Jeans eyes widened as he noticed the Caiman. "It's Redjaw!"
He looked on at the man in the water and realized there was not much he could do from here. Jean was an able swimmer most days but not when he was weighed down with his armor. He grimaced as he took aim and fired his bow at the creature.
Firavel's eyes widen when the man is thrown. He sees the form too late to help. He then pulls out his bow took aim and fired, hoping the creature was closer to the surface.
"By the gods, look at the size of that one."
Signalling his elemental to try and catch Redjaw in its vortex. Reflex DC13 function like whirlwind in the water. And shooting if Redjaw surfaces.
24 Firavel
22 Redjaw
17 Leon
10 Jean
07 Sethis
06 Mithias
02 Lysa
Surprise Round
Jean shouts, "It's Redjaw!" With blinding speed, he brings his bow up and fires at the giant caiman, but the arrow strikes the water near the creature's flank.
A water elemental appears near the caiman, quickly forming a vortex and descending on the monster. The caiman proves too agile for the attack, however, and deftly avoids being captured in the elemental's vortex.
Round one
Firavel retrieves his bow and lets an arrow fly in a graceful motion. He is rewarded as the shaft sinks deep into the back of the caiman.
Redjaw swims straight toward the flailing villager, opening his jaws wide and closing them around the man. The screams that erupt from the man are like nothing you've ever heard - terror and pain the likes of which he has never experienced!
On his initiative Sethis casts haste targeting Leon, Jean, Firavel and himself.
And the elemental will try vortex again.
Grimacing, Jean steps out into the waters edge and begins to unleash a hail of arrows into the thrashing monstrosity, he hoped he would be able to bring the Caiman down quickly enough to save its unfortunate prey.
Having no spells prepared to deal with this sort of situation, Lysa will attempt to shoot the caiman with her crossbow.
Mithias cheers his companions on.
Firavel launches two more arrows with his spell-infused swiftness.
Continued
Leon pauses as the rest of the party unleashes hell on the caiman.
Jean pauses as Sethis begins casting a spell - causing everyone to move with unnatural speed. The water elemental seizes Redjaw in its vortex, holding the giant caiman in place and battering it around.
Jean takes advantage of the magical speed and fires a hail of arrows at the creature that sink deep into its back and tail.
Mithias cheers the group's efforts
Lysa fires her crossbow and is rewarded with a strike that puts out the creature's eye!
Firavel takes advantage of the trapped caiman and puts two more arrows into the beast.
With a final shudder, the giant caiman goes limp as its blood begins seeping into the shallow waters of the marsh.
The fisherman quickly swims to shore, where he is pulled up by his comrade. Getting to his knees, he begins weeping, "You all done saved me, that Redjaw nearly got me. But you killed him before I became his dinner. You need anything, you just ask!"
The other fisherman nods, "Right, you folks are heroes, you are. And from the city no less. Well, we'll take that Redjaw and fry him up good - have a feast for you tonight!"
Jean let out a small sigh of relief at seeing the Caiman release the fisherman. At least we were able to deal with one danger to these good people. He then looked at Sethis "That was some interesting magic you used there. I don't think I've ever moved that fast before." He then addressed the rest of the group. "Well I'm not usually against joining an offering of celebration but we are on the hourglass here. The Boneyard brought some interesting questions to light, but we still have no solid evidence. Without a clear lead, searching more of the swamp is unlikely to result in anything useful."
"Yeah, I figured we all had to act fast if we were going to save that man. I'm just glad the magic worked. I've never tried it before and was worried it might've had some... Er side effects. But it didn't so its all good. Pity about the caimen though, but that's what happens when the wilderness and civilization meet. One side always loses."
Leon shook his head, amazed at the speed his companions had dealt with the giant lizard.
Sheathing his sword he shrugs and smiles at Lysa. "Nice shot."
You all pull Redjaw on to the island and begin carving deep into its flesh. Despite the resistance of its hide, you have the creature opened in short order. The work is dirty and bloody, and you all pause as the stench of the carcass overwhelms you. Even the lower levels of Harrowstone didn't smell this bad.
Pushing on, the creature's digestive tract is quickly removed and opened, and you go through it searching for anything of note. But despite finding its most recent meals, you don't locate anything that would be considered evidence in support of the Beast's innocence.
While that is going on, the fishermen sit near the shore. The injured one sits, cradling his arm where Redjaw nipped him. The other tends to the wound as best as he can, wrapping it and helping make a sling. Patting his friend on the back, he grins, "No worries, all the girls are going to love seeing that scar. It's huge! I'll even swear you're telling the truth when you lie about how you got it fighting Redjaw!"
While Sethis collects any parts of value (including enough for a nice set of crocodile skin longboots, "Wait a minute. Lysa, did you see any bite scars on the Beast?"
Jean finishes his grisly work and looks up at the party. "Well there's no evidence here but if anyone is skilled enough, we could make useful weapons or armor out this creatures raw materials."
At hearing the exclamation about the scars, Jean almost smacks his own head. "Of course, why didn't I think about that before? " He then stood up and made his way over to the two fisherman.
"This may sound a bit odd, but you getting bitten and not being killed, may have just helped us immensely. If anyone asks, I'll say you dealt the finishing blow to Redjaw yourself."
After helping dig through the giant reptile's guts, Leon snaps of one of it's teeth and goes to the shore to wash up.
"Fellas, we really appreciate your help in this." He hands the injured fisherman the tooth and says. "I'm going to make sure you get a necklace made out of these."
After Jean speaks to them, Leon nods and gets a little more serious.
"I think you folks deserve to know what's going on. See, they've got a big funny looking fellow locked up in the city that might be the Beast that killed those kids. We're trying to prove, one way or another, if the guy they have is the Beast."
"Did any of you see when Redjaw got a piece of the Beast?" Looking down at the fisherman's arm, he continues. "Seems like if the Beast got bit, he'd have a hell of a scar, right?"
Both of the fishermen look excited at the news about Jean's support, and they nod enthusiastically when Leon asks them about the attack.
"Oh yeah! Ole Redjaw leaped up out of the water and grabbed that Beast by the shoulder, just like this!"
He extends his arms to mimic the jaws of the caiman, then places them around his friend's shoulder. His arms cover the man's shoulder, chest, and back.
His friend nods, "Yeah, if that Beast got bit by Redjaw, he'd have scars all over, big ones too. Not little love bites like I got!"
"Would any of you that saw it be willing to take a trip to the city to tell the story at the trial?"
"We would, of course be willing to compensate you for any trouble or expenses you incurred while away from here."
"And think about it, big city, means busy taverns were you could tell them how you two defeated this terror. This story would easily get you a few free rounds,and probably some company if you know what I mean."
Leon closed his eyes with a pained expression, giving Lysa an apologetic glance for Sethis' crude remarks.
Such ideas may actually win fishermen over, but to the idealistic Leon, he was embarrassed they were spoken if front of a lady.
The fishermen look at each other, then back to the group. The one with the scars stares at Sethis, "You mean we could go to the city and tell bunches of wom...people... how we killed Redjaw. And you would back us up?"
The other one appears more cautious than his recently-attacked friend, "Easy now, we couldn't do that. Who would watch our crops? And who would take our boats out to get the fish? We've got people depending on us, you know that."
The first one looks crestfallen, but agrees, "Yeah, you're probably right. Elder Lazne goes to town sometimes, and he always tells us what a terrible place it is - with all the people crowded in there, and all the guards. It's dangerous, it is. We'd likely just be robbed or stabbed in a dark alley. Probably best we just stay here and tend to our duties."
The other chimes in, "But you know our story, so you could tell it, right?"
"Why not just have one of you come, and only for the day. I think the scars you now bear could be helpful enough with the fact that it came from Redjaw himself. Word would still get out of your escapades, and perhaps those who would be interested in hearing of them directly could bring the ale to you."
"I can understand your caution at entering the city, but your word would hold far more weight than ours alone would. As Firavel here has said, we would only need you there for a day. Again, I would also be willing to compensate you for your troubles. This will be a chance to get anything from the city you think you might need. Everyone experiences places differently, your Elders personal thoughts shouldn't keep you from experiencing it yourselves. The city is certainly a place full of people from all over and while there is some danger, I vow that I would personally protect you from any harm."
"I'm not sure that their testimony alone would be useful and it's hardly conclusive. We could take the caiman's scull and a written testimony from these men, back with us though. Now if we could present a candidate that did have the bite scars that would be more useful. I think that city is looking for justice and unless we find the true culprit of these crimes we are going to be hard pressed to get anyone to agree to release the beast, whether guilty or no."
"We do have a very strong lead here. The individual camped here was an alchemist and I have little doubt that the beast is not a practitioner of that art. Also, Zbraslav Hora and Sons made these exquisite tools. We might be able to get a list of people who have bought these kinds of tools and track them down to check for cayman scars. Now that I think on it, didn't we find a bottle of bleach with some names on it in that ghoul den on Karb island? Vorkstag and Grine, was it? Alchemists perhaps?"
"Also, wasn't Lysa mentioning something about an odd mask before Redjaw made an appearance?
Moving closer to Leon and whispering, "Look, i know that wasn't the most appropriate way to convince them but everyone has their own motivations, young men do tend to share that one though, and they honestly have to be willing to go, we can't force them."
Leon nods, understanding. "Seemed to work. My mother would be giving you an earful though."
"Mithias, can't alchemists make a potion that turns them into big monster-things?"
The uninjured fisherman just shakes his head, "No, we just can't do that, it wouldn't be right. Let's get on back to the village. Come on, Dernik."
Dernik, still nursing the small scratches he suffered stares at you for a few seconds before getting to his feet. He follows his mate, but turns and looks back at you with an excited grin on his face. He points at Jean, the nods quickly. As if nothing happened, he hurries after his friend and begins preparing the skiffs to head back to the village.
Jean cracks a grin and looks around to the others. "Well then, we should be on our way."
The group heads back to the village, and everyone is enthralled when the fishermen begin summoning everyone, telling the story of how Redjaw attacked Lysa and they heroically came to her rescue. The younger one, Dernik, proudly displays the fresh scratches on his arm to many people, and you note that he takes extra time with the young ladies who come over to console him.
Elder Lazne comes up to you, "So, discover anything of use out there? I hope you left our burial ground in the same shape as you found it."
"Mostly nothing. Just an angry water lizard and some old junk."
Firavel shudders as Leon privately looks over the mask. "That is... disg... a mask... of skin... I don't suppose someone wearing that grizzly thing would look something like a 'Beast', would they?" he asks. "Perhaps we're dealing with some kind of skin-wearing lunatic here. I say bring it as evidence. Perhaps the Elder would recognize it rather than the Beast."
Jean looks at the Elder. "Oh, we left it the way we found it all right. The problem is someone else didn't feel the same way, after you left it they came and dug up several of the graves."
Elder Lazne's face turns into a mask of several emotions, the most prominent being anger. He quickly motions your group toward the side of a small building and away from the crowd of villagers.
In a whispered hiss, he exclaims, "What do you mean somebody came in and dug up several of the graves?! What did they do... with the... our families?!"
Jean let out a small sigh. He couldn't be sure but he felt he at least owed the man an explanation.
"When we arrived at your bone-yard, we discovered several odd and disturbing things. First several of the graves had been disturbed. In addition, we found a small skim boat meant for one person, it had been covered up rather well but also abandoned for some months. We also found evidence that pointed that whoever did this had both alchemical and medicinal knowledge, there was the remnants of a campfire and we found a potion vial with the residue of ingredients that gives magical night vision. So whoever was there didn't want to be noticed. There was also a set of carving knives that were covered liberally with dried blood. We believe these were used to carve off a human face... which Lysa had found."
Jean let out a breath and then continued. "Finally, there was a pristine set of surgical tools that were well taken care of. We believe they were a product made by Zbraslav Hora and Sons." He looked at the rest of the group. "That's everything I can think of to tell you."
Elder Lazne appears angry, perplexed, and disturbed at the same time. The old man's face is twisted into a parody of its normal shape. After spluttering for a few seconds, he finally manages to speak.
"I don't know what to say. This is, tragic, and horrible. What kind of person ... monster... does this. "
A gleam appears in his eyes, "Wait a... do you think the Beast had something to do with this? He was running toward the Boneyard when he escaped our trap. So the monster not only murdered all the villagers, he also defiled our gravesites and performed surgery on the bodies?! That Hora and Sons you mentioned, they must be allied with the Beast!"
"It's possible." Leon said carefully. "Keep in mind that the individual charged with being the Beast back at the city might not be the creature who was responsible for the tragedy here. We certainly want to help bring the creature that did this to justice. We just want to make sure punishment is going where it is supposed to. It could also be that the incidents are completely separate and occurred in the same location by coincidence."
"Can you think of anything that might help us in the investigation?"