"These heads don't really prove that Son didn't kill them. Ghouls are scavengers. They might have collected the heads after they'd already been killed."
"We should bring it all along, if nothing else the heads should be reburried. I would be interested to know how the ghouls got ahold of them."
Firavel shivers at the grizzly task. "I hope someone can determine something from that thing. Perhaps we should bring a ghoul's claw as well as part of the evidence, as creaturs we had found in the vicinity. Keep that vial mentioning this Vorkstag and Grine, as well. Perhaps that company or their products can give us some hints as to what may have happened here."
"Let's go up top and make sure we haven't missed anything before we head out."
"It's already midday. It might be best if we move on instead. I doubt we'll find much else of interest here. Besides, we can always check again on our return trip.
Three hours pass before you arrive at your destination. A long wooden boardwalk leads from the main road through a grove of trees and to the village.
Morast is a tiny hamlet of houses built on stilts above the brackish swamp. You can see nearly a dozen buildings, and from the people staring at you, it's a reasonable guess that a dozen families live in the village.
Several men can be seen fishing in the water. As you move into town, one of them pulls his rod up quickly, landing a red and green creature about three feet long with short stubby legs and a long serpentine tail. The creature begins flipping to and fro in a frenzy. Another man grabs a nearby spear and thrusts it, killing the creature.
Spotting you, the man with the spear says something to his fellows. The other men pull their lines in, and they all get up and approach you as a group. They are definitely not hostile, but they have the measured looks of people who aren't exactly friendly either.
The first man looks you over and finally speaks, "Something we can help you with?"
"I sure hope so." Leon says with a shrug and a self-effacing smile. "We've been given the job of looking into the deaths reported to have been caused by the Beast. We aren't really sure where to start. Can any of you fellows point us in the right direction?"
Holy symbol visible as usual, Lysa moves to speak with the group of fishermen.
"Good day to you all. We apologize for interrupting your fishing, is there anyone we should speak too? A town elder perhaps who was present during the events?"
Letting the more diplomatically persuasive members of the group do the talking, Jean turns to look at the serpentine creature.
As Jean recalls what the creature is called, he comments to one of the men. "I've heard the Blood Caiman are quite vicious. Do you deal with a lot of those around here?"
Trying not to appear dangerous or aggressive Sethis will try and get a better look at the caiman.
"Are they usually this small? I thought they were much larger more akin to regular crocodiles?"
The leader of the group looks at you, then he speaks, "I'll go get Elder Lazne." He walks away, leaving the others standing with you.
One of the younger men responds to Jean and Sethis, "These we catch are just the small ones - they're easy to get near the village, and the chefs in town like their taste better. These put up a fight, but they're not too dangerous. The bigger ones are out in the swamp, they don't come near the boats very much. Some get to be really big, can swallow a man whole."
A minute or so passes until the leader returns with an older man. He bows, "I am Elder Lazne, Gurd here tells me you wished to speak with me about the murders caused by the Beast? I already spoke to the guards from the city, what's this all about? We don't have city folk visiting that often, and it's usually trouble that follows them."
"Well, you needn't worry yourself too much then. We just have some questions to ask. Then if we see everything to our satisfaction we will leave you alone."
Jean looked at the other villagers.
"We heard you lost 10 people from your village to the beast before managing to capture it, is this true? Or did the beast slay some during the hunt for it after it escaped into the swamp?" Jean is watching the villagers closely to gauge their reactions to his questions.
"The actual trial is scheduled to begin in a day's time sir. This is just a quick fact-finding trip to ensure that all of the information previously given to investigators is correct and that nothing was lost. Also, after situations have calmed down and people have had time to think, occasionally new things are remembered that didn't seem important at the time and new witnesses may come forward."
Lazne glares at you, and despite your pleasant disposition, he does not seem to respond well.
"Your satisfaction, is it? You're the ones interrupting our lives in the village here, and you want to ask me questions until you are satisfied. Fine, yes, you're right. The monster killed people about a year ago, and then we chased it off. You didn't care then, but now that you've caught the beast, all of you city folk are coming out here, messing around my village, and scaring everybody. I've got nothing else to add. Satisfied?"
Leon glances in the direction the old man was pointing, and focused on an island out in the distance.
Hmm. Probably significant.
"Scaring? What have we done to scare anyone?"
As Elder Lazne expels his anger, Jean's attention is pulled to the old man and his eyes dart to where Lazne is pointing out in the swamp.
Noting the Island Jean was about to comment; but couldn't seem to get a word in edge wise. Instead he let the man continue to let out his anger.
It occurred to him that Elder Lazne thought they were all from Lepidstadt. Jean considered correcting the man and explaining why they had come but he knew that was suspicious and unhelpful at best and compromising at worst. So he kept silent.
Oblivious, Firavel is looking around at the townspeople and their nearby homes. He rolls his eyes at the Elder's words. And this is why I stay away from small towns... and yet we go from one to another.
"No. Look I understand you're upset, you've got every right to be. But we're here to make sure that the Beast was the one that did all this and that there isn't another one running around. I come from a small town called Bartlet a ways south of here and I can't go back there until I'm sure that whatever has been doing all these killings will never be able to threaten my friends and family. If you don't want to help fine but please don't try and hinder us okay?"
Elder Lazne stares at the group through narrowed eyes. "We just don't need more folks coming out here, asking questions, and getting everyone all riled up."
After a moment, he looks at Sethis and continues, "Look, we try to mind our own business out here, but I'm sure it was the Beast - we all saw it. After seeing it's shadow running into the swamp after one attack, we set a trap for it. We lured it back one night and trapped it a pit we dug. We threw some nets down, but it dodged them and used them to climb out. The men and I chased it into the swamp toward the old Boneyard. We saw Old Redjaw - he's a mighty big caiman - take a hunk out of the Beast and drag him under. After that, we didn't see the Beast again, so we thought Redjaw got 'em." Until those folks from the Court came out here, we thought the Beast was dead.
"Wow. That's an intense story. What did the Beast look like?"
"Well, it was tall and gray, with scars that seemed to get stitched together covering it's body. Ran fast too, and nimble."
Jean looked at the the Elder. "The boneyard. Is it on that Island?" He said pointing. "Also, this Redjaw. Is his lair or at least likely whereabouts there as well?"
"Since we're here maybe we should take care of the old redjaw anyways. If nothing else, it'll be safer around here with him gone."
Lazne nods, "Aye, the Boneyard is on that island out there. We don't use it any more, what with the island starting to become unstable."
He rubs his hair with one gnarled hand, "As for Redjaw, he stays around these waters, but we don't know where his lair is - he may not have one. Caimans stake a claim to an area, but one as big and mean as him, well, he doesn't have any reason to hide from anything. We don't mess with him, and the other caimans scatter when he's around. Only thing that gets him going it lots of splashing, or blood in the water. I'd warn against provoking him though, he's been around as long as I can remember, and he's got evil in him - I've seen him toy with his prey, just playing with it. That's strange behavior for a caiman, and he's the most dangerous one that's ever lived in these waters."
Jean nodded. "If Redjaw managed to kill this other Beast, then finding its corpse would certainly help with the trial. That leaves two options. Either we try to draw out Redjaw since he is likely to attack us anyway, or we examine the Boneyard and hope to find some clues or perhaps this other beast there. Any objections?"
"Sounds like a good plan to me. Lets check the island first. No reason to get into a fight if we don't need to."
Firavel yawns, "Works for me... But what does it mean that the island has become unstable? Is it going to fall apart the moment we step foot upon it?"
Elder Lazne whistles and a couple of the men head over. He calls out, "Get your skiffs, these folks are heading to the Boneyard." The men turn and head toward a row of small boats resting near a wooden pier.
Turning to Firavel, Lazne answers, "No, the ground is solid, but the roots and dirt holding it in place have gotten loose. The island has started moving around in the currents. Shouldn't be a problem, but if a big storm blows through, we may come outside one day and find the island has just disappeared."
The trip to the island is slow, but steady. As the boats move along, several dark shapes swim under and beside the small skiffs, but luckily, nobody sees anything dangerous.
After about 15 minutes, the boats bump into the island, and your guides both make wards against spirits as they hold their positions. One of them says, "We'll wait here, sirs. Our kin is buried here, and we don't disturb them."
Disembarking from the skiffs, you find yourselves on a tiny, miserable island rising from the swamp with a tangle of trees covering its dour, reed-choked surface. Hundreds of fetishes hang from the trees — simple, roughly humanoid figures made of sticks and bound with twine. Larger fetishes are planted in the ground on various parts of the island, leaning drunkenly in the soft mud. Grave markers dot the surface of the island clustered into tiny plots that seem to indicate families or relatives.
Leon immediately notices a cluster of graves near a large tree that seem odd. It seems as if the ground has collapsed under the remains, and the ground seems to sag down leaving large depressions in the earth.
Firavel strikes out toward the southern end of the island and comes across what appears to be an old location for a fire. Scorched twigs are visible amidst a small pile of ashes. Looking around, he finds a leather sack by a large tree that contains a half-full waterskin, the aged remnants of trail rations, and a empty vial with green residue on the bottom.
Nearby, Lysa notices a small one-person boat hidden beneath some broken tree limbs and reeds. From the condition of the boat, it's obvious that it has been outside in the weather for several months, if not longer. A bag under the seat contains a damp artisan's outfit, and an leathery mask. Lysa draws a sharp breath as she turns the mask over, realizing it is not made from leather!
Sethis joins her and spots a rope tied off at the boat that leads down into the water. Testing the line, he pulls against the rope and feels a weight at the bottom. Straining, he continues to pull on the rope, eventually revealing a waterproof sack that had been submerged in the swamp. Opening the bag, he finds some rope, a gag, a rusted lantern, several large carving knives, and a rusted shovel. As he looks through everything, he also notices that everything is stained with what appears to be dried blood.
Mithias moves around the Boneyard, taking in everything his companions have found. Noticing a small glint of metal, he kneels down and looks beneath a stunted shrub. Beneath the branches, he spots a tarnished wooden box. Reaching down, he pulls it out to find the top of the box covered with silver and amethysts. Inside is a set of exquisite surgical tools in pristine condition. On each of the tools, a small raven has been engraved near the end of the handle.
"I've got something. Looks like the bottom fell out of a few of these graves."
"Somehow I think we've stumbled upon a collection of murder weapons." as he moves to show everyone what he pulled up.
"Looks like someone has been here before," Firavel says, motioning towards the old fire and sack. "Looks like they had a potion vial of some sort. Have a look Mithias," he says, handing the empty vial to him.
Seeing the macabre items found by Sethis he grimaces. "It seems less like weapons and more like instruments of torture."
Firavel looks over Mithias' shoulder at his discovery. "Nice box. It should fetch a pretty penny. Say, I think recognize that raven symbol from my time at Lepidstadt. It looks sort of like the emblem to Zbraslav Hora and Sons, a crafting house there that makes similar tools for scientists, researchers, and doctors. Had I known they sold their tools in such exquisite boxes, I may have gotten to know them a bit better, so to speak."
Jean looked at the Raven marked tools and the other tools that had been hidden in the water.
Crossing his arms, he frowns and after a moment, turns to Sethis."So you're saying someone, who was both well funded and skilled with surgical tools, came out here on a boat, with someone else, tortured and then killed them before making a mask to look like that person?"
"...Sure? I wasn't thinking anything quite so elaborate. Maybe the murderer just used that grotesque mask to hide their identity and this island to stash everything when not used since the locals refuse to go here except for funerals. But considering the surgical tools, this murderer may be more than a simple cutthroat."
As the group is speaking, you hear a "Whoa!" coming from one of the men in the skiffs. You turn to see him with his arms out and knees bent, trying to keep his balance on his rocking skiff.
The other points, "It's a big one, come on!" He hops onto the island, quickly followed by the now steady fisherman.
"You think it's him?"
"Dunno, didn't get a good look, but he sure knocked my boat around!"
"So why would these graves have fallen in like-" Leon started before realizing there was commotion at the waterline.
"Looks like we got something's attention." he said waving for the boatmen to join them up on solid ground.
As she makes her realization about the mask, Lysa holds the thing out at arms length as if she doesn't want it close to her.
"Oh now this is gross. This isn't just a mask, it's actually someone's face that's been skinned off of them and tanned. Who would do such a horrible thing?"
Lysa may have been about to add more on the subject of the face mask, but is distracted when the men on the skiff start calling out.
"What's going on? Did they catch a big Blood Caiman or something?"
Taking the vial from Firavel, Mithias runs a finger through the residue and after giving it a sniff, pop his finger into his mouth.
"It's an infusion for a darkvision spell. Whomever is camping here, is well versed in the alchemical arts. This whole place is entirely too gruesome."
At the cry of the fisherman, he digs out a bomb and looks at the water apprehensively.
At the commotion on the water front Jean drew his bow out and started making his way to the skiffs. He knew he wasn't likely to do much unless the creature surfaced, but he was even less thrilled at the prospect of fighting in the water with his armor on.
A massive form leaps out of the water, knocking one of the skiffs into the air, and sending one of the men flying into the water. You watch as the back and tail dip back into the brackish marsh, heading directly toward the flailing fisherman. From what you can see, a huge caiman is preparing to devour the poor man!