Cassiel lugs his gear up to the first bedroom he sees: preferably one with a view of the front of the house. He sets his gear down in a heap at the foot of the bed before getting started on eating the food laid out for him.
Ezra waits until she sees what the general bunking situation is like before she chooses a place to sleep. Once everyone else is sleeping and properly stowed away the gnome places her gear in the room with Ezebelle before she retreats outside to her pet and falls asleep up with the tiger, letting it's warmth keep her company through the night.
[ooc]Going to assume now that Utho has had a chance to read the journal. "It says here that the church of Pharasma may not even be aware that the stash is there. Perhaps we should tell them of its location, and they may be willing to part with some of its contents in order to aid us in our search. The Pharasmans have a deep hatred for necromancy and the undead, and I am sure that if we offer our aid, they will return the favor."
Having confirmed one of his fears, Edwyn wearily returns the encyclopedia volume to the shelf. Afterwards, he quietly retires to an available room. He carefully stows away the entirety of his pack, locking it into the chest. Ordinarily he would go to bed with a book in hand, but exhaustion had already taken its toll - besides which, crazy as it may sound, he had about enough of books for the day. Instead, he picks at the prepared meal like a lazy vulture for about an hour before going to bed.
Ezebelle stamps into one of the open bedrooms, still thinking about her latest conversation with the shapechanging paladin.
He could ruin our chance of helping this town with their undead problem all because of some useless moral code.
Angry and tired she quickly tears into the food, hoping that eating will distract her enough to get her mind off her latest confrontation. After quickly finishing the food presented, she collapses into the bed, a restless sleep overtaking her.
CLOMP. CLOMP. CLOMP. CLOMP. CLOMP.
Cassiel looks up from his meal with some measure of trepidation.
Sounds like Ezebelle's angry. Then again, she's always angry, but this time more so.
He turns back to his half-finished pig meat, reaching for something to drink--
Wait. Dammit, I forgot my wine glass downstairs!
Cassiel snaps his fingers and sets his meal on the bed before leaving his room to return downstairs.
Maybe I'll run into Kendra going back... then I can ask her what else is bothering her.
Cassiel begins to creep out of his bedroom, trying to move silently so as not to wake anyone else in the house.
Everyone seems to have gone to their respective rooms except for Utho, who sits in the front room reading over the journal. Kendra is no where to be found, likely still locked up in her room.
Cassiel takes note of Utho looking over the journal before moving to retrieve his wineglass from where he left it.
"Still up? Don't mind me; just forgot my drink."
Ezebelle tosses and turn in her sleep. The possibility of undead and necromancers bringing on nightmares that she is well acquainted with.
She screams out in her sleep. "AHHH!" before waking up with a start.
Nightmares, always with the nightmares. Just once I would like a good nights rest. Actually wake up in the morning refreshed.
She lays back down and slowly succumbs to sleep again, the nightmares returning, and plaguing her through the rest of the night.
The morning arrives with a distinct chill. The house has lost the warmth of the preceding night. In the front room the hearth is extinguished with little more than ashes littering the bottom. All of the glasses and materials have been left exactly where they were. Kendra is not about the house yet, but it is early.
The ground outside is frozen, with the moisture from the day before frozen to the patches of grass and the limbs of the skeletal trees. The sky is a uniform grey.
The night passes uneventfully for Edwyn, who in spite of his troubled thoughts (and Ezebelle's screaming) manages to sleep like a rock. For the first time in over a week, he gets eight full hours of rest. Suited to a life of punctuality however, the wizard does not allow himself anymore than that. By the break of dawn he is already up and awake.
Now, let's see...
With a certain amount of reverence he retrieves his spellbook. Despite the assurance of its storage being waterproof, he takes a few moments to check it for any signs of water damage, before finally flipping it open.
I hope we don't run into any more angry mobs. Perhaps I should...
Swapping
magic missile for mage armor
read magic for prestidigitation
Ezebelle awakes at dawn, the nightmares leaving her restless and exhausted.
Well what to do? I guess I might as well get a lay of the land if I'm going to be stuck here for a while.
She attempts to sneak quietly out of the house once she has dressed.
Once outside, she begins a slow jog around town, aimlessly weaving through the town.
Necromancers, ghosts, Haunted prisons, and crazy locals. Why would anyone want to live here? How am I supposed to protect someone I don't even know? Who are the new people really? How can I trust them? What am I supposed to do for a month?
The thoughts swirl around her mind, the answers not yet apparent. She continues her jog for about an hour, finishing the run at the entrance to the graveyard. Collecting herself at the entrance she wanders aimlessly until she finds the path from yesterday to the professors gravesite.
Upon reaching the professors gravesite she pauses for a moment before kneeling before the tombstone.
What did you get yourself into Petros'? and why would you force me into such a situation with all these people?
Knowing the answer isn't coming, she stays only for a couple of moments, whispering a sad farewell to the tombstone before slowly heading back out of the graveyard, and jogging back to Kendra's house.
Cassiel's day begins with him rolling out of bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His meal tray sits on a night table, with an empty wineglass atop it. He groggily scrambles for his clothes, having slept in his armor the whole night.
He shakes his head, trying to clear the sleep from his eyes and ears.
Evidently, he's still half-asleep.
After donning his coat & hat, he puts the rest of his gear on and decides to head into town for a bit.
Maybe some fresh air will do me some good... hell, maybe it'll do us all some good.
Heading north out of town, Ezebelle finds the town empty, with none of the inner inhabitants having risen yet. As she heads into the farm lands north of town, she sees a few farmers reading their livestock and beginning their daily routine.
At the northern edge of the farmlands near town, Ezebelle notices a statue standing by the path. It appears to be a monument devoted to someone of importance, a male human. Although you did not notice the statue on the way into town (due perhaps to the weather, or a lack of concern), it appears to have been vandalized during the night. You step close and see that the entire front surface of the triumphant looking armored man is covered in blood. Beneath the monument is the letter V written in the same blood, now dark and drying, but still tacky. As you realize what is covering the statue, your hair stands on end and you feel a chill rush up your spine.
You can make out a short blood trail and corresponding prints in the now frozen earth, coming from and leading back to the south east, perhaps to circumvent town and head south.
Heading back to the Restlands, you find the graveyard to be empty, save a few birds in the trees and on the mausoleums. All of the smaller mausoleums seem to have been left alone for quite some time, save having bundles of flours laid near them. You retrace your steps from the entrance and find Petros' grave site, having now been filled in.
To the east of Petros' grave, in the north east corner of the Restlands, you find a mausoleum that you noticed during your exit of the Restlands the day before. You notice that the lock on the front door, underneath the leering Gargoyles, is rusty and has been broken, the clasp melted by acid and then put back into place so as to appear functional. Signs on the ground indicate that the mausoleum has been entered within the past several weeks.
The return trip is uneventful, except for the blood covered statue, which continues to disturb you.
Ezebelle storms into the house, oblivious to the time in the morning. She runs upstairs to her room, and quickly dons her equipment making no effort to conceal the noise she is making.
Blood! Something truly is amiss in this town!
She hastily rushes to Cassiel's room and begins pounding on the door. "Get up now!!! she yells from the hallway. Unsatisfied with his lack of response, she burst open the door revealing his absence. Frustrated, and remembering Utho is no longer at Kendra's, Ezebelle turns and begins to run out of the house, only at the last minute remembering Edwyn may still be here.
"Edwyn, if your awake, get dressed, something has happened this morning that we need to deal with!" Ezebelle proclaims before she vacates the house.
Ezebelle looks quickly to find Ezra, Scrawls GET UP. EVIL. on her board and then shakes her awake before running towards town.
.
Utho's at the church right? To far away. Grab him after, damn it where is Cassiel when you need him?
Winded, Ezebelle stumbles up to Cassiel, grasping his shoulder to stay aloft. "Farm...Statue...Blood...letter V....EVIL! She gasps through her heavy breathing.
Cassiel is quite surprised to see Ezebelle, winded & sputtering something about blood & evil statues. It's enough to fully wake him up. A concerned expression appears on his face, and he puts a hand on Ezebelle's shoulder to steady her.
"Easy there. Take a breath. You look like you just saw a ghost."
He holds both of Ezebelle's shoulders, looking her squarely in the eyes.
"Okay, from the top: what's all this about?"
Edwyn is just wrapping up his spellbook studies when he suddenly hears a muffled shout. Furrowing his brow, it takes him a moment to realize that it is Ezebelle. It sounds urgent... What could have happened? He hurries in packing his belongings, only slightly delayed by his insistence on doing so neatly. By the time Edwyn reaches the downstairs, he realizes that Ezebelle is already leaving the house.
"W-wait! Miss Ezebelle!" he calls to her as he runs out of the house, his backpack still hanging on one arm. By the time he catches up to her and Cassiel, he is a panting mess, perhaps worse off than Ezebelle.
"Y-yes, w-what were you s-saying before?"
Ezebelle takes a deep breath, steadying herself, and then recounts what she saw.
"I was taking my morning run, figured I might head up to the graveyard while the town was asleep, see if I could spot anything that might, you know... Anyways, as I was passing the farm fields I came across this statue. Didn't see it last night so figured I'd run up to it and at least see if it had a placard or something. Do some research that doesn't involve staring at a book."
"As I get closer to it, I can tell something is wrong. It looked like someone tried to paint the thing red. Blood...everywhere... Someone decided that a statue in the middle of nowhere needed to be covered in the stuff. Whoever, did it wasn't happy to just desecrate the statue, no they also had to get their fingers in it; wrote the letter V with the blood." Ezebelle states, signing a V in the air.
"Saw that the path from the statue went away to the southeast somewhere but figured something or someone that can cause that much blood, not a good idea to go charging in with just my running attire on, or by myself." Ezebelle finishes. Clearly excited about this turn of events.
Cassiel takes note of Utho looking over the journal before moving to retrieve his wineglass from where he left it.
"Still up? Don't mind me; just forgot my drink."
"Just long enough to read this. Then I will be taking a brief watch at the church before turning in."
Utho finishes the journal, does a brief patrol/watch, and then sleeps through the night.
Utho dons his armor and gear, planning to be on guard duty for the day. As he does so, he runs into a panicked Ezebelle. After she finishes talking, he immediately shifts into his not-quite werewolf form and heads for the door. "Let us investigate." As they walk, he pulls out the journal. "You mentioned a stash of ghost-fighting stuff last night. "It says here that the church of Pharasma may not even be aware that the stash is there. Perhaps we should tell them of its location, and they may be willing to part with some of its contents in order to aid us in our search. The Pharasmans have a deep hatred for necromancy and the undead, and I am sure that if we offer our aid, they will return the favor."
Mysterious appearances of vast quantities of blood all over a statue shortly after a group of newcomers chases the village lynch mob away from the funeral of a believed necromancer. This bodes well for us. . .
"My tiger can track. Lets see if there is a scent." Ezra quickly scrawls across her chalkboard. "Large bad things happening right after we arrive will not make the county folk like us any better."
Ezebelle looks at Utho with a look of barely contained rage. "We will deal with that later." Ezebelle states through gritted teeth. Not many churches that I know of that will willingly part with valuables, especially with whats going on in this town. Stupid paladins, so help me if he runs off to the church to give them my ghost fighting equipment. At least I have a better idea then him where it is.
Ezebelle looks over at Ezra's tiger appreciatively.
"Perfect Ezra, I already found the trail away from the statue this morning but having someone else to help track it back to its source with will be invaluable."
"If we do find the end of the trail, there may be a fight involved. Everyone ready for some action this morning?" Ezebelle asks, stretching out her body, preparing for the coming hunt.
Oh dear...
"Y-yes, we d-do make for ideal s-suspects," Edwyn agrees, trying hard to maintain a calm composure. His continued heavy breathing from his earlier exertion was not helping. Curiosity nagged at him as it typically did, but still he hesitates. "P-perhaps we should alert the authorities? We w-were already told n-not to interfere. It will not b-bode well if we are discovered."
"That might be a good idea, Edwyn. Still, I'd like to investigate myself. We can explain to the authorities afterward." Cassiel says, nodding.
It's at this point he notices Utho has shifted into his pseudo-werewolf form. He sighs. Brilliant. I can't possibly imagine how this could go wrong. Hell, it's not like werewolves are commonly associated with wanton destruction, bloodshed and murder--OH WAIT.
Cassiel turns to Ezra, noting her chalkboard. He turns back to Ezebelle with a cocky grin.
"By all means, lead on, mighty ranger."
The morning is brightening and the residual fog is beginning to fade away. To your north west is the river with a subsidiary crick branching off and running south east, across your vision. There are a few houses with wheat fields resting calmly behind many. The main road heads over the crick via a small wooden bridge to the south where it meets a fork, one prong heading north west across the river via a large covered bridge and the other heading south, clear out of town. You are south of the more densely populated town center. The air is crisp and you can just barely see your breath.
Ezebelle leads everyone back to the statue she had found this morning, the shiver from this morning returning as she approaches it.
"I've found the path. It leads off somewhere to the south east!" Ezebelle excitedly exclaims, beginning slowly down the path.
You head up through town to the north. By now you can see some towns folk starting to stir. The monument is north of town, out past the bridge crossing the river just to the east of the road, on the way to the Restlands.
The monument stands before you all, covered in blood. The same blood makes the letter V below the statue on a patch of dirt.
The trail you find is boot prints, most likely from a human. It leads to the south east, but off the road, over field walls and through a corral behind a small farm house next to the river.
Pursing his lips, Edwyn cautiously approaches the statue, his eyes wandering over the surrounding area. The entire site struck him as terribly strange. Why the blatant display of gore? What could the 'V' mean? Whose footprints were these? Taking care not to touch anything, the wizard frowns, wondering if perhaps the answers were right before them.
What could have gone on here?
Cassiel stops in front of the statue, an eyebrow arched and eyes widened.
"Wow. SOMEBODY didn't like this guy." He says. "Who on earth would want to deface this? And why?"
He takes a quick look around, looking for any townsfolk that may be nearby. Perhaps a local would know who this monument is of?
Maybe this is an elaborate prank by some local kids to stir up trouble. Then again, maybe I'm actually a king. Something's up...
"I'm not sure, but I sure intend to find out." Ezebelle whispers under her breath.
Ezebelle follows the trail slowly, trying to be as quiet as possible as she nears the house.
Whoever did this deserves everything they have coming.
She cautiously scans the farm house, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
The trail leads past the house by the river and continues to follow the river south after it crosses the road you came north on. Nothing seems out of the ordinary in the yards and fields through which you stalk.
For reference: Map.
Ezra follows in silence, directing her mount to pick up the scent as possible, on the off chance the foot prints and blood fade over time. . .
In a field across the road you can see a grazing area for livestock, surrounded by a short wooden fence. In the field is a farmer and another lightly armored man standing over a figure on the ground. The trail from the monument leads directly towards them.
Ezebelle approaches threateningly, her hand resting lightly on the warhammer swaying on her hip.
"What did you do to that statue?" Ezebelle asks, glaring at the men.
It is obvious that Ezebelle has assumed all three of the party are guilty.
Cassiel's eyes widen even further when he sees what Ezebelle is doing.
Oh, Sarenrae's flaming t**s... this is about to get ugly.
He promptly runs after Ezebelle, silently praying he's not too late to prevent a fight from breaking out.
Some kind of ritual, perhaps...?
It was frustrating, but he could not think of what had possibly happened here, or why. Disappointed, Edwyn anxiously follows the others, wondering what they might come upon. His body seizes when he sees what the trail leads to. Okay, we must approach this cautio- Any thoughts of the like evaporate when Ezebelle takes the lead.
"Oh dear."
Utho growls at the men. He doesn't even make an attempt to hide his body language, he is ready for a fight if it comes to it.
"Statue? Wait-who are you?!" The farmer shouts and takes a step backwards. He is tall and skinny, with sunken eyes that look worried, but maybe not entirely because of your sudden appearance. His clothes are brown overalls and worn out boots.
"Now, now," says the lightly armored man, middle aged and balding blonde hair. His armor is well maintained chain mail and at his side is a long sword, which his right hand hovers near. "I'm deputy Riff. Why don't we all just calm down." His eyes shift between Ezebelle and Utho. His left hand is slowly raising, palms outward in a defensive gesture. "This here is Talmun, he tends these fields here. Who are you?"
The news that the man is an authoritative figure comes as a great relief to Edwyn, who sighs audibly. Well, Kendra said that these people should be decent enough... Glancing quickly at Ezebelle, he takes his chance to interject, stepping toward Deputy Riff.
"F-friends of Professor Lorrimor," he stammers, bowing his head slightly. "W-we came to t-town for his funeral."
Ezebelle glares suspiciously at at the farmer and deputy.
What is wrong with the people in this town? Is the deputy in on it?
"The statue a field over was doused in blood, and The trail leads directly here. Explanation. Now." Ezebelle demands, satisfied that Edwyn has done enough for the introductions to be made.
Cassiel finally catches up with Ezebelle, relieved that the farmer & deputy aren't interested in causing a scene.
Panting, he begins to speak. "Sorry about all this. We've just had a really trying week. May I ask who the statue is of, incidentally?"
...well, that's what he meant to say.
What actually came out is "GODD***IT, EZEBELLE! STOP HARASSING THE LOCALS!"
Edwyn's shoulders slump. Lowering his head, he covers his face with his hands. Some part of him wished that he could just drop dead.
"Fine! but so help me if they turn out to be crazy killers there will be some serious payback and I told you so's coming your way Cassiel." Ezebelle exclaims, turning around and stomping away.
"Ah. Sheriff Caeller mentioned you, said Gibs Hephenus gave you some trouble up in the Restlands. Now this statue you mentioned? Must be referring to the Harrowstone Memorial. It's a statue of old Warden Hawkran up there overlooking the river. He's something of a hero in Ravengro. But, covered in blood? Well, that must be what our sheep killer did with it." He motions down to his feet where there rests the corpse of a sheep, it's throat slashed open but with only a small amount of it's blood around it's neck and only a few smudges on the ground beneath it.
Cassiel finally catches his breath and straightens up.
"Sorry about the cold reception, deputy. We've had a... trying week. Some of us have been taking it more poorly than others." He says, glancing at Ezebelle as she stomps away.
"May I ask who Warden Hawkran was? And why anyone would want to... well..." He motions to the sheep corpse, then back to where the statue is. "...do that?"
Ezra smiles and nods at the poor terrified farmer, attempting to aid Cassiel in his attempt at diplomacy.
Utho approaches the corpse to further examine it.
"I am Utho, paladin of Iomedae. Should my companions agree, I offer our services in your investigation, Deputy."
"Warden Hawkran was running Harrowstone back when it burnt down. A riot had broken out inside the prison and some of the more violent prisoners were attempting to escape. There were some nasty folks being held there and Warden Hawkran gave his life to keep them in. So the story goes. But I can't see why anyone would do that to his monument. Most folks see him as a sort of hero. That's why the statue was built in the first place."
Riff seems to have relaxed a little bit, but the farmer is still a step back and eyes Utho cautiously.
The sheep has been cut across the throat with some kind of blade and drained of its blood. It's eyes are blank and its tongue hangs limply from it's mouth. All color has been drained of it and it smells of drying blood and feces. Its bowels appear to have been voided at some point after death.
"Now look. You're all well met. By me and the Sheriff, anyway. I suppose this merits an investigation, but I don't really see the need for getting everyone all worked up over what might be just a misled kid or something. But we'll appreciate any help you can give us and if you turn anything up, we'd like to know. But keep it to us and yourselves. Things have been a bit on edge lately and I don't want there to be a problem with the other towns folk getting all riled up."
The trail continues further south from the dead sheep.
Calming herself down and taking a step back from the situation Ezebelle notices that the trail continues past the group to the south.
"Okay, I was wrong, these people aren't killers. The trail leads further to the south." Ezebelle concedes.
Should probably let Cassiel lead the interrogation next time....
"I suggest we continue along the trail and find out who did this, we can talk with these men later. This situation has bad written all over it."
Ezebelle begins down the trail leading to the south before anyone has time to respond.
Ezra yawns mightily under her wooden mask, eyes heavy from the short sleep of last night. "When is it too early to chase a bloody murderer through the early morning fog? Never thought I would get to ask questions like that to myself. At least life is interesting today!"
Keeping her distance, Ezra does her best to stay within range to assist if needed. As the group approaches the deputy, Ezra spends some time sketching on her chalkboard. As the officer finishes, and Utho makes his kind offer, Ezra shows the board to the deputy.
"Your city is full of amazing history. Is there, by chance, a library where we could conduct some research into these events you speak of?"
Cringing, Cassiel starts after Ezebelle.
Let's hope she doesn't cause something like that again.
...you know what? Let's also wish for a well-cooked steak served on the back of a pegasus, since we're wishing for the impossible at this point.
He keeps his mouth shut as he follows Ezebelle's lead. He appears to be pondering the statue again.
So, the Warden was a town hero... but I doubt anyone here would want to so thoroughly desecrate a monument to that sort of man's memory. Well, at least it wouldn't be done lightly. I hope. If it's local kids trying to get attention, they're overdue for an ass-whooping. Hell, I'll let Ezebelle do it. I'll stand by with a snack and watch it all happen.