"I don't know enough about the area or nobles to be of much help with the ring. Might be the Professor knows more. We could always take it to the temple for help also."
"Didn't the sheriff say that Gibs fellow who gave us trouble at the funeral lives near the statue?"
The Memorial is a statue of a human male, lightly armored, with an expression of fierce determination. It stands 20' tall with a base about 5' tall. The base also bears a plaque with 25 names on it.
You write down the 25 names
Wisdom check:
Now that you're saying it, Davor, I remember it too...Well, if he lives nearby, it would be totally dumb of him to be the culprit in this case, no? I mean, when you do something wrong, you don't do it right in front of your house, usually... When we met him in the cemetary, he was angered and acted stupid, but he didn't seemed insane. It would be so obvious... And he didn't seemed clever enough to put such a deceiving plan in action.I honestly don't know what to think... Where would he have found the blood in the first place? No one was reported hurt, to my knowledge. Would he have hurted himself to get the blood? Or maybe it was some wild beast's blood, some game no one would miss...
Vivian's green eyes look the place, seeking a place to hide
Maybe we could trick him out of his house, and i'll have a closer look...Just to be sure, you know
"Well, there was a person listed on the plaque at the memorial with the same last name as Gibs Hephenus, the funeral interruptor, and another with the last name Grimmas. I can't see why either of them would want to deface the statue honoring their relatives."
"Still, maybe Gibs heard or saw something, or like Vivian said, maybe we'll spot something out of the ordinary at his house."
That clue hunting shouldn't get too long, Zander... Especially if we find nothing.I guess we'll still have time for shopping after.
Vivian looks perplexed, not sure about how to proceed.
Maybe we could try to ask a few question about this ancestor of Gibs. A tragic event like that has surely deeply marked the minds of the people living here, and Gibs may have heard a few things in his young years that could be useful to us. Still, i'm not sure how he will react. I guess its worth a try. Davor, would you please come with me? Tamarie, here's the plan: Davor and me will try to talk to Gibs. If we manage to exchange more than a few words, Davor will signal you and Zander: your task will be to have a look at the outside of Gib's house, as discreetly as possible. If we sense that the conversation will soon end, Davor will signal Zander, and Zander will call you back so you can make a quick retreat. What do you think?
Tamarie looks around.
Back at the Lorrimor Manor, Professor Rokannon puffs contentedly on his pipe as he experiments. Having determined the enchantments on the common items, he concentrates on discovering the secrets of the more exotic Haunt Syphons and Brass Spirit Planchette.
Tamarie is thinking deeply, trying to fidn something she missed before.
"So, off to the Hephenus house. Sounds like a plan."
As the four of you make your way to the house nearby, you notice that house might be an overly kind description. The closer you come, the more dilapidated & poorly-maintained it appears. Coming around to the entrance, you hear a familiar, quarrelsome voice from within. "What!?"
Before you even have time to respond, the door is thrown open & you are once more face to face with the most egregious of those villagers Professor Lorrimor was referring to with his comment of 'ignorant fools'. Sneering, he continues. "Oh, scandalagii, of course. Not satisfied wi' desecrating our graves, now you want ta put me in one?"
Davor sighs as he prepares himself for another tiresome conflict -- verbal or otherwise -- with the constantly-enraged Gibs Hephenus.
Turning to Vivian, Gibbs continues his harangue. "I know you, girly! You're tha one talked tha rest of those soft-heads inta lettin' their guard down. Well I'm not that stupid. So I'll say it again. What. Do. You. Want?"
I'm sorry to disturb you, Gibbs Hephenus. I guess we didn't start on the best terms. We simply need your help and guidance. We could not help but notice that one of your ancestor died into the fire of Harrowstone. I is written on the statue, as you surely know.I was wondering if you remember anything about him, if there were tales in your family about his tragic death. As far as we, foreigners, know, there are rumors about the prison being haunted. Maybe you could give us your point of view on these rumors? And I find it's so sad someone marred this statue. It's disrespecting those who lost their lives, as your ancestor. Have you got any clue about who done this foul deed? Have you seen or heard anything on that night?
Somewhat taken aback by mention of his ancestor, the present mister Hephenus' expression calms, slightly. "Nothin', di'n't hear nothin'...
Whoever it was," The glare returns, momentarily. "they wasn't so noisy as ta wake me."
Unstiffening, slightly, he adds. "Ask tha Dudas girl. I've seen her creepin' about tha fountain most nights tha last few weeks."
"Nem tudom, miért a szülei nem véget, hogy..." He mutters under his breath. Though still present, his glare has receded from 'village protector' to 'grumpy old man' levels.
Davor, as you cautiously begin your surreptitious exploration of the Hephenus property, you find little of note. The property itself is not large, nor is it overly well maintained. Besides the shack he seems to live in, there is little beyond a secondary shed that has obviously seen better days and a well-denuded woodpile.
A Dudas girl? We're sure to ask her, Gibbs..err, Mister Hephenus.
Vivian flashes a bright, warm smile
So she seems to have come near the statue regulary in the recent past, and by night? Is it an uncommon behavior? Have you, per chance, spotted if she remained alone?
"We already spoke to her, actually. She told us she kept going to the fountain looking for her missing pet raven. She could have been lying, I suppose."
"About what time of night would you normally see her there? Whoever defaced the statue must have done so after you had gone back inside."
Tamarie nods to Zander, and starts looking around carefully, looking at the cleric carefully to see if he tramples any leads.
As you cautiously make your way through the property, you notice signs of recent activity at the woodpile. While this wouldn't normally be unusual, you think you might have caught a faint whiff of blood.
At Davor's words, Gibbs face screws up, in contemplation rather than antagonism. "Never known Lireia Dugas ta ...
I've known her family since 'for she was born. She might be too flighty by half, but tha girl don't lie."
"I suppose it might have been after then, guess it'd have ta be...
What's that?" He asks, pointing to the still-sodden sack you pulled out of the fountain drain.
"She wasn't lying," Davor sighs, gesturing toward the sack and hoping Gibs will come investigate its contents to allow Tamarie and Zander a better chance to investigate his property.
"Her raven was killed and hidden in the fountain drain. We haven't told her yet," Davor tells him glumly if he comes to look into the sack. "The lunatic who killed it died last night. Antraeus, he called himself."
Tch-ing in disapproval at mention of Antraeus & the previous night's events, Gibbs peers into the sack's interior. "There's a corner fer them in tha Restlands." He mutters, eyeing the fragmented remains in the bottom.
Tamarie slowly beckons the cleric to be quiet and come closer to the sign of blood.
Latching onto Davor's words, Gibbs continues. "Di'n't so much know tha feller, but knew of 'im. Was a sharp dealer 'for 'e went all worm-eaded-like." A hint of his previous glare returns. "Happens a wi' outsiders 'round these parts..."
Vivian smiles widens
Thank you about the information for the pet cemetary, i didn't knew that, and I really appreciate. Let's hope Liera will find some peace of mind after the burial of her raven. I'm sorry, but i honestly don't know what to think- surely my worm-head- and your knowledge of the town and its events, ancient and recent, have been very helpful, so I have maybe one or two last questions for you, if you don't mind. Just to be sure, first: could you tell us what kind of trade Antraeus was doing? And then, have you seen other outsiders in the town-besides us, of course- recently, maybe a few days before the Professor Lorrimor's death?
Tamarie nods in Zander's direction, to see if he has drawn the same conclusion.
At Vivian's mention of properly caring for Lireia's dead pet, Gibb's expression softens, slightly. "'e traded in...
trade, mostly. Ever' time 'e came through 'e had something different. Sharp though, always was something people wanted 'er needed."
"There's always strangers coming through..." He considers for a few moments. "I suppose..." Shaking his head. "Nah, I didn't see any in particular, but I heard of some, over the winter, muckin' about South, 'round Harrowstone. They likely got what comes to them what mucks about there, same's Lorrimor. No place for the living, there."
Tamarie will take a piece of cloth, and rub some of the blood onto it.
She then shrugs, indicating this won't lead further, before indicating to return to the others.
Having little more to say, Gibbs rather pointedly steps back towards the door.
Tamarie looks at Zander, and whispers "Now what?"
A little louder than needed
Well, thank you for your time and all the informations you gave, mister Hephenus. I won't keep you more, you certainly have things to do.
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Zander hesitates, investigation having never been his strong suit. If they take the evidence, the man could just claim he never saw those things before and it could spoil the already tenuous relationship with the town. If they leave the evidence here, he could get rid of it, and it would simply be their word against his. In the end, the cleric decides that in either case it would be word against word, so if given the choice of having evidence or not, having it would be better.
Snatching up the waterskin and war razor, Zander nods to Tamarie and follows her out on what she would think is the best escape route.
Gibbs grunt of acknowledgement is notably less antagonistic than his greeting, though still coming from a back turned to you. Once the four of you have rejoined each other & made your way from the shack's vicinity you notice the day has continued notably past noon. While the sky is still bright, you can tell evening is approaching.
Tamarie allows Zander to inform the others of their findings.
Concluding there is little more to be gained hereabouts, the four of you return to the Lorrimor house, where you find Kendra waiting for you. "Oh! Is that what I think it is?" Pointing to the now-damp sack containing the remains (such as they are) of Lireia's pet raven.
Tamarie nods, and goes to the outhouse for a few minutes.
well, the more I think of it, the more I think we made a mistake. You should have let the razor and waterskin into Geb's house, Zander. Because if he's the one who done it, he would probably do it again. As strangers to the town, we can't just point fingers at him, saying to the folk of Ravengro "here's your culprit!" ...and expect to be believed. We should have let his..tools there,at his house, and tried to catch him in the act of desecrating the statue again, or any other part of the town.I hope we won't regret this.But i'd like to know what you think about it too.
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”I felt it would be better to have the evidence then to allow him a change to destroy it. He knows we paid him a visit, and guilty man would probably do his best to get rid of anything that would link him to the crime. If that was wrong, I’m sorry, but Shelyn isn’t exactly the goddess of criminal investigation and lawful pursuits, as so these activities are not something I’ve spent any time practicing.” responds Zander, his brow creased in self reprimand.
"We should find a place to hide and watch his house at night. We can't really catch him in the act if he doesn't have his war razor, but it would be more dangerous for us if he did."
"I guess someone could always try to sneak back and put his stuff back where we found it, too."