You find a clearing off the road, circle the horses, and set up a makeshift camp.
Each of you take a turn as guard. Around 4am, a small mammal runs through the clearing scaring you- but other than that, it was an uneventful (if spooky) night.
Plans for the day?
Return to the city and question witnesses there? Or check out the third crime scene?
Third crime scene
I'm for the third crime scene as well.
Perception for the trip
Garin checks the saddlebags one last time before mounting his horse, nodding to the others. "We should head to the third crime scene. We can interview the witnesses afterwards with the information we gathered."
Three sisters are the witness to the third crime: Garrow, Starle, and Flicht were residents of the Herstag. The village is currently abandoned - after the murders of 7 children there (blamed on the beast), the residents moved on. The sisters live on the outskirts of Lepidstadt.
Do you want to question them first, or head to the village and investigate there?
"Let's go speak to the sisters," Awnara says. "If they saw the Beast kill the children, then their testimony will be quiet damning indeed."
Agreed. That is the wisest choice.
"That will also allow us to investigate points of interest," Garin adds. "We would still need to look over everything, but it would help if we knew what to watch for. And we can always ask them again when we leave. Perhaps even if they would like to accompany us to the city now instead of going, presumably on their own, later."
"I agree. To the sisters, then. Hopefully talking with them will be a bit more pleasant than our investigation so far."
The sisters:
All in their late forties, the three lived their entire lives in Hergstag. Each remembers the deaths. The village’s children vanished one by one, only to return as ghosts. Then one day the culprit was found—the Beast of Lepidstadt. It boldly walked into the village with one of the dead children, a girl named Ellsa. The witnesses all recall seeing the Beast laughing as it carried the child’s broken body. As soon as the locals saw the Beast, they set upon it with pitchforks, but try as they might they couldn’t catch it, and the Beast escaped into the swamp. The poor innocents it killed continued to haunt the village, and before long became too much for the locals, who soon abandoned the cursed village.
Also, sense motive.
Sense Motive
shel whispers to the others, "Didn't we already learn that the Beast seems like he's laughing during uncomfortable situations? That doesn't shock me if he was seen laughing.".
Shel asks the sisters "What do you mean, the children came back and haunted the town? There were actually ghosts in the town? Did the ghosts harm anyone? Are they still there today?"
It was crying, not laughing.
"Return as ghosts?" Garin mutters to himself. He'd attended the classes on fighting the undead, but he truthfully was much more interested in combat and engineering. "Is that usual in a case like this?
"In any case, how were the children killed? What did their injuries look like? And where did the children frequent, such that they kept disappearing even when they presumably were kept an eye on? And where in the swamp did the Beast escape to?"
"So you keep saying about the laughing," Awnara says, though she says this with less conviction than her initial meeting with the Beast.
Your questions make the sisters a bit uncomfortable. You can tell (sense motive success 20) that they've not told you the entire truth.
Garrow speaks I'm not sure about injuries. The girls were just dead. That beast held poor Ellsa in his arms. It certainly looked like he was laughing. It had to have been the beast who killed them all.
Flitch quietly chimes in. But Garrow... the little girl Karren. She was killed 2 days AFTER we drove the Beast away... Her parents found her dead in her bedroom, with narry a mark on her. A glare from her sisters quiets the little old lady.
Tell us more about the girl that died after the fact. And the rest of you, I would think you would be more concerned with the truth rather than making yourselves feel good for driving the beast away.
"Vachordi is right! Tell us what you know...more about little Karren!"
That's all I know. That running off the Beast from town didn't stop the killings- which is why the village was abandoned.
Garrow snaps back The beast COULD have killed her- he could have snuck back in the night! .
With that, the witnesses clam up- claiming they would like to wait for the trial to discuss further.
"Fltch, please. You don't want someone to be blamed for something they might be innocent of, do you? If he's hanged, it'll be on your head, if you don't help."
Diplomacy
Fitch replies He is an abomination. He should have been hanged for existing. In this case, he'll be burnt, and I will have no qualms about it. She shuts up with a huff.
"We'll take our leave then, ladies," Garin says. "We'll be around the area for a while longer to investigate and will return to the city afterwards. If you're heading there soon, you may accompany us if you wish it."
Garin nods respectfully and goes into the abandoned town to look at what the sisters meant by 'haunted'. If there were ghosts, they could prove helpful and they might help lay them to rest.
If nothing else, we at least know this information, it could be useful. Where should we head now?
Choices:
Investigate the abandoned village
Visit the other witnesses in Lepidstat, or search for the surgical tool makers.
Agree
After the interview, the intrepid team heads toward the abandoned village of Hergstag. It's after noon, so you should be able to make the several mile trek and back by sunset and the closing of the city gates.
The outlying farmhouses are abandoned. Crops grow high in their fields, the road itself is becoming overgrown. Bogs have begun to spring up and suck down portions of the village- a few years and many of the structures will be underwater.
There are about a dozen buildings- houses, a few stores, a church etc.
Perception rolls, and where would you like to search?
Garin heads for the church. If there were records kept, that would be the best place to find them. And if there was an undead presence, then it would be best to start there anyway.
Awnara nods in agreement at Garin's decision to head to the church, and scurries along after him.
Perception
Shel heads to the church as well. She also wants to search any graveyards, as that's where the party has had the most luck so far.
Shel spots a bear trap buried on the path into the town- it appears that the villagers had laid out these traps to catch the Beast. This one was easy to avoid- but the overgrown nature of the town means that caution should be taken.
The chapel:
A small, whitewashed timber building stands in the center of
the village, surrounded by gravestones.
It's easy to spot the deity- butterflies are painted, and the broken glass window also has indications of Desna worship.
The interior is rotting- many pews have collapsed. The paint is peeling and flaking off. The permanent fixtures like altar and a basin for holy water (with greenish liquid in it) remain, but anything that could be carried off has been. This includes any possible records.
The graveyard: you can see the newest graves are the small ones for the five children (names marked clearly above each grave).
Shel follows the others and looks through the church.
Perception
She then leads them outside to have a go around the graveyard.
Perception
Garin follows Shel and crouches down to note the names of the children in the graveyard. If they returned as ghosts....
The church is full of dirt and debris that have blown in through broken windows. Anything not nailed down was removed. Only pews and the altar remains.
Search any of the buildings? For example, you could find the home of the last victim- the one that occurred after the Beast had been run off.
Shel takes the lead in heading to the last victim's home.
Perception
Karin's house:
The last victim's house is a quaint 2 story, with nice whitewashed wooden sheeting.
Search outside
Inside outside
Also, Preemptive Initiative
outside
inside
lightning like init!
I don't see how the beast could've gotten in. It would seem something is afoot.
Init.
"The monster might not be a good creature, but it's clear he didn't do this crime, same as the others!"
A puzzled look crosses Awnara's face, as she blinks in confusion. "Oh, sugar snap peas, this doesn't make sense! The Beast couldn't have broken in...maybe he came across the girl somewhere else?" She offers this last question with obvious desperation, clearly having trouble believing the words she speaks herself.
Initiative
Awnara
Garin
NPCS
Vachordi
Shel
The moment you leave the confines of the house, a creature leaps from the shadows with glowing red eyes. It keeps to the shadow of the house but menaces toward you with its claws.
Well guess I gotta pick spells![/ooc]
Awnara shrieks as the shadows hiss and advance on her with clacking claws. "Eeeek! Shadowbeasts!" She chants in Celestial and flings her hands wide, causing a cloud of heavenly motes to settle in the beast's area.
With the holidays, let's plan to have everyone post round 1 by Friday?
Garin readies his halberd to strike at the creature should it come closer.
The small wraith lunges, but seems to dissolve when it leaves the safety of the shadow. It hisses at Garin, but cannot engage until the warrior moves closer.
The glitterdust covers the wraith, but passes through without sticking.