper!" Dario takes several deep breaths before being able to continue.
"Belger is one of my my brightest students. I saw him just last week to discuss his research. He turned in a paper to me. It was the second paper on historical trade routes of Westcrown from before the fall of Aroden. He wrote about the cultural, religious, and social impacts of the trade routes, not to mention the economic effects. With the vast influence of the Jostinian Trading Company, I recommended he focus on those routes to narrow his research. When I arrived home a few days ago, my office was ransacked. Nothing seemed to be missing, but I discovered the ashes of two papers. One was Belger's."
"Why would someone do something like that? He was just a boy! His mind was just beginning to blossom and open up to the wonders of the past!" He stops abruptly. "Do you think it was something in his research? Do you think I lead him to this fate by asking him to look more into the trade routes? All those companies are gone now. Defunct!"
"I should see him, Stanley! Please. Maybe I can learn who did this."
Dario feels a small hand on his arm. Leeka, eyes downcast, is patting his arm consolingly.
Stanley's face is impassive, he remarks "No, you shouldn't. He is in no state right now, and I do not need you hovering while I work. The two that brought him in said he was discovered in a house fire, but they neither stayed long enough for me to question them, nor let me get a clear look at them. The young man is resting now, sleeping away the trauma. I did as much as could be done for him presently sans regeneration magics. When he is fit to communicate, in whatever form possible given the atrocity, I will let you know. For now, let me know if this tells you anything." He once again displays the parchment with the symbol on it.
Dario opens his mouth to protest, but his attention is then drawn to the parchment Stanley shows him. He studies it and unconsciously seems to take solace in Leeka's reassurance.
Dario:
The symbols actually reminds Dario of a symbol in Belger's notes. Back in the days before Thrune... and before their first attempts at "hellwashing" history, there was a trading company that used that as a symbol. And, at the time, they used devils for the purposes of protecting trade caravans in binding ceremonies similar to what the Infernalists of Cheliax use today, albeit much more limited and weaker devils were bound. The name of the trading company was also part of the research, along with whether it was a trading rival with the Jostinian trading company. Part of Belger's second paper was researching what, if any, living descendents remain in present day.
Stanley's words bear down on Dario with more force than Stanley outwardly shows, but Dario realizes that Stanley is right. With Leeka's comforting, the group moves to the pressing issues. Dealing with the body.
Nightfall is but two hours away, and the Rego Crua was determined to be the best place to do this. Given that there are fewer of the Haloran lanterns in that district, with the populace being so close to Rego Cader, along with the fact that you will have to go all the way from the central Rego Sacero to the that district with a beheaded body makes this that much more difficult at night, although daylight looks to be much less... friendly... to this activity. Staying near the Halorans will be a good idea, but you will attract Dottari patrols if you take one for yourselves. The halorans are for public use and thus are legal within certain bounds! Noting that you will be easier to spot at night.
If you do not wish to walk through the city streets, you are always welcome to attempt to find your way along the sewers, but sewer goblins, and other nasty things are there.
Iolana's sternness melts when she sees how much Dario cares about his student. He's a good man, she thinks with a sigh. I need to remember that. When Stanley displays the paper, Iolana strides over and leans over Dario's shoulder to peer at the symbol.
As Dario studies the thing, Iolana puts a gentle hand on his shoulder. "We will find whoever did this, Dario. And we will make them pay for hurting a young man who was just seeking the truth. I will pray to my goddess, as well," she adds. "There may be things she can contribute above and beyond your power, Stanley."
To the issue of moving their headless corpse, Iolana turns to Colgrim. "How well do you know the route from here to Rego Crua? Is it well-lit? Perhaps we'll have the chance to do some investigation of these shadowbeasts on the way..."
Hmm.. I think I can get us there quicker than usual. We might need to sewer dive some.
Byron is both appalled, and fascinated, by Stanley's story.
"It sounds like someone has a secret, which they do not want uncovered. The boy is clearly a message of some kind, in some respects not unlike the message we are intending to leave (although hopefully we won't engender the same amount of horror) with the tiefling's body..."
"I think you're right, Byron. There was another trading company, a rival of Jostinian. I think they used a symbol like that. Belger's paper gave a short history of the company, and he devoted part of his paper to living descendants of the company's founders. They used bound devils to protect the caravans, similar to the Infernalists today, but not nearly as strong. Perhaps that was the research which lead to all this."
I am going to let you all plan your path to the northeastern side of town. The waterways have plenty of Halorans, although where the temple of Aroden is in Rego Sacero is next to the "R" in the words Parego Spera on the city map. The best place for the body to be withheld is in the "E" of Rego Crua, where many gather in the morning to obtain water and look at the posting of criminals. Rego Scripa, where Crax Manor is, has many more Halorans than the other regions, outside of the Parego Regicona.
In Rego Scripa is Vizzio's Tavern, which has been reopened under "new management," and the stables, where you met the fop/actor earlier is in Rego Crua. The place to put the body is east of there a few blocks. Overall, it's not that far, about a 20 minute walk in daylight. It will certainly be more difficult given that you are avoiding the patrols AND you are going to have to avoid/defend against Shadowbeasts. Further, where you plan on taking the body will require you find a way across the Pegasus Bridges, which are fairly well patroled during the day and night, being right on the border with the Rego Crua and Rego Scripa.
A plan for the bridges is definitely in order, although sewer diving in the Rego Scripa could be slightly easier, if you don't get lost. Once in Rego Crua, given your experiences there previously, it's very possible that you could get lost or, worse, you could meet a hungry enemy.
I am beginning to think that it is just not worth getting killed to hang this corpse up.
Byron shrugs.
"I thought the whole point of this was to give the common-folk a symbol, something to rally behind; a sign that there were people fighting back against the darkness. That said, the vast majority of people are probably just too cowed to really care, worn down to essentially will-less drones by their lives. You are therefore probably right - why bother trying to lift them up? We should just focus on enforcing our version of Law - the way it should be, rather than the way it is..."
Not bad for beginning sarcasm. Perhaps some acting lessons will let you give it the proper umph.
Leeka tugs at Dario's sleeve, and when he leans down, whispers,
Sigh. Well if we have to take the bridge, is there a way to use magic to help get the body across? I might be able to act like I am escorting you back home or something but not the body. Perhaps make it vanish or something?
Dario nods to Leeka. "Excellent idea. Stanley, what do you do with the patients who don't make it? How do you dispose of the corpses if no one comes to claim them?"
Stanley lifts a finger, as a point of fact, not being one to let a misunderstanding go uncleared. "Not as an insult to my own capabilities, but most of my patients do not make it. I work in hospice care for the terminally ill or elderly. It is the duty I have taken to make the time they have left as easy for them as I can, all the while allowing them to better prepare for their meeting with the Lady of Graves in the Boneyard." He makes the sign of the spiral.
"However, I do have patients on occasion come see me if they are looking for a quick remedy for something that ails them. For those I prepare, if there is no family, then I hire a wagon to deliver them to the city's Grey district, which is not as prominent as I hear it is in most. There is only a small group of workers, and not all of them are firm followers of Pharasma."
Well I would say take the body in a cart but we are still traveling at night. If we go by day we would have to prop it up real quick. Maybe we can distract any patrols and some others prop it up? Or go throw on some 'Children of Westcrown' masks and make it look like some vigilante group did it.
"Night may be the best of bad options. We get a cart and cover the body with some goods. Colgrim can talk us past any patrols. Maybe tell them he confiscated the goods. If we run into any...other dangers, we'll deal with it."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Works for me.
Iolana nods. "I agree. Best to do this now, under cover of nighttime, than risk being seen by the people during the day. And besides, it will be all the more terrifying to the oppressors if we manage to position the body without being seen." She smiles wanly. "Like ghosts, as it were."