Natsume chuckles; ”Giggs here is an old friend of mine from down the road! Hels, I think I’ve known her longer than I’ve known you “ she explains.
Technically accurate!
"Sir Lawren" nods, and goes to bow before Giggett: "Honored to meet you, old friend of Sir Talmore!"
Giggett was not able to smell the poison, but she is sure able to smell how bad the odor on "Sir Lawren" is!
"I am the one who left the scar on Talmore's face..."
He turns to Natsume: "Remember when I accidentally cutting you during sparring practice?!"
Turning back to Giggett he says: "I mainly sleep in ditches right now. To better remain mobile.
But they are hiding in an old ruined farmhouse that I occupied when I first came to town.
LET US GO SLAY THEM!"
He turns to Natsume again: "Tell me, as we walk... how did you manage to escape Lastwall?"
As Tamerius reads his paper where he writ down the event of last night, he think that "Sir Lawren" is a good suspect and follows him with Giggett and Natsume.
Tell me Sir Lawren, have you seen someone near Bort last night with a vial?
"Sir Lawren" looks at Tamerius: "I do not think that Dwarven Master deals in vials... he loves pints and full pitchers."
He looks around, and lowers his voice: "I do not like to speak ill of the dead, but...I think he has a drinking problem".
He then looks back to Natsume: "There was a bar-brawl two days ago. But I fled it.. do not like fights much anymore. And, well, I do not really remember seeing what was happening to Bort."
After a little while, taking the road North out of the village, you come to an old ruined farmhouse, with some woods to the left, and a big turnip field to the right - it is just before a path that comes from the right.
"Sir Lawren" starts to become very nervous, and points to the old house, nearly pushing Natsume along: "There! There! The Un-Dead are there!"
You carefully step into the derelict farmhouse, and see that the sagging straw roof barely protects this abandoned house from the elements.
Piles of debris litter the common room, which shows signs of occupation, although not too recently.
A backpack sits in one corner with a glint of silver inside its open flap, resting next to a shattered chair and a moldy old blanket.
Quite suddenly the air seems to grow cold, and the sound of moaning fills the house.
Natsume ponders the question of “her” escape from Lastwall. She has not, in fact, ever visited the place; a half-truth would be hard to come by at this point.
”I prefer to leave that to your imagination, Lawren!” she chuckles with feigned ease.
At the sudden chill in the air, Natsume bristles; her shield is on her arm in a moment, and she unwraps the flail from the grip in a quick tug.
”Anyone own this ol’ barn or is it abandoned?” With what she’s learned of the Folly, it could go either way.
In answer to Natsume, the air grows so cold that Dragh feels crystals form on his beard, and the moaning grows--
--then, an apparition forms itself, as though coming out of, or over, the backpack.
The apparition seems to glare at you, and flies towards you--
--and you see that it is like a colorless ghostly figure, that of the gaunt form of a Knight.
It appears to have a nasty-looking scar running down one side of his face... and, somehow Sir Lawren’s clothes, though tattered and dirty, seem to be, or at least have been, like the raiment of the ghostly figure.
This ghostly figure stares at you with its dead eyes and--
--its moan becomes FRIGHTFUL, the wailing increasing, and sending shivers down your spines!
Sir Lawren yells: "TALMORE!!!" and falls to his knees, quivering.
• failure: you become frightened 2 (or frightened 3 on a critical failure)
• success: no fear and temporarily immune to this ghost’s frightful moan for 1 minute
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Giggett accompany "Sir Lawren" with an expression of boredom, but at the sight of the abandonned farmhouse, she changes her behavior. The derelict place and the threat of undeads, or whatever drunken nighmares the poor man had, gives her a shiver.
She draws her rapier, and bends herself to avoid notice. Silently moving to the building, she takes a quick look inside through a window. When Natsume decides to enter, she glides to the closest crate and hide herself behind it.
Unfortunately for her, she stucks her foot inside some hole in the wooden planks. Hearing the moaning, she tries to extract herself from it with a sudden kick, breaking the wood with a loud noise.
Completely scared, Giggett runs away from the monster, going behind everyone.
Feeling a bit more secure there, she straighten herself to try to get a little bit of composure, and starts casting a spell.
lightning damage, basic Reflex save DC 14.
Giggett is so frightened, her hair is standing on end!
Shaking, she manages to cast the spell, and electric sparks hit the translucide shape.
The ghostly knight manages to sidestep some of the harm--
--and the rest seems to not manage to affect it, passing through the emptiness, with not enough power left to hurt the apparation.
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When Dragh hears Giggett request about wishing to see the goblin waiter, dwarf says in gnomish:
"A lot of signs might suggest that goblin could be involved in this, but on the other hand, some signs are too obvious. Someone might want to think it is him."
Then he smiles and leaves the building.
Dwarf follows his allies going into the abandoned house:
"The goblin that we are looking for likes to stay in such places..." dwarf goes silent when he hears the moaning.
The apparition have a strong effect on Dragh who seems frightened.
He bends down and makes some marks with his hand on the ground. Soon the signs begin to glow in the half-arc around the Wizzard. He waves his shaking hands and speaks incantation as the energy gathers around his feet. After a couple of seconds, he throws three missles of arcane energy. The missles fly next to Natsume and hits the ghost
Though Dragh's finger tremble as he is scared by this apparition, and, at first, the spell does not work-- then, seeing his got a rune wrong because of his trembling, the dwarf finishes the spell and the three bolts of arcane energy smash into the ghostly knight.
They seem to disregard the fact that he is only partly here, on the material plane, or that he is so faint and half-visible.
Obviously bashed by the attacks, the warrior seems to be mostly destroyed, and he becomes much fainter, just a very pale blue outline...
Tamerius tries to recognize the creature
Tamerius recognizes this as a ghost, which you know are most often Evil Undead Spirits, that are Incorporeal.
You recall that these beings are resistant to all damage, except for Force, Ghost Touch, and Positive - and even that they are doubly resistant to non-magical damage.
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Natsume feels a lump rising in her throat... and quickly swallows her fear. She raises her shield in a soldier’s stance (or her best approximation, lacking formal training).
”Speak, phantom of Talmore, or rest easy! Your comrades have not surrendered the fight!”
Tamerius tries to remember what could help this phantom rests for ever.
This is a ghost! If we need to fight this one, we need force, ghost touch or positive damages! It's resistant to all type of damages and even more from non magical!
Somehow, Natsume sees that the ghost "looks" at her. It seems to react somehow to its name... but that is all. It does relent in its martial pose.
Tamerius remembers clearly that if the ghost is defeated, it will rematerialize after only a few days to continue haunting whatever object links it to the material world.
He also knows this will be some personal object, something intimate and close to the dead man.
Something that keeps him remaining partially in this world.
Maybe even something linked to his death.
The only way to put him to rest is by giving this object a proper burial.
Then the soul will depart for its eternal resting place and there will be a ghost no more.
Natsume considers for a moment... then sprints for the backpack. If possible, she’ll pick it up.
Giggett turns towards Sir Lawren--
While Natsume moves over to the backpack--
Giggett hears to Tamerius, thinking that it gets worse and worse.
She then turns to Sir Lawren:
"Sir Lawren, what was the name of Talmore's commander at Lastwall? And how do you address a subordinate back there?"
Sir Lawren, have stolen something from this man? Do you have something that belongs to someone else in your belongings?
Sir Lawren is quite distraught: "There! See! The Un-Dead are coming here too!"
He answers Giggett: "Talmore and I both served Watcher-Lord Ulthun II. We are... were-- Paladins of Iomedae. Knights of Ozem. He, like I, are called... Sir. Why?"
Turning to Tamerius, he mumbles: "I stole nothing! When Lastwall fell, Talmore, my fellow crusader fell facing the undead horde. Only my friend’s mangled body was left on the battlefield. I took his holy symbol to preserve his memory, and have kept it safe with me, in my pack!"
”Can someone remind me what Iomedae’s holy symbol looks like!?” hollers Natsume from across the barn as she drops to her knees and starts tearing through it looking for it.
Sir Lawren's eyes bug out as he looks at Natsume: "Talmore, what are you..."
And then he starts LAUGHING like crazy: "Oh, ha ha, you had me fooled! You are so funny!"
Tamerius turns toward Sir Lawren and says Idiot! Fool! You have stolen something from your friend and have done nothing with it! It's not the minions of Tar-Baphon that hunt you, but the spirit of your friend. You need to apologize, and you need to bury in consecrated grounds his holy symbol to give your friend the rest he need.
Looking at Tamerius, Sir Lawren mumbles: "What?! I could not bury him and wanted to save..."
He stops and falls to his knees, moving up and looking at the ghost: "Oh, Talmore, is that you? I am sorry, so sorry I left your side during the battle... I will bury your symbol, as though burying you! Please forgive me!"
As Sir Lawren speaks--
--the ghost fades away, disappearing!
Sir Lawren looks around, his eyes moist with tears.
It takes a bit of time for Giggett to stop shivering. When she gets back to her senses, she turns to Sir Lawren and, seeing his pain, comes to him and tries to appease his grief:
"Sir Lawren, Talmore is now strawling in the world of peaceful bliss and righteous fights that Iomedae rules. You took his symbol out of respect, you had no way to know of the consequences. And it's over now, Talmore will only remember the lawful friendship that united you and the trust he has rightfully put in you. It is time to rest, for him and for you, to heal your wounds so you'll be ready to serve your goddess if the need arises once again."
Giggett puts a hand on Sir Lawren's shoulder and gently smiles to him.
Dragh shakes off his hands the glyphs dimming until they disappear completely. He begins walking a bit to lose the terrifying feeling of dealing with a ghost.
"Let us get this over with and burry the symbol. Dead does not belong to this world, so let us return peace to Sir Talmore."
Sir Lawren puts his own hand over Giggett's, and presses it warmly.
He looks like he has been freed from a heavy burden.
"Yes, thank you. I shall bury the symbol. I had no idea. Let us honor my friend Talmore..."
He no longer seems to feel Natsume is his friend.
Sir Lawren goes over to the bag, and looks through it.
Pulling out a longsword in a scabbard, with a belt.
It is all made of fine workmanship.
He pulls the blade out slightly, and you see that there is a rune of potency set on the base of the hilt.
He bows, and hands the blade to Natsume: "Thank you. Here is my blade. I no longer am worthy of it. May you wear in memory of the Knights we were.
Will you bury the symbol with me?"
Natsume had pulled the symbol out of the top of the bag.
Sir Lawren then takes out a leather pouch and moves over to the others, handing Tamerius - "Thank you, your harsh words woke me up." - a minor healing potion, and then one to Dragh - "May Iomedae bless you, Master Dwarf."
The potions have the seal of Iomedae on their wax caps.
Finally, he turns to Giggett - "And please accept this small token of my gratitude." - and he hands the gnome a potency crystal talisman in the form of a small symbole of Iomedae.
Sir Lawren will ask you to help him bury Talmore's Holy Symbol, with Dragh, in the back of the farm, where his backpack was, and speak some words.
"I will built an altar here, and then clean myself up while working on repairing this farm house..."
You all feel quite Heroic at having saved the day, laid a spirit to rest, and helped a fallen Paladin.
After the ceremony - - it is late morning, and you look at one another, deciding what to do now.
Giggett takes the token from Sir Lawren:
"Sir Lawren, today, you give me this token as I am the one who fights and you're the one who rests. But tomorrow, I'll give it back to you when you'll be healed and I'll need to rest."
During the burial, Giggett stays silent and doesn't participate much unless specifically asked. After all, she doesn't know the dead, and she's not exactly fond of Iomedae's rites (or Asmodeus's if Tamerius leads it).
On the way back, after leaving Lawren, she's back to her bored mood and mumbles quite distinctly:
"Burials, burials, can't their be weddings here? I far prefer weddings to burials!"
At some point, she speaks to Tamerius:
"Tamerius, I don't know if you value more ruthless pragmatism or gift symbolism, but I think I'll have more value out of yours and you out of mine. As I don't have the powers to heal and... well, you have a bigger gun."
When the party starts speaking about what to do next, Giggett tells her comrades:
"I know the location of two of the three waiters. Obviously, the one I want to interrogate is the missing one. But as I don't see what else to do, I was planning in seeing his colleagues. Someone wanna come?"
Dragh looks with interest at sword given to Natsume, hoping that maybe he got some ancient scroll in his backpack or forgotten book of some sort. When he pulls out a minor healing potion he is disappointed.
He takes the blade in his hands, saying:
"It is a good piece of work, solid steel, the rune was made by a skilled craftsman. The sword has seen battles but is a very formidable weapon. The rune itself is worth more than 30 gold pieces. And this bottle looks like it was made by a crazy goblin alchemist on the streets of Absalom."
Dwart takes part in the ritual but as Giggett he is ignorant when it comes to the burial rituals.
"I will try to spend some time with the books now. Maybe I will read something of interest there."
Even after the failed Glorious Reclamation Iomedae's faith stayed strong in Cheliax and was not banned. That's why Tamerius know some of the burying rituals tied to her faith and the fact that some of the funerals he attended were of Iomadae's faithful.
First, he asks Sir Lawren to dig a small hole where he will place the holy symbol of his fallen comrade.
Once the hole dig, Tamerius starts by reciting the 11 Acts of the goddess. Then he asks Sir Lawren to holds his weapon in front of him with the goddess' holy symbol attached. He then prays for guidance and protection from the Inheritor, while promising to follow her teachings.
After the prayers, he asks the knight to finish the burying by filling back the hole himself.
Here is buried, Sir Talmore, Knight of Ozem, Follower of Iomedae, may his Soul rest in peace.
After the ceremony, he talks with his comrades
I don't think I need your trinket, I'm not a fighter. But as you presume well, I favor pragmatism and I think that you having my healing potion is a better idea. Keep your trinket, it could come handy again a strong enemy.
Sir Lawren was one of my suspect, but he's clearly not the culprit... I propose to talk to Konlral first. He was the one who start the brawl with the drunk, Ealom if I recall. I'm almost sure that the brawl was provoked to give the time to the killer to poison Bort's bowl.
"Also, it could be great to take half an hour to heal your wounds, Tamerius, as if I'm not making a mistake, you're still suffering from your earlier ones. It could give someone with the ability to sceal runes and talismans to apply them on our weapons."
"And it's ok for Konlral. I wasn't at the inn when the fight started, so I trust your judment on that. Also, it means we may look for two persons, one starting the fight while the other one poisoned the bowl..."
After the moving ceremony led by Tamerius, you leave Sir Lawren, who is praying over the small shrine for his brother in arms.
Dragh decides to go to the wagons, and start looking into the ledgers again.
He decides to spend most of the day there, starting afresh, and looking at everything from the beginning... and so the dwarf works away until lunch time--
In the meantime, Giggett, Tamerius and Natsume - - first head to see Kolnral.
Kolnral lives not far from the Feedmill, so you stop there as Dragh goes off to work in the wagon looking through the books.
You see that it is a nice little town-house, where Kolnral is with his wife, and a newborn baby, a daughter.
Kolnral is obviously recovering from some injuries suffered during the bar brawl.
"Please, come in. Have some tea. I am happy to talk to you about the night of poor Master Bort’s... poisoning.
What can I say--" he says, when first questioned.
"Yes, I was serving drinks, while it was Trin who served the food.
And, yes, I can confirm that Amora was busy in the kitchen... while Phinick assisted around the bar and kitchen.
Most of my interactions that night were with Delma.
It is she who prepared drinks for me, to then serve to thirsty guests."
He rubs his wounds:
"The last thing I clearly recall is accidentally bumping into Eallom, which bumping caused the farmer to spill his drink... and start the brawl!"
He shrugs.
"Then I was knocked to the floor... oh, but I remember seeing Phinick fleeing the bar, and then the rest is a blur.
I only regained my senses shortly after Bort’s death.
What else do you wish to ask?"
Giggett takes a moment to think while looking around at the house and the room she's in with the others. She wants to determine if the family may have money issues. Or, on the contrary, be wealthy enough to buy a vial of rare poison. Then, a usual, Giggett starts asking questions one after the other, barely giving her interlocutor time to catch his breath:
"Kolnral, I indeed have a few questions. Besides waiter, do you have any other occupation? Have you ever bought something precious from Bort? When did you get back to consciousness? What a lovely daughter you have, what is her name? I hope she wasn't in the inn that day? Is it possible to ask a few questions to your wife, too?"
It seems to be a simple, small, house.
Nothing fancy at all. Not rich.
But it does not seem they need much. It looks clean, and with some furniture and all.
"Yes, I work in the turnip fields."
His wife blushes, as he answers: "Well, I did order a nice dress for our wedding, for my wife. From Bort."
"As I said, I only regained my senses shortly after Bort’s death. Probably all the commotion... or just some time had gone by."
His wife is there too, with the baby.
She answers: "This is Mia. No, she was with me, here, at home.
I do cleaning for the inn, laundry. I probably cleaned your sheets if your sleeping at the Feedmill.
What do you want to know?"
Natsume is the one to fetch a shovel, and if Lawren doesn't object, she digs the hole, as well; no stranger to such labor, and given she doesn't need to dig a particularly deep hole, she works quickly and solemnly.
She seems hesitant to accept the blade at all, however.
"Keep it, friend. I'm already well-equipped," she says, nodding toward her shield and flail propped up against the wall of the barn, "and Iomedae would rather you find your way back to Her than leave you defenseless in the meantime."
She does help fill in the dirt over the symbol, patting Lawren on the back whenever he seems close to breaking down.
She stays with Lawren for a few minutes before catching up with the rest of them.
Sir Lawren looked to see if anyone else wished to take the sword--
--and, if not, laid it down in front of the alter.
Sir Lawren looked to see if anyone else wished to take the sword--
"Well, I'll be honest, considering what we are facing when investigating Bort's death, a magical weapon would be of great help. So, even if I may seem rude, I would prefer to get your sword. Also, I don't think it's legitimate to let it here. You are a paladin or Iomedae. There's no resignation form for such type of commitment. So, today, you feel tired. But tomorrow, I'll bring you your sword back, as it needs to hang at your side until your last breath."
Then Sir Lawren hands his sword to Giggett.
"Use it against all Evil... I need to make penance first."
"Someone who attacks merchant caravans and assassinates people through food poisoning is clearly on the wrong side of Iomedae's sword."
"Natsume, you are our main fighter. I think you should use the magical rune of this sword. We can put it back when returning the weapon to Sir Lawren."
"Well, in fact, you involuntarily answered my questions. As investigators say: "Happy people have no stories." So I wanted to know if everything was going fine between you. And it looks like it's the case.
Also, about Eallom, you know him better than we do, do you know if he's used to such violent reactions? Could you tell us where we can find him?"
They both smile and holds hands, when you mention happy people.
"Farmer Eallom can be found in his fields most days, and normally in the taproom of the Feedmill in the evening. But since it its closed, he'll be in his farm at night."
The wife adds: "Best see him in the afternoon, he is in less of a foul mood than in the morning."
The husband smiles: "He'll have recovered from whatever excess drinking of the past evening. But even on the best of days the farmer is not friendly."
The wife points: "His farm is on the north side of town."
The husband adds: "It is easily mistaken for being abandoned, as it isn’t in good repair."
Natsume looks askance at it, but shrugs. "If we've got it anyway, I might as well use it," she says, slipping the blade into her obi. "Gods know we've been attacked often enough to need it!"
Unless Tamerius has more to ask - - you bid the couple good-bye, and head off to--
"If we trust Kolnral, it's better not to bother Eallom in the morning. So, let's go see Trin, for those who want. Unless you have another proposition."
It is quite late in the morning when you set out, into the lunch hour, so Dragh gives up his morning's work on the books, and joins you - "I need some fresh air, it will clear my head and I will get into the books this afternoon with better concentration" -, and you all four set out to see Trin, the other waitress.
You leave the town by the main road to the south, and then, a bit out of town, take a path to your left, towards the east.
You know that Trin and her brother Marny live here on a small turnip farm, to the southwest side of town.
As you arrive towards the farm, on the smaller path Giggett, Tamerius and Dragh notice--
--a young man running clockwise around the farmhouse!
Natsume? Well, she has her head buried in the palm of her hand, looking at the rune, and does not pay much attention to what is going on.
Giggett, Tamerius, Dragh Goldenoak-- you all can react.
Perception
Tamerius tries to find any sign that the man is hiding something or seems more embarrassed by the questions asked than he should be.
Tamerius tries to understand what the young man is doing.
Back at Kolnral's house, Tamerius does not feel that the man is hiding anything... other than the pain of some of the blows he got in the fight.
Here, outside Trin's farmhouse--
Something's wrong here, this man is scare to death! Catch him!
Says Tamerius to his comrades as he moves himself towards the house.