The caretaker nods and calmly responds "Sprained ankle. I thought so as well. A quite severe case, however." He follows up. "Don't worry about it- we'll take care of him. I just don't want to give him anything to numb the pain. He's been talking in his sleep, and I am worries that he took something... Recreational. He was mumbling half-conscious about the recent murders in town. I think Perville noted it down. She can be very meticulous, but it's not something I need for the treatment.
"Here." he hands you a few sheets of parchment "Can you throw this out when you leave?"
Patient stated that the sheriff has a written testimony from a witness that says the jailed suspects are guilty. The sheriff himself wants them to hang.
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"Trail rations? Well, certainly. We have jerky, we have dried fruits, or nuts. Which one would you prefer? I also have some rice, but you need to cook that. Would you perhaps be interested in a fine pot such as this?", the half elf woman pulls out a bit busted - but clearly durable - pot that seems like it could hold approximately a galon of liquid. "It is second hand, but the condition is good. No holes, or anything. And even has a nice handle you cna tie a string to!"
The braid-hair woman looks at Zandu, scans him up and down and giggles. "You can't stop here, then! This is Mendev - demon county; remember?"
She takes her goods and moves for the exit. She stops by Zandu on the way out, and leans in for a whisper. "Of course it's true, silly. People in the Beer Garden say as much. They know everything. Or not... One of those."
She smiles again as she leaves the shop to disappear in the crowd.
Sakura smiles at the half elf woman.
"Yes, I take the food and also the pot!" she says and pays. She bows and takes Zandu to return to the team.
~
When the team meets she explains everything that they learned.
"In summary I have to say that they are contradicting each other! We need to talk to Ekira who might worship demons and does not like Pathfinders. We need to talk to Eila's niece that saw two hooded figures dancing in a devil's circle outside of town. And Orug might know more if we confront him with evidence as he saw one of the victims. All else seemed to be hearsay." the Axiomite says methodically while reading from her notebook.
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”Well I overheard a couple gossips in the infirmary. The first said that …
"... yes. When Kenabres fell, most of the survivors got possessed by demons. The poor Pathfinders must have killed the victims, but it's probably not their fault. Who knows what actually happened?"
The other man responded thusly…"Well, that explains why they are here. Otto worships demons out at his farm. the first victim was skinned alive on his property. He must have drawn them here, or something."
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Ilarien shakes her head at Sakura's commentary. "Of course they're not going to agree with each other. Why would you expect them to? The person I treated claimed that the sheriff has written testimony that our people are guilty, and also that the sheriff wants them to hang for it. That may or may not be true, but it's something we can investigate. We can also follow up on this Otto person, though it's more likely that he's a cranky eccentric whose neighbors don't like him. Personally, I recommend starting with the rumor about the sheriff. Not directly, though. Just 'I heard that the sheriff has a witness. Hope they're under guard, in case those murderers have friends.'"
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"We heard that Otto found the first body but is acting like nothing happened. And that Ekira has actually been getting messages from Sarenrae. I wouldn't be surprised if the rumor mill got that wrong one way or the other. And that she might be challenging the sheriff for his job."
"Let's gather some more information but I think, sooner or later, we're going to have to talk to each of those three."
"Shall we keep the same teams and go find out what other information we can find?"
Current options:
Orug's General Store
Heath and Harvest Inn
Tent City
Beer Garden
New options:
Otto's Farm
Sheriff - wherever he might be
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"I think we should wait until we have some more information about Otto before visiting his farm. We may have questions for him and it might be better to go as a bigger group," Shenendril says.
She turns to Devin. "We can head for the tent city and ask around there since we already visited the beer garden."
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"I think we should wait until we have some more information about Otto before visiting his farm. We may have questions for him and it might be better to go as a bigger group," Shenendril says.
She turns to Devin. "We can head for the tent city and ask around there since we already visited the beer garden."
Sakura nods at Shenendril, Ninnic and Ilarien.
"Then we take the beer garden again. The guests could be another source of information beyond the barkeeper."
The Beer Garden (marked with an E on slide 2 of the linked document). The wall itself is made of now empty barrels and crates. A very makeshift setup, but it is only a temporary arrangement for the Harvest festival, so they have what they have. Throughout the morning, the place seems largely empty, but you can imagine a lot of ruckus and music and celebration during the evening and night hours. There are several tents with taps available, and a few yesterday's partygoers are still in the area, some sleeping, but there are two or three that just woke up and are huddling to whatever they had planned for the day. The taps themselves are covered in tents, and the owners are dilligently cleaning their stalls to get rid of yesterday's spills, and whatever else might have popped up.
Sakura and Zandu move to the beer garden and try to mix with the guests.
They try to engage in small talk and if necessary Sakura will also try her luck with the barkeeper again!
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Shenendril leads Devin to the tent city as they did earlier in the day. Instead of continuing to the beer garden, however, they amble through the actual tent city.
She strikes up a conversation with any vendors or patrons who seem chatty and or knowledgeable.
"Can you believe these deaths, lately? So rare for a city this side. Seems like there must be something to it, doesn't it? What have you heard? Do I need to worry? I have my friend here to protect me, but one can never be too safe, can one?"
In the Beer Garden, Sakura and Zandu mingle with the guests a bit. Since the day is currently in full swing, several lubricated vocal cords sing. You spend some coin to buy a few drinks for other patrons in return, but hear interesting rumors as a result.
Another stranger, this one tall and quiet with a patch of hair missing from the back of his head, has been in town for about as long as the Pathfinders have. He sometimes asks more questions about the accused than is considered seemly in these parts
Some aren’t sure the prisoners are guilty, but it’s hard to get anybody to speak his mind with that inquisitor throwing accusations and the whole crowd screaming to see some necks get stretched.
Shenendril leads Devin to the tent city as they did earlier in the day. Instead of continuing to the beer garden, however, they remain in the actual tent city, among the various stalls, performers, and games.
Shenendril stops by a a young woman with braided hair, who seems to be setting up her products on display. She is putting various pastries on the table in front of her. As you approach, the smell of licorice hits your nose. Gingerbread of all forms and sizes are sit ahead of you, and more keep coming up from the cart behind the woman.
As she set up shop, she chats back. "Oh yeah, I just came from Orug's place. He discovered the second victim in front of his general store. He says he fought the murderer before he escaped, but has been known to stretch a point in the name of a good story. Take it with a pinch of salt, I guess.
While Devin is on the lookout, he notices a crier just within earshot, as he is offering a place in a race to passers by. "Fancy yourself a good swimmer, sir? We have a competition. Entry fee 5 silver, top 3 swimmers split 10 gold based on the rank. Up for it?"
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At noon, there are even more people in front of Orug's. In both the barber shop and the general store section. You push yourself through the crowd and end up near the counter. Ilarien asks for herbalist supplies while Orug, the half orc, takes care of other customers. A half elf woman, come forward and stands opposite to you. "Herbalist supplies hm? Anythig in particular? We might have a few mortars around here. Or did you want ingredients? We have some dried funghi, bat feces, various plants - including seeds. So what is it that you need, exactly?"
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"Willow bark. It's about the easiest analgesic to find, so I tend to use it instead of more exotic simples. I was helping out with the patients in the transient quarters--there'll probably be more sprains and such coming." She shakes her head. "I'll probably need some needles and thread, too, to stitch people up. At least there shouldn't be any more killings, now that the ones they say did it are locked away."
Ilarien and Ninnic decide to split up. The Varisian decides to hit the shop for some supplies, while the Ratfolk goes for a retouch to his fur at the barber shop.
While Orug himself is not present, his hired help takes care of the barber and bath part of the business. Ninnic sits into a chair, and is attented by a halfling man just out of his teens. He is a little startled at first, but after making sure that this would not be a "full body procedure", he seems content and gets out his scissors. "May I suggest you take a look at our bath facilities while you are here? We have wonderful scents ranging from lavender flowers up to something more exotic, like ambra. We can even make you a nice custom mix, for a modest fee. Just ask my colleague by the perfumes section to hook you up. Discounts for barber customers.", he tries to upsell you as he works on the fur. If you are not sure, you can always go and take a walk through the baths to see if it tickles your fancy.
Meanwhile, in the general store building - Tessa the half elf is rummaging thorugh supplies to find willow bark. Ilarien was told to wait in the meantime, and she looks around the store, seeing all kind of merchandise. Pots, fishing rods, gardening tools, nets, various materials for both mundane and magical use, even some simple weapons. There's a lot to look at, and one could wonder how they fit all of it in here. Given the time it takes Tessa to find willow bark, Ilarien assumes the merchandise is arranged in an organised chaos kind-of-way. The feeling is reinforced by the fact that the half elf is looking for alchemical ingredients in set of two large cabinets towards the end of the shop.
"AHA!", Tessa shouts, and comes back. In one hand, she holds two glass jars. She puts them on the counter in front of Ilarien. One contains a light-brown powder, the other has condensed water on the cylinder walls, and behind the droplets, a dozen or so cust up pieces of bark. "Well we have powder, sold by weight - dried up, of course..." she puts forward one of the jars. "... and we have the fresh stuff. Probably still with some mold and moss on it. This one is per bundle. One bundle gets you four of these five by one inch pieces. So what will it be?"
While she lets you see the jars themselves, she goes fishing for a needle and thread. She merely crouches and opens up one of the compartments on her side, then starts sifting through with her hands.
You enter the bath section of the building. Evaporating hot water makes it complicated to navigate, but you can make out three distinct rooms, each with their own pool for warm baths. Immediately after entering, your fur starts to capture the condensated water in the air. As you move from door to door, scents permeate through the air, and mix in the hallway. You sense a flowery smell - probably lavender, then something heavier, but not sure what. It smells like a mix of honey and pine sap, with something added, but it is hard to identify.
In either case, you quietly stalk through the entry hall, peeking into the rooms one by one. All pools are full at the moment, and the people inside are quite ... chatty. They discuss multiple topics, and it doesn't take long before the topics of the recent murders are brought up.
You put your back against the wall next to the room, and quietly listen in. The discussion is heated, and the participants present their version of the truth. You figure catch multiple things, but 3 of them notable.
When he arrived at the second murder site, Sheriff Luin found a dagger that fit a sheath belonging to one of the Pathfinders who was hiding nearby.
When the Pathfinders were arrested, the accused halfling had blood all over his hands and clothes.
There’s going to be a jailbreak tomorrow night. The Pathfinder Society sent another gang of their adventurers to bust the first bunch out. Those thugs all have orders to kill the sheriff and anybody who gets in their way.
You take the powder, and gently explain to Tessa that contrary to popular believ, it is not the moss and mold on the fresh bark that has healing properties, but the bark itself. You support your statements by your own experience and research documented in several publications that you have read. Of course, there is always a possibility of an error, but the moss and fungus on the bark never seemed to have added to the curative processes.
Tessa listens in, and thanks for the advice. She prods your mind a little more on the subject, and the conversation starts to wander. You gently steer the topic to the subject of the recent murders. Tessa explains that while Orug is quite the involved in the local hearsay - it's mostly to help the business. People buy more when they talk, and don't notice they are buying more than they originally wanted when they came in. In either case, she tells you that Otto frequents the shop, but never bought anything else than farming equipment or animal feed. Very likely not a demon worshipper.
She also tells you that Eila's niece is in her rebelous years, and is probably only looking for the attention. A lot of things about the murders she says are probably ... far fetched, to say the least."
Aftersome convincing, Devin decides to enter the swimmer competition.
The contestants swim across the nearby river. Who manages to move back and forth most times is the victor.
While he is not the fastest, he does get a slot on the podium as second.
During the post-contest celebration, Devin is invited to a contestants table. After the initial celebration, the talk turns to gossip of the recent events in town, as is tradition here. Or so it seems.
Devin overhears several statements during this time.
There’s a witch in town who plans to bring the hanged murderers back as undead. They’ll slaughter the whole town on the morning of the execution.
When the Pathfinders were arrested, the accused dwarf had blood all over her hands and clothes.
Ekira is a demon posing as an inquisitor. She’s used this trick to murder dozens of commoners in the countryside, and nobody is brave enough to speak up.
As the sun slowly begins to set on the horizon, the people starat to close their shop and joining the celebrations. Heath and Harvest Inn is emptier than usual, but the Beer Garden in the Tent City is slowly filling up. People are generally merry and enjoying the festival.
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With his fur trimmed and freshly bathed, Ninnic came back and told what he knew to the group.
”I heard three pieces of information that could be relevant, if it’s true of course. First, Sheriff Luin found a dagger that supposedly fit a sheath of one of the Pathfinders at the second murder site. Next, when they were arrested, the Pathfinder halfling had blood all over his hands and clothes. And finally, they are saying we have a jailbreak planned for tomorrow evening and are to take out whoever is in our way to free the prisoners.”
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Shenendril watches the swimming competition, cheering Devin on. She shouts out hoots of victory when he finds a place on the winners' podium and joins him at the post contest celebration.
"We heard Orug found the second victim outside his store and fought the murderer, but that he's one for tall tails," she says.
"Also that there's a witch who's going to raise the Pathfinders to get their revenge after they're executed.
"AND that the inquisitor is really a demon on a murder spree!"
Her brow furrows at Ninnic's news.
"That's strange because we heard it was the dwarf who had blood on their hands. And I don't remember being told that we're doing a jailbreak. Are we doing a jailbreak?"
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Ilarien shakes her head minutely. "I talked with Tessa at Orug's store, and she provided some perspective on a few of these tales. Otto's purchases at the store are what you might expect for a farmer, so she didn't believe the tales of his demon worship. She also doesn't trust Eila not to exaggerate, as she's of an age to be looking for attention."
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Sakura nods.
”Well, we spent some coin to buy a few drinks at the Beer Garden. We learned something:“
A stranger, this one tall and quiet with a patch of hair missing from the back of his head, has been in town for about as long as the Pathfinders have. He sometimes asks more questions about the accused than is considered seemly in these parts
Some aren’t sure the prisoners are guilty, but it’s hard to get anybody to speak his mind with that inquisitor throwing accusations and the whole crowd screaming to see some necks get stretched.
She thinks.
”I would like to visit Otto.“ she says.
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"I believe we should avoid speaking with the Sheriff or going near the jail, at least for now. If there are rumors that Pathfinders are going to try a jailbreak, anyone who he suspects of being in the Society is going to come under suspicion. I'm also not sure that Otto himself is of interest--at least if the shopkeeper was right about him. If you can come up with a plausible reason to be talking to him, though, it might be worthwhile. Perhaps you could ask him about the rumors of occurrences on his property." She sounds a bit dismissive, obviously convinced of the shopkeeper's veracity, but brightens up as she continues. "I'm definitely interested in this stranger that you heard about, Sakura. Anyone else apparently doing what we're doing is suspicious. Although that rumor brings up an important point for all of us to remember: don't ask obvious questions without having a reason for it. The people here may not be competent adventurers such as ourselves, but they are not stupid, and they talk to each other. So all of us should be alert for rumors about anyone else in the party asking questions, and I recommend that if that happens the person the rumors are about should lay low. What do you think?"
After you spend a while learning the whereabours of Otto's property, you are directed five miles down the main road from Dawnton.
Otto’s farm covers approximately 10 acres of land that are presently unplanted and a farmhouse at the center of the fields. A line of trees along the west side of the house forms a windbreak. While the sun is getting lower, you can still see a figure in the fields, walking around and inspecting something. When you move closer, the man notices you and turns towards you.
"Ey! This is private property. And you are walking over my freshly planted seeds. Dawnton is the other way around, if you are here for the festival.", he shouts at you from a distance.
The festivities in the beer garden are currently at full swing. Every tap has a queue near it, and almost all tables are fully taken. The citizens of Dawnton and the visitors seem to be drawn to the place at like moths to a fire. Many tables simply have people sitting around and talking with a keg in their hand, but there are a few that play dice, cards, or other forms of hazard. Some of the jugglers and entertainers have moved from the Fairgrounds to here, to take their chance at earning some coin from the patrons.
The Hearth and Harvest Inn is what you have used to gather and compare findings. While it is not empty right now, it seems the festival draws most of the crowd outside. Only a few locals remain and chat. A band of halflings in the middle of the main room are playing a cheerful song as the other pathfinders leave. The bartender notices you have nothing on your table as they do, and comes in closer.
"Staying the night? I thought everyone left for the Beer Garden. Can I get you anything?"
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After you spend a while learning the whereabours of Otto's property, you are directed five miles down the main road from Dawnton.
Otto’s farm covers approximately 10 acres of land that are presently unplanted and a farmhouse at the center of the fields. A line of trees along the west side of the house forms a windbreak. While the sun is getting lower, you can still see a figure in the fields, walking around and inspecting something. When you move closer, the man notices you and turns towards you.
"Ey! This is private property. And you are walking over my freshly planted seeds. Dawnton is the other way around, if you are here for the festival.", he shouts at you from a distance.
Sakura steps away from any seeds and looks at the man with an apologetic expression on her face.
"We apologize for the intrusion. We are here because we heard of your involvement in the crimes that will lead to the execution of the currently incarcerated Pathfinders. We have heard rumors about you and would very much like to hear your side of the story. As you can imagine there are conflicting statements and your testimony might help to find out more about these crimes." Sakura explains.
"What do you mean, 'involvement'? I just found a body on my property!", the man shouts back, and moves in closer to you, careful to not step on any future crops. Once you can get a better look at the man, you see that Otto is a powerfully built, clean-shaven man in his late thirties. His clothes and hands are dirty with soil, and he holds a hoe with his left hand. His right hand, however, holds a loaded sling - now just hanging to his side.
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"We heard that you allegedly worship demons although some people in town doubt that. We would like to know if you were involved in the death of the victim on your property. And if not then we would like to know if you observed something special that might be relevant. Please, we do not want to accuse you of anything but we want to understand what happened!" the Aphorite says.
"Honestly I have no idea. I woke up, went to feed the chickens, and there he was.", he turns to a lone tree just a minute away. "The man hanged on my property. Stipped. That's about it. I called the sherif, he took him down, and that was the end of it for me."
"Worshipping demons. Hmph." he spits on the ground unceremoniously. "Why'd I do that?"