Kern grabs for his flail and moves forward.
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"It'll be risky," Kern says, "but I think we should take the risk. We may not get another chance." He follows after Eponine.
"Someone fast tell Habe to lock Grayst up again and then catch up to us," Kern calls as he hurries after Eponine.
Kern moves up to the corpse to examine it, but avoids touching it.
"Huh? Wha-? Eponine?" Kern stutters in surprise at the sudden departure. He double-checks to make sure Grayst is unconscious, then leaves him in Roakkad's care, and takes off after Eponine. "Wait! What's going on?"
Kern places himself between Eponine and Grayst. "We'll figure this out, Eponine, don't worry," he says, trying to sound comforting. As Nuri stalks out, he says, "Is he cured? Nuri?" He keeps a hold on Grayst for the time being.
Kern hurries to follow Eponine along with the others.
Following Nuri's request, Kern steps back away from the zombie that just attacked him. He raises his flail in preparation for the zombie to follow him.
Ready to attack any zombie that comes in reach:
Kern nods to Nuri as she casts the spell on him. He is about to try to grab the madman when the zombies burst through the door, one of them pounding at him before he can react. "What the hell?" he gasps. He decides a change of tactics is needed and pulls out his flail to attack the zombie that hit him.
Kern glances in alarm at Eponine. Then he turns back to Grayst. For a moment, he looks ready to pick the crazed man up off the floor, but he holds himself back. "Mister Sevilla, what is this pack you speak of?" he asks. "And who is your master?"
"On behalf of the Sheriff's office, thank you for your cooperation," Kern says, stepping in with a smile. "We need to speak to one of your patients, Grayst Sevilla. He might have been a witness to a crime and could have valuable information to help us catch the criminal. We'd appreciate it very much if you'd show us to him."
"I agree," Kern says with a nod. "He's our best hope for solid information."
Kern nods. "I agree. It's too ostentatious and draws further investigation. It's like whoever committed the murder wants to be caught. That's not somebody who wants to cover things up. I'm getting doubtful that the Scarnettis have anything to do with it."
Kern goes with Nuri and Roakkad since he had already offered to speak to the sheriff. "Maybe someone's trying to get rid of witnesses," Kern suggests. "You know, people hired to do something and then... No, that's a dumb idea. It's too extravagant. All it does is draw further attention. And why the note for Eponine? There's got to be something connecting the victims."
"We should burn the body," Kern says. "We'll tell people it's a cremation so not to spread panic. I'll have a word with the sheriff."
Kern has remained quiet and contemplative during the investigation at the mill. He doesn't say much, and even seems a bit distracted at times. "It's a good idea to stick together," he does eventually say.
"That sounds like a good idea," Kern says to Nuri. "He'll hopefully be more cooperative without Victor around. No offence, Victor," he adds as an aside.
Kern looks out into the hall and yells back, "That's enough, Ven! We'll talk to you later!" He turns back to the others. "They might resort to murder, but would they resort to such a gruesome and ostentatious one? Maybe to intimidate, I suppose."
Victor looks sternly at Thorn. "You can get rest when you tell us what you have done!" He slams his hand down on the table as he stands next to it. Feeling like he may have missed something, "Or... um... know!" *Slam!* Looking around, he still feels like there is something amiss; he leans in towards Kern, "What is the reason he is here again?" he asks a bit sheepishly. "He's just a witness, not a criminal," Kern says quietly, but slightly admonishingly to Victor. He turns to Ibor. "I think you're probably right that Vin didn't do this," he says. "Tell us a little about Banny. Other than Katrine, who did he tend to hang out with?"
"We should probably start with Ibor Thorn since he's right here," Kern suggests. "While I'm sure, Sheriff, that you got everything out of him there is, you never know, we might learn something new. After that, we should go to the murder scene."
In the time since the trial, Kern has applied himself diligently to his work. He's always efficient and fair with his duties. However, as the time has passed, he's gotten noticeably less enthusiastic about it. This hasn't impeded his work in anyway--he still does his job effectively and without complaint--but when he's called in to break up yet another bar brawl, there's a look of boredom in his eyes as he does so. He has not interacted with the others much recently, outside of what his official duties may require of him. Today at the meeting, however, that look of boredom is very much gone. He's not exactly excited, as he certainly doesn't take pleasure in the murder of other people, but he's just a little more alert and interested in his surroundings. When the sheriff reveals the message for Eponine, Kern looks quite disturbed, and his eyes turn immediately to Eponine, looking for her reaction. After her response to Wren, he says, "It doesn't have to be a crazy guy--not a noticeably crazy guy, at any rate. And it doesn't have to be recent either. Are there any...uh...ex-boyfriends who departed rather angry with you?"
"No, no. It was nothing. You were just very... articulate." Again, Eponine flushes a bright red. Kern grins. "You think so? I was a little unhappy with it myself. Actually, I was kind of worried I'd ruined things for Orik. But I'm glad it went better than I thought. I never realised I could make a moving speech."
Kern seems a bit surprised by this. "Did I say something wrong?" he asks. "'Cause I certainly didn't mean to. When was this? When I was talking to Orik?"
Kern looks at Victor a bit oddly. "Terrik? Who's Terrik?"
Kern tries to refuse the gift from Titus, finding the offer a little out-of-the-blue and suspicious (although not saying this aloud). He eventually accepts the gift with a word of thanks and a promise that he will serve the best interests of Sandpoint (being careful not to name any specific families like the Scarnettis, only Sandpoint itself). At the trial, he nods in satisfaction as the verdicts against Tsuto and Lyrie are read, but he frowns slightly at the verdict for Orik. It was less than he'd hoped for but he concedes it could have been worse. After the trial, he tries to seek out Orik so that he can offer him his condolences and apologies for the banishment. He will also thank Orik for everything the man has done to help them and the town of Sandpoint. "It's unfortunate that they're kicking you out, but at least you have your liberty," he says.
Kern is a bit taken aback by the offer and he stumbles over his words in response. "I..uh...thank you," he says. "I...I'm honoured to take the position. I promise to perform it to the utmost of my abilities."
Kern will tell what he knows and saw of Tsuto and Lyrie (and Nualia). He is more passionate in his defence of Orik, focusing heavily on the importance of accepting redemption, and points out that there are many people who have done things in their past that they're not proud of, but are now considered upstanding citizens.
Alas, Kern is really not a very good public speaker.
Kern is updated. I made very few changes other than those necessitated by the increase in point-buy. His Strength and Intelligence have gone up a little. The increase in Int means he had a few more skill points so I've bumped up a few of his skills.
Kern, still breathing heavily from exhaustion, nods in response to Wren. "Until I'm healed, I'm useless in this state. I can barely lift my flail. We need to rest and rethink our strategy. Returning to Sandpoint is probably a good idea."
Barely able to life his flail anymore, Kern sighs with relief as Victor and Eponine finally get out of the way. He immediately pulls back, too. "Let's get out of here," he says.
"You heard her, you two," Kern says. "Get moving! I'll be right behind you."
Kern is breathing heavily as he continues to try to draw the shadow's attention away from Victor. He is tiring, but is still in better shape than the others.
Kern glances at Eponine and Victor. "We are certainly gluttons for punishment," he mutters. "Come on Victor, just a little farther."
Kern stumbles back slightly as he feels the strength draining from him. "I've got nothing I can affect them with," he tells Eponine and Victor. "We all have to get out of here. Victor, I'll cover you."
Kern hurries towards the shadows, pulling out his flail. "I'm not sure this will actually work," he mutters and swings ineffectively.
"I suppose if Orik is willing to watch the prisoners, then we should go after this demon thing," Kern says. "I just worry that we're doing exactly what Tsuto wants us to."
"We need to turn these two over," Kern says, indicating Tsuto and Lyrie. "We can't take them with us to the demon, and we can't leave them unattended. So back to Sandpoint is our only option. We can always come back after."
Tsuto sneers, "Go ahead, see if you all can find him. Once he is released he will tear your bodies apart and then we will have our revenge on Sandpoint." He spits as he names the town. "I see no reason why he shouldn't just rot in his prison," Kern says. "Then he doesn't destroy anything, and you don't get your revenge on Sandpoint. Seems a pretty good deal to me."
"That neutered dog was instrumental in your defeat," Kern says, leaning in close to her. "Twice. But if you don't want to say anything, I guess we'll just take you back to Sandpoint where they'll hang you. Or maybe burn you at the stake or something. I'm not sure. Whatever they do, it won't be pleasant and you won't survive it."
He turns to the group. "We should take them back before exploring any further. We can't risk leaving them alone."
"You were talking about freeing someone, I think," Kern says to the prisoners. "Who were you trying to free and why?"
"It's Tsuto!" Kern calls back. "And Lyrie!" He moves forward into the room and attacks.
Kern tightens his grip on his flail and looks to Eponine to give the signal on whether they should attack.
"Are you sure?" Kern asks. "Well, if so, stay behind me."
Kern shifts his position slightly to allow someone else to get up close to the creature as well and then continues his assault on it. "Let go of her!" he yells at it as he attacks.
"Those wanting to kill something, looks like we've found a candidate!" Kern calls back. He then heads straight at the creature, using his momentum to help break through its defences.
"Feeling a little vindictive?" Kern ask Wren with a laugh. He reaches for his flail and nods to Eponine. "Ready."
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