Imedren nodded as their plan was made. "We have two problems on our hands. Whoever or whatever killed Katrin wants the Eye back. It's Katandramus that has the Eye and plans on using it, now that he's learned of its secrets. So whoever this killer is doesn't have any clue where Katandramus is and we don't know how close He is to doing his ritual...
My divinations may be able to help us, but I can't guarantee how accurate it's going to be the narrower the questions are."
You head to Belgaer's manor in the Purse district to check in with Sel's brother and regroup. Ezekia and Rena have both relocated to the manor as well, and the witch rushes over to embrace Dramm, happy to see her husband in one piece. Rena is likely mere days from giving birth now, so she's not in much shape to rush anywhere, but she gives a stern nod to you from her place on the couch, surrounded by several wary militia members.
"My people sent the warning to the other council members," Bel says. "I'm confident Jon Crawley and Inquisitor Randoflus can handle themselves if they are attacked, but I'm worried about Master Dreen and Father Gregory. Dreen has been extremely paranoid ever since his daughter's death, and he's refusing to leave his manor. And Gregory insists his place is at the church with his clergy.
"I've gathered a few rumors about what's been going on lately. A train of windowless black carriages came through Old Arch a couple of dyas ago, then headed towards Grievings. Bats of unusual size and aggression have been attacking people there by night lately, and the citizens are afraid to go out after dark. On top of that, strange dwarfs wearing hooded cloaks have been seen skulking the streets in Gavel, and someone has been plundering the graves in the Old Town Boneyard again."
Joy thinks.
"I recall horrible dwarf-like creatures that we fought before. We should follow this lead!"
Sel looks visibly relieved when he sees Bel and Rena are both safe. But he sterns back up at Rena's nod to him.
I agree that we need to see about these strange happenings, but let us first interview the guard, Sel suggests.
Tabog nods at Selgaer in agreement, a sly smile creeping onto his face.
"Sounds like a plan, goat-man. Let's stop standing around and head into town! In fact, let's make it a wager: First one to track this guy will have to buy lunch for the bunch."
Before he even finishes his sentence, and much to the surprise of those around who don't know him, Tabog dons his feline form and starts for the door!
"Go!", adds Joy, happy to not wait any longer as she jogs to the door.
Alright everyone, let's go, Sel says, as he smiles towards where TaBog left. We all get through this, and I'll buy lunch for everyone.
Sel then casually leaves the manor, letting the cat-man have his victory. For some reason, it just didn't feel right to play games right now. But that was TaBog for you - the strange man could never read a room right.
You race south from Purse, navigating through Old Town on your way back to Gavel. It's nearly 10 PM by the time you reach the Liquid Smoke Tavern. A popular tavern on the border between Coins and Gavel, Liquid Smoke caters to patrons from both districts, creating an interesting blend of bureaucrats and merchants, lawyers and ne’er-do-wells. Its gloomy interior makes the place ideal for clandestine meetings.
Making inquiries about Lawrence, you find him in the taproom, drinking heavily. Lawrence is young and dark skinned, with black hair and kind eyes, but those eyes are wide from the horrors he witnessed earlier tonight. He shudders when you ask what happened at the mayor's house.
"I heard a commotion from the mayor’s office. I went to investigate and saw darkness shaped like a woman grip the mayor by the neck, demanding something called ‘the eye.’ I’m ashamed to say I ran back downstairs, but I saw horrid, naked men ripping apart the other guards and eating them. I ran out the front door and have been here ever since."
And you didn't think to raise the alarm?
"My mind shut down... It was so horrifying, and I just-- I had to get away." Lawrence hangs his head in shame.
After getting through the crowd of fans wanting their chance to talk to the amazing Tabog, he was able to get to their target at about the same time Sel arrived. He motions to Sel, assuring him as the point man.
"We were losing momentum back there, with all that standing around. We needed to get out of the house, fast."
As they talk Tabog's mind races, trying to out together the pieces, before turning to their resident Magi.
"Any of that sound familiar? All those books you read have got to be worth something here!"
I know you're used to wallowing in the mud and filth of the city, TaBog, but not all of us are accustomed to living in demon filth. We needed a changed of clothes and a chance to get clean.
"Think boy! This is very important. Was there anything distinguishing about them, some kind of insignia or tattoo? We need to know who we're dealing with!" The bony old man looms over the younger man like a specter.
Lawrence shrinks away from Shen. ”That’s all I saw, I swear!”
Dramm, ease his mind, if you please. Whether he can help or not, no one deserves to life the rest of their life with that kind of memory.
Joy knows that this is something outside of her expertise.
"Dramm, you should offer Lawrence the option."
"I can read my notes. The scarred exorcist gave me a great deal of material concerning evil creatures. There could be something to match these descriptions."
For now, Dramm places a hand on Mr. Reed's shoulder.
"I can help you with your memories. You will have to face them in pieces. They will not disappear, but they will fade like paint."
He extends one gently glowing green hand. Whether the man accepts or not, Dramm eventually returns his gaze to the others.
"We should collect Dreen. I promised him I would give him the opportunity to kill Candace's murderer. Edgarton's death means that Katandramus is on the move. Dreen would leave his manor for that."
That sounds good. Let's check on Dreen. Gregory, too.
You retrace your steps across Crossings' western districts, heading up to Purse to check on Master Dreen. When you reach the councilman's residence, though, you find the door has been pulled off its hinges and dirty footprints lead into the foyer. Rushing inside, you see a pair of horrid naked men, each one feasting on what appears to be a human arm! They are gaunt and sickly, their crusted maws filled with pointed black teeth and forked, sore-ridden tongues!
Holding on to his will, Imedren reached out and attempted to slow the closer of the two cannibalistic monsters.
'What are these?' he thought quickly to himself.
Even as the buildup of arcane energies continued, he just barely managed to maintain his will against them.
As others rushed ahead into the unknown, Tabog steps sideways and sets his back against the wall adjacent to the threshold. He peers around the corner and sees the gore of the creatures' feast.
He steels himself and studies hie prey to find their weakness.
"Drop those arms where I can see them! No more chewing!", Joy shouts as she disappears and green fire strikes at the nearest monster! However, it sails past!
Fear failed to register inside of Dramm. The old orc had taught him to put his obsessive nature to proper use under stress.
Undead, flesh eaters, animalistic, targeted use. Zombies? No. Too difficult to control and less intelligent.
He quickly unleashes an empowered ruinous blasts at the nearest ghoul.
Ghouls! Thrall flesh eaters, vampire associations. It's looking more likely.
Sel steps forward with his spear and casually swipes at one of them, more trying to show threat than anything. His spear hits air and it swishes past.
Come on. Drop the bodies. Tell me what happened here.
Shen is taken aback for a moment, thinking the horrid undead to be mindless revenants. His fear of his own fate came screaming up to haunt him, but then he saw Joy an the others standing, unafraid. These were simple ghouls. Shen's face curled into a sneer at the lesser undead, resolving to bring them to The Father.
The old man rushes forward, striking at the two nude undead with his fists. In a somewhat comedic moment, he even manages to clobber the two's heads together.
Uruuna raises her bow and fires a barrage of arrows!
Though Selgaer misses with his attack, Uruuna shoots both ghouls and Shen charges in to bash their heads together! The more injured of the pair crumples to the ground, then Dramm finishes off the other one with a destructive spell!
Examining the arms the ghouls were feasting on, it quickly becomes apparent that they belonged to Master Dreen. Indeed, the rest of his dismembered corpse lies sprawled across his desk, the gem that previously topped his cane embedded in the bloody stump of his neck where his head should be. Again, a message in blood is written on the wall--THE EYE BELONGS TO ME!
Quick! We must get to Father Gregory's. He must be next!
Dramm glowers at Dreen's body.
"I owed that man a debt." The thought bothered him more than he had expected, and he is still seething as he follows Selgaer. Hed be damned if his efforts for Anophth would go to waste too.
"Vampires in the city. At least I think there are." Dramm informs the group upon their return to the streets. "It would fit Lawrence's description and the appearance of the Ghouls in Dreens home. We should consider the possibility Katandramus has hired vampires, or that he is one. Ironically, Father Gregory might actually be the safest councilman if he is in his church. I have knowledge from scrolls, but no actual experience with Vampires. Selgaer, have you hunted one?"
"And Nutmeg is sure to be with him!"
Leaping in the direction of the old church, Tabog's body morphs into his familiar lynx form. He lands silently and dashes away as quickly as he is able.
"No time to waste! To Father Gregory!", calls Joy as she rushes along with her friends.
You race across town to get to the church in Grievings. When you arrive, you find a group of six strange hooded dwarves with craggy faces and dark features gathered outside the stoop. Among them stands a human woman scowling at the symbol of the New God above the threshold. She is pale and thin, wearing a gothic black dress and with her red hair done up in an elaborate bun.
As you approach, they turn to regard you. ”My business here does not concern you. Depart now, if you value your lives.”
Seeing the figures ahead, Dramm immediately draws upon the magic around him. A few of his wounds close and spells rebind themselves within him.
"Business with the priest inside? If so, you should forget what Katandramus promised you. It will not be delivered."
”Katandramus! The name of the thief!” The woman snarls, her face assuming a feral aspect. ”What do you know of him?”
Before the found the dwarves, Sel asks Joy, What do you know of these creatures. You said you've dealt with them before.
Imedren clenches his fist and snarled back. "Katandramus is nothing more than a power hungry cultist who clawed his way into something resembling leadership! He's a coward who lies, steals, and abandons those who follow him, while using the faith they use as justification for his actions! He tooke a sharp breath to calm himself.
"... but I'll give him this, he is clever.
I had my suspicions after Mayor Edgarton was murdered, but now I know. You had almost no information to go off of before you began your murder spree.
We're too late, now. There was only one council member who had been helping him, but we've already dealt with them. Unfortunately we didn't learn anything terribly useful to us.
By making you go after the entirety of the Council, he made you predictable and so are we. We care that you killed these people, he knew we'd come running. Katandramus doesn't care and has already taken whatever power had been reestablished. Now he's somewhere in the city preparing to use the Eye... and now here we are, staring each other down."
He stared hard at her. "But it seems to me we have a common enemy."
Shen was a little surprised as their new companion transformed into a lynx. Some kind of lycanthrope? However, with the urgency of the situation, Mr.Reed decided to focus on the undead threat. It was something to ask later.
The woman stares Imedren down, her eyes flashing with anger. Despite her fury, she hisses and looks away. ”He is a slippery bastard, to be sure. Almost as wily as his predecessor, the demonologist who stole the Eye from my tower centuries ago. Moore, his name was. He place my treasure somewhere warded from divinations. When at last I could sense it again, I sent my agents to retrieve it, but Katandramus got to it first. I have been chasing after him ever since, and now he has sent me on a wild goose chase and pitted you against me, likely hoping each would take the other out.”
She looks back to you. ”My name is Lucretia. I will help you kill Katandramus. Then I will reclaim what is rightfully mine. The Eye of the Demon Lord is too dangerous to remain in mortal hands. I will leave your city and make sure it is not used against you again.”
Seeing the figures in front of the church, and not wishing to engage them, Tabog makes a hard turn and heads around the building looking for another way in, or at least a window to peer through. He is surprised when he hears a conversation break out instead of combat but doesn't stray too far anyway.
"Who *are* you, Lucretia? And how can we trust that *you* won't just use the Eye?", asks Joy, eyeing Lucretia with suspicion, along with the all-too-familiar "dwarves".
"Moore? As in Moore house? The creature there was old. Moore himself, sustained by harvesting bodies? Possibly an experiment or guardian? Katandramus must have woken him again when he raided the creature's lair."
A small wave of revulsion knots Dramm's stomach during his mutterings. He leans closer to Imedren who spoke on their behalf.
"Patchwork. It's possible we could have ended this before we began if we had arrived at Moore house sooner!" He whispers to Imedren in momentary frustration. He becomes more mechanical as he considers the options before the party. "This vampire hunted Moore, and Katandramus is following Moore's old paths. If she needs a trail, maybe we can take her to Moore's home. A dangerous arrangement, but a valuable one."
Worth a shot, Dramm.
Shen carefully draws his blade, checking the shine of its edge, before stowing it again. Looks as if these are not demons they face, but something of another ilk.
Lucretia eyes Joy with an impassive stare. "I am a collector and custodian of many rare artifacts and objets d'art. There are a great many relics in this world, some wondrous, some terrible. I find beauty in all of them. I have no wish to use the Eye and bring about the world's destruction, for that would destroy my precious relics as well. You have no need to fear once I reclaim my stolen property."
Good enough for me, as long as you stop killing the people of this city. Or we're going to have more than words, Sel says. Now, anyone have any idea where Katamdramus is? Or, if someone has some sort of spell that lets me see him, then we can track him.
Joy does not hide her displeasure at the situation.
"I don't trust you very much. But Katandramus will kill us all if we don't do something, so we'd better get going after him."
”I can cast a spell of locating, but it only lasts an hour, and only works in close proximity,” Lucretia says. ”We would need to at least be in the right district to find the coward.”
Tabog, meanwhile, slips into the church through a window to find Nutmeg and Father Gregory eyeing the front doors nervously, listening to the conversation happening outside. Nutmeg sniffs the air and turns to look at his father. ”Dad! What’s going on out there? Who is that weird lady?”
Where's this Moore House? Let's check that place out next.
Joy turns to Nutmeg.
Tabog would surely say the same, might as well get on with it!
"Nutmeg, this is Lucretia. We're going to work together to put a stop to all this trouble. You should stay here with Father Gregory."
She turns to the others:
"Moore House sounds like our best bet! Lucretia, how often can you cast that spell?"
”Just once per night,” Lucretia says. ”But I can assure you Katandramus is not at the Moore House. That was the first place I looked, and indeed, it is where I have established my lair while I hunt for him in the city.”