"W-would it be all right for us to s-speak to him?" Edwyn asks, his tone inquisitive.
"I don't see why not."
The deputy walks over to the bars and raises his voice. "Gibs! Get up. Someone here wants to talk to you."
You see a figure lying in the shadow in the far corner of the cell. He stands slowly, mumbling something you cannot hear, and then shuffles into the light. His eyes are bloodshot and there are large bags under his eyes. His gaze is half glassed over and he barely seems to be conscious.
"Hrrrguh. Wuh...What is it?
Cassiel walks up to Gibs' cell.
"Hello again, Gibs. Heavens above, you don't look too well. Did you get any sleep at all last night?"
"Ugh. Not at all. I kept havin' dreams that somethin was trying to kill me. And when I woke I was here, layin on this sorry excuse for a mattress. No thanks to you." He sneers. Clearly he's not pleased to see you.
"Well next time maybe don't hide the murder weapon right beside your house. Or just don't go murder innocent animals to begin with." Ezebelle mocks.
Cassiel opts to keep quiet. Odds are, if he spoke up now, things would just get worse.
He instead turns to the deputy. "Have you perhaps given consideration to putting in a newer mattress for Mr. Gibs' cell?"
Cringing at Ezebelle's sharp remark, Edwyn decides to push along.
"W-why did you d-deface the statue anyway?"
"I already told you. I didn't kill no animals, nor did I paint it's blood on the statue. I must have been framed. First I heard of it was when you came knocking on my door."
The deputy say to Cassiel "I suppose, since you asked. We never gave it much thought on account of its for criminals, but it is rather haggard. I'll speak with Luthko about acquiring one from the next merchant into town."
"That would be much appreciated, Deputy." Cassiel says, turning to leave.
Ezra nods and digs out a couple silver coins from her pouch, "Better food, please." she says, handing the coins to the deputy. "He may well be innocent."
As she does so she attempts to convey genuine sympathy for the man who had just recently ambushed her and her newly acquired friends.
Once she has done her best with the prisoner, she focuses on the Deputy, along with the rest of the party. . .
"D-do you know anyone who would want to f-frame you?" Edwyn asks, curling a finger under his chin.
Bah, all my colleagues, so quick to assume innocence. It's not like anyone has ever lied about doing a crime before...
Ezebelle shakes her head at her companions and their attempts to make the criminals stay more hospitable.
"Not that I can think of. Can't say I'm the most popular guy in Ravengro, but I sure don't have any enemies to note." Gibbs stands and walks to the bars as he speaks.
The deputy puts the coins into a small wooden box on the desk. "I'll be sure to see that Gibbs is treated well. I thought it plain as day, but the Sheriff came in talkin' something about correlation and causation not being the same thing. I suppose he's right. Gibbs is innocent in our eyes, so far. He's just the only suspect."
Edwyn nods. "There is n-no motive. And the evidence was f-far too conspicuous."
Ezra nods her agreement.
Cassiel nods as he leaves, something on his mind.
He keeps claiming he's innocent, and back at his house I could sense no deception from him. He's hardly been getting any sleep, and--
His eyes light up. The Whispering Way. That cabal of necromancers probably has something to do with this.
He looks back. "Guys, could you come with me for a second?" He motions to the party while leaving the jail.
Ezra follows Cas, intrigued.
"Th-thank you for your time," Edwyn says to Gibs, before hurrying off after Cassiel.
Ezebelle follows Cassiel out of the jail. If he suggests we get Gibs out so help me...
Once the party has left the jail, Cassiel turns to them. He makes sure they're alone before speaking.
"I think I've figured out what's wrong with Gibs."
He starts pacing. "Picture this: you're building a house. While working, you find a screw loose in the wall. What would you use to put the screw back in?" He asks. "If you're pressed for time, not concerned with your house's structure and less concerned with other people noticing what you did, you could get away with using a hammer. Otherwise, you'd use a screwdriver."
He stops pacing for a bit. "The Whispering Way showed up in town; that much we know from Professor Lorrimor's journal. They're mages who specialize in necromancy... but that doesn't mean they've limited themselves to just that." He starts again. "Necromancy can be thought of as oil in a toolbox: if it doesn't move and you think it should be, you'd oil it up. Get it moving again. A hammer would, of course, be evocation magic: blunt force. If something is moving and you think it shouldn't be, hammer it back into place."
"But where does the screwdriver come in?" A smirk appears on his face. "Simple. Enchantments. If you need something carefully put into place to hold something together, you'd use a screwdriver." His smirk disappears. "But the screw has to be positioned perfectly, otherwise it'll go in at an odd angle and be noticeable to everyone."
"What I'm saying is that Gibs is telling the truth about being innocent... but his body is still being used to commit crimes. From what we've seen, the man is rather reclusive and not exactly easy to get along with. He's complained of waking up feeling exhausted, even outside of jail. Either he's one hell of a sleepwalker, or someone... or something... is controlling him while he sleeps." Cassiel takes a breath.
"Thanks for bearing with me."
"So, tonight we watch him and the jail?"
"So what your saying is he is weak willed, and still guilty?" Ezebelle replies.
"Well I feel a good deed done. Gibs doesnt have to be worried about doing something stupid out of his control, and we don't have to worry about any more senseless slaughter of innocent creatures."
"I vote we leave him here, maybe warn the sheriff, and then see what else we can learn from this town. If he truly doesn't know he is being controlled then he's rather useless to us." Ezebelle contemplates.
Cassiel sighs.
"I said he's likely being possessed. Who'd really be to blame for the Warden's statue being vandalized? Him, or his controller?"
He shrugs. "But I digress. I think it might be a good idea to at least warn the sheriff, and maybe keep an eye out for any weird activity in town. Zombies walking about, things going 'bump' in the night, the usual."
"It's... p-possible," Edwyn replies thoughtfully as he mulls over the previous day's events. He was convinced that Gibs was innocent, but that did not necessarily mean that the man had not done it. The school of enchantment was a particularly troublesome school to deal with. The wizard himself had a fundamental grasp of it, but what Cassiel was describing was something that would be well beyond the scope of his abilities - or even of those of a dedicated enchanter. The implication of the fact did not alleviate his worries. "I imagine th-that a necromancer of the Way could v-very well be c-capable. B-but they would have to be quite p-powerful..."
"Anyway, that still l-leaves us short of a c-culprit and motive."
"If we're going to go on the blame the ghostie's route, maybe the v was the start of something. Perhaps you've seen or read mention of something v worthy. Victoria? Vicious? Vampire maybe? Maybe one of their names? If someone is trying to raise something I imagine a name is important...Seems the necromancers have some grand goal that isn't just raising a bunch of zombies, else this town would already be overrun." Ezebelle adds in contemplation.
"And I agree we should look around the rest of the town. Leave Gibs protected behind those bars." Ezebelle agrees with a nod, and starts heading off towards town.
Now to find something suspicious looking.
"Did any of the prisoners or prison staff have a V name if we are looking for ghosts? We have a spirit planchette."
"We would n-need the list of names," Edwyn enunciates with a frown, "But we need g-good cause to get the church's h-help."
Ezra nods and points in the direction of the church, and begins the short walk. "If we make the Church like us, maybe others will as well. Good start."
Outside the Jail, the town goes about it's business casually around you. A dog continues scampering about, receiving attention from children and a few other adults. A few armed men head into the aforementioned "Silk Purse" while chatting boisterously and happily.
As you are discussing your next move, you hear a shriek come from directly across the road heading north. Across the square comes running a middle aged female. She wears a simple mahogany colored robe and has long wavy light brown hair.
"You there! Could you help me?" She pauses to catch her breath. "Please."
Ezra is oblivious to the shriek, and busy watching the dog. The woman's panicked approach does draw her attention, so she pulls out her card, "I am deaf." and does her best to read the woman's lips as she speaks to the rest of the party.
"Where's the problem?!" Ezebelle exclaims, drawing the greataxe off her back. "Whatever it is I'm sure we can deal with it!"
"Ezebelle, calm down." Cassiel says, walking up to the lady. "What's wrong?"
Noting Ezebelle's reaction, Ezra immediately tries to soothe the woman, casting guidance just in case.
Fine! No greataxe. But if her family is being attack by skeletons or zombies or some other creepy thing there will be a serious I told you so coming." Ezebelle states, re-sheathing her greataxe on her back.
The woman is visibly panicked and her eyes dart back and fourth. As Ezra shows her the card, she stops and takes a quick, but deep breath. "H-he is trapped. Inside our kitchen. I-I don't know how or... why? He told me to get help." She is trying to smile, but the panic distorts her face.
"Let's get going then. What happened?" Cassiel asks, fingering his holy symbol of Sarenrae.
As you head off towards the building from which she came, she explains "He went into the kitchen to make lunch and I heard a loud slamming noise. Then I heard him banging on the door between the kitchen and the rest of the house. That's the only way in. The door wouldn't budge and he told me to come for help. I would have stayed and tried more. I don't know what could possibly be the trouble but... Well I had a strange feeling. The hairs on my arm stood up and I felt a chill. My husband sounded worried for such a mundane thing. I-I.... here, this is my shop. We live behind the store."
She leads you to single story building with a sign hanging out front reading "General Store". The design is much like the others in town, dark brown wooden frame filled with pale beige wooden planks and mahogany shutters. The front door is left slightly ajar.
Cassiel nods at the lady before stepping in through the front door. "Sounds strange as all hell, ma'am. We'll get your husband out, don't worry."
Ezebelle smiles at the mention of the budged door Might get to use my axe yet.
Ezebelle follows quickly behind Cassiel into the house.
Ezra whistles for her cat, and follows post haste into the house with her companions.
Edwyn blinks, totally caught off guard by the troubled woman. He follows everyone to the store, listening to her story on the way. What could this be all about?
Inside you find a store filled with various necessities - packs, bags, dried fruits and meats, water skins, hammers, tents, bedrolls, pots, mess kits and so on. The items are hung from wall beams and stashed on shelves. A counter divides the room, on which is a dry scale, a lock-box and some smaller objects such as compasses, a few candies and some flasks. Behind the counter is a wall with a door half open.
The woman leads you through the door and into the back room, where the decoration turns into that of a house, rather than a store, this room being something like a foyer. There are two doors, one to the left and one straight forward. She motions to the forward door.
"The kitchen is in there. That door wont budge."
"We'll get through that door." Ezebelle proclaims.
She walks over to the door, reaches to try the handle, decides against actually trying it, gazes around, and then lays a hard kick directly beside the handle, trying to burst the door open with her foot.
Cassiel moves to assist her in kicking the door open.
Ezra, hopefully noticing her companions' efforts, tries to quickly cast 'Guidance' on each so assisting in the hopes that it might garner a little extra 'oomph'.
I suppose if it were merely locked or mundanely barred, she would likely not need such assistance?
Having had such a realization, Ezra casts 'Detect Magic' upon herself, and begins focusing on trying to locate any auras.
Just after Ezebelle tries the handle, as she and Cassiel begin to kick at it, it begins to shake wildly in place. It's a solid door, but not particularly heavy. It has no remarkable traits otherwise. A set of jars on a shelf next to the door begin to jump in place, their lids opening and closing sporadically. The jars are glass and porcelain, of varying sizes from small to medium.
The woman, who has followed you back into her store, shrieks. She trembles and backs up to the wall opposite the door.
The door seems to possess an extra resilience to your break attempts and despite the substantial force you put behind your kicks, it stays closed, the strange shaking seeming to rebound against your blows.
Cassiel looks around, bewildered.
He closes his eyes, trying to remember anything he learned about this sort of supernatural activity.
He silently curses himself for falling asleep during his lessons on magical phenomena.
Edwyn very nearly jumps out of his skin when the jars abruptly start moving on their own, even more so when the woman lets out a shriek. More out of instinct than genuine fear, he clutches his amulet, his eyes darting around, searching for a possible cause of the disturbance. A brief moment passes before he murmurs under his breath and commences his own arcane investigation.
Ezra focuses her attention, trying to analyze the Aura. "Magic," she nods to Edwyn